You may have noticed that each chapter title is also the title of a song. This is, of course, intentional. Given that this whole story was written for the Royal Road Writathon challenge (2020), and thus written inside of a single month, my usual writing workflow was upended. I could plan out plot points and outline chapters ahead of time, but I could not actually do any drafting until November 1, 2020. This left me in a bit of an odd place as the process of 'translating' from outline to draft to (semi) polished work tends to change the story as details and character traits emerge.

So when outlining a chapter I picked a 'theme song' to go with it. A song that I though fit the mood of the chapter as I envisioned it at the time. Then, when writing, I could refer back to that song as another touch point to set my mental scenery for the chapter. As a pair of examples; chapters 3 and 4 both have very different feels to them. Or at least, I intended them to.

Chapter 3 is a bit dark: Sinn has graduated (yay!) but only to be swallowed up by a bureaucratic meat-grinder (boo!) that his school has deliberately prepared and attempted to indoctrinate him for for fifteen years (yikes!). But I didn't want to go all in on that motif. Sinn is not a MacGuffin without will or power in the story. So I picked Welcome to the Masquerade both for it's acoustic feel (dark, gritty, just a bit aggressive) but also for it's lyrics. “... Take a look around at the sea of masks / and come one come all, welcome to the grand ball … “ from the opening verse and “... Out of the fire, rise from the ashes / Reject your doubt and release the passion … “ from the second. Sinn has entered into a dark and dreary place but is not doomed to it.

Chapter 4 is Sinn's escape from the trap laid in chapter 3, intended to be hopeful and uplifting for Sinn, a vista of opportunity opening before him. And the sky Shall Unfold has no lyrics but captures this feeling quite well.

Both selections also have the added benefit of fitting titles to double as titles to my chapters, a theme I have tried to keep true for as many of the chapters as I can. I have created a bibliography, sorted by order of appearance (as unorthodox as that may be), for the songs used below in chase you should desire to listen to them.

– Necrontyr525

Brown, Robert. “Born at the Wrong Time”. Nomad, Abney Park, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrdD82ZFsAo, Abney Park, 2014.

McNevan, Trevor. “Untraveled Roads”. OXYGEN:INHALE, Thousand Foot Krutch, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSD5vSSGLOM, 2014.

McNevan, Trevor. “Welcome to the Masquerade”. Welcome to the Masquerade, Thousand Foot Krutch, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o42iwnSYRlg, Tooth and Nail, 2009.

Bornlöf, Johannes. “And the sky Shall Unfold”. Rise and Fall, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSSQ_WcBWwM, Epidemic Sound, 2015-12-04.

Bates, Dustin. “CARNIVORE”. Transmissions, Starset, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAMiX5EEbFU, Razor & Tie, 2014-10-29.

Simpson, Sturgill. “Sing Along (Official Video)”. Sound & Fury, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpSMoBp8awM, Elektra, 2019-08-20.

Brown, Robert. “Your Escape”. Under The Floor, Over The Wall, Abney Park, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO0ulu71fts, Abney Park, 2016-10-19.

Maguire, Mattie. “Racing Hearts”. Night Candy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0iaQsLphpI, Epidemic Sound, 2019-05-23.

“Howling”. Howling, Lupus Nocte, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Lsah7bEJY, Epidemic Sound, 2020-04-19.

Büttner, Christian Friedrich Johannes. “Monody (feat. Laura Brehm)”. TheFatRat, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7xai5u_tnk, The Arcadium, 2015-11-07.

Kaufman, Jake. “Strike the Earth! (Plains of Passage)”. Shovel Knight Original Soundtrack, Jake Kaufman, https://virt.bandcamp.com/track/strike-the-earth-plains-of-passage, Yacht Club Games, 2014-06-26

Young, Johnathan. “The Land of Broken Dreams”. Johnathan Young, Caleb Hyles, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvvwqsUlyBA, 2020-11-09.'

Cavaliere, John et. all. “Silent Company”. Silent Company, Black Majesty, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x_lzJkhg2U, Limb Music, 2005-06-27

Sörbye, Chris Adam Hedman et. All. “Everything They S4y”. Arcadia, Smash Into Pieces, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4_CCc6odBw, Smash Into Pieces, 2020-08-28.

Bennington, Chester et. all. “Castle of Glass”. Linkin Park, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScNNfyq3d_w, Warner Bros, 2012-11-10.

Seals, Timothy. “Summoner (Track 2)”. A New Dawn (Cover Edition), Timothy Seals, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1MH3fB4jwY, A cover of “Arkham Bridge” from the Mechwarrior 2 Original Soundtrack Album (1995), 2015-01-03.

Graham, Rory Charles and Hatrman, Jamie. “Human”. Human, Rag'n'Bone Man, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3wKzyIN1yk, Sony, 2016-07-21

Selway, Philip. “Pretty Lies”. Pretty Lies, Written By Wolves, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNkF7EPvdNA, 2015-12-28.

Jerns, Dakota. “Fragile Minds”. Delusions, Silent Theory, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2Iip0YR1qE, Silent Generation, 2016-06-04.

David, Guillaume. “Overlord”. Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus (Original Soundtrack), David Guillaume, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZksH2sIQdJ8, Laced Records, 2018-10-15.

David, Guillaume. “Children of the Omnissiah”. Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus (Original Soundtrack), David Guillaume, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLsX9WUdYnU, Laced Records, 2018-10-15.

Avidan, Dan. “Magnum Bullets”. Thunderbird, Night Runner, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ipUBRS75pw, Night Runner, 2017-09-15.

“My Name Is...”. My Name Is..., Once Monsters, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTZ2JRrUK7Q, Audiam, 2019-11-23.

Dunne, Gavin. “KEEPERS”. Seven: The Days Long Gone Official Soundtrack, Miracle of Sound featuring Marcin Przybyłowicz, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnt08AgEklA, Gavin Dunne / IMGN.PRO / Fool's Theory, 2017-04-20.

Hellion Prime. “Kong at the Gates / Forbidden Zone”. Question Everything, Hellion Prime, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70pyrUmkid8, AFM Records, 2020-10-04.

Dynatron. “Pulse Power”. Escape Velocity, Dynatron, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak1-qLbHHCM, Aphasia Records, 2012-11-22

Shaw, Tyler and Ulrich, Garrison. “Holy Ground (The Ascended)”. Dystopian Fiction, Aviators, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFON6Qmspfk, Aviators, 2017-08-18.

Kabanen, Anton. “Crazy, Mad, Insane”. Berserker, Beast in Black, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbFpDJsLYOU, Nuclear Blast, 2017-11-03.

Maguire, Mattie. “Never Easy”. Night Candy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yVEqzYbQFI, Epidemic Sound, 2019-04-23.

Seals, Timothy. “Marauder (Track 8)”. A New Dawn (Cover Edition), Timothy Seals, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcRgEcEGLSA, A cover of “Iron Piston” from the Mechwarrior 2 Original Soundtrack Album (1995), 2014-09-21.

Shaw, Tyler. “Let There Be Fire (feat. Miracle of Sound)”. Let There Be Fire, Aviators, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH0ewuSL4gs, featuring vocals by Gavin Dunne, Aviators, 2018-05-25.

Dunne, Gavin. “Beyond These Walls”. Beyond These Walls, Miracle Of Sound, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjVE2N6Ra04, Gavin Dunne, 2020-10-30.

Dunne, Gavin. “Evacuate”. Level 6, Miracle Of Sound, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdzFiJSd7E0, featuring vocals from Lorna Dollery, Gavin Dunne, 2015-10-14.