It took a minute, but the first part of Origins has concluded. Don't worry, though. There is plenty more where that came from. While planning out the idea for the Paladin reboot, I knew the biggest and most difficult changes would take place in Sarah's backstory.
When I first thought up the basic idea of Paladin, I got heavily inspired by media like Arrow and John Wick over time. So I came in wanting to effectively make my own action movie-esque story and hero while simultaneously wanting to experiment with writing from a darker path. And I'm glad I got that out of the system to what I have now.
Because the original outing of this was more unadulterated edge with a side of trying to write topics I know I can't handle but trying anyway. I had always wanted to have Sarah's past feel like an odyssey, a long journey of many tales that breaks and transforms her repeatedly to the woman we see in the present story. An adventure so big it would serve as a ripple for future physical and emotional conflict. I definitely think that's something I can do better now.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
The biggest problem from before, though, as I had restricted each part of her origins to one chapter of around 2k words, which barely manages to give off the intended effect I want, especially in the first two parts, which are probably the most important. Sarah and Jasmine were barely characters then, and Asad's prototype was a mustache twirler and one-dimensional douche.
That is why I'm glad I decided to restructure him from the jump into Asad and the Caracals. Being their own thing instead of part of a large, established real-world group was honestly my smartest decision. Especially when I started to see the parallels, I could now make between their actions and Sarah's unique fighting style (the one you'll see better in future chapters). Plus, letting them be smaller makes them a much more grounded threat to Sarah than the wider organization I had them be part of initially.
Rambling aside, though, with the groundwork done, I do intend to make sure each one of Sarah's origins chapters will feel more like complete stories while at the same time making them far more cohesive than they ever were before. Nevertheless, I'm curious to see how these chapters change your view on Sarah. But in the meantime, let's look to the present, as I finally shine the spotlight on one of the best characters I've ever written: James! Till then, have a nice day.
od.