The Road to the End

...the 3rd and final arc in the "Barbarians of the Storm" saga begins

I am here; I have arrived at the end!

Granted, the end isn’t one book, it is at least three more books but could be four or five. It all depends on what happens with the next big story and how it pans out. Let me explain.

The next big saga book (the numbered ones) starts with Fenrik returning home (after the events of Devil Killer Fenrik). His return comes with a significant time jump on his home world. That being said, I have been trying to figure out the best way to show what has happened to the other core characters over that long stretch of time where Fenrik wasn’t a part of their story during the course of major catastrophe.

I wasn’t sure if I should start the final arc of books with a saga book and then just fill-in the events through flashbacks and dialogue. I was also wrestling with whether I should do an anthology to cover this stretch of time. I also had two different Side Quest books I wanted to fit in before the big saga was all said and done. But, I think I have the solution to all these issues even if that’s not completely ironed out.

The new Side Quest books like the previous two are tied to the main saga’s story. One book was to feature Erzulyn on a solo adventure that sees her take on a massive coven of witches on a faraway world. The other was to feature Vasilia along with her mount Cimmoarid, as they seek to eliminate the one threat that could nullify their power and potentially kill them, the daughter of the Nekroking.

It kind of dawned on me that it would be a lot cooler if I combined these ideas into one story and actually teamed up Erzulyn and Vasilia, which I think is really interesting based off of their very rocky history and the recent respect they have gained for one another. Also, teaming up the villains of both of these ideas just fits really damn well. Especially, with some of the added ideas that have come to me from this development.

Now there is the issue of the other characters and what happens to them over a seven year gap. In a nutshell, their world has been conquered and the surviving heroes have been driven into hiding. My idea for this was to tell different characters’ stories in the form of an anthology. But it is possible that I could combine this into one book with the other story as well. It just depends on how long that Erzulyn/Vasilia story is. Honestly, I don’t think I will know until I write it. But this is ideally want I want to do.

To clarify, I want the Erzulyn/Vasilia story to be the main event of an anthology, which would be the next book and feature the other, shorter tales. However, if it ends up being longer than 150 pages, I may have to do it as a Side Quest with one add-on short story (per usual) and then do an anthology of the other stories after it. So, while this isn’t totally ironed out yet, this is where I am at, right now.

The Erzulyn/Vasilia story is the next one I am going to write, while also mapping out and planning the other tales. But until I am close to being done with it, I do not know what the next book’s format will be, specifically. Also, I’d like to shoot to have this out by the start of the new year.