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Most of the action in Quest of the Brokenhearted takes place in the city of Lacarsis, which has been a slight mystery in the Windemere books. It’s been mentioned a handful of times in other books, but only as a place of monsters and evil. This story is where readers get to see what’s actually inside. To be honest, the journey from single word to in-depth city is rather simple.
At the beginning, I was heavily influenced by ‘Castlevania’ and was playing ‘Symphony of the Night’ almost religiously. I still do since my Super NES died long ago and I can’t play ‘Super Castlevania’ anymore. Honestly, this video game series has been a favorite of mine since childhood, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I did a book that acts like an homage to the concept. I think I mentioned in another post that Kira’s whip-like weapon made her the perfect choice for this, but now I’m getting off topic. I changed it from a castle to a large city, but the whole monster thing came from this. A difference I was determined to do was that the city moves around the continent, so people can wake up one day and find it sitting a few miles away from their home. Not sure why, but I always found this part fairly amusing.
I don’t remember the earlier names beyond calling it ‘The City of Evil’, which was a placeholder. Thankfully, I figured something out in a way that probably would have had me put in a straight-jacket if done in public. With an image in my head, I just began blabbing the phrase ‘Welcome to’ and inserted whatever odd name turned up. Took a few days of randomly doing this until I blurted out Lacarsis and it stuck. At least, it did for about three years before I wondered if I was having trouble because of the name and tossed it away for a few months. Nothing else turned up, but I didn’t feel rushed because I didn’t have a story yet. Once Quest of the Brokenhearted came up, I went back to the old name again.
One of the hardest things in explaining Lacarsis is that exploring it is a big part of the overall adventure. At least on a physical level because Kira’s battles span the entire region. Something that always remained the same throughout the incarnations is that it is vast and filled with monsters. The creatures aren’t seen from outside and a few times I considered having them venture out to cause havoc, which draws people to investigate. I changed it to retain the mystery, so that when Kira steps inside, she is met with this giant realm that the outside world never understood. This mystery really grew on me because it meant I could do more than have the hero go through rooms. Now, there was more variety in settings and the overall landscape grew to something unique in Windemere.
I never really came up with a reason for Lacarsis existing that survived the various incarnations. At one point, it was where all monsters were born, but that didn’t make much sense. Baby monsters wouldn’t be found outside of the city and it meant that everything would have to be around this area instead of across the globe. The answer could have been making all of the inhabitants unique, but then I wouldn’t be able to flush out a few species that I had my eye on. Eventually, I left the reason Lacarsis is there as a mystery that I’m not sure I every truly answer. To be honest, I’m not even clear that it’s necessary since the other cities don’t require such an explanation. Someone/thing wanted to build a city for monsters and that’s what happened.
A question I do keep asking myself here is if Lacarsis will appear in other stories. That’s as long as it isn’t destroyed by Kira, but there could always be a new version. Monsters will always need a place to live and evil will always band together. The future of Lacarsis could very well go beyond this adventure to give other heroes a chance to see what’s inside. After all, this is a rather fluid place at times and there’s no telling what it will turn into when it’s pitted against a different person. I say this because one aspect that I began realizing as I edited was that Lacarsis kind of mirrors and accommodates the hero who challenges it. In a way, Kira gets something she wanted from the competition within the City of Evil and that’s a place where she’s accepted. So, maybe another hero will meet something else that fills a void. Makes one wonder how much of what you see in Quest of the Brokenhearted is even real or part of Kira’s subconscious influence. Just another mystery in this city that I hope will continue to grow.
Legends of Windemere 
Very fascinating, Charles! I can’t help thinking of all of the dungeon levels of games I’ve played, and how much fun they were to battle through. This is quite the hero’s journey that Kira undertakes! It sounds like you really enjoyed working on this book.
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The dungeon concept is how this started and then I grew it into an entire city. That opened up all these different ‘arenas’ for the action scenes. Due to its magic, Lacarsis even has these expansive areas that allow for major fights.
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Oh wow! It’s like going to the Renaissance Faire! So many areas to go to. So much to see! Sounds like a lot of fun!!
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I’d say it’s even bigger than a Renaissance Faire. Best example is that it’s going to be like a monster-filled, medieval version of NYC. At least Manhattan with a little of the South Bronx in there. The inspiration was how Dracula’s castle in “Castlevania” is always different and can have these big areas hidden behind its walls.
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Amazing city you have crafted. I like the adaptive idea.
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Thanks. 🙂
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You have the ability to expand down pat. If you want it, it will happen. Maybe Kira will take over, and her darker thoughts will make her the new chief monster. Might be better than Anakin Skywalker’s downfall.
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She couldn’t pull an Anakin. Selenia drilled into all her students the rule about holding the higher ground. That and try not to fight a few inches away from a river of magma.
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Sounds like never get involved in a land war in Asia. (Princess Bride reference)
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I never figured out if there’s a Windemere equivalent. Land war in Ralian? Naval war in the Cerascent Islands?
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It sounds like you really put a lot of thought into building the city, it sounds more in-depth than some stories I’ve read (not yours of course, other authors who skip details). I’m looking forward to reading it, but I think I’d better read the other Legends of Windemere books first.
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Thanks. Setting is very important to me, so I work hard on them. This book will reveal a little about the finale of ‘Legends of Windemere’. You figure out who lived and died to some extent, but the details aren’t there.
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That’s good to know, I thought that there might be a fair amount of spoilers.
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You had some sort of snippet (I can’t remember which one, now) that stuck with me. The monsters go to Lacarsis because they can be themselves without facing prejudice. No hiding or feigning human mores. It reminded me of how some disabled people used to work in circus sideshows. Whatever the drawbacks and exploitation of that environment. the midgets and bearded ladies could appear just as they were.
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That’s a pretty close analogy. It’s always a little vague as to how or why the monsters go to Lacarsis. It’s almost like they’re magically impelled, but it’s only a handful. Most are still beasts on the outside.
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I think the name works because it’s similar to Catharsis. Which is exactly what Kira needs, by the sound of it.
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Didn’t even realize that connection. Kira’s mood and Lacarsis grew separately at first, so I didn’t mean for the connection to happen.
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