Hello Everyone.

I’ve had quite a while to think about what's happened and where things are going, and I think that this arc honestly needs to go back to the drawing board. I tried to push through it but now, after just leaving it for a long time, I think I’ve made the wrong decision. Even when it was trying to get back to more normal stuff it still wasn’t very enjoyable to write and even think about, especially compared to some of the chapters even at the end of the previous arc. Felt like there was more energy and whatnot there.

On a Real Life note, before I get further into it, to be frank it’s become even more hectic. I’ve changed jobs, internally, and it’s quite full on. However it is regular hours so that’s a positive. I hope it won’t interfere too much in the long run but I already know it will until things settle down and I get into a routine. Hopefully.

Onto the story:

The removal of Anton’s initial powers was, to be frank, a mistake. I’ve read the comments and now that I've just walked away from it for for while it does feel like a lot was ripped away and the replacement wasn’t good enough. Perhaps it says more to my lack of imagination that the new type of magic was inferior? Anyway, I plan to have Anton retain his normal magic and get the extra one. An addition to the arsenal. On a side note I remember someone saying that Anton felt like he was getting weaker over time. While I don’t think that’s the case I can sort of see it. Power creep, or whatever it’s called, is a constant thorn and worry in the back of my mind. I think that ended up in the stew that helped poison everything. Didn't want to have the replacement just be OP to hell, just wake up and win, and that certainly didn't help. The Ancient Magic will be reworked somewhat. On reflection some of the abilities were simply made to counteract issues that only really arose in these last few chapters, such as Anton’s physical changes. However it created far, far more than it solved and contributed to it’s strange feeling. At the time of writing it, it didn't seem too bad but when I looked at some stuff that I had written just before stopping, some stuff far into the future, I saw that it really didn't matter what it was. I was writing things where it didn't matter whether or not Anton had no magic or all of them. And I simply wasn't writing where magic was needed. Just...didn't seem to work or be that enjoyable to write. That should have been a major clue that something was wrong but I guess I was just foolish and tried to push through it rather than stopping and reassessing. Which brings us to here. So Ancient Magic will only be able to change things when they’re being created. That includes the Summoned creatures. I want to keep the etchings that change their forms, but once they’ve been created, otherwise that’s it. Of course its destructive potential will remain, using its raw form to break down anything, including old or failed constructs, though in a less uncontrolled manner compared to when he destroyed his hand to fend off the Qaiviel assassins. There was a comment that mention sorcery, as in Dnd, and I’ve given it a little bit of a look. It seems to be a relatively good fit. I won’t be copying it directly of course but inspiration is certainly not a bad thing, something like armour or even gloves incorporating the unstable raw Essence.

