Chapter IV - The Council Continues

More of the council scene in which finally some progress is made. Once things in this scene got moving, I really enjoyed it - it just took a while to get off the ground. I like the character of Fion, and her race, which we'll meet and discuss a little more in the next post.

Chapter IV - He Returns

Finally, we get to be formally introduced to Him. This is the 'Him' whose seat remains empty at the Brazen Boar; the 'Him' whom inspires an almost religious zealotry in a certain class of person... but why is he back? Why is he so venerated? ...or is it fear?

He's still one of my favourite characters to write, I just hope he's as fun to read!

Chapter IV - The Council of Azorius

Apologies for the considerable delay in getting this part out. The writing didn't stall, this particular section just took a lot of reading and re-reading. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but I've never been great at council scenes anyways. There's a lot of politics, arguing, plot-reveal and all of that thrown in with trying to introduce a bucket-load of new and possibly temporary characters whilst keeping it flowing.I'm not 100% happy with it, but I am happy enough with it. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter III - Back to Studies

Things are beginning to accelerate in Castelmaine now. In this installment, Marr and Folk talk for the first time and Gideon reveals a little more of the history of Evalaria. In other news, portals are quite possibly the easiest things to visualise if you've seen them, but one of the hardest things ever to describe!

Chapter III - Reinforcements

Just another short update of the conversation with Gideon and Ealm in the side streets of the Trade District. I think this is the first ever heated conversation/argument I've written that I'm actually happy with. I also hope I've not given away too much of who Ealm actually is... I'm finding it difficult to hold onto that secret - whilst writing this I actually had it directly revealed in the prose, but I edited it out each time. It's something I want to reveal later on as a bit of a twist... Really hope nobody will guess it just yet!

Chapter III - Ealm

Todays update is just a short one, as I wanted to introduce another character into the works. If there's one thing I enjoy in stories that I write, it's a decent sized cast of characters. Over the years I've tried to write many stories down, but I end up getting more excited by another story and decide to write that one instead. My mind likes fresh things, and when I get an idea, I often must do that idea. Thus, I've developed a kind of way of dealing with that - having a cast of many characters that I can cycle through to keep things fresh for me too. I also like the excitement and diversity it can bring. I hope you do too!

Chapter II - The Great Wyrm

A few years back I was staying its my cousin in Bristol, and it was there that Castelmaine took on its true form. The city is an amalgamation in my mind of the British cities of Bristol and Canterbury. Canterbury for its winding streets and wonderfully fantastical architecture, and Bristol for just about everything else.

I had spent a morning first having a breakfast and ale at the local Weatherspoons, then had seated myself first on a grassy square in the shadow of an old university, surrounded by students, and then later in a grassy park near to a fountain. It was on that day that the Universities and Colleges of Castelmaine were founded in my mind, and immediately thereafter came the dragon Mozu-Beric, one of the three founders of Castelmaine, and the head of Berican University. For some reason, every time I write her lines, I hear Dame Judy Dench, and I think this is one of the reasons I love the Mozu-Beric character.

I once wrote some awesome scenes for her before and during the war that detail her earlier adventures and how she came to be sequestered in an eyrie at the top of the highest tower in the Glimmering City, atop her own university. But that is another story for another time. I hope you enjoy her character as much as I love writing her.