Kandric Saga

[Wyatt]

5 hours ago, Zergrinch said:

It is a very good day if a writer can belt out a thousand words in 8 hours. And I know there are days when you read what you wrote yesterday, and just throw everything away. Of course, I'm talking about hobbyist writers like Kyle who write for free; those who get paid for writing could probably do way more.

There are of course exceptions, and exceptional exceptions. And it is a lot easier to exceed this if you can devote full time to writing, and get paid well for it. An example is Isaac Asimov, who probably published around 500 books in his lifetime. Some were collections of his short stories, but others required extensive research, such as his commentaries on the New and Old Testaments. I'm pretty sure he was a freak of nature, though, or maybe a robot...

[Zergrinch]

Sure, but Asimov wrote for a living, right? I'm sure Kyle doesn't write for a living -- at least, not for the Kandric Saga which he is giving away for free.

The themes covered in the earlier chapters pretty much guarantee it won't see the light of day in mainstream publishing. 

[Wyatt]

40 minutes ago, Zergrinch said:

Sure, but Asimov wrote for a living, right?

I think he must have had two full-time jobs. In addition to being a prolific, full-time writer, Asimov was also a professor of biochemistry at Boston University. How the heck he did it, I don't know. (Well, he did write I, Robot, so that might be a clue ...)

Zergrinch, I wasn't disagreeing with your point, just noting that prolificity (?) isn't fixed. Since I found an exception, here is an example that fits right with your point. Multimapper has just completed his story, Myself... in Shattered Reflection. It has 11 chapters, which he published one per consecutive week. Each chapter seems to have about 5000 words (shorter than his normal). So your "1000 words a day" estimate holds, factoring in editing time, web maintenance, and other factors. There was probably some "reminder time" as well, since this story crosses over with two of his earlier works, Shadeside and Brynhollow.

[Zergrinch]

Hmm, if someone has consecutive releases on a weekly schedule, that actually tells me that they have the entire series "in the can", so to speak. 

So actually, I don't think this quite supports my wild ass guess of 1000 words of a good day. More likely, Multimapper has finished writing several chapters in advance and are just releasing on a regular schedule so readers are fed on a trickle basis like many TV shows, unlike Netflix's binge watching.

i suspect, though I can't prove it, that Roland himself writes like this too.

[MultiMapper]

Although I have chapters written ahead, I don't have the entire series 'in the can'. I have to struggle to stay ahead so that there's no interruption in the posting schedule. I do look upon it as episodic installments, like a TV show.

[Skylar]

Whatever it is I am glad to hear that 32 is on its way and i cant wait to read it.

[redguywalkin]

oooooo, i can't wait  if u had a patreon i would add to it. although i'm poor and it'd only be a small amount....  i just love the story

[redguywalkin]

wow.. lot of updates to chapters 3 to 10.... typo correction or......?

[Zergrinch]

Where did you see these updates? I don't see anything on Zack Caldwell's posts?

[redguywalkin]

on gayauthors.org

[Al Norris]

Those were updates (editing corrections) that were made here. I asked Kyle about it and he agreed, so I sent them to Myr.

[redguywalkin]

yeah, i did notice a few things in some stories. typos n stuff. i'm just thankfull that "touche`" has never been used again lol

[Skylar]

Is it there any hints on when the next chapter will be out??

[Zergrinch]

My fearless forecast was on or after October 1, 2018 in Castle Roland (and September 20, 2018 on Wolfs Nest), and I'm sticking by it

[Skylar]

On 7/13/2018 at 12:16 PM, Zergrinch said:

My fearless forecast was on or after October 1, 2018 in Castle Roland (and September 20, 2018 on Wolfs Nest), and I'm sticking by it

I feel tempted to start a countdown to that day now. ?

[roger0002]

On 7/15/2018 at 2:33 PM, Skylar said:

I feel tempted to start a countdown to that day now. ?

Too late!  The countdown is over, for those that are interested.  I was, and I was not disappointed, unless you count wanting more.  Very good.

[Zergrinch]

On 2/20/2018 at 4:33 AM, Al Norris said:

I have it on good authority, that Kyle is now working on chapter 32.

If I am to judge where he is at, as compared to chapter 31, I would be forced to say that at 40,000 plus words, he is only a third of the way through this chapter...

Don't nobody be holding their breath!

