Afterword - Book 5 - Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Chapter 9: Minor Interlude – Rani – Unending Pursuit

There will be (and have been) people that dislike this chapter. And I get why, I do. This chapter takes place half a world away, and it's experienced through the eyes of a character that had barely been mentioned in the previous book.

So why did I do it?

Well, as BtDEM readers know, there's something coming. And I need to set it up. Ranthia isn't the center of Pallos, and not all events that affect her come through her own direct action.

Sometimes, it's the consequences of what you wrought in your past that get you.

One genuine regret I have is never finding space for Ranthia to meet with Rani. It would have meant so much to her to know that Tertia was still out there—and to know that her adopted daughter's names honored her as well as the friends that they had lost. But giving her ties to Remus just as she severed them was cruel, and there was no space. It made less than no sense for Rani to find an opportunity to converse with Ranthia while Solace—the woman she served—failed utterly.

A cleverer author might have found a way to balance things. But this story is mine, just as quintessentially as it belongs to Ranthia.

Remus, like the ancient Rome Selkie based it on, is a nation that subsists on war. Idle armies allowed the emperor to seize power when the formorians fell. And whomever leads Remus in 4903 was never going to be stupid enough to let the same thing happen again. But the tools of propaganda are ancient: incite anger in a new direction, fuel the anger with fear and uncertainty, and then give them an outlet in your chosen direction. Conquest is great for morale and wealth... so long as you can keep the momentum up, at least.

And there's a greater need than ever, with plans underway (and possibly complete) to destroy the plant that had made Remus untenable for most. In many ways, Remus is a paradise on Pallos—and its leaders will do everything they can to make it as impossible for anyone else to claim. No matter the cost.

But we haven't seen the last of Rani and Solace. I can promise you that.