Cynus

I love it, darling. I often have similar thoughts, and it's what ends up becoming my art, just as you've done here. Welcome to the world of the creators, and thank you for sharing your spirit with us.

Good observations. I think the Shade would look at you being unsure and wonder why you would've ever thought differently of their chaotic home.

Awesome questions! I'll revisit Salidar and Fasha in the future, possibly at the end of the novel. I'm curious how you'll react to the reveals to come.

Kutos' death was difficult for me to write (it's only the second time I'd ever killed a "good guy" character in a story, actually, as this is an older work), but sometimes the impact of things like that help show the darkness these people live in. I needed a clear sign that Styx was in very real danger, that the world he's a part of is cruel and does not show mercy just because someone is good and honorable. As for Maxthane and Styx, there is a bit of hope on the horizon in the midst of that darkness. Maxthane wants to save Syx's life, that alone is something. But you've all already mentioned some possible avenues for Styx to find salvation. Will they work? Or will Styx also succumb to the cruelties of his environment? The next chapter will hold some answers, my friends. It will post on Friday night (MST).

"These are the six pillars we should focus on, based on their location," Fasha explained, pointing out the positions on the map of Pentalus with his finger. He had painstakingly made his way through Pentalus over the past few years, making sure that he knew the location of every single pillar of air, and only now was that knowledge finally coming into play. As much as Maxthane didn't care for his father's assassin, Fasha did have his uses. It had been two weeks since they had freed, then ens

Take all the time you need. The story isn't going anywhere. Welcome back!

Yay! The next chapter will post sometime on Tuesday night, probably. Possibly Wednesday morning, but I usually shoot for Tuesday night (based around MST where I live). Grim is my favorite character in this entire story, and he probably always will be.

Thanks! I actually do this rather regularly. Or did... I haven't done it in a month, but there's this random inspirational poster generator called InspiroBot, and I used it to create a random poster every morning which I had to write a story from. Check it out https://medium.com/@cynus.writer/whispers-on-the-shadow-wind-daily-flash-story-chapter-1-5bb335950307 I'm glad you're enjoying it! I hope you'll enjoy where we go next.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on your perspective) you may be asking that question for awhile. There are at least three sides in this story, possibly as many as five or six depending on how you divide them.

It'll certainly be quite the fight, won't it? Those are excellent questions, and sorry about the cliffhangers... much like Rivers of the Dead, this book wasn't originally intended for web release, but I finally decided it needed to go somewhere. I'm glad. Grim is my favorite. It's good to have friends in common places.

These are great observations, as usual. I think the fight will be an interesting experience for everyone. This is one of my first inhuman combat scenes I've ever written, and I'm excited to see what you guys think. I've since written more, of course, since this is an older story I dusted off the shelf and decided to share, but I hope it measures up to the quality you've come to expect. As for the answers to your questions, only time will tell, of course. But, as always, I'm glad to see you asking them. I hope others will also want to discuss this. I'd love to see people batting theories in the comments back and forth. Thanks for the comment!

Plus, this is Fantasy. Anything goes, right?

Or will they? Muahahaha!

That makes me smile. He's my favorite character.

With Dogo no longer escorting him, Styx found himself being dragged by black-leather-armored men on either side of him. It was the first time Styx had ever been inside the palace, and he knew that it was also likely to be his last. He was being taken to the gladiator pit, one of the most notorious sites in all of The Shade. Escape was no longer an option; no one escaped the pit, though he had heard that on occasion someone was let go if he fared well enough for long enough. Fighters who always w

I like to think that Charlie's comments on the matter were nestled in the back of Caleb's mind and helped him put it all together. Company policy! Hah! I love it! Orpheus grew complacent in his position, and deemed himself untouchable in his arrogance. Good old hubris is right. Maybe Eurydice and Orpheus will have that chance? It's certainly a possibility. I'm back to entertaining the thoughts of a sequel. Hopefully one which won't let you down. They'll go back to where they were when they thought they lost him, wondering where they went wrong and knowing they should've done better. Eventually, anyway. Thanks.

As I said on the previous chapter, I would've structured this differently if it had been written for serialization. Maybe adding this to Ethan's part before and adding the two parts of Caleb and the image of Death together. I'm kind of glad I ended up here reading this today (btw, apologies for not responding to this sooner) I needed to read it now, though. Thank you! I think it has helped!

To be fair, I didn't write this with any intention of posting it on the web. it was supposed to be released exclusively as a whole book, so the cliffhanger wouldn't be an issue, because you'd be able to read straight on through. If I'd been intending to write this for serial release, I would've structured it differently.

Ethan has learned the boundaries of his abilities, and where to step.

Playing his emotions like a bard plays the strings.

It certainly boosts the effectiveness of the pure emotion they need to channel.

And the world could use a little more purging of said hatred.

As do I. I've grown up around religious fundamentalism my whole life, and it's amazing how something supposedly so family-focused destroys so many families.

They're certainly on the right track now, aren't they?

Indeed. LOL. I suppose so! According to the rules, I believe that hate is consumed by Styx as he consumes Lethe, but I could be wrong... Thank you. I find this take on it quite validating, and I'm glad you felt that way. Thank you, my friend! I realize it's been a long time since we had this conversation, but I think it comes down to Orpheus not having all the answers either, despite pretending he does. In a sense, he's an unreliable narrator for the state of the Underworld, because it is as he wishes to to be, since he is the Ruler... but I do like your points nonetheless. I did have two different sequels planned, one following the Underworld and one following the living world, but they would've taken different paths than simply following the characters presented here. This book was more to set the stage than to be book one of the adventures of Caleb and Ethan. Although I do like my boys... It was. There are/were intended sequels, and I also wanted to leave some uncertainty to death. But I understand and respect your opinion.