The Land of Dark Idols — itself, the name of something unused and missing from even the most well-read of audiences, is framed in loss. The unplanned passing of a loved one. The absence of care. As well as the self-determinism of leaving things behind. And the search for the familiar in a new location.
These things are all consistent with the universe of The 12th Stephaniak. To read cosmic horror is to be unsettled by the unknown, even when almost everything seems familiar. You’ll find something similar in the short story, Angio Dreams (in our free fiction library).
Contemporary cosmic horror is a bit different than its gothic predecessors. The 12th Stephaniak is sitting on the cusp of something liminal, haunting, terrifying, and yet… lovely. Like all of Arkhelian’s universes, there’s a story (an actual written work by the author) that supersedes the existence of the more broadly published works. And like Hastur, before the King in Yellow, that which came earlier is dispossessed of the story it might have once had. Now, we’ve only the stories that fall from our lips… and that, right there, is what The 12th Stephaniak’s universe is all about.
(Hint: if you want to better understand the title, The Land of Dark Idols, you’ll want to look into some of Tolkien’s unused writing. that’s where the inspiration came from.)
