Afterword - Book 4 - Chapter 34 (Patreon)

Chapter 34: Stolen Time, Faded Memories

(Original Chapter Title: Stolen Time, Faded Memories)

This was a long-planned chapter, even back in the OG draft.

Being immortal is great, but it comes at a cost—one that Ranthia wasn't expecting to pay quite so soon. Her current friends are aging, and people that she knew—people that did what they could to stay safe—were fading away. Both from life and from memory.

A weird confession: I've rarely read a timeskip I enjoyed in a story. I kind of hate them, truly. A lot of writers feel obligated to have characters mention interesting-sounding events that I would have much rather them told instead of using it as a joke. Like... why? In my mind, a timeskip is only valid once you've thoroughly established what's happening before you gloss. And you still pause them to show interesting moments or life continuing onward!

Rational readers may differ, of course. But I've done what I can to hold to that throughout writing (and editing) Blind Chaos. I want people to know what happens unseen and I don't want to use timeskips for jokes at the audience's expense. Timeskips have to happen, but I never want people to feel robbed when they do!

Naturally, I have fallen short on this before. The most notable occurrence was back in Book 1 with Ranthia's investigation of the Seira temple/girl's school, but I genuinely hope to never have a repeat!