Twenty years...at least.

Twenty years of re-works, re-structuring, re-visions and re-writes. That's how long I've worked on this story; on this world. Twenty years' worth of my heart and soul. Disappointment at not being accepted by a traditional agent for representation to a publisher. The inability to find help along the path. Uncertainty as to the worth of my work. And it's all gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday I was inadvertently "tuning out" my teacher in my high school math class and drawing up my initial designs for Drågoons in my imagination (and doing poorly in her class because of it).

And now, finally, here I am. After publishing bits and pieces of my work on this platform over the years, I've made the difficult decision of going all in; deciding that Royal Road is probably the best place for me until I can afford to officially release this novel on the scale that I want.

There has to be purpose to this. A reason this story is pressing so hard against my head and begging to get out; outside of a deep seeded desire to bring to life an African-American driven vision of a high-fantasy. I want to showcase that we as a people are more than writers of ethnic erotica and gang dramas when it comes to portraying all-Black worlds and societies. To remind the masses that through our pens flows the souls of writers the likes of Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Zora Neale Hurston, Alex Haley and Octavia Butler.

Not that I consider myself to be anywhere near their legendary artistic levels...but it's nice to dream. And it's a dream I'm determined to get in print and to the shelf one way or another.

We have become one of the most forgotten, overlooked and tragically underwritten, people in popular fictional literature. Too little do we see ourselves represented in the cyberpunk, steampunk and fantasy genres. This is something I can no longer support; something I can no longer abide. And I'd be doing myself and my people a disservice by not doing my part to help move us forward.

So, moving on from my soap box...

I would like to say thank you to my wife, Kim, for embracing this dream of mine as fervently as I do and for both supporting me when I'd ask her to review entire chapters and for putting up with me on the days when inspiration would hit and I'd find myself writing for hours on end overlooking our quality time. Thank you for your suggestions, input, ideas and revisions. This first book wouldn't be nearly as good as it is without your touch. It's appreciated my love. My Kitten.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Thank you to all of the people who have impacted my life in such a way that it inspired and breathed life into entire characters within this fantasy world. If you know me, and you find yourself wondering if you were one of these people, just keep reading and you'll know. And hopefully, you'll see a bit of yourselves in these characters.

Thank you to everyone who ever spoke a word of encouragement to me as well as those who spoke ill of my desires. All of you drove me to this point in one way or another. And I thank the Goddess for all of you. It is because of you that I'm here.

Thank you Willie and Christine, my father and mother respectively. Thank you for not discouraging my passion for writing; even when you didn't quite understand it. It's always been a great joy of mine. And I am thankful that I've been able to allow it to flourish.

Most importantly, thank you, dear reader. It's through you that my dreams are reaching their heights and without you, they simply would not be more than that...just dreams. Thank you for your interest. Thank you for your time. And should you find yourself enjoying my work and are moved to comment, thank you for your love.

And finally, I'd like to thank my unknown muse. I have always felt that my writing was elementary, childish and pedestrian. But I was once told that "If you love something enough to put it on the page, someone will love it enough to read it.". And while I no longer remember who told me that, those words have lived in my mind rent free for years and have driven me to this point. To whoever you were, I may no longer recall your face, but your words will forever motivate me until the day I fully complete this 5 book project.

Now, without further ado, welcome one and all to the world of Mundus.

ADDENDUM: If you have any questions as to the way a word or name may be pronounced, what something means, what the general layout of something is or what the "key" is to a phrase that's written in another language that you'd like to have translated, these things can likely be found in the glossary or the two appendices at the end of the novel. I've added these for the betterment of your reading experience. They aren't all encompassing as I'm leaving more detailed information for the official publication of my work.

However, that being said, if you have any questions beyond that, PLEASE feel free to ask them at any point in your reading. I will endeavor to answer as many as I can.

Also, I apologize for the visual quality of the pictures/scans in the appendices. Image compression on Royal Road can be absolutely atrocious at times. And, if there seems to be any missing passages or words in the manuscript, or words that have been blended together, please feel free to leave a comment. Royal Road also seems to get touchy when you paste large word counts into the system.

Lastly, if you genuinely enjoy what I'm doing here (or even if you don't), PLEASE leave me a star rating and maybe a small comment. Positive or...slightly less positive, it all means more than you may realize.