Author's Notes
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Chapter 29 - Interlude
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Chapter 29
I figure in a world like Lokka, most people probably have a rudimentary idea of how to use a sword, knife, axe, or something with which to defend themselves. (Women don't generally use swords, which will come up in the next two books, and would never be given anything resembling training in most cases.) Thus most of the people enrolling in paladin training have at least held a sword and may even have learned how to use it. The training you see here is teaching them to be proficient, even skilled. Paladins are the front line of defense against demons wherever they appear, so job #1 is being able to wield a weapon of some sort. So if it seems like Danner and some of the others learn a little fast, remember he's already had training with Maran, and most of his friends have some level of training themselves.
The first duel between Garnet and Gerard (yes, I said "first" - there will be more to come) is brief, as befits a trainee versus a master swordsman. No matter how good Garnet could possibly have been, Gerard is better. Of course, as Michael's unarmed combat indicates, there are vast differences between dueling with a sword and fighting against a horde of monsters armed only with tooth and claw.
People with military training (even those who only experienced it peripherally as I did in ROTC) might recognize the arms-extended-weapon-overhead position as "high port arms". This was actually something we did to each other in high school ROTC with a 10-pound rifle, so I can feel Danner's pain most acutely. His bowkur is much lighter, obviously, but then he holds it up longer than I ever had to, so it evens out.
I really like the scene where you see Gerard without the mask of the scary training instructor. He's universally abrasive, but it's important to see he's still a human being. This scene sets up some of the transition in training that won't fully be realized until the next book picks up where this one left off.
The entry of Birch's group into Den-Furral is what I meant when I said his storyline threatened to become overly grim. It's a mountain fortress and the capital city of an entire species, and it's been turned into a giant charnel tomb. A demon attack is inherently grisly and destructive, and there's no way to soften that without taking away from the impact it must have.
One final note on this section of the book. It's unspoken, but notice who is now commanding the jintaal. In matters of strategy and command-of-battle, Garet assumes the leadership role and James takes the backseat.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Notice the comment at the end of Gerard's staff meeting where they mention getting the trainees out from underfoot, and things being rushed. By the end of the book you know why this is there, and starting in book 2, the theme of rushing the training will come back full force.
Hopefully the detail of the dead dwarf's cloak coloration skipped right past you, as it was intended.
The first duel between Garnet and Gerard (yes, I said "first" - there will be more to come) is brief, as befits a trainee versus a master swordsman. No matter how good Garnet could possibly have been, Gerard is better. Of course, as Michael's unarmed combat indicates, there are vast differences between dueling with a sword and fighting against a horde of monsters armed only with tooth and claw.
People with military training (even those who only experienced it peripherally as I did in ROTC) might recognize the arms-extended-weapon-overhead position as "high port arms". This was actually something we did to each other in high school ROTC with a 10-pound rifle, so I can feel Danner's pain most acutely. His bowkur is much lighter, obviously, but then he holds it up longer than I ever had to, so it evens out.
I really like the scene where you see Gerard without the mask of the scary training instructor. He's universally abrasive, but it's important to see he's still a human being. This scene sets up some of the transition in training that won't fully be realized until the next book picks up where this one left off.
The entry of Birch's group into Den-Furral is what I meant when I said his storyline threatened to become overly grim. It's a mountain fortress and the capital city of an entire species, and it's been turned into a giant charnel tomb. A demon attack is inherently grisly and destructive, and there's no way to soften that without taking away from the impact it must have.
One final note on this section of the book. It's unspoken, but notice who is now commanding the jintaal. In matters of strategy and command-of-battle, Garet assumes the leadership role and James takes the backseat.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Notice the comment at the end of Gerard's staff meeting where they mention getting the trainees out from underfoot, and things being rushed. By the end of the book you know why this is there, and starting in book 2, the theme of rushing the training will come back full force.
Hopefully the detail of the dead dwarf's cloak coloration skipped right past you, as it was intended.
