Afterword - Book 5 - Chapter 5 (Patreon)

Chapter 5: That Which Transcends…

Feels kinda weird not having the Original Chapter Title section anymore.

This chapter is the first one that never appeared in any form in the OG draft... if you ignore the chapters I added to books 1 and 2. But this chapter was long, long planned. Sure, the modern version doesn't match completely with my original plans I had when I concluded the OG draft and started editing, but the bones were there.

And this was the moment I solidified that Ranthia had issues with guards, believe it or not. Yes, she had bad encounters with them in the OG draft, but about half of what you read of her woes with guards was newly added thanks to the edits. I wanted to set up a bit of foreshadowing to make people go "oh no" as she approaches her first guards in a far away nation.

...Not that her first encounter with a non-guard elf of Tympestshard goes much better, now that I revisit this chapter one "last" time before it goes live on Royal Road.

Anyhow, you know what's weird? I spent the previous four books hating that I was editing and craving for the freedom to write. But ever since I got here, I've felt like I've been struggling to get back into the groove. I guess I kind of miss the loose roadmap of editing?

The grass is always greener, as they say.