Stellar

This may be true! I have a tendency to feel very frustrated with the more wordy drier parts of the plot, because political machinations don't tend to be exciting/interesting for as many people. It's still important though, so swallowing my author's bias is all that's required to get past it. Well, usually? Hah! Kenji is very much a 'glass half full' kind of person. He'd like to think that things are going to work out, even though his instincts are yelling out 'there's something very weird about all this!' Will he find out what that weirdness is before something very very dramatic happens? I wish it could fight politics. If quantum mechanics could also solve human psychological malaise, then it really would be the 'breath of God', so to speak. "Come forth, yonder bureaucrats, and be cured!" .. ? Thank you!

Thank you. I think it serves somewhat as a chronological reference point for other events, maybe as a contextual binding of information. The principal story arcs are coming into relative focus in terms of time. Now it's just location!

It is worth mentioning that my intended Veil of Shadow average chapter wordcount is above 8500 words. Hidden Sunlight hit nearly 9k per chapter, though that was heavily influenced by the word-heavy last few chapters. At any rate, I'm glad you liked it! I enjoy exposition, but this chapter for me fell into the "necessary but unsatisfying" category as a writer. 10 should be exciting.

Before I forget: Chapter 9 is here.

The initial communication from Kenji regarding the Stuttgart mission had been surprising. Konstantin had not expected the Brotherhood to recover the mission objective so soon. The list of potential targets was extrapolated from certain clues in the stolen Tanami cache, and successfully narrowed to the nine most probable locations. Four were in Europe, two in Asia, two in North America and one in Africa. The Stuttgart campus wasn't even the highest probability out of the European theatre's four o

Happy birthday Mann!

Happy Birthday Billy!

Oh, thank you everyone! Your kind wishes are appreciated.

You said that the last chapter too: "I'll write a proper review next chapter!" It's just as well I like you so much or there would be words right now I jest though. I'm glad you enjoyed it. There is plenty to come!

Thank you! Crafting the exact steps of the action sequences took a decent amount of time, so I am happy it turned out well. Shay will have learned plenty, when he has a chance to process it. Though the audience will have learned even more, given what they know of events takings place in other parts of the plot too. As for the arbiter's smell? I would imagine it doesn't have a particularly strong odour of anything much. If there was any scent it would likely be a very sense-heavy edginess, like the metallic tang of blood or the sharpness of electricity as a smell. The impact of the arbiter as a creature is mostly through sight - how it appears (or doesn't appear, as the case sometimes is) - and also through the aura is projects. Both Rashid and Ayize did extremely well to not simply run away at the size of it; it has a powerful mental effect on those who aren't conditioned to withstand such things.

Thank you! I am so glad you are enjoying it so much. That is the most gratifying part of writing; hearing genuine appreciation for it. Ah, but the problem for Yugan will be in getting to the same place Shay is, or finding a (literal) middle ground. Finding one another within this will not be easy.

Oops! Forgot to add this post in here. Chapter 8 is ready! Elia and Nyx are back! Plus, action on all fronts.

Using the barrel of his TMP, Ayize crouched, nudging the wreckage scattered across the control room floor of the Berchande research facility. It wasn't clear to him exactly how Shay Andersen had done this, but what was abundantly obvious was that his ability, whatever it was, had to be potent. Like Mira's cell at Tanami, Shay had been locked in a similar sterile cube, but here, the boy had destroyed the majority of the wall adjoining the observation deck during his escape. The metal and syntheti

congratulations!

You know, I hardly ever review on here - probably something I need to do more of actually - but this is one of like the tiny handful of stories I actually follow. You've still got a way with evoking emotions even so long after I first started reading you, and I really admire that. Anyhow, thank you for updating this! I am SO glad that you made Kevin self-aware enough to realise his mistakes - albeit with some help from Rory - and that Rory was mature enough to recognise this for what it was: a case of peer-pressure gone wrong in the worst sort of way. I love what you're doing with the underlying message of this story, and I'm just happy it didn't take multiple chapters and these two splitting into heartbroken teenage lovebirds to come to this point. Tension and conflict may drive drama in so many ways, but the best parts of your writing are the happy parts - to me at least. I know it can't always go that way, but dammit, I want their future to be fucking happy! Simply because I want to see the other two boys watch every single minute of Kevin and Rory's bliss and to see how wrong they were. Nothing teaches like first-hand experience, right? Big hug! I need to say hello more often. -Hamish.