Chapter 30
Nuse's exclamation is not brought on by seeing the demon - he's obviously seen several of them in his lifetime. Rather, it was a reaction to seeing the demon feeding off the dwarf's brains. That he hasn't seen before.
I don't think I've mentioned it here nor stated it explicitly in the text itself, but light healing can be accomplished without much effort. The healing sleep Selti previously had to endure was because of the severity of his injuries.
I like princess Jerissa, just because she really is "dwarven to the core" and will eventually be a great leader for her people, I'm sure. Did you notice the color of the cloak on the dwarf on the throne? You weren't supposed to, but it was there.
Why does Sal impersonate a dwarf to relay a message to Wein instead of Min communicating to him as Lord Donnor? Wein wonders the same thing. You've already seen that his grip on reality is loose, and the hold of The Three over him is unstable because of it. Sal makes contact to reestablish direct, firm control over him. Obviously control must be gained in-person, otherwise they could randomly start controlling people at will without ever interacting with them directly. From this point forward, the voice that Wein hears in his head will really be Sal impersonating Lord Donnor.
The little mention of doing squats until Gerard counted down to zero is drawn from personal experience, and holy cow that was a painful day.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
No spoilers to report, since we're closing in on the end of the book. Nothing here specifically carries forward into the next books.
I don't think I've mentioned it here nor stated it explicitly in the text itself, but light healing can be accomplished without much effort. The healing sleep Selti previously had to endure was because of the severity of his injuries.
I like princess Jerissa, just because she really is "dwarven to the core" and will eventually be a great leader for her people, I'm sure. Did you notice the color of the cloak on the dwarf on the throne? You weren't supposed to, but it was there.
Why does Sal impersonate a dwarf to relay a message to Wein instead of Min communicating to him as Lord Donnor? Wein wonders the same thing. You've already seen that his grip on reality is loose, and the hold of The Three over him is unstable because of it. Sal makes contact to reestablish direct, firm control over him. Obviously control must be gained in-person, otherwise they could randomly start controlling people at will without ever interacting with them directly. From this point forward, the voice that Wein hears in his head will really be Sal impersonating Lord Donnor.
The little mention of doing squats until Gerard counted down to zero is drawn from personal experience, and holy cow that was a painful day.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
No spoilers to report, since we're closing in on the end of the book. Nothing here specifically carries forward into the next books.
Chapter 31
I think Garet made the right call in not trusting Wein alone with Birch, how 'bout you? Still, I think it's important that you see there is still a part of Wein fighting the demonic influence he's under. The control exhibited is subtle and reinforces itself as he goes. He's been conditioned to believe that Birch is slowly corrupting his companions, so any doubts he has about what he's doing are chalked up as him fighting that same corruption. He's been carefully separated from the others, since he's not allowed to "reveal" to them that he's aware of Birch's treachery, and so there's no check on the falsehoods he's been fed. And still underneath it all, part of him is aware of what he's doing and that it's horribly wrong.
Notice how Trebor reflects on the emptiness in Min and Danner, specifically his impressions on the mental senses as thought. Kything is a sharing of thought at its most basic level, conscious and subconscious, thoughts and sensory data - everything that makes up the workings of our brains. If you were paying attention earlier, you already know Min has a particular association with the color yellow, while his brothers use red and black. Your eyes translate color into electrical impulses your brain interprets. When you remember someone's voice or vocalize your thoughts in your own head, your ears aren't doing anything, but you can still hear that sound in your mind. When Trebor kythes his thoughts to someone, he's essentially creating those electrical impulses so they hear his voice. That's not how they think of it, of course, since science hasn't progressed that far in Lokka, but science is science.
Flasch's moments of seriousness come so rarely it's easy to forget about them. He has a couple of choice moments in the next couple books that help remind you about that side of him.
