Ooh--I like the female D'Orc Calendar idea. That would be really sexy. I won't share it with Reggie though...

How about a snow globe of mount doom to commemorate the day 'hell' froze over?

Yes, articles are very simple in English. But most western languages have gender and plural variations. But for me, for some reason Spanish/Italian are much easier to get the article correctly since with a few exceptions you ask does it end with an "a" or an "o"
French screws it up, but then French spelling is a magical art as far as I am concerned.

German seems easier than French but harder than Spanish/Italian. The compounding, which I do like, seems to confuse the issue, but I believe you always use the article of the thing being described, the second word.

What I really wish English had was a neutral pronoun, like hir in Science Fiction English. Although I've read some talk about more people now using a singular form of their to do this. Which seems like a bad idea since now you are mixing singular and plural.

It's kind of funny how written language and in particular printed books, along with more trade "settled" language and slowed down the changes; and given that, one might have thought the Internet and new devices would have done the same; however it's done the opposite.

It's accelerated the change. Not just because of texting, but as more and more cultures come in and intermix with each other you get spill over and growth. Plus, etext is not as "set in stone" as paper text.

Chronicles of Astlan will be side stories that interweave with DoA.

As more people come in, and I want to do more back story or related story with them I will put them in Chronicles.

So it may not be so much as a "series" as a "set" of novels that add or expand on the story. I.e. trying to keep the number of PoV's and that person's history under control. Not completely sure what/how they will go after the first. The second might be a continuation, or a completely different story because the protagonist of Into The Wild moves into the main storyline for the long haul.

It's really about sorting out the story and making it easier to follow. I'm trying to cut back on the PoV switching; or at least not make it worse.

So the first one Into The Wilds takes place over in New Etonia and just south of there in "The Wilds of Eton" as they are called.

It starts a bit before book 1 and will intersect either in late book 3 or book 4 (and honestly it depends on when I get it done relative to book 3)

It will give some more background information on the Holy Etonian Empire which is New Etonia + the conquered lands of Natoor and Najaar.

The Wilds are not technically part of the Empire; as they are just too nasty to be worth the effort. However, the Holy Etonian Emperor Rafaestus Torson III is married (4th and longest living wife) to a daughter of what passes for a "ruling" house or clan in The Wilds, House Narthan. Thus his youngest son, Kristof is also in the patrimonial line of House Narthan.

Kristof is 7th in line for the Holy Etonian throne, and fourth in line to the House of Narthan throne; when the current heir dies at the beginning of ITW, making Kristof third in line. Given that the second in line to the throne is a baby (and House Narthan has a horrible record of keeping heirs alive) there is a good possibility that Kristof might get the throne, or end up being regent; so his maternal grandfather Hugart Lord Narthan wants him to come to the Wilds and learn the family "business" or realm or whatever the heck it is.

And it is complex because of course, it's the wilds and they don't really control the wilds so much as they have a bunch of fortified city states with a network that runs through the swamp allowing them to export goods produced in the swamp. Many of which have great arcane or alchemical value

Technically, to the outside world, Lord Narthan is the lord of a series of city states, the largest one, Narthan Hold, being almost modern (by Imperial Standards).

So what will we see: Humans, Orcs, Goblins, I'iskatha (nasty nasty), swamp dragons, pterosaurs and "The Rangers of Torean" which are sort of like The Rod but for Torean. Torean is a god of exploration and discovery.

The Rangers (and Torean) are also showing up in Book 3.

As I may, or may not have said (I really don't remember what is in what book or on this site at this point) it was the Rangers that scoped out Natoor and Najaar and paved the way for the Rod to conquer the lands and remove the Nyjyr Ennead. (Bess, Phaestus, Sekhmet, etc)

Thanks

Yes, going to have to have a clear reader guide/timeline chart for people so that they know what to read when.

Ideally, I'd release ITW before DoA; that is, in theory, the plan since it is supposed to be about half the length but I have been having a good sprint with DoA since the start of the year so...we'll see.