It's okay. Review at your leisure, the text isn't going anywhere Nyx and Elia will get some more attention soon. Chapters 5 and 6 were, by necessity, focused on the main pair. They will return again in 8, as the narrative begins to spread again to visit everything. While 7 didn't have much in the way of action, the plot did move forward in a number of more abstract ways. Information! Everyone got a bit of a push in various directions; Konstantin, Yugan and even Shay and Ayize, though they are still regrouping. None of the learned knowledge is meant to overshadow or seem incidental; this is the universe in which these characters found themselves and it was this way long before they discovered any truth about it. We did talk about it a little! With regard to the depth of my intended plotlines, it wasn't quite so detailed as it is now back when I was writing Hidden Sunlight. The larger story and my intentions for Veil of Shadow were beginning to crystalise much more during the latter phases of the first book, but the more intricate happenings remained indistinct until I got into the preplanning and writing. I almost think of it like some large structure approached from a distance. A mountain perhaps? Each step towards it gives a better idea idea of the scale, and the closer you get the individuals faces, gullies, ridges and formations, become more pronounced. These are the story arcs, chapters, scenes, even paragraphs. The closer I get, the further up I climb - the better I see it and can paint it!

Thank you so much! Your kind words made my day Whilst probably not material that any professor would find suitable, I am very curious as to what field you study that could use my humble scribblings for such material. English literature or similar? The next chapter is now under production. I am going to make a concerted effort to not have it take as long as 7 did.

happy birthday Thorn!

I can assure you that by the story's eventual end (and no, I am not going to say how far off that is) you will have all your questions answered to satisfaction. I am trying to be balanced with how the reveal happens, though I know how agonising and slow it must appear to readers and I am sorry for that. Though, I am glad you find the forum information useful. It does certainly seem that the Mishith had a role in events that took place on Lucere a long time ago. Now it is a matter of reconciling this knowledge with what the reader knows of Mishith history that has been learned through Mikom's wisdom; specifically the Tale of Sundering. Though the kitten was established as being a connective element at the end of Chapter 4, I didn't directly describe the act of possession, so you got to see that here. As well as from Shay's perspective in Chapter 5 -- which is further forward chronologically than Yugan's current story arc, so do bear that in mind. Those events, as far as Yugan is concerned, have not happened yet. Yes, Earth is very much a mess! Konstantin, Lucas and their compatriots don't have an easy task in tackling the MFM to change anything, but they do have a few aces up their sleeves. It's just all a matter of strategic maneuvering. Thanks for reading! There's plenty more to come.

While there isn't much action here compared with the last 2-3 chapters, the plot has undoubtedly moved along in terms of reader understanding. There are plenty of reasons given for all kinds of things; simultaneously the network of past events and how they connect has been expanded, and hints of foreshadowing to the future given. Thank you. You know how to find me.

Aww, don't put yourself down! The plot has a lot of complexity. It's no surprise to me when people don't pick everything up straight away.

Thank you! I appreciate your comments The parallels to the corrupt inefficiency of our own contemporary democracies isn't an incidental theme. It isn't meant as a direct analogue, but there are definite shades of that. If anything I'd hope it serves as a commentary on the dangers of extremism in any form, and the problems inherent with maintaining a stable democracy in the face of human nature.

Thank you! I'm so glad you are enjoying it.

Chapter 7 is here. Konstantin and Yugan are back on stage. Some history is also revealed.

Departing Yangon was a thoroughly different experience than arriving. With Thessaloniki's insistence that Ayize not take Konstantin on the rescue attempt to Australia, the Russian was changing course once again. There was very little explanation as they made their way to the officer's hotel in the nearby neighbourhood. Before leaving the warehouse, Thessaloniki and Ayize had traded secure contact details; both promised to be in contact when there was further information to be communicated. Regar