Cynus

I'm nearly 100% positive that I neglected to mention later in this book that Lord Hount is a descendant of Yatha... The whole "raising those horses" thing is why he's such a good cavalry man. I apologize for the random tangent, heh. I love your assessment here, and I really appreciate the way that you dissected it. This is, once again, the exact feeling I was going for and I'm grateful to see it spelled out like this. Thank you.

I have often wondered about the different courses I could've taken in my life, and by that I mean my mortal one, not this life amongst the Chosen. I was born to power and influence, and in my youth I did my best to use those gifts wisely. My father was a good man, and though I knew her for a shorter time, my mother was good also. They raised me to care about the people in Ultaka, and those outside as well. This led me to become the leader of my people in a time of crisis, when all other lead

Perhaps among all the Chosen, I am the one who feels the most out of place. When my life began in a port town in Incaria, I believed that I would become a fisherman like my father, and his father before him. Or, if I lacked success, perhaps I would have become a fur trader like my mother's family. I had three successful uncles who sold pelts to the Gor in the Braeg, and the ports to the north, and it would not have been a bad life. And yet fate had a different idea in mind for me. When my fa

I loved writing this chapter. I was intending to do something with Yatha since I first introduced her, but this chapter surprised me and that's my favorite thing as a writer. I think she quite literally is responsible for saving Grim's life, because she did what Veil could not; she was the Fedain who could relate to Grim on all levels. I agree with your perspective on the hypocrisy. That sentiment was exactly what I was hoping for. Maybe Grim just showed no surprise because he didn't want to give Naxthul the satisfaction? (Or it might be oversight on my part. Or maybe something happens later? Time will tell.)

I'm glad I was there for you. I hop the rest of your trip has improved somewhat, and that you've found some opportunity to get away from the elements that cause you the most issues. Grim can also heal a sunburn, if needed.

Grimfaeth asked me to carve these words into the stone, though that is not Elrok custom. We believe in teaching our lessons directly, but I understand his fear. What if there is no one to teach? What if the lessons do not continue? While I believe the Elrok people will continue as long as the mountains, even mountains erode with time, and all their greatness fades along with the memory of their existence. One may find ripples of great oceans on the desert dunes and the bones of great whales

My mouth tastes like fireworks The heat and the smoke of the fuse Held in my hand like a dumb six-year-old Allowed to light it for the first time My mouth tastes like fireworks The scent is strong as skunk, But I breathe it in, The scent of explosions Of light, and of childlike wonder I taste nostalgia, and all I want is a longer childhood Is that too much to ask? My mouth tastes like fireworks I'm lost in the sea of sensation, Overwhelmed by t

We thought we knew what was best. That was not a defense, and it should not be taken as such. We thought we knew what was best, and so we entrapped ourselves in our hubris. We failed to realize the ways in which our choices were repeating the echoes of past mistakes. It is folly to assume without remaining open to contrary evidence. When Veil and I decided to guide the world, we doomed it to a lack of onus for its own fate. I made the decision to prevent technology from reaching a point wher

Ooo... A Murderous Magician, eh? I hope I can pull this off! Also, question... if I write the first one but have an idea for a different monster as well, could I write both?

Veil existed before Grim did in my notes, but I think I named them at about the same time. Grim was a surprise character, and he didn't exist even in concept until "Shadow Honor" chapter 3 was written, but it changed the entire course of the story. I agree with your call for patience and to create positive impacts. May we all indeed.

I don't know, the power to communicate has been pretty earthshaking in the past. I LOVED redeeming Odiran a bit. He grew on me a lot over book 4, and it was fun to do some different things with him here. I promise you won't have to wait too long for the final battle. There are only 20 chapters in this book, and it's the last one. We'll be there before the end of Autumn.

