3/30/20 "Monday Character Spotlight" - Eræn (Part II)
Last week we looked at who Eræn was as a child, pre-storm. This week, in Part II, we're going to look at who he became post-storm—how he became the Ranger. In writing this post, I am going to assume that you have at least read the prologue of Start of the Storm (If you haven't, I highly recommend that you do before continuing to read this post so that you can follow it. There is a free preview of my book at the top of this page that includes the entire prologue.), and as you know, the prologue ends with Eræn's recognition that he is now the Ranger as he opens the Journal to the beginning. The next time we meet him is eight years later, fully grown into his new role. But the question that many of you have expressed is, "What happened in between?" Well, the short answer is a lot...
By no means is it my intent here to fill in everything that happened in the eight years between the prologue and chapter one. In fact, my intent is quite the opposite. I am going to fill you in just enough that your own imagination can take over and create the stories. Perhaps someday I will write a novel the fills in this missing time more fully, but for now we will just talk about the basics.
When the prologue leaves off we are left with that picture of young Eræn turning to the beginning of the Journal for the first of the two read-throughs prescribed by Rodrick, the Ranger who came before him. So it would be fair of us to assume that he did just as he was told and read the book cover to cover—twice—before venturing out of the tower and trying on his new role. But Eræn is a fourteen year old boy who we know (from our last Character Spotlight if from nowhere else) is eager for adventure. And if you've ever known a fourteen year old boy, you are probably aware that sitting still for long periods of time are not foremost amongst their notable skills. I think we could safely posit that even a boy who grew up to be as responsible and cautious as Eræn likely made his fair share of mistakes and foolish decisions before eventually wading his way through both readings of the Journal. Let the speculations of what those mistakes and misadventures looked like begin....
As I leave you to reflect on the possible stories that entails, I will move forward a year or so to a time when Eræn has acquired all of the book knowledge the Journal has to offer and is ready to take his first full tour of the continent of Transcendence. It's likely he has already had some run-ins with his closest neighbors (the Valkyr of the Tundra and the Outland Dwarves of Bræham) but is eager to meet all of the peoples he is now set to protect. I would imagine that this journey likely took a long period of time, and through it Eræn learned just how long the land truly had been without a Ranger. The information in the Journal would have been quite outdated in many areas and some of the shorter-lived races may possibly have never heard of the office of Ranger. Also, during this journey we would get to witness the first meetings between Eræn and many of the characters we know from the main story. Just imagine the first time an eight-years-younger Corguul would have heard Eræn sharing his radical ideas on unity amongst the races...
***WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT!***
Of course, the stories that would have taken place during this eight year period—all the events that shaped Eræn into the confident, competent, overly-serious Ranger we meet in chapter two—are nearly limitless. What is the full story of the forest fire that swept through a portion of Mystwood and what happened when he rescued Charlera that night? Why did he never fully examine the wild rumors coming out of the Gruul Mountains or the Blacksail raiders harrying the orcs' coast? What did he think when he first read of the dragon, Tirgon, sleeping on the tower's roof? Did he rush right up to see for himself? What mishaps may he have had in examining the magykal artifacts stored in the scrying room? or learning to use the equipment in the laboratory? When did he first use the orbs to travel quickly to and from the tower?
And this is where you, the readers, come in. For now, it is your imaginations that will fill in the gap and write these tales. And, if you're so inclined, I hope you will share them here with the rest of us. Please, write your best short stories about some of the events that happened in the eight year gap between the Prologue and Chapter One of Start of the Storm! Post them here in the comments section or email them to me at mccomasma@gmail.com. I will read them all and may feature some of my favorites in future blog posts. As a bonus, anyone who shares a story with me will receive a sneak peak of Trials of Transcendence Volume II!
Happy Writing!
By no means is it my intent here to fill in everything that happened in the eight years between the prologue and chapter one. In fact, my intent is quite the opposite. I am going to fill you in just enough that your own imagination can take over and create the stories. Perhaps someday I will write a novel the fills in this missing time more fully, but for now we will just talk about the basics.
When the prologue leaves off we are left with that picture of young Eræn turning to the beginning of the Journal for the first of the two read-throughs prescribed by Rodrick, the Ranger who came before him. So it would be fair of us to assume that he did just as he was told and read the book cover to cover—twice—before venturing out of the tower and trying on his new role. But Eræn is a fourteen year old boy who we know (from our last Character Spotlight if from nowhere else) is eager for adventure. And if you've ever known a fourteen year old boy, you are probably aware that sitting still for long periods of time are not foremost amongst their notable skills. I think we could safely posit that even a boy who grew up to be as responsible and cautious as Eræn likely made his fair share of mistakes and foolish decisions before eventually wading his way through both readings of the Journal. Let the speculations of what those mistakes and misadventures looked like begin....
As I leave you to reflect on the possible stories that entails, I will move forward a year or so to a time when Eræn has acquired all of the book knowledge the Journal has to offer and is ready to take his first full tour of the continent of Transcendence. It's likely he has already had some run-ins with his closest neighbors (the Valkyr of the Tundra and the Outland Dwarves of Bræham) but is eager to meet all of the peoples he is now set to protect. I would imagine that this journey likely took a long period of time, and through it Eræn learned just how long the land truly had been without a Ranger. The information in the Journal would have been quite outdated in many areas and some of the shorter-lived races may possibly have never heard of the office of Ranger. Also, during this journey we would get to witness the first meetings between Eræn and many of the characters we know from the main story. Just imagine the first time an eight-years-younger Corguul would have heard Eræn sharing his radical ideas on unity amongst the races...
***WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT!***
Of course, the stories that would have taken place during this eight year period—all the events that shaped Eræn into the confident, competent, overly-serious Ranger we meet in chapter two—are nearly limitless. What is the full story of the forest fire that swept through a portion of Mystwood and what happened when he rescued Charlera that night? Why did he never fully examine the wild rumors coming out of the Gruul Mountains or the Blacksail raiders harrying the orcs' coast? What did he think when he first read of the dragon, Tirgon, sleeping on the tower's roof? Did he rush right up to see for himself? What mishaps may he have had in examining the magykal artifacts stored in the scrying room? or learning to use the equipment in the laboratory? When did he first use the orbs to travel quickly to and from the tower?
And this is where you, the readers, come in. For now, it is your imaginations that will fill in the gap and write these tales. And, if you're so inclined, I hope you will share them here with the rest of us. Please, write your best short stories about some of the events that happened in the eight year gap between the Prologue and Chapter One of Start of the Storm! Post them here in the comments section or email them to me at mccomasma@gmail.com. I will read them all and may feature some of my favorites in future blog posts. As a bonus, anyone who shares a story with me will receive a sneak peak of Trials of Transcendence Volume II!
Happy Writing!
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