You hear briefly about Jerissa's father, and yes, there's a story to be told there. This is another one of those pieces of history I'd like to see developed someday, if I ever have time and a good feel for the story. Until then, it's just a piece of a world replete with history.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
The virtue/color associations of paladins do not extend to immortals, I'm sorry to say. At one point I had intended for paladins who had dakkans to have their mounts colored like a sort of secondary virtue (Gerard's dakkan is blood red, indicating he's all Courage, but Garet's is yellow, showing that Temperance is another strength but not as strong as Courage within him). Unfortunately I was already having a hard time keeping track of the dakkans, their alternate shapes, and who had what that this idea finally just fell by the wayside. But dakkans aside, the other place you see a lot of colors in this series is with the immortals, many of whom have a sort of "theme" color that's more about identification than anything else. The Three are the only demons you see in this book, and Danner's the closest thing to an angel you'll see for a while. His coloring is blue, but it has nothing to do with what Facet he may find himself in later.
Notice how Trebor reflects on the emptiness in Min and Danner, specifically his impressions on the mental senses as thought. Kything is a sharing of thought at its most basic level, conscious and subconscious, thoughts and sensory data - everything that makes up the workings of our brains. If you were paying attention earlier, you already know Min has a particular association with the color yellow, while his brothers use red and black. Your eyes translate color into electrical impulses your brain interprets. When you remember someone's voice or vocalize your thoughts in your own head, your ears aren't doing anything, but you can still hear that sound in your mind. When Trebor kythes his thoughts to someone, he's essentially creating those electrical impulses so they hear his voice. That's not how they think of it, of course, since science hasn't progressed that far in Lokka, but science is science.
Flasch's moments of seriousness come so rarely it's easy to forget about them. He has a couple of choice moments in the next couple books that help remind you about that side of him.
You hear briefly about Jerissa's father, and yes, there's a story to be told there. This is another one of those pieces of history I'd like to see developed someday, if I ever have time and a good feel for the story. Until then, it's just a piece of a world replete with history.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
The virtue/color associations of paladins do not extend to immortals, I'm sorry to say. At one point I had intended for paladins who had dakkans to have their mounts colored like a sort of secondary virtue (Gerard's dakkan is blood red, indicating he's all Courage, but Garet's is yellow, showing that Temperance is another strength but not as strong as Courage within him). Unfortunately I was already having a hard time keeping track of the dakkans, their alternate shapes, and who had what that this idea finally just fell by the wayside. But dakkans aside, the other place you see a lot of colors in this series is with the immortals, many of whom have a sort of "theme" color that's more about identification than anything else. The Three are the only demons you see in this book, and Danner's the closest thing to an angel you'll see for a while. His coloring is blue, but it has nothing to do with what Facet he may find himself in later.
Chapter 32
All of the abilities you've seen so far in Birch kick in full force (plus a little extra), and for the first time, you get a glimpse of the man who survived Hell. As Birch ruminates, he's uniquely qualified to survive a battle of this nature. It's already been established that demons exist in Lokka, mostly hiding out and trying to avoid notice of the paladins, so the group gathered by Sal have been waiting to be summoned for this type of encounter. Birch is probably mistaken about filtering "that many imps" through the Merging - all it would really take is one or two who would then reproduce. He does pinpoint the inherent weakness Sal and his brothers have been forced to expose - they are weaker separated from each other. All their existence, they have been together, and they can combine their strength to overpower foes that might easily destroy any one of them alone. This ability to combine strength is what baffled so many of their opponents (as mentioned in the chapter they first appeared), but since they were forced to separate in Lokka, they're operating in a new, alien environment and without the benefit of each other's presence for the first time. While they were the ideal choice to perform their tasks due to their mind-control and shape-shifting abilities, this inherent flaw in their nature creates an unforeseen weakness.
Verbal play between enemies about to fight each other is harder to write than you might think. It's easy to come off as cheesy or to end up with a monologuing villain. Fortunately the latter of those wasn't an option with Sal, because he's not a Bond villain and feels no compulsion to expound upon his great plan to the good guy. There was originally more dialogue between Sal and Birch, but it was trimmed and trimmed until only a brief exchange remained, and I think the chapter and the story are better off for the excision.
Okay, okay, so this is one of the reasons I left the paladin shield in the story. It makes for a nice visual and provides something different than Birch getting to his sword in the nick of time.