They are extremely critical for late comers, particularly when the books or series are published in different order.

E.g. first trilogy takes place late in time, then next trilogy takes before first trilogy, and various independent pop up. You need to know what order to read them in. It's often not publication order, and sometimes, not even chronological. So in that case you need a chronological order and a read order.

For example, Star Wars.

Chronologically:

Episode I, II,III,IV,V,VI,VII,VIII,IX

Historically:

Episode IV,V,VI,I,II,III,VII,VIII,IX

But the CORRECT order to watch them is:

IV,V,VI,VII,VIII,IX (do not watch I,II,III)



There are rumors, that a long long time ago, Jar Jar Binks died and ended up sentenced to the Abyss and quickly offended everyone so bad that he was sent to the deepest, darkest pit in Lillith's dungeon. However, after a few years of attempting to torture him, the dungeon masters and torturers threatened to go on strike and demanded that Lillith reincarnate him and thus kick him out of the Abyss.

Well, the first theory would explain how he ended up in the Abyss.

The second seems more plausible. Actually, in my memories I have edited him out so I don't remember much of him other than the first few scenes.

In other words for my own personal mental well being, I prefer to think of him as a defect in the film roll that some how didn't get fixed in editing. You know like a giant annoying speck on the film; although with audio somehow...

Ok

That is seriously convincing, and without reading ahead I came to the same end conclusion/guess after the drunken master arguments.

His physical feats I had always dismissed as simply his rather amphibious like nature.

His further arguments about mind control make sense. To me, part of the "horror" of the first three was how the hell did Jar Jar ever make it to the senate and get so high up in politics. It made no sense.

However, all of this makes a lot of sense. So much sense that I am now seriously tempted to watch the first three again. Something I have never done. I saw them in theaters and apparently, all joking aside, I mind blocked Jar Jar Binks from my memory. Seeing the example scenes, I remember them all--now--but I didn't before. All of his actions and plot lines were gone from my memory until that post reminded me of them.

It's like I was under the influence of some dark Sith Master to make me not consider any of this and just dismiss him.

However, the big problem is that while Snoke is hideously scarred, I don't see how the two could be anatomically the same person. On the other hand, Palpatine didn't look like his original self by the end of VI.

Cool

Secretly powerful flying octapods?

Where? I meet very few octapods, let alone powerful ones! I gotta meet this guy, maybe he/she will give me a job! Or depending on genital structure, maybe I'll get lucky! You know how long it's been since I've had a date?

Please! Please! introduce me to said octapod!

I wonder if he would believe me if I told him that?

It would be fun.

Of course, as everyone knows the Concordenax looks nothing remotely like Tiernon.

But then, there was a discussion in another topic about how the Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars VI looked nothing like the Emperor Palpatine in Episode I so who knows?

<jiggle> Oh, that would be hilarious! Talarius would likely have a stroke, if he believed anyone about Tiernon being the Demon Father. But I really, really doubt it. Why would the Concordenax hate his own demons so much?

However, I'm pretty sure the Concordenax can shape shift. Every prince and archdemon we've seen so far can shift their shape, so why wouldn't the Demon Father? That's one of the main supports for the "Concordenax as Tom and Rupert's Dad" theory rolling on the forum.

Still, while the Demon Father seems to be "missing", I'm sure he's going to play a large role later on.

Tizzy, you keep mentioning the Concordenax, and we know you're old enough to have met him, so do you have anything to add? <slosh>

On another note, I'm convinced that Tom needs to start pushing a little into the Outer Planes. He needs a beachhead out there, if nothing else. A place to jump from if things go the way I think they will. He needs to start thinking more strategically, rather than tactically. Granted, there hasn't been a lot of time for him to do so, but since T-A-G has said AOD will span a greater time span, hopefully he'll have the time necessary to consolidate and think a little more long term. Whether he wants to actually be a Dark Overlord or not, circumstances are likely going to force his hand. Might as well be a GOOD Dark Overlord, rather than a dead one.

Edited by user Thursday, January 21, 2016 2:30:59 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Clarification