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Well, we’re coming up on the release of War of Nytefall: Lost.  It wasn’t too long ago that War of Nytefall: Loyalty came out, but about 17 years have passed for the Dawn Fangs and old-world vampires.  You would think such powerful beings would have settled things by now.  After all, Clyde can take out armies and some of his enemies are weak against the sun.  Just charge into the enemy stronghold, tear everyone apart, and get home in time for dinner.  Fortunately for readers, none of it went that way because I needed to have a large time jump.  The only question was the rationale for it taking so long, which has a few different answers.

1. Clyde really did screw up in the first book.  He wanted a challenge instead of simply taking the ‘throne’, so he didn’t put this war to bed right away.  Now, faced with a paranoid and influential enemy, he’s no longer in a position to end things quickly.  He could charge in to destroy everyone, but the sides have already been drawn and he’s been told that he would simply create a new power vacuum.  This means he has to draw things out until it’s clear that the old-world vampires can’t win.
2. His enemies are well aware of his power, so they’ve heavily warded their fortress.  The smaller groups don’t have this protection, but Clyde is too destructive to use on the minor targets.  This means he’s negated for the most part because he can’t get to his cautious enemies.  Although, he could bash his way through them, but they’re strong enough to hurt and anyone who follows would be killed instantly.  Last thing Clyde  wants is to lead a charge that only he can survive.
3. A full slaughter would require eliminating vampires who are known to the mortals as well as making it a very public fight.  Clyde is determined to keep the Dawn Fangs a secret for as long as possible.  The threat of the entire world turning on such dangerous predators before they can prove they’re peaceful looms over everything.  Even the old-world vampires hold to this rule because they would get swept up in the elimination campaign.  Keep in mind that this isn’t even 100 years after the Great Cataclysm, so the mortal lands are still nervous about another world-changing event.  The appearance of powerful vampires who are immune to the sun could easily be seen as the next disaster.
4. Immortals don’t have the best concept of time since they live forever.  So, these 17 years might have gone in the blink of an eye for some of the combatants.  They have the luxury of being more cautious and planning since they don’t have to worry about old age or disease playing a factor.  That isn’t to say some of the Dawn Fangs aren’t getting impatient though.

Not all of the books in War of Nytefall will have such long jumps, especially when it reaches a certain point.  The war is going to heat up and barrel forward at some point, but it’s a lot of poking and prodding now.  You also have outside forces stepping into play while both sides get their act together.  In War of Nytefall: Lost this would be the womb-born and the Utukku.  In fact, most of the books will deal with an outsider trying to take advantage of the war.  The reason for this is because Clyde and his enemies could finish this in one battle.  Yet, they have that fear of the unknown and a constant jockeying to make sure they have it in the bag.

One positive part of the drawn out war is that I get to write immortals demonstrating a fatigue with everything.  They know they live forever and accept that they have time to do things right.  Yet, they also know that they have eternity to do everything they want.  If you had the time to visit every place on Earth, eat every food, and experience everything without rushing then you’d be a little bummed about only being able to fight.  As long as the war goes on, the Dawn Fangs have to stay in the shadows and avoid indulging in their desires.  Well, I guess the positive was for me as an author doing character development and not for the headaches that the characters go through.