Yes. Wein commits suicide. Remember that the cloaks activate at the mere thought of not wanting to fall and die. Wein never has that thought.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Selti's peculiar ability to injure and even destroy demons is forgotten in the heat of the moment and won't really be solved for quite a while. You've already seen Selti take down a weakened Sal, but this time Sal is essentially at full strength and Selti's still capable of inflicting some pretty substantial damage. Selti could never kill Sal, but he can hurt him.
Birch is still out-powered by Sal if you measure by raw strength, and while Sal's ignorance of fighting mortals works against him, the battle really comes down to Birch's faith as a paladin and the fact that he's using a physical weapon and shield. That difference will be revisited in later books when more immortals are in play.
I'd never tell him this, but Danner kills his demon before Birch kills his. I'm just saying, he's got bragging rights if he ever figures it out.
Verbal play between enemies about to fight each other is harder to write than you might think. It's easy to come off as cheesy or to end up with a monologuing villain. Fortunately the latter of those wasn't an option with Sal, because he's not a Bond villain and feels no compulsion to expound upon his great plan to the good guy. There was originally more dialogue between Sal and Birch, but it was trimmed and trimmed until only a brief exchange remained, and I think the chapter and the story are better off for the excision.
Okay, okay, so this is one of the reasons I left the paladin shield in the story. It makes for a nice visual and provides something different than Birch getting to his sword in the nick of time.
Yes. Wein commits suicide. Remember that the cloaks activate at the mere thought of not wanting to fall and die. Wein never has that thought.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Selti's peculiar ability to injure and even destroy demons is forgotten in the heat of the moment and won't really be solved for quite a while. You've already seen Selti take down a weakened Sal, but this time Sal is essentially at full strength and Selti's still capable of inflicting some pretty substantial damage. Selti could never kill Sal, but he can hurt him.
Birch is still out-powered by Sal if you measure by raw strength, and while Sal's ignorance of fighting mortals works against him, the battle really comes down to Birch's faith as a paladin and the fact that he's using a physical weapon and shield. That difference will be revisited in later books when more immortals are in play.
I'd never tell him this, but Danner kills his demon before Birch kills his. I'm just saying, he's got bragging rights if he ever figures it out.
Chapter 33
So you're Danner. You've just been bereft of your training cloak and you're a sitting duck on a sheer mountainside waiting for a demon in dakkan shape to turn around and crush you. What do you do? Jump on the thing's back and hope for the best. Danner's usually a smart guy, but he is a little impulsive.
Using the bowkur to kill Min was inspired by a "what's at hand?" moment. The trainees have only been using bowkurs until now, and there was no reason to suddenly give them real weapons. Rather than go back and retroactively give him a tool that would do the job, I first went the MacGuyver route. The only thing Danner has with him is a wooden practice weapon... with a metal core. The source of the weapons' weight was established a long time ago, so when I needed something to use against Min that wasn't just awfully convenient, that made a perfect option.
Note however that Danner doesn't think he can kill Min. He's not trying to, he's just trying to injure him so the paladins can come finish him off.
Okay, this is the last time Danner faints, I swear. Now that he's undergone this change, which has been slowly building through the entire book, it's manifested sufficiently that it no longer has the debilitating impact on him.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Had it been any other of the trainees, Min would have survived having the Tricrus drawn on him. None of them are paladins - they aren't true warriors of faith. It's only because Danner has an angelic heritage that he's able to destroy the demon.
Using the bowkur to kill Min was inspired by a "what's at hand?" moment. The trainees have only been using bowkurs until now, and there was no reason to suddenly give them real weapons. Rather than go back and retroactively give him a tool that would do the job, I first went the MacGuyver route. The only thing Danner has with him is a wooden practice weapon... with a metal core. The source of the weapons' weight was established a long time ago, so when I needed something to use against Min that wasn't just awfully convenient, that made a perfect option.
Note however that Danner doesn't think he can kill Min. He's not trying to, he's just trying to injure him so the paladins can come finish him off.