It does not look like the initial estimate is correct. Chapter 32 clocked in at 75,425 words (excluding disclaimers but including everything else), so 40,000 is more than halfway through  

We are inching close to 1,000,000. Chapters 1-31 has 747,951 words, and combined with this chapter's 75,425, we have 823,376. Just 176,624 more, which should take around 2 or 3 chapters.

On 8/3/2017 at 12:36 PM, Zergrinch said:

Because I am bored, I would like to propose a friendly wager.

What will be the 800,000th word in the Saga, including titles and captions but excluding disclaimers? Obviously, Kyle cannot participate.

Dibs on the word THE. 

The 800,000th word in the saga is... "However". Darn.

===

Edit: Looks like this forum software can't handle multiple spoilers and it's impossible to edit using WYSIWYG. So, I'll just put an extra comment about the Battle here:

 

C'mon Monarch, you only got eight? Aren't you supposed to be this Master-echelon sorcerer? Can't you fry like 24 at once?

[Zergrinch]

I'm happy to be eating humble pie! 

Good news is, there's a new Kandric chapter. Bad news is, there's going to be another long wait for the next!

Here's a summary of my thoughts.

Note: I'm reposting this because with the inability to edit without using WYSIWYG, the earlier post is irretrievable.

The Old Keep

1. Well, it looks like gaining admission to the Watch is as easy as talking back to King Wyrhem
2. Awww, been waiting for the reunion between the King and Klandon 
3. That was nice of Aster, but he didn't get to do anything again

Rolling Dale inn; Conner and Co.

1. Not much action here. Just a lot of talking honestly. I expect we'll have the payoff next time.

Rolling Dale; Whipping Boys

1. To be honest, I skimmed this because we're back to low-level characters again. I get that Kyle wanted to paint a vivid picture of how it's like to live in the World of Kandric, but I won't deny that after the god-tier stuff we had, this was not exciting for me.
2. Worm thing? I don't think those are slime leaches... Uh oh, dead boys walking.

Encampment; The Meeting

1. This section is nothing more than a bunch of talking heads, but I LOVED it. It was so amusing seeing all these people say, "No, no, I musn't be the one to say it." Denials all around from Glaster, Vondum, Pangam, and more.
2. Oh wow. Kyle did it. He included the filthiest insult in our time to describe Frexla!
3. Regarding what Chark'ash said - three princes, soon to be four. FIrst is Kandric, second is Aster. The soon to be has to be Rylan. Who's the third? Himself? Didn't he deny it though?
4. I wonder, why is Kandric's devotion to Quati so weird, and is it going to be relevant in the future?
5. Syrissia is beginning to soften up and be more likeable. Still, mittens - it'll be hard to divorce yourself from that first impression!
6. Wonder why the decision was made for the knights to forget Master Lannet. He would have been a gate away too.
7. Whelp, we'll tell him in battle. How exactly? Oh Premier, I forgot to tell you but... 
8. It is funny how absolutely frightened they are of his temper tantrums.

Bloody Rock, students

1. A bunch of new characters are introduced here. But unfortunately, I cared even less for them than I cared for Klent's group. Sorry, Kyle!
2. I know we're supposed to like Spar and all, but it does not look like this section about their travails will matter in the bigger picture.
3. Not sure if Mora and Jillian are being introduced here, or were mentioned before. If the latter, I guess they were not memorable to me.
4. The exchange where Spar was guessing at Kandric's level was kind of fun. "Lots a some" indeed.
5. So there is a treasure cache or something here, which foretells the opening of Under River? Hard to predict for now.

Bloody Rock, Saslara

1. More low-level stuff, and with the exception of Saslara, every character is also new, it looks like.
2. Yunlac's explanation about how a Mystic flasks work is quite nice.
3. First time we're seeing a healing potion. Really strange, especially for a story that's heavily based on D&D!
4. Why are there bad guys still in Bloody Rock? Didn't the Alphar and Garm practically flood it with people?
5. Invisible bobcat? O ho, some kind of new animal-adept skill? Or maybe druid, I don't think we've seen many high level druids.