I never knew the man who first named me. Whoever he was, it's lost to history now. My mother carried that secret to her grave, and the man who raised me until adolescence gave me a different name altogether. Names are strange things, and the weight we give to them is almost as important as the weight we give to anything else. The name I use now was given to me by a man who understood reality in a way I have yet to master. He looked at two boys standing in the sun, powdered paint and liquid s

Thank you! That means the series will round off nicely at 120 chapters. I didn't even know that!

The best kind of freaking crap.

Now that we've arrived at book 5, I will tell you a little secret. Every book title was meant to describe at least two people in each book. One of those was always Grim. I think the "tragic genius" moniker might apply to his connection to Odiran here. But we'll see what happens. :-)

Oh, believe me, I knew it was going to be confusing. As soon as I decided to do it this way, I was certain it would cause problems, but I did it anyway (I mean, clearly LOL). What happened was this: when I first finished "Shadow Honor" back in 2014 (it is actually my third novel I ever wrote, and I started it immediately after "Navigator") I was planning on doing two separate trilogies, with one following Styx and his timeline, and the other following Prism and Grim in the past. Every time I attempted to do it that way, my muse wouldn't listen, and fought me the whole time. However, when I decided to go with "Clouded Purity", I wrote it almost effortlessly. Sometimes the muse wants what it wants, and all you can do is placate it. I know I lost readers because of the format, but it is what it is. And I'm sure you already know the answer to your other question by now, heh.

And now we come full circle to the first book. Prism's introduction, and Prism's imprisonment have been connected. What will happen now, as the cycle resumes its course? Stay tuned; I don't believe you'll be disappointed. :-)

Book 5 and final book in "The Trial", the series which begins with "Shadow Honor". The threads of eight hundred years weave together to form the tapestry, revealing the last secrets and the big picture all at once. Who will be the next guardian of the world, and what will the world endure before that occurs?

What is the price we pay for the future? It is a sacrifice of the present, built upon the hard lessons of the past. In order to create what can be, we must sacrifice what is. This is true in all aspects of our lives, even if what we create incorporates that which was into its new self. Such is the nature of life and its forces. What we consume is integrated into us and propels us forward. I do not know if anyone will ever read these words. I'm not even certain why I'm writing them. Perhaps i

Thank you! I appreciate this a great deal.

Thank you! I wasn't aware there was a posting issue. I'll look into it and see what I can figure out.

These words warm my heart. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. This was one of my favorites to write in the series (Although the bulk of book 5 was really fun to write, so you better be prepared). The 'things not as they seem' trope is probably my favorite to employ, especially in conjunction with difficult to read enemies. I'm going to do a large Q&A at the end of the series for anyone who'd like to participate. I think I might prepare a few things in advance for things like the simplicity of the gate and how it was opened/closed, because those are things I don't think I completely covered in the book but I knew mechanically how they functioned the entire time I was writing them.

Ghayle would indeed fulfill Naxthul's current role should such need arise again. As for her history, what little I've told you so far in the story will be the majority of what you get to know about her (Although, if there is sufficient expressed interest, I may take a crack at her story sometime). Tagren was a simple fisherman who fell in love with the Gor maiden who lived upstream from his village. They were young lovers when their Cataclysm/Trial occurred and were forced to fight demons until rising to the point where Ghayle became chosen to replace Naxthul, with Tagren as her First.

Neredos hoped this would finally be the end. The madness had been getting worse of late, and still Veil had not been able to find some way around it. She could not heal him, that much seemed certain now. He wanted to see the last of the demons before the madness claimed him entirely. He'd given so much to this war, and yet it had dragged on. After returning from closing the gate, they found that the demons had continued their assaults. There were still many thousands of them left, and they

Detachment was the only way Veil survived her battle with the demons. They came, again and again, scrambling up the mountain path after Neredos and Revash. Only she and Prism stood in their way, and if Veil had tried to keep her thoughts fully engaged, she would've run for cover and never looked back. Instead, she let go of her mind, relying purely on instinct. She did not move like a warrior, or with the fluid grace of a dancer, but her body still remembered how to move in a tense situation