Okay, this is the last time Danner faints, I swear. Now that he's undergone this change, which has been slowly building through the entire book, it's manifested sufficiently that it no longer has the debilitating impact on him.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Had it been any other of the trainees, Min would have survived having the Tricrus drawn on him. None of them are paladins - they aren't true warriors of faith. It's only because Danner has an angelic heritage that he's able to destroy the demon.
Chapter 34
I think if anyone of the group really stops to think about it, they would realize Wein committed suicide. Not necessarily by letting go of Garet's hand, but because his cloak never activated to save him. My guess, however, is that they will all deliberately shy away from that realization out of respect for their former friend and brother paladin.
Birch is the first person to point out the connection between Dividha and the events of the world (which to you the outside observer is the link between the game and the book). This will be explored a little more in the next book, but while it ties thematically to almost the entire series I have planned right now (9 of the 10 books I have in mind), it's not really anything critical to the understanding of the characters themselves.
Jon de'Serrika, Gerard Morningham, and Birch were all good friends during their training to be paladins, and if I ever write any form of prequel novel, theirs might be a story worth telling. Mostly, I'd like to know where all the scratches on Gerard's face came from.
Danner's brief mention of only having known his mother in the first moments of his birth is, I think, the only place you see in this book what happened to her. To everyone's knowledge, she died shortly after giving birth to Danner - she died from apparent complications and was only able to hold Danner for a short while before she passed on. There will be more on this in the next book, the first time Danner has a chance to sit down with his father and discuss her.
If you remember waaaaay back to the prelude of the book, the first thing Birch does when he emerges from Hell is touch one of the Ash'Ailant. (The white one, although the color doesn't really matter.) There's a reason it was included in this book from the outset - this is the Barrier War, and it seems only fitting that the Stones that hold the true Barrier act as one bookend to the trilogy. Chances are, they'll be involved somehow on the other end of it as well.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Notice how quickly Birch heals here? Know anyone else who heals abnormally quickly? There's a link there, but the mechanics are slightly different.
Danner's thought about remembering something he'd temporarily forgotten is indicative of a sort of genetic memory imparted to him by what we now know is his half-angel heritage. There will be more on the reproduction of angels in later books, but for now, they essentially reproduce asexually by splitting off a piece of their āyus and allowing it to develop into another, less powerful version of themselves. A certain amount of the original immortal is inherently transferred to that other being, including some of their memories and experiences.
Birch is the first person to point out the connection between Dividha and the events of the world (which to you the outside observer is the link between the game and the book). This will be explored a little more in the next book, but while it ties thematically to almost the entire series I have planned right now (9 of the 10 books I have in mind), it's not really anything critical to the understanding of the characters themselves.
Jon de'Serrika, Gerard Morningham, and Birch were all good friends during their training to be paladins, and if I ever write any form of prequel novel, theirs might be a story worth telling. Mostly, I'd like to know where all the scratches on Gerard's face came from.
Danner's brief mention of only having known his mother in the first moments of his birth is, I think, the only place you see in this book what happened to her. To everyone's knowledge, she died shortly after giving birth to Danner - she died from apparent complications and was only able to hold Danner for a short while before she passed on. There will be more on this in the next book, the first time Danner has a chance to sit down with his father and discuss her.
If you remember waaaaay back to the prelude of the book, the first thing Birch does when he emerges from Hell is touch one of the Ash'Ailant. (The white one, although the color doesn't really matter.) There's a reason it was included in this book from the outset - this is the Barrier War, and it seems only fitting that the Stones that hold the true Barrier act as one bookend to the trilogy. Chances are, they'll be involved somehow on the other end of it as well.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
Notice how quickly Birch heals here? Know anyone else who heals abnormally quickly? There's a link there, but the mechanics are slightly different.
Danner's thought about remembering something he'd temporarily forgotten is indicative of a sort of genetic memory imparted to him by what we now know is his half-angel heritage. There will be more on the reproduction of angels in later books, but for now, they essentially reproduce asexually by splitting off a piece of their āyus and allowing it to develop into another, less powerful version of themselves. A certain amount of the original immortal is inherently transferred to that other being, including some of their memories and experiences.