Encampment, Klent

1. Doesn't look like a lot happened. I could summarize it as saying "Klent's party turned over the bad kids to Kandric's camp, and they all get re-equipped."
2. For the life of me, I don't remember a Bonif or what he would be doing in the camp.
3. Huh, for someone with a very involved backstory, it's strange that the weapon apprentice doesn't have a name.
4. She countermanded the enslavement? Syrissia's charm offensive continues!
5. Giants huh? This is the first time I think we've heard of them. Wonder if they're trainable, because they'd make awesome Warriors and Fighters. I know of another story series "Shota Magician" where they are extremely fearsome mages)
6. Poor horsey.
7. Ulavee joined the party. More party members! Sadly, outside of Klent and Jory, I don't recall much about any of the rest.
8. Wait, chocolate is an extremely expensive luxury? 
9. Mathard says he has four boys and two girls, but he said previously that his wife was barren after two, if I'm not mistaken. Did he take more than one wife?

The Battle

1. Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy this is it
2. Yikes. The Alphar and Garm are VICIOUS. "Descaler" sounds very clinical.
3. Go Conth! About time you do something awesome.
4. I was kind of expecting for the dragon with the broken wing to be the transfigured grandfather of Kandric. But I guess we'll have to wait a bit longer to hear from him.
5. Check the spelling of breath sac in this section. I believe it should be "sac" and not "sack".
6. Vondum's frozen pole. To impale Conth with. Oh dear.
7. Syrissia sure can dish it out and take it. What's her backstory, in that someone who can trash talk to that extent can become a princess in such a prim and proper society?
8. Tathamane? So Treg had an elder brother? Does Glaster know him? Surely Glaster doesn't know about Treg's demise at Ponty's boomstick?
9. Huh. Vondum does not want to know about Pontarius. Is he carrying a ton of guilt over this?
10. Oh Kyle. You did NOT insert a fart joke in there. No. No, how could you?
11. Did he say it? He did, didn't he? He didn't just say it!
12. I can't watch. How's he going to react.
13. Uh oh.
14. He did not just issue a challenge to her.
15. Oh shit.
16. Wow. Feels like a real and proper boss fight. Lopsided one, but still awesome.
17. Pyrothermal? Sounds like a brand of underwear.
18. Oh wow, a direct reference to the spin-off series. Seandra, Xavier, and Lucas are mentioned by name. We getting a book two soon, Roland?
19. Oh here we go!
20. Wait, how many hands does this guy have? The Frozen Flame sliced off many fingers, so what threat does his fingerless hands have?
21. There we go, Chark'ash's true field is shown (Enchanted Archer). But what is Rylan Oldsurn? A legionnaire?
22. Concentrate all firepower on that Super Star Destroyer.
23. Wait, Judge Andreus did something? But isn't he the guard captain who was with the Watch Team and Wyhrem at the old keep?
24. Seldnat uses Headbutt. It's super-effective!
25. So who gets the XP for the kill? That has got to be a staggering amount of XP.
26. Is Syrissia's bed going to be a recurring joke from now on? 

Gods' Viewing Room

1. To be quite honest, I find this section somewhat anti-climactic. Sure, it provides us with another point of view of events, but I felt that pacing could have been better by interspersing the gods viewing room scenes with the actual battle as it progresses. I don't think the reader is going to be too lost. Plus, I thought Lorthorn's joke is a better way to end the chapter than what Rovnar said.

Overall, while I got bogged down in the middle, the meeting was great, and the action did not disappoint at the end. It feels like this is a nice way to begin what I would think as  the third and final "Book" the Kandric Saga.  

Here's a few final thoughts

1. I kind of wish Aster got to do more than nod, smile, and threaten Kandric with bodily harm.
2. It's been a while since we last checked in with Gambra, but I have no doubt she will play a major role in the next chapter as Conner implements his plan.
3. Gablon, Darmoth, Rathither, and Emroc have been missing from the story for so long, I wonder if they are still fine. 
4. I wonder what's up with Kandric's younger brother? He was suddenly brought up last chapter as someone Kandric trained very well, but he didn't merit a mention here.
5. I wonder if Kandric's half-brothers, (a Keddad was mentioned) - the ones his father had with another woman, would warrant some portions of the dragon death gifting 

[roger0002]

Having read thru all of the "hidden" stuff. I have to make a comment about the Bloody Rock scenes.  I have a feeling that there is more than just a minor subplot being mentioned here.  I seem to remember that there is a formerly unknown access to the Drow city and from some of the history discussions from Kandric and Duke Mathard about major battles in the tunnels, the mention of "old bones and rusty armor" on some of the bodies the new characters are seeing, it makes me think that this may be the start of another major subplot, along with the upcoming battle with the "expletive deleted" of Flame and the continuation of Connor's group in Rolling Dale.  I also think that the whipping boys group is going to become part of Connor's subplot.  Just my thoughts on it, but I may be wrong.  

