Afterword - Book 4 - Chapter 42 (Patreon)

Chapter 42: Faith and Strength

(Original Chapter Title: Duty and Obligation)

Fun fact, in the OG draft this chapter appeared before Avyna's interlude, because past-me wanted the emotional weight to not be tainted by the truth. Sure, there's some merit to that, but it felt somewhat insincere once I got here in editing.

I don't know if anyone remembers this from the early books, but the Irreverent Priest wasn't in the OG draft. He was a character I added on whim, and when he proved to be popular with my beta readers I laid plans for his return. After all, I knew I had this moment as a perfect opportunity to bring him back! And I'm glad I did, it was a fun moment for the creation of the temple.

Because otherwise, everything would have gone exactly as Ranthia wanted; and we can't have that!

And yes, I planned for his entire rant about divine butts from those early days. I'd actually been somewhat impatient to write it!

I'm glad I adjusted the order to be more chronological. I actually really like this chapter coming after the last. The spotlight is on (as it should be) Ranthia trying to heal and keep moving forward; and now that's true for the audience as well. The [Mind Healer]'s advice came from the heart, and I think there's real power and value in those words.

But we're finally catching up on where Selkie Myth defined the war's end. So the time has come for Ranthia to move beyond Remera.