Chapter 35
Leave it to Flasch to say something inappropriate to break the moment and segue into the next section.
Birch, reliving a memory of a conversation with the Voice, gives a hint as to how the demons learned about the significance of the Ash'Ailant. Gerard mentioned in the last chapter that some of the Protectors died locally while others crossed the Merging as White paladins. Combine that with what the Voice tells Birch, and you come up with some of them being broken and telling their demonic captors about the Stones.
I've already gone into Birch's emotional stunting, and you sort of see it continue here, but really that's the main reason I wanted Moreen to be with Birch as the story moves forward. The two of them need to be together, to actually be in their relationship, if Birch is going to grow and develop to the level where he should be. It's not a major part of the story, because he's so reserved that it rarely breaks through where others can see, but at one level it will still be there and is important for him.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
After I got to Book 3, I came back and added the bit where Birch clenches Moreen's wrist so hard he nearly breaks it. Slowly but surely, you will see Birch begin to lose some of his self-control, and it will take a pivotal moment in the story to reverse that.
Birch, reliving a memory of a conversation with the Voice, gives a hint as to how the demons learned about the significance of the Ash'Ailant. Gerard mentioned in the last chapter that some of the Protectors died locally while others crossed the Merging as White paladins. Combine that with what the Voice tells Birch, and you come up with some of them being broken and telling their demonic captors about the Stones.
I've already gone into Birch's emotional stunting, and you sort of see it continue here, but really that's the main reason I wanted Moreen to be with Birch as the story moves forward. The two of them need to be together, to actually be in their relationship, if Birch is going to grow and develop to the level where he should be. It's not a major part of the story, because he's so reserved that it rarely breaks through where others can see, but at one level it will still be there and is important for him.
Spoiler Section - Only read this if you've finished the book.
After I got to Book 3, I came back and added the bit where Birch clenches Moreen's wrist so hard he nearly breaks it. Slowly but surely, you will see Birch begin to lose some of his self-control, and it will take a pivotal moment in the story to reverse that.
Interlude
The scenes in the interlude set up where the next book will pick up. A good portion of the next book takes place on the elven island, and Maran's family is explored as you see briefly into the elven kingdom. James and company will continue their hunt for The Three, and you will begin to learn more about Birch's escape and just what it was that James saw in his eyes that terrified him. Danner's heritage will be explored and the fate of the paladins who crossed into Hell will be revealed.
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading not only the book, but these notes. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the story and are looking forward to the next installment. If you're in it with me, there's a Hell of a ride ahead of you - and I mean that both figuratively and literally. One of my favorite things about writing is establishing a set of rules and then seeing what I can do within those self-imposed boundaries. So many things in these books have come about by my refusing to alter the rules to suit my short-term desires, and they ended up strengthening the narrative and the integrity of the world itself.
There are so many thoughts I wish I could put down as I read through making these notes, but they would give too much away too soon and ruin your first trip through future works. I plan on writing notes like these for every book in the series if I can, so if you enjoyed the glimpse behind the scenes (and occasionally into the warped workings of my head), there's more to come. By the end of Book 3, you'll be able to come back to this story and see where so many themes and ideas began, and while the story arc is complete at the end of Book 3, it sets the stage for the launch of the sequel trilogy that carries the story forward in a whole new, yet wholly familiar realm.
There are so many thoughts I wish I could put down as I read through making these notes, but they would give too much away too soon and ruin your first trip through future works. I plan on writing notes like these for every book in the series if I can, so if you enjoyed the glimpse behind the scenes (and occasionally into the warped workings of my head), there's more to come. By the end of Book 3, you'll be able to come back to this story and see where so many themes and ideas began, and while the story arc is complete at the end of Book 3, it sets the stage for the launch of the sequel trilogy that carries the story forward in a whole new, yet wholly familiar realm.
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Chapter 29 - Interlude
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