For those of you reading this note, and have read through what I’ve prepared for Luminaires, there has been a change of plans. I wanted to get the series to this point--an arc ending, because there have been an immense amount of things I've learned from working this story for...well, if I count my early drafts, my entire adult life, on and off.

I put the story on hold. I'm sorry, guys. I don't know how else to say it. I know for some of you guys here since the beginning, that reading this must absolutely suck. I wouldn't blame you for hating me.

For me, it’s the realization that this was my first story. There was a steep learning curve to it, both on RoyalRoad where I started, and as my development as an author. I’m still proud of the work I’ve done on this story, and have kept posting over 180 chapters in the span of a year. The story is almost 600k words, now. And I built a following of eleven hundred people.

But I also made mistakes, along the way. The first volume was rough. I made fixes, but I think there were structural limitations to what I wrote that limited the appeal to a larger audience. I could certainly do better, now, given my recent success with Newly Broke Heroine, which made it to Rising Stars top ten for a brief period of time. That to me, is a massive accomplishment.

Unfortunately, I think only a few people actively tune in to Luminaires. The numbers show it, only a third of people tune in for a chapter, compared to Heroine, even with the same follow count. It's...really bad. For those few faithful who made it this far, You guys deserve a good ending to the series (and there is plenty I have outlined, but not completed). An ending I don’t think I can land quite yet, because I’ve been burning out on the story, compounded by mistakes from the early chapters. It's a story not really suited to RoyalRoad, but it was my first shot to get my stories to see the light of day, and not disappear in obscurity.

What I’m trying to say is, I can do better, now. But revisiting stories and rewriting is a tough decision in the world of web fiction. And I think that the beginning of Volume I, with both its triumphs and its flaws, along with a terrible launch, is what set me back.

So, that was the bad news. I’m putting Luminaires on pause at the end of this arc. I love this story, it has been a dream I’ve been trying to bring to paper for a long time, but I want it to be the best version it can be. My new foray with Heroine has shown that I’ve sharpened my skills, and I know I can stick the landing.

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I’ll give you the good news, next.

I’m not giving up on the story.

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t let it end, unfinished, in the hiatus pile of RoyalRoad. 85% or more of all stories fail, or end up in the graveyard, and I vowed that mine would not join it. That’s why I’ll be marking the story ‘complete’ for the time being, while I work on a relaunch. I wrote to the end of this arc, to show my commitment, rather than leaving it on a sour note. I left it on a final note of hope.

Now, for more good news, I’ll continue to post Newly Broke Heroine as a result, with a timed release of three a week–plus some bonuses, when I can.

In the meantime, I’ll keep you guys posted on my intentions for Luminaires, while I sort through the future plans. What’s likely to happen in the immediate future, is I have a new series that will be posted in tandem with Newly Broke Heroine, that have been cooking in the background. I've been running a beta in my Patreon, for those of you guys who browse. Yes, IT IS INDEED set in the Luminaires fictional universe. It's another anchor I wrote to connect the worlds.

The title is called The Hallowed World, and is an isekai progression fantasy with my signature character focus, on a nested world, like a Matryoshka doll. It stars a magical engineer and his chemist sister, summoned by one of the walking gods of the world, to help save it from destruction. They will fight, build, explore, and dive through the layers of a nested fractured world to save an old friend kidnapped to this world ten years ago, and vanquish a threat to the numerous layers of the planet. They're joined by an endearing support cast to solve the mysteries of why the world is fractured, and how to vanquish the foe at the core.

I think it has high promise, and was supposed to be my next project--then a certain zany elf merchant elbowed her way into my heart, and that became my fallback after I hit a bit of a wall that, I've since figured out how to resolve. It's going to launch in February--and, in the meantime, I'll figure out a plan for continuing Luminaires. I think that, with all my learning, it will be worth the wait.

Thank you, everyone, for your dedication to reading through this. The last year has been an exponential growth for me as an author, and a storyteller. The Legend of the Luminaires will return; I want the journey of Drenar, Julia, Angela, Joey, and all the rest of the cast, to reach a satisfying end.

See you soon, guys. Be a light to guide the way.

--Magius Swiftscale