Character Origins: Yola Biggs the Goddess of Chaos

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Charles Yallowitz

It’s only right that I talk about Yola Biggs before Merchant of Nevra Coil is released next month.  She causes everything that happens and gets a good evolution as well as revealing more about the world of the gods.  So you know the Chaos Goddess has to have an interesting origin.

*checks notes from long ago*

Where in the world did this nutcase come from?

Seriously, I don’t know what possessed me to create Yola or put a goddess on the side of the Baron.  She didn’t really have a purpose at the beginning beyond transporting other villains and defending the Baron.  Kind of like an overpowered limo and bodyguard rolled into one.  There isn’t even a hero that she matches up with like the others.  Unless I got it in my head to pit Yola against Timoran or Dariana.  Nothing about that in the old notes, so what was I thinking?

It really doesn’t matter because Yola is responsible for a lot of my god-based decisions. I created the Law of Influence to explain why the gods are restrained in their actions and why Yola is not with them.  She’s an exile who broke the one rule and ran away instead of facing a trial.  The Baron happily took her under his protection since it meant he had a powerful ally.  By the time I put her into the story, I had only a basic idea of her history and she’s been bouncing around the background for a while.

Then something changed.  I found a sense of freedom when I wrote Yola scenes because of her level of power and loopy personality.  This led to me figuring out a way to give her more to do.  The challenge was that she couldn’t spend much time outside of Shayd because the other gods would eventually come for her.  Even her unique and wild powers of reality manipulation couldn’t save her from the other gods.  What was the answer to this issue?  Well . . . that would be The Merchant of Nevra Coil.

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About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
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13 Responses to Character Origins: Yola Biggs the Goddess of Chaos

  1. L. Marie's avatar L. Marie says:
    July 31, 2015 at 10:44 am

    Well, that’s a nice setup for this upcoming book. 🙂 It sounds like you had a blast writing it. Was crafting Yola as fun as crafting, say, Fizzle?

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    • Charles Yallowitz's avatar Charles Yallowitz says:
      July 31, 2015 at 10:57 am

      More fun actually. Fizzle was in the initial game and acted as the mouthpiece for the DM. I flushed him out more, but there was a foundation there. Yola is similar to Kira, Trinity, and many of the villains in that she never had a game presence. So she evolved along with the story and probably had a bigger impact on Windemere’s creation than previously established characters.

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      • L. Marie's avatar L. Marie says:
        July 31, 2015 at 11:43 am

        That’s so cool! I’m still smiling at the excerpt you posted and Yola’s wild behavior. 🙂

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      • Charles Yallowitz's avatar Charles Yallowitz says:
        July 31, 2015 at 11:45 am

        And that’s only a taste. She’s still a tough one to use in the book for longer than a scene or two. Unless she’s the main antagonist or a central part of the overall story, she ends up being too much of a diversion. So I’m looking forward to when I can use her full power. Might even give her a post-series book if she survives.

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  2. estyree's avatar estyree says:
    July 31, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    I love characters decide to just randomly appear and mess with your entire set up! But seriously, sounds like the reason you ‘created’ this character was that she was there, waiting to be used, and you needed her when you found her.
    Those are both frustrating and freeing, in my opinion.

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  3. John W. Howell's avatar John W. Howell says:
    July 31, 2015 at 3:54 pm

    Yola sounds like a character with a lot of potential.

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  4. Nicholas C. Rossis's avatar Nicholas C. Rossis says:
    August 1, 2015 at 11:28 am

    Lol – great hook.

    I love characters who make writing their scenes fun. Strangely enough, in Pearseus I get that with Teo Altman, who’s the villain. Several readers have commented that his are their favorite scenes, so I guess it shows that I’m having fun with him. So, don’t be surprised if people make a similar comment in regards to Yola.

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