Yesterday, April 27, at about 11:01 PM, I wrote the following words:

And then, as his mind began to collapse inward upon itself, he thought he could see something far, far in the distance. A tall, black figure approached, and as Brandyé gave in to madness and death, it spoke.

Ironically, they don’t seem all that special to me anymore, although perhaps that’s the exhaustion speaking: these words are the last of the book The Redemption of Erâth: Exile.

What do you think for closing words?

This book was a grueling process, having started in January 2013 and surviving a devastating depression during the winter, but it’s now finally, finally done. Or at least, the first draft is (argh!). Whereas The Redemption of Erâth: Consolation was written in a period of about six months, Exile has taken almost a year and a half. Part of this is that it’s longer; with 6,000-word chapters I just couldn’t keep to the commitment of writing a chapter a week as I had done with the first book. The grand total?

• 25 chapters
• 476 pages
• 143,900 words
• 3 fictional languages
• several dozen named characters
• 1 nearly-broken mind

I had a goal of 5,000 words per chapter, and the vast majority eclipse that greatly, with the longest clocking in at 6,863 words. I didn’t intend for it to grow so much – it kind of just happened. It might pose a publishing difficulty; currently my publisher wants The Redemption of Erâth: Consolation to be under 100,000 words; I don’t see how I could possibly cut ⅓ of the entire manuscript for Exile.

In any case, the book is finished for now, and I’m going to be taking a bit of a rest from writing, I think. I will be posting the final chapter momentarily, and if you’d like a brief synopsis, see below.

Thank you all, for your support!

Satis 2014

~

The Redemption of Erâth: Exile

Brandyé finds himself wandering the desolate lands by the black sea, cast out from his home land of Consolation and forbidden to ever return. Haunted by the ghosts of the past, he is at first delighted to discover that there are folk who live out in the wilderness beyond Consolation – until he becomes their slave. For several years he labors under the harsh lordship of the Cosari, finally finding a home with a kinder master.

Before long, the warlike Cosari take Brandyé on a raid of the shore land, where a terrible storm and dreadful events cast him alone upon the shore. Seizing the opportunity, he sets out into the unknown forests – only to find unexpected company, and long-lost friends. Overjoyed to be reunited with his childhood friend, Elven, the two friends set out on a journey through the woods of the Trestaé Mountains, to uncertain destinations.

Along the way they encounter danger and disaster, and are rescued from a fate worse than death by one of the most mysterious forces Brandyé has ever encountered: the Illuèn. A race of Light, they hold a special power over Darkness, a force of Erâth that has been plaguing Brandyé since his childhood. Together with the guidance of one of the ancient race, Elỳn, the two friends set out to discover the kingdom of Erârün: one of the last true kingdoms in the world of Erâth.

They soon find themselves in the ancient and vast city if Vira Weitor, where Brandyé enlists in the army at Elỳn’s behest. This duty takes him to the far northern outskirts of the kingdom, where the Grim Watch patrol their borders and keep the forces of Darkness at bay. During a vicious and unprecedented attack, Brandyé flees with the local villagers, finding his way into the mountains of the Reinkrag, and from their to the mountain-dwelling Hochträe – the last men of light in Erâth. He learns of enlightenment and the denouncement of Darkness, but can he find it in his soul to let go of his past? Unable to rest, he sets forth once more, into the cold and eternal snows of the Reinkrag…