The OtherWorld

A story cannot take place unless there is a place for it to occur.  As such, the setting for THoF is the OtherWorld.  Chapter Zero (or the prologue) talks a little bit about the OtherWorld, mostly to refer to why it was created, but not so much the geography of the place.

            Without the faith of the people, the Old Gods would not survive to see the new millennia.  Just when they thought their end was near, the Old Gods pulled together for one last attempt at a victory.  They did not go to the people who they used to rely on, but created the OtherWorld – a sanctuary for the creatures of lore that had supported them during their war efforts. 

Here's a paragraph directly from Chapter Zero of THoF.  At this point in the book, you're getting a background/retelling of a legend.  My original intent with Chapter Zero was to tack it into a section of Chapter Six where backstory was needed.  It was pointed out to me later that in doing so, it took away from the main action of Chapter Six.  That was also when the suggestion to call it Chapter Zero came out because apperantly, a lot of readers don't actually read the prologue. 

Anyway.  The OtherWorld - in short - was created to house the Immortals after the Old Gods lost to the new God in a war of who could get the most followers.  When I say Old Gods, I mean all of the parthenons of gods that were around pre-Christ.  Yes, the new God is indeed a reference to the Christian God who swept through the area and converted a large number of followers. 

While this legend explains why the OtherWorld was created, it also explains why any sort of supernatural creature was not left in our world.  Chapter Zero also contains the explaination for why Avalon, the home of the Seelie fey, is no longer attached to the mainland.

But before I get into that, I should explain at least some of the geography of the OtherWorld.  My inspiration for the OtherWorld came from Pangea, meaning "all of the Earth".  I liked the symbolism of having the Immortals all together on one of the first forms of Earth.  Due to the species of Immortals seperating up the land for their different territories and their different needs having to be met, I've wiggled the continent around a bit.  Besides Avalon, there are no other islands or other large landmasses besides this version of Pangea in the OtherWorld.

Back to Avalon.  In Chapter Zero, the reader is introduced to the cast of Old Gods as well as Nolan the Red.  (See below for list of Old Gods).  Nolan is the first antagonist of the OtherWorld and he is also the first emperor.  He gets it into his head that he wants to transfer the OtherWorld back to the world of mortals.  However, he needs a powerful companion to assist him in this.  Thereby, Nolan decides to kidnap the Seelie Queen and use her magic to accomplish his task.  That's without mentioning that Nolan has a taste for that which is not his.

Long story short, Nolan is defeated in his quest, but he isn't going quietly.  The Old Gods set up a bit of trickery and then end up having to improvise.  In the end, Nolan is sentenced to the Land of the Lost, which is pretty much like the Underworld of Greek mythology except for the fact that for the most part, it's on the surface and you aren't necessarily dead when you go there.

So, here's a list of the Old Gods and their job descriptions.

• The Ancient Mother
• The matriarch of the Old Gods.  The goddess with the title can only pass it on to her eldest daughter after her death.  She is responsible for overseeing that the other gods are doing their jobs as well as being the main goddess for the Immortals. The current Ancient Mother is Elona.
• Krie
• The god of the Land of the Lost.  Also called Death.  His palace is often referred to as an icy palace.  He guides souls to their final resting place.
• Natalia
• The goddess of the Land of the Lost.  She is Krie's wife and assisstant.  Her duties are similar to Krie's.
• Maeve
• At one point, she was the goddess of Seduction.  When Nolan took to slaughtering anyone in his way, Maeve was assigned to help ease the burden on Krie and Natalia.  She refused to do so, instead using her seduction to lure men and women to their deaths in her bed.  She is the patron goddess of the Court of Exiles.
• Ganef
• The patron of the Immortal Court, Ganef is the god of worldly pleasures.  Oddly enough, he's never thought of Maeve as a worldly pleasure.  Chances are, it's due to her sucking the life from her victims. 

I've been working on a map of the OtherWorld and have come up with one that looks to be about correct.