Heya everyone. Sorry for the hiatus, I got hit by a double whammy of real life responsibilities and writing fatigue. In short, this is the announcement.

I am not going to continue writing this version of the story. Now, before you grab your pitchforks, let me explain. I am - was - a first-time writer and when I got the idea for this story I basically just sat down and started writing it. I didn't outline much of it, heck, I didn't even know what I wanted it to be for most of the time. And so, I wrote, and the writing reflected my current mood of grimdark and grimdarker. I was not satisfied with how it turned out and the longer the series went on, the more I became aware of the blatant mistakes that alienated a large part of the people I would have liked to reach. I would like to have writing be my full-time job at some point, but I also need to actually git gud at the basics of storytelling to deliver any consistent level of enjoyment.

In addition, I was going through some rough times at university. Anxiety about future employment prospects is an on and off thing with majoring in History. Having to write A lonely Spiral for another 2 years or so (expected end size would have been around 200-300 chapters) didn't seem worth it at the time, and so I stopped around this time last year. I continued posting my backlog (as I tend to make quite big ones), but in the end I decided that it was a better investment of my time and you as my readers' to start with something new.

Except I didn't. You see, I am a sneaky fellow. I have been sharpening my mind, honing the skill of both a historian and a story smith over the past year. After identifying the mistakes I made for this story (I.e. poor pacing, little to no payoffs, constant angst and grimdark, not planning at least rough outlines for arcs), I realized that while I did do a lot poorly, there were good things as well. The setting itself was interesting, though I now understand that making a world of complete darkness and following through on the implications for the worldbuilding was a tad too much for a young writer me.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I went back to the roots, cut away the fat and lo and behold I found out what I wanted to write. It was a story in a world like dark souls, with loot and epic battles, interesting worldbuilding and unexpected twists, all spiced with a bit of humor that hopefully doesn't just make me laugh.

This all I have been trying to turn into a story since the end of last year. Now, armed with the knowledge of eons and a backlog as big as the answer to all things, I have returned.

This is the rewrite of A lonely Spiral, dubbed Our little Dark age (Link in the author notes). It is not just a normal rewrite, but a reimagining of the entire idea. It takes the guts of my first story and turns it into something new yet familiar, something vibrant, something that is hopefully readable and will make at least one person chuckle. The omnipresent darkness is gone (A fitting allegory for my change in style, though in a worldbuilding sense the idea requires some exploring further down the line), the idea of an uncertain world explored through two lost souls who are familiar two different parts of it.

I'll update it weekly for about a month starting today and if you enjoyed this story, well, then maybe hop over and check out the first chapter or three. Really, I would love to hear your opinions on it. But yeah, that's the announcement. A lonely Spiral ends here, but I hope to see some of you in Our little Dark age.

To all my readers who kept me followed, to all those who left a comment or any other mote of interaction, I give you my heartfelt thanks. I don't know if I could have looked upon my first work with an unbiased gaze were it not for you.