Wulfsun laughed and continued his walk to Farah. “I wouldn’t worry about that,” he quipped over his shoulder. “He’ll be too busy coming up with chores for you to pay it much mind.”
The diviner shrugged as watched the giant man. “He’s not wrong.” He shook his head and turned his attention to Devol. “All right, tell the truth this time. Are you all right?”
The swordsman shook his head, pulled Achroma out of the ground, and rested it over his shoulder. “Yes…yes, I am.” He looked at both of his friends gratefully. “Thank you for your help. I couldn’t have handled him on my own.”
“No kidding.” Jazai looked at his burn marks and sighed. “I gotta be all nice about this. I honestly intended to give you an earful about making me leave you behind.”
“You did?” Devol asked. “Jazai, that wasn’t because I thought you couldn’t handle it. Besides, you said yourself you were low on mana.”
“I know, that’s why I’m not all that pissed about it.” He sighed and placed a hand on Asla’s shoulder. “Honestly, we would have been done for if it wasn’t for Asla’s little trick back there.”
“Right,” he agreed when he recalled the form she had taken. “What was that, Asla? Some part of your majestic?”
The wildkin nodded. “It allows me to tap into my more animalistic side if I concentrate and increase the ability by overcharging my anima, and it almost allows me to shapeshift in a way.” She frowned slightly. “Although it has its drawbacks, as you saw. I wasn’t much good in the fight afterward.”
“Trust me. You did your part,” Jazai assured her.
Devol thought about that moment in the fight. “I couldn’t reach my majestic and I couldn’t call it to me. There was nothing I could do.” He smiled at her. “You saved us there, Asla.”
She turned away, a little bashful. “I’m glad I could—” Her eyes widened. “Look!”
The boys turned their gaze to the bushes, where dozens of small, six-petaled red flowers with crimson veins had begun to bloom. Jazai walked closer and touched one. “Are these…”
“Bloodflowers.” Asla nodded. “They are in bloom.”
Devol looked down and realized that more flowers blossomed around them, even through the scorched earth. “They bloom when one person has killed another,” he stated and turned to look at her “That was the story, right?”
She looked at the flowers, then slowly at him with concern in her eyes. “Yes, but that’s only folklore, Devol.”
The wind picked up and petals began to scatter. Jazai stepped away from the bushes. “Some of these are breaking apart.”
They all stood in silence as the petals filled the air. The sun was rising in the east and the dawn light glimmered on some of the ascending petals. “I hope it is more than folklore,” Devol replied and turned to them. “After all, Asla, you said you liked the bloodflowers because they reminded you that beauty could come from even dark moments, right?”
She stared at him for a moment, surprised that he recalled that. Jazai folded his arms and smirked. She looked at the petals and smiled. “That’s right. I do believe that.”
“And I want to believe that too,” Devol replied, shifted his sword, and replaced it in its scabbard. “From now on, it is something I will always remember so I can carry on.”
The Oblivion Trials
The story continues with The Oblivion Trials, coming June 13, 2021.
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Author Notes - Michael Anderle
April 30, 2021
Thank you for not only reading this story but these notes as well.
So, I just got off a story call with an author, and we were discussing the difference between accurate and enjoyable.
(This is for a story that has not come out yet.)
We are in the second book of the series, about twenty-two chapters out of twenty-eight developed. The main protagonist and his two friends are having trouble because the “big guy” is acting pompous and makes all the decisions.
I realized while reading the latest chapters that I’m getting to the point where I’m, like, “You know what? Go ahead and be a @%@!#% and just die already.”
Not the right way to feel about the main character.
So, the author and I jumped on a call to hash it out. She made a good point. Her husband is ex-military, so she is very aware of how it might go with someone who mimics the main character in real life.
Unfortunately, actions that are plausible and highly likely to occur can be annoying to read about.
At least, if you don’t provide enough realization to the main character (read “annoying jerk”) to allow us to emphasize with their decisions. It took us about fifteen minutes to figure out how we could implement the reality of the main character’s actions while not making him a total a##hole at the same time.
The learning moment for me was a realization that what I was feeling was a discussion point related to the story from enjoyment and the publishing side, which is: If it isn’t enjoyable, we are unlikely to sell the next story in the series.
Many authors I’ve met over the years don’t stop to consider the enjoyment aspects of their stories. If a character is a jerk, or is one-dimensional, or kicks dogs (I don’t suggest this), most readers are going to close the book and grab the next one (not that author’s).
As a reader, if I wanted more reality, I could get that without getting lost in a book.
There are whole tropes where the main characters are jerks and sell very well. In romance, there is a trope called “jerk with a heart of gold.” The purpose of the story is the female lead will uncover and allow the heart of gold to shine forth. You can’t very well accomplish a great change if they aren’t a jerk to begin with.
The Empire of Man series by David Weber and John Ringo starts with a
