Others are more complex, like the desire to restore one’s civilization, have absolute power, or save as many lives as possible. Some are simpler, like just surviving or finding someone to love.

Every single character is driven and motivated by something, and each one has their own goals and desires. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development? I enjoyed how your characters were all varied but equally intriguing and well developed. I think that really made me feel that it’d be interesting to go the route that I did by mixing and mending a variety of mythologies into one cohesive story.

It was fun to see them all interact together. Around 2011 or 12, I came across a TV series called “Once Upon a Time” which featured characters from fairy-tales that most of us are at least somewhat familiar with (like Snow White & Cinderella), however it gave each character a twist. I wanted to do that with a believable and fitting twist. I wanted to do it right and be authentic to the source material. A lot of very messed up stuff happens in mythology and it’s not fully authentic to present it the way that most do. Well, mythology just isn’t like that, sorry. They had to “wussify” or soften the mythology to make it accessible to kids and people with weak stomachs. I noticed that no one could get mythology right. I also loved sci-fi and fantasy media (books, movies, TV shows, and video games). I was a voracious reader of mythology growing up.

I wanted to write something with tremendously high stakes and incredibly powerful, over-the-top characters. I wanted to write something different–something significant. I was an English major in college (about a decade ago now) and was forced to read a lot of books that were considered “good” or even “great.” However, what I found was that I kept asking, “Why should I care?” or “Why are we even reading this?” It’s an experience common to many students. I really wanted to write a story that seemed huge, grand, and important. I’ve had the core of this story in my heart since I was little, and I even have very old and embarrassing storyboards of the characters and plot. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story? The Destroyer of Worlds is a thrilling fantasy novel that pits gods, aliens, and dragons against each other in an epic war.

The Destroyer of Worlds by Steven Seril