One of my favorite parts of writing a long series is tying everything together later on, and the Sword of Dragons is no exception! I get this incredible feeling of elation when I start to pull on strings from earlier stories and weave them into the complex tapestry of later stories.
In my old fan fiction, Star Trek Dragon, much of the 7th and final season was all about that, and it was by and large my favorite season to write (and also was when STDragon enjoyed its greatest popularity!)
For the next Sword of Dragons novel, Advent Darkness, a lot of what we’ve seen in previous novels, things that might have appeared to have dropped off in importance, come back full-force.
Including characters and events from The Orc War Campaigns.
What Was The Orc War Campaigns?
Back when I started on this crazy self-publishing adventure, I had intended to release books 1 and 2 six months apart.
That didn’t happen.
When I realized I was going to fail to deliver on-time, I wanted to have something to give readers. So, leveraging my experience in rapidly writing episodic short stories from my fan fic days, I conceived of an ‘in-between’ story, something to bridge the narrative gap between books 1 and 2.
I immediately knew that Cardin, Sira, Reis, and Dalin would take a back seat in this story – this was to showcase characters outside of the mainstream tales.
I thought of the sweeping impact of Prince Beredis’s controversial laws that were later rescinded, and thus Amaya was born. I thought of children and teens suffering through war, and thus Zerek was born. And I always wanted to portray the orcs as more than the mindless monsters that Cardin thought they were, and I wanted to introduce their homeworld and their connection to the overall story arch of the Sword of Dragons. Thus, General Arkad was born.
The Orc War Campaigns showcases the first three months of the war mentioned in the beginning of Burning Skies, told through 10 short stories, and within each story, the narrative perspective switches between those three characters. In the first couple episodes, Cardin, Reis, and Dalin ‘guest star’ to kick things off and hand the reigns to the new characters, but otherwise it’s largely in those three newcomers’ hands.
Originally, the stories were posted on a semi-regular basis for free on the internet. However, when I decided to re-brand the Sword of Dragons saga with 2nd editions of books 1 and 2, I also decided to publish the episodes of Orc War Campaigns as an anthology, which can be read or purchased from Amazon.
Which Characters Are Returning in Advent Darkness?
I always intended that at least some of the characters would come back, but only when it made sense. Bringing characters back ‘just because’ wasn’t good enough, they needed to serve an important part in the story.
So it is perhaps easier to say who isn’t coming back – Zerek. A teen miner, turned servant, turned soldier, turned thief, he underwent some of the greatest change and growth in the anthology. Enduring tragedy right in the beginning, Zerek reverted to a more child-like state, until he was able to cope with his trauma. His story was important to show the effects of the conflicts in Sword of Dragon on ordinary citizens, but ultimately, he has no role of importance in the main narrative of Advent Darkness.
The other two primary characters, along with some of the secondary characters, return.
Amaya and her team of Guardians were deployed shortly after Burning Skies on a secret mission, and were not present for the events of Secrets of the Cronal. Not only does this prove fortuitous for her (after all, the Prince threatened to execute her,) but it’s important for other reasons. She, her second in command Elic, and the Wizard Nia all make an appearance in Advent Darkness, with Amaya’s role fairly significant.
General Arkad, the shaman Tana, and Arkad’s second-in-command also return in a very significant role. In fact, you might say the future of all free people depend upon them…
Do I Need to Read The Orc War Campaigns To Understand Advent Darkness?
No, that isn’t necessary.
While I recommend it, readers who have not yet read The Orc War Campaigns will not need to read it to enjoy or understand Advent Darkness. All parts of the anthology that are relevant in the new novel will be summarized, explained, or otherwise referenced to ensure a seamless reading experience. For that matter, Orc War Campaigns was published over 4 years ago. Even those who have read it will probably be glad for reminders of characters and events!
That said, to encourage readers to immerse themselves in these characters and their stories, I’ve set the Kindle eBook version of the Orc War Campaigns to $0.99! Click here to see it on Amazon!
When Will The Cover Reveal for Advent Darkness Happen?
…Soon (TM).
Or better still, When It’s Ready (TM)
All kidding aside, I’m still working on some proofreading and details, which in turn could change the dimensions of the final product. Once that’s all completed (hopefully very soon,) I’ll get the ball rolling on making pre-orders available.
The good news? For the first time ever for a Sword of Dragons novel, pre-orders will be available for both eBook and print, just like it was for the Chronicles of the Sentinels trilogy!
So ‘stay tuned,’ there’s definitely more to come ;)
Thanks for reading!
-Jon Wasik
If any of you went looking for the print editions of my new novels, you may have had difficulties during certain times…Amazon KDP was extremely delayed and kept encountering issues in which the books disappeared from amazon.com and then reappeared later.
A Writer at Heart 
