Ebachi Rue

The great Rue empire stretches from the tall Draj mountains in the north, to the edge of the western sea, to the eastern wilds and touches the edges of the vast desert bisecting the continent. Traveling through this, the blood that binds all of the regions and great cities of the empire is the great Rue River. The heart of this river, the city built on the low hills over the dam that controls the irrigation and trade, is Ebachi Rue.

The city was built in the ages past, some say with the help of the gods even before their beautiful city of the Criaad was lost. Surely the dam and its many locks was made with their magic, lost to time. There are no records of a time when the city was not there, but then, after the reign of the first king of the empire, Magnus Re, many records were sealed away for protection against the defiling hands of the common man.

The dam is in a cleft between two hills, and the water behind it is the deepest the lake formed by it gets. Most of the rest of the filled the river valley, with many hills rising up from its waters. The city is both the hills and the lake, with causeways connecting the hills across the shallow waters, and manmade islands anchored in the open expanse.

While the great palace of the king is a beautiful sight, especially with world renowned gardens cultivated by the most recent king, Niren, for his consort, the ambassador Asmara of Kalah Telath, it is not the structure people come to see. That would be the great Temple of Creation, carved out of the stone of the mountain, and it is the crown of the fifteen gods of Creation, as well as the Temple of Fate and Chance.

The most important building in the city is not beautiful, and is often ignored by the people except for during the times of naming the heir to the throne. This is the Vault of the Gods, and it is what gives the city and the king the power over the land.

The Vault was built by Magnus Re during the Mage Wars that devasted the world. He proposed to the gods that they contain their power to only those of the Faith, and rest inside the Vault until they were needed to fight the Phoenix to prevent the end of the world. It can only be opened by the blood of the king, voluntarily given.

The mages devasted the lands after the fall of the Criaad, using magic to bewitch people, destroy, and remake the land. Some say the Great Southern Desert used to be green, but the mages stole that away. The Faith teach that the mages consorted with demons, and if they continued, they would give more power to the Phoenix and help him destroy the world with all their wars.

Who can say if this is true? The old records are hidden, and no one speaks the old languages. Who might discover the truth of the past, and if Magnus Re was less in the favor of the gods, and more of a master manipulator?

When I first started to write my novel, I assumed the story would end up as a trilogy. The characters were petulant, though, and made their own demands on the story. The world kept growing, and their backstories wove into the story in such a way the length kept growing.

After I got some words down on the page, I did some estimation. The first act of the first novel would be about 300-400 pages, with act 2 & 3 of similar length. This would make the novel over 900 pages. Even for epic fantasy, that is quite long. What could I do?

I considered breaking it down into three chunks, but wondered if readers would be upset with ending on a cliffhanger. Researching reader reactions to cliffhangers, I found serials.

I love to read those fat fantasy novels of 1200+ pages. Serials were not a style I would naturally gravitate to, so I had to do the research. They are, basically, a story broken down into smaller chunks, and published on a preset schedule, like weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc. Trying to find a serial to read for an example became problematic. If I just used “serial” as a search term,  I would be given a selection of serial killer novels. Not what I was looking for. If I asked people for recommendations, I kept being given series, not serials. So definitions are needed.

Television is a great example of both serials and series. A series episode should be basically complete, with a beginning, middle, and end, and its own, independent plot. Police procedural shows are great examples. The only time the series does not wrap up the story in one episode would be if you had those words: To Be Continued… While a series might have an overall season arc, each episode is a standalone, and you should be able to sit an watch it without knowing anything else about the characters, plot, or backstory.

A serial is a bit different. Each episode continues to the next, and with television it makes you want to binge-watch. Soap operas are a great example of serials, but so are many of the new shows out on the various platforms. A serial show is more like one very long movie you watch in smaller chunks. An example of a serial in novel format is Lord of the Rings. It is only with all three together that you can count the story complete.

My story fit the pattern of a serial more than a series. I had cliffhangers scattered throughout the story already, and there was never a good spot to say, “this is complete.” The ending is far, far away. I chose to publish as serials, posting a new episode every other week, and then after the season is complete, publishing that for those who prefer to binge all at once. Most likely, people will read the complete seasons more than they will the individual episodes. But, for those who want to be continually fed a bit more over time, the episodes are available. With Kindle Unlimited, it should not cost the reader any extra.

I have my serial set to be six episodes per season, and each major arc will probably be three seasons. Each episode is around 60 pages, and told from the perspective of at least two characters. With each one, the world grows and the plot thickens.

Maybe in the future I will leave a clue at the end of each episode, and anyone who gives me all 6 clues will be given a novella or short story for free. That would be interesting, wouldn’t it?

If you want to check it out, here is the link for Episode 1 of the first Season.

Sunday Sneak Peek Chipmunk

CHAPTER 1

Hazera walked the familiar path from the palace lined with orange trees just now losing their blossoms. The wilted petals were soft under her bare feet, covering the smoothed stones leading to the sacred gardens surrounding the Waters of the Goddess, the lifeblood of the desert oasis city of Kahlah Telath. Usually, she was filled with peace here, but not today. Today she held only grief in her heart.

To continue the story…