[Zergrinch]

I agree that the Bloody Rock subplot may eventually tie into the potential reopening of Under City which may happen in the future.

However, I am not convinced that Under River is evil. It's not a city of monsters as far as I can tell, and even the demons (mythlets) have issues going inside the drow capital.

Perhaps, and I am just guessing, perhaps the new characters will learn this very fact eventually.

As for the whipping boys, yes, their intersection with Conner's party seem inevitable since Conner is trying to break into the location they are trying to break from. But at their level of skill, they appear to be a major hindrance especially with Gambra lurking so close by...

[Emperor Roland]

Kyle Aarons

The Kandric Saga

Chapter 32

[Adam]

I believe comments on The Kendric Saga are becoming simply too technical and, I believe such a word exists, pernicketty.

The fact is, whether it is 80,000 or 800,000 words, Kyle has woven in this book the weft of a created history from his own imagining, and the weave of a panoply of characters as rich as that in The Old Curiosity Shop or The Utred Chronicles. Many contributory writers to this fine site have good story ideas, but haven't Kyle's way with words. Some have good English skills, or American ones (lol), but truly have precious little to say. Still others feel that, if they can build one or two strong characters, then the same old, same old, formulaic story line; pick any one from three or four; and voilá you have a fresh, new story.

However, there is a handful, a clutch of highly gifted story-tellers who write for The Castle and  elsewhere who break out. They create wonder, greater than anything in Orlando or Anaheim - because it involves the imagination of the youthful mind. Dickens realised this. As did Kipling and J K Rawling and C S Lewis and the Brothers Grimm. These authors provide that magic which is a combination of adventure, make-believe, credible yet incredible characters, alive yet larger-rhan-life heroes, parallel storylines and sub plots, things that go bump in the night.....in essence Disney world on Paper and in the Imagination. Making it, in fact Disneyland Plus Plus Extra!

My young readers are constantly emailing or tweeting their counsellors demanding "Why can't you give us the next episode?" . And it is so GREAT when teenagers WANT to read! And they're in Canada and Corsica and Cardiff and Köln and Cairns and California. And they're refugees from every conflict zone you can imagine, and both LGBT and straight in this story's case.

Thanks Kyle. Now, all I need to do is provide Diazepam to all your teen fans until your next  episode is published !!

 

Adam

[Al Norris]

Persnickety is the word I think you were referencing, Adam. Particularly as an adjective: requiring a particularly precise or careful approach.

As I see it, it is because Kyle is so detail oriented in writing this saga of his. After all, any of us that have actually paid attention to this story, have noticed that he drops clues in all of this detail that tend to "pop up" in later chapters. Case in point is when Pontarious used his "thunder stick" to kill an opponent. It seemed to have actually shocked a few readers. Yet the clues were all laid out in previous chapters, if only you had paid attention to the detail that Kyle uses in his story telling.

Whether or not one has paid such attention, it is this attribute that his fans seem to like (as evidenced by the comments, above).

[Zergrinch]

I would like to add that I do not, in any way, represent the readership of Castle Roland, nor do I claim to do so. My opinions are my own. I just wanted to discuss the latest chapter with other fans, is all  

 

[Kyle Aarons]

Huh...

I really expected ore comments on the Garm and Alphar battle tactics and weapons...

Guess not...

Oh well, it was by far the most fun part of this for me to write. 

As far as some not liking the "lower powered" segments, look a little more carefully if you want there just might be a clue or two there.

some of this was indeed less action but meant to give some insights into Garm and Alphar life and how they see themselves. I understand some not taking much interest in it, but for those who want to know more about the Kandric universe, it may help in understanding how the Garm and Alphar have kept hidden all this time. And who knows, maybe buried in all that is bit-o-foreshadow... Who me??? naaa, possibly not... maybe so... who knows...  Just saying?

So before I move on: what is your favorite low powered group at this point and why. (Unless I get five responses or more I am not writing another word of Kandric, so there!) ?