I do have a god in my novel, but more importantly, I have three angel-like celestial beings that serve(d) under him: Atuos, Ellaes, and Tellaos, each patrons of one of the three species in my world. They're all crucial characters in the story from the start, each keeping their identities secret. They're also the only beings in the world with magic, which is why it's so strange when, in the very first chapter, a new kind of magic appears in the world.
I definitely don't think having deities is a necessity for secondary world fantasy, but I grew up on classic epic fantasy where there's always one (or more) god meddling in the heroes' affairs, and I wanted to create a subversive version of that.
The entire premise of the story was created to take the "unsuspecting main character gets blessed with a god's power" and twist it in the protagonist's life like a knife to the gut, so they're pretty deeply ingrained into the story. I couldn't imagine Fractured Magic without them - it would definitely be a different story, maybe with less magic and more warfare and victorian gothic aesthetics.