It’ll also function heavily as Anti-Magic, since the little test with Axia demonstrated that it’s quite effective in that area and I would like to keep that. And to create much stronger creatures and eventually artefacts once he gets more power and a way to gain a steady stream of Essence. Certainly not at the beginning but now the other magics are still there. Chapter wise: The first chapter will remain essentially the same except for Longinious not knowing anything about changing Anton back. He will also be somewhat more hesitant to use them given everything that happened in the White Realm. Second chapter will have a quick demonstration of Longinious’s initial powers, the blasts of light, energy shield and the first summon only. Merge those parts from the second and third chapters and get rid of the bit where Anton transforms himself back to being human. After that Anton will try and get in contact with his Old Gods just to ask what’s going on. Also a message to Ferula, since she can see things that no one else can. 3rd will involve the big speech that Anton was planning, that I was originally planning to release next, will be brought forward and this time he’s still capable of his normal magic. Regardless, people already knew that he was down and, as many have said, any discontent needs to be immediately nipped in the bud. I’m not entirely sure why I didn’t initially try and address it. Probably too worried about how to get the Ancient Magic to adequately compensate the loss of his normal magic...A few problems did stem from that in the end…But he’ll be openly addressing the discontent that occurred during his very brief incapacitation and they're on notice and being watched, since names are hard to come by without mass interrogation. The speech will also include an expansion of the governance of Atros, creating ministries and expanding the associated bureaucracy, as right now it’s one or two people rather than a whole organisation. Also a massive increase to the police force of Atros, along with ensuring they are loyal and giving them better uniforms. If you recall they’re essentially the same as the regular Atros guards with a blue band of cloth tied to their arm. It’s probably long overdue for an upgrade, not to mention everyone will respect them more when they look the part. Zuhura will be tasked to begin to set up a balanced economic system based on existing Frindal, Dark Elf and Dwarven systems, as she’s not really a fighter and more content to perform more administration tasks. It’ll also have to account for the majority of the people of Atros having no real mercantile knowledge, being little more than former bondsmen, serfs and slaves, while the Dark Elves and Dwarves are far more organised both politically and structurally. So it’ll probably end up as a heavily regulated and restricted market with many social services, like food and housing for work with some spending money. At least until people become more educated and aware of tricks and schemes that could be pulled on them. Also a proper code of law, simple and to the point. Again modeled off what's already present and simplified so there's no real room for stretching or deliberately misinterpreting it. Something that can quickly drilled into the new people. Whether or not they listen is up to them… The original idea to increase the representation for the people of Atros will still happen and it'll essentially be elected people that fast track issues to the council rather than them trying to sift through thousands of people to determine what is valid or not. Considering that the different groups living in Atros aren't always on the best terms it's a good idea to take things slow and steady with giving them more power, so they don't get any funny ideas. 4th chapter will be returning to the Fire Elf cavern. Looking over my plans they were sort of...dropped. I don't entirely know why. Perhaps thinking they can't leave their cavern made them unimportant? And that any knowledge of their existence leaking out would be the death of Atros and their way of life? I'm not sure but I'm thinking that had a big part to play in it. So we'll be returning to the Fire Elves city and their civilization, see how the different districts interact and how their society is already changing. Also there aren't any portals reaching anywhere significant for a few days at the very least. Beyond that I don’t want to give too much away on the revised plan, other than the next area will be the Lamia’s and dealing with their society too. Wilford and the boat is still some distance away from their next destination, the Holy Kingsland, so that’s the next logical place to go. Probably a few Atros centric chapters since that's what was clearly bring set up before the Fire Elf cavern was opened up. Now, as to why it has taken this long to address the governance of Atros issues...I can’t really give a good answer. Certainly during the last arc it could have been started at the least, probably around when Sally arrived at Atros, and the knowledge of such a potential threat to the south would have given them ample reason to start to enact changes and upgrades, but I didn’t at the time. I don’t have a good answer why not, except that I was really excited about writing about Frindal and so far things had not been an issue on the home front...Even though it's my writing and story...Anyway, I was interested in writing about a sort of society that could actually work in the desert, where they would have relatively thick clothes and travel along routes between water sources, rather than a more fantasy version where they’re acting like fools that would get them killed. And I really did enjoy writing that part. Even though there's quite a few chapters there I wrote them very quickly and quite enjoyed it, unlike this arc which has turned into a bit of a slog. Regardless, that’s the best answer I can give.

I know this seems a bit like a spiel but I feel that it's necessary given what's happened so far.

So, considering that I'll basically have to redo everything that's been done, or at the least heavily reworking, I can't reasonably promise anything by the end of the month. I know that it already had a slowdown but this is the only way to fix what has happened without either burning myself out so much that I don't want to write at all, or slow down the admittedly already slow pace even further to try and cram more training in before actually going onto something else.

In order to make this not a thing in the future I'll be releasing my chapters one week early on my Patreon before being released here the following week. Nothing will be locked away from eventually being posted here, I personally don’t like the idea of that, but I think it will be better in the end as I'll get better feedback before releasing a chapter here and potentially making a fool of myself. I'll also see about making a discord so it'll be easier to get in touch with me if you have any ideas or anything like that.

Thank you all for being considerate of me and what's happened. If you have any ideas or thoughts, I have read all of them from the previous post, please let me know. It's certainly what stopped me from making a mistake in the past and it'll certainly help to rectify this one.

Thank you again for your time and patience.

Terry78