Once We Were Gods
Horror / Queer / Mystery / Folklore / Adventure / Irreverent humor / Visual novel
Temporary cover design
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW...
Taking place in the not-so-distant future, Once We Were Gods is a work in progress Queer sci-fi horror visual novel with a demonic/paranormal twist on human morality and politics. It follows the journey of an outcast Hellborn grizzly bear called the Barghest, as he gathers a team to stop the followers of the Right Hand of the Bug, a fanatical religious cult, from escaping Hell. The team consists of Camio — the Barghest's old eagle friend — and four humans: Astrid, Derek, Alonso, and Hudson, who claim to be outcasts themselves. Maybe there's still some hope left for him with these people, but how long will that hope last in the face of an ancient horror as old as the civilization he wants to protect? Time is not on this unlikely group's side as they encounter ghosts, angels, the many demons of Hell, and discover secrets more threatening than even Satan himself.
I've been writing the script for this project for over two years now, and although I have the entire story planned out, I still have quite a lot to fill in, let alone draw. It's my most ambitious project yet, and I'm very proud of the story. I have absolutely no idea when it'll be finished, but I plan to keep making concept art for it even while I'm writing the script, so you'll get to know the characters a little!
CURRENT VN PROGRESS:
Nine titled chapters are being worked on at the moment, with more planned for the future.Word count as of May 28, 2026: 63,897.The average amount of words for a 200 page book is around 50,000. As this is a WIP visual novel, there's definitely going to be more words added (I wouldn't even say that I'm halfway finished yet).OWWG will remain a solo project until I'm done with the script and have gotten familiar with a visual novel engine, where I may then decide to look for a composer to make the soundtrack, and an artist to make the backgrounds.I'll update this page soon! I'm currently working on character bios.
The Barghest
(he/him)
Gay 💚💚🤍🩵💙
Hellborn grizzly bear (Arctos erectus terra-cocta)
Partner: The Rask."The one with a hunger for the space between stars."Standing at seven feet tall, with black faux leather pants, steel vambraces (one of which has a concealed spring-loaded blade), and limited shapeshifting capabilities, the Barghest is very much one of his own greatest assets.
Astrid Breyer
(she/her)
Pansexual 🩷💛💙
Human
Camio
(she/they)
Transgender 🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵
Aroace 🧡💛🤍🩵💙
Hellborn white-shouldered eagle (pending classification)One of many presidents of Hell. Also impeached, and a bird.
Derek
(he/him)
Gay 💚💚🤍🩵💙
Bear 🤎🧡💛🤍🩶🖤
Human
Partner: Alonso.
Alonso
(he/him)
Gay 💚💚🤍🩵💙
Bear 🤎🧡💛🤍🩶🖤
Human
Partner: Derek.
Hudson
(he/him)
Human
Hell:
Hell was formed at the exact moment that the planet Theia crashed into Proto-Earth, about 4.5 billion years ago. Hundreds of rifts (distortions in spacetime that follow certain coordinates on celestial bodies and allow access to isolated pockets of spacetime called "pocket dimensions") stayed open for billions of years after Hell's creation, allowing life on Earth access to Hell. After the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, the rifts began to close. This isolated the flora and fauna in Hell from what remained of Earth's ecosystem, leading them to evolve to fit Hell's harsh environment. Many creatures barely changed at all, while others looked almost unrecognizable from their ancestors. After evolving sapience, the creatures (now known as demons) spent a long time learning how to preserve the few rifts that survived. They eventually succeeded, using their portal frame technology to force the rifts to stay open for short periods of time.
Behemoth:
(he/him)
Agender 🖤🩶🤍💚🤍🩶🖤
Aroace 🧡💛🤍🩵💙
Hellborn rhinoceros (Pantheon demon. No scientific name.)"Behemoth knows no inside voice."After the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, Behemoth created the Pantheon — a trio of large demons (Behemoth, Leviathan, and Arailador) capable of preventing or stopping natural and unnatural threats to Hell's population and ecosystem. The Pantheon demons do not have a biological sex, and their overall biology would have to be very different from most Hellborn animals for their bodies to function at such a size and for so many millions of years. They communicate with each other in isolated locations using clicks, whistles, and rhythmic bursts of sound. Creating vibrations through solid ground, water, and air seems to be a method for communication across long distances, but it doesn't appear to be very efficient. Behemoth is capable of speech, but he chooses not to speak around smaller demons out of fear of killing them with soundwaves. Instead, he uses a demon named Carodanine, who is able to withstand the soundwaves, to speak on his behalf when a message needs to be relayed to the public.Behemoth spends most of his time on land, usually near mountains and volcanos. His diet is unknown. He's calm and likes the company of the other Pantheon demons and Carodanine, but is usually alone.
Leviathan:
(she/her)
Agender 🖤🩶🤍💚🤍🩶🖤
Aroace 🧡💛🤍🩵💙
Hellborn shark (Pantheon demon. No scientific name.)Leviathan spends most of her time in oceans, usually near hydrothermal vents and underwater volcanoes. From multiple temporary orifices, she consumes pillow lava as it forms from underwater volcanoes to build mass and may feed on the minerals generated by hydrothermal vents as well. While she doesn't mind the company of the other Pantheon demons, she prefers to be alone.
Arailador
(they/them)
Agender 🖤🩶🤍💚🤍🩶🖤
Aroace 🧡💛🤍🩵💙
Hellborn manta ray (Pantheon demon. No scientific name.)(Bio coming soon)
Carodanine
(she/her)
Asexual 🖤🩶🤍💜
Hellborn dragonfly (pending classification)"Mouth of the Pantheon."Carodanine relays messages from Behemoth to the population of Hell. She also acts as the Barghest's stepmother after his parents are killed in a genocide. Carodanine has no eyes, claiming to use the eye of her deceased husband (who also had no eyes) to see. Her wings resemble that of a bat's wings rather than those of a dragonfly born on Earth.