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(Out for the weekend without a laptop, but I’ll try to respond to comments through my traitorous phone.)
Island of Pallice, Garden of Uli, Helgard, Aintaranurh, and Binhadar Falls. Five corrupted temples have been challenged and defeated over the course of Legends of Windemere. Not without a lot of loss and suffering. Trust me, it isn’t a spoiler that we got this far because at least one champion had to reach The Spirit Well unless the whole thing was that the Baron wins. At least it won’t happen this early on since I still have three books to go after this.
It’s strange being at this stage of the series even though I’ve run it through my head for over a decade. This ends the long path of temples and challenges the gods set up to do two things. One is that they are the power centers of the Baron’s curse, which is why they were targeted for corruption. The other is that they are designed to push the champions to new levels of power and awaken whatever abilities are within them. After that . . . well, things do go off the rails at the end of this one, but that’s the fun here. Three more books to go after The Spirit Well, which covers some interesting ground. That’s for another time that we’ll call 2017.
I’m sitting here wishing I could tell people about this temple and the story that revolves around it. Without going into details, this is the one that no champion has ever officially visited. Even Binhadar Falls was found by one or two groups in the past with lethal results. The Spirit Well is a total mystery to everyone . . . sort of. I will say that Dariana went there once on her own, but wiped the memory. She’s following her own breadcrumbs that have been hidden for centuries. One can only wonder what other mysteries about her past will be unearthed during this. I’ll touch on Dariana in a week or two because her existence is a spoiler that I want to share after this book comes out.
So, where did the Spirit Well come from? This and Binhadar Falls were the two that never got mentioned or planned in the game. The previous four were either challenged or, in the case of Aintaranurh, mentioned before the final session. I remember there being a mark on a game map that involved a jungle, which is where Binhadar Falls came from. The Spirit Well was simply me looking at what I already did. Underground had been touched on, but not like this. I wanted a sense of abandonment and claustrophobia in this temple because it’s the final challenge. How do you push a character like Dariana, who is immortal and psychic, to her limits? You bury her alive and surround her with the dead that might not be happy to be there. Everything rolled into life after that including pieces of her past.
Really hoping the last stage of temples and the first part of the ‘end’ is a hit. How do other authors deal with hitting a point in a book or series when they can see the grand finale in reach?
Legends of Windemere 
In my case, I refer to the slog through the middle. Players and pieces need to move around. The plants should all be in place, so they can payoff in the next phase. I generally start strong and finish strong, the middle bogs me down. It could be due to all the manipulations that must happen to make the ending work. It’s also the place I need to do the most editing to keep the story from bogging down.
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In my case, either write a spin off series because I can’t let go, or satisfy myself with revisiting them from time to time! Can you tell I’m not good with goodbyes? 😉
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A lot of people have suggested a spin off. I used to be like that until I ran into series that went on for too long. I’d rather mope about ending it than push the series into self-destruction.
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Good point. And if you’re having too many withdrawals at the end of it, you can work the spin off angle. It’s a win win! 🙂
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I’ve never finished a series as long as yours. I remember feeling a bit down every time I finished even one book. I can imagine needing to recharge a bit.
What an accomplishment to finish this series!
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The final book will be done next week. So I’ll have 2017 to ease into the retirement of the champions. January 2018 will still be a recharge month.
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I have only done a trilogy. Nothing as extensive as yours. I must say there is a bit of remorse that it is over. I think you will be a little let down given the amount of energy you put into the series since 2013.
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True. It will be like something is missing. Imagine the blog posts off me not knowing what to talk about.
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*crickets*
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I always struggle and get lost through the middle of a novel, and when I see the end it’s exciting. In a series like yours, I think I’d be over the moon.
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I can see that. Think it’s becoming similar to the kids living for college.
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I struggle with the middle as well and then when I crest that hill headed for the ending, I pick up speed again!! I think I will be sad to let go of my worlds but there’s always a new one.
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Guess a plus side is that I’ll still be in Windemere with the other series. The champions, whether they win or lose, will usher in an age of heroes and villains.
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Thanks. 😀
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😀😀
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