Before I say anything else, I should mention that I came up with a better title for this arc than Space Invaders (which I never liked): this arc is now Hidden Knife. The obvious reference is to Zanzital, but he’s not the only reason the name fits. I like it a lot better; I hope you do too.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the arc. It was a strange one, because I knew who the major players were and what they were looking for … but not exactly how I wanted it to play out. I knew about the Great Library and that it hid a secret that tied into the rest of the story (the Broken Vault is obvious and that entire sequence fills in some of the background I’ve known and not been able to express about the world).

I mentioned that Phorus the Terrorbird would come back up during the last Author’s Commentary … and he already has. Can you tell me where? I don’t think I particularly hid it, but I didn’t actually call it out either.

I’ve been setting up the assault on Stallet Academy since I first introduced Raz …. But it took longer to get here than I expected and it didn’t quite play out the way I thought it would. Basically, when I did the original setup I thought Serenity would be excited … but by the time we got here, he wanted to help Raz but otherwise just wanted to go home.

I’ve also been setting up the Hollow Ones for a long time; the first mention of Life-based undead was … was it back in the first arc? I think it may have been. They didn’t have to be the Viper’s fallback plan - I’d originally intended that to be the summons that Serenity & co wiped off the map by destroying the cores before it really activated - but I changed my mind when I realized this was the perfect place to show off something I’d talked about but never shown. The fact that it also showed just how much the Viper cared about “his” people was a plus; he had the cognomen Viper for a reason.

On a more detailed note, this definitely felt like first draft material to me; realistically, that’s all it is but it felt like it showed in this arc (and not just in the level of typos). There are some revisions I want to do to smooth things out a little and make the ending a little more expected - basically, introduce Cymryn earlier as someone other than “Lord C” in the Viper’s papers. I’m sure I’ll find other things when I go back over it … eventually.

I enjoyed the planning for the Layered Dungeon more than I think it ended up being worth plot-wise, but … it was fun to plan out, so it served its purpose. Its true purpose was to introduce the Silver Blades and lead Serenity to Zanzital, after all, and it did that. Because I can, here’s my initial set of notes on the dungeon layout itself:

1 - Swamp (quicksand, sticky mud)

2 - Desert

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

3 - Tidal Wave Extravaganza (beach)

4 - Blizzard

5 - Volcano (w/lava), Floating Embers

6 - Lightning Storm, Shocking Field

7 - Blinded By the Light

8 - Windy Pitfall

9 - Death Zone

The next arc is tentatively titled Deep Blue Sea. There are several reasons for the title; one will become obvious after we’re back on Earth and some events happen. Another is a reference to the saying “caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” - meaning a dilemma, generally one where you’re choosing between two bad choices. In this case, the choices are not necessarily bad, but Serenity IS going to have to choose which major plot thread to follow first. At least, if things go the way I think they will.

Anyway, we’re back on Earth. You saw the snippets of Russ and Lex I added to this arc; those are the two threads I’m referring to. Russ has finally finished up with the Solomon vases, while Lex has found (but not yet been able to reach) the structure he thinks is the Well of Souls. Each of them is about to find out that things aren’t quite as simple as they thought.

Now, on a larger note, let’s talk about the future of the series. I am currently expecting two more arcs in Serenity’s story - Deep Blue Sea and the one after it. I wouldn’t be too shocked if it stretches to three; I doubt I can fit it all in Deep Blue Sea. There’s just too much left.

I’ve started the rough story setup (not plotting yet) for the series I’ll be writing after Serenity is over. So … even when this story ends, there will be another. At the moment, it’s looking to be somewhat less overpowered and more crunchy (though, uh, I seem to have a tendency to drift away from crunch…). I’m hoping to keep a more constant main cast, but I’ve clearly discovered in the course of Serenity that I’m bad at that. It’s something to strive for. I don’t plan to do anything more than rough edges until Serenity is much closer to done, but I wanted to let you know where I stand.

It’s set in the same multiverse and the current plan is to have the main character be Serenity’s daughter (probably not Jenna, a later daughter). We’ll see how much of that survives to the final story.

I do plan to do a full edit (less than a rewrite … most places) on Serenity while I write the next story. This will mean a slower release pace for the sequel but also a rerelease of Serenity.

Not that those plans will happen soon. We still have (probably!) two more arcs to go!

See you in the Deep Blue Sea!

~Lillene