Tears for the Moon God took three years to write, and a substantial part of what took so long was trying to find an angle that fit with the characters I had created. Ibrim Alghoul featured in every trajectory I attempted, so by the time I landed on a plot that felt right, I knew who I was writing, and where his arc would eventually take him.
But Ibrim is not the sole focus of his arc. There is the relationship between him and the only friend he makes in the God House of the Moon, where he is seeking power and acclaim. Then there is his effort to square his upbringing as a prince who will never hold a throne, and the relationship he has with his handler, a full fledged acolyte of the Moon God, who was formerly enslaved. These dynamics created opportunities for growth, all the while being molded by a coming eclipse and the departure from rationality it will inevitably bring to all three of these characters.
Prince of Tulakh
Ibrim Alghoul is third in line for the throne in Tulakh, a kingdom on the continent of Ul Sadh (where the bulk of this story takes place), behind two brothers: Abellard III Alghoul, who will one day be king; and Hassan Alghoul, who he favors over his other siblings. As third in line, he is acutely aware he will never sit the throne, and as the second prince will go on to take command of Tulakh's military, he feels there is nothing left for him in the royal hierarchy...nowhere he belongs. This motivates him to seek power and influence outside the palace, with the hope that when he returns, it will be with a newfound role within government; however, in pursuit of his ends, he chooses to seek apprenticeship and eventual membership in the most volatile order in the Waxing World's sprawling pantheon.
The God of the Moon is grieving, as he has been for as long as anyone can remember, and this grief drives him to fits of rage and violence with the coming of each full moon. When the full moon arrives, the god's madness spreads to embrace his many acolytes, who spill out into the lands wherever his God House touches down to raze the countryside. It is during one of these nights of violence that Ibrim seeks a place among these zealots, a bid that places his life on the line and eventually leads to acceptance into the order of Moonkin, acolytes of the Moon God.
But his hopes of achieving the petty acclaim and power he seeks are put on hold upon arriving, as he is reminded that his former status and the privileges that came with it are meaningless in this grand order.
Moonkin Acolyte
Acolytes of the gods differ from acolytes of land, air and sea spirits in that they practice a form of magic called Soulbinding. As a convention of the art, there is no means by which a god can remove these abilities once imparted into their acolytes, and so most gods monitor their charges closely, preventing them from acting without their consent or in ways that would undermine their purpose. Ao Nii's acolytes practice moon magicks, which largely revolve around performing exorcisms and breaking curses, casting illusions and manipulating energy. These powers have been bastardized by Ao Nii's madness, introducing volatility into a caste of mortal adherents which drives them into a frenzy once a month, upon the rise of the full moon, and lasting until the full moon concludes three days later.
This madness is not always expressed outwardly as cruelty to others, but represents deep held and dark truths about an person's most animalistic nature. As many seek to harm themselves as others, and for Ibrim, it is this hard reality that drives him to wonder how he will be impacted, and if the benefits are not outweighed by the costs of his decision to join the Moon God's ranks.
Further complicating matters, he has never much cared for his subjects. He often looks to his brother, Hassan, as an example of what a good leader should be, believing he alone among their siblings is capable of genuine empathy. These beliefs are challenged when he meets a an acolyte who originated from Tuluis Fel, an isolationist kingdom in the Tao Shein Steppe who is afflicted by and healing from a blood born curse carried by most, if not all, of his people. This person becomes a nuisance to Ibrim early on, but through their interactions, he challenges Ibrim's long held beliefs about power and privilege, his role in Tulahk's royal lineage, and his capacity for empathy, doing much of the heavy lifting to propel Ibrim into a state of emotional growth. This relationship becomes the core of Ibrim's personal journey toward acceptance for his faults, and the deconstruction of barriers he unconsciously erected to protect himself in an environment where close bonds were unavailable, even within his own family.
Ibrim's relationship's come to define more of who he is now than he could ever have expected, and it is through these he finds himself positioned to receive love and acceptance from others, and learns to reciprocate in kind.
Follow Ibrim's Journey in Tears for the Moon God. Coming January 22, 2025.
Comentarios