Earth Splitter is a much darker novel than its predecessor, Sea Spray. That is by design, since Earth Splitter dedicates a lot of the content to investigating several characters that did not receive a prime-slot in the first book and they have much more brutal backstories. Of course, everything serves to advance the story and paint a picture of why these people act the way they do.
The way I write Earth Splitter and consequently, the rest of The Elder Ones universe might confuse a lot of people, given I opted to use a rare, third-person, limited-narrator, present tense. I chose to use that style as there is a lot more freedom to transition between characters in the same chapter who share the same story. This comes in contrast to Sea Spray, where each chapter focused on what a specific character saw.
The previous report is here: Earth Splitter: Thoughts of Home !!CONTENT WARNING!!
- What I Did Today
Today ended the immense Horizon’s End Chapter by bringing a light onto the character of Olaf Ignarsson. His presence alone would warrant more focus if this were some other writer or novel, but I find him a difficult character to write for. I can honestly say I do not know any giants and that is where the issue lies. I pride myself on using accurate representations of people while avoiding stereotyping where I can. Sure, people can look at someone like Abygail and say she represents what women despise, but that is the purpose behind her character. She is not a typical fantasy heroine. Much like Olaf is not intended to be the typical giant in the vein of Aeron Stonewall, his counterpart.
Once I ended Horizon’s End, I began work on the next chapter, One Against the World, which goes back to Ashton’s arc in Lowark in The Green Desert. It happens that Lowark is the location of the Elder One antagonist of Earth Splitter, so Ashton is a vital component of the story arc.
I admit that Ashton is as hard to write as Olaf, but I never stated that writing The Elder Ones is easy. Today was the point of the novel where things become difficult and the action kicks it into the next gear. Everything from this point leads into the climactic chapters.
- Today’s Best Work
!!CONTENT WARNING!!
The material contained with today’s work contains content that references sexual assault and graphic depictions of torture. This is not recommended for readers under the age of 18.
Like last week, the best writing I did for this week comes in the form of a graphic sequence, though it is considerably toned down from Abygail’s events. I suppose I chose this as it gives a better look into Ashton Wyland, since this is only his third focus chapter in the entire Elder Ones universe, despite being an integral character in several backstories.
‘You’re a fool, Ashton Wyland. You refuse to see any reason. Your actions since you captured me will haunt you for the rest of your days. You’ve doomed your own people to a life of ruin. Do you want to know who killed your mother and your father in that fire? It was not someone from The Green Desert. The Athenaeum set that blaze. They manipulated everything in your life to suit their own ends. No one is safe from the reach of Dané Arcensteyn and the Athenaeum. Everything that the Athenaeum does is to benefit the position of Arcensteyn. She does not care for your life, or the lives of your comrades. All she cares about is ruling the world with her iron fist. Even if that world only has her in it, she will stop at nothing to ensure she is the sole source of power. You know this to be true but yet you still serve. Do you know why? Because you are a follower. You will never be able to break free of the mould that the Athenaeum placed you in. You’re a tool to them. A weapon. An instrument. Not a human. In The Green Desert, you were so much more. You had a purpose.’
Ashton roars and the impact of his fist knocks the chair holding Ceallach over. The bloodied Ceallach only laughs as Ashton stands over his prone body. A renewed fire resides in Ashton’s eyes and he hoists Ceallach up by the collar.
‘There are many ways to end a life, Lord Ceallach. Some are reserved for only the worst criminals in the world. Do you know how the people in my hometown doled out justice to rapists? They put them in the stocks, butt naked and then led a horny stallion over to ravage the poor sod. The amount of blood and the pitch of the screams resonates with me to this day. For a murderer, the punishment was far worse. Each day, they would lose a knuckle. Not a finger, a knuckle. That is a month of mutilation for the hands alone. After their hands were nothing more than stumps, they would suffer the same treatment to their toes. That’s another twenty days of torture. But that wasn’t the end of it. After losing all fingers and toes one knuckle at a time, then the teeth came out. Seventy eight days it would take for the small torture to end. Then came the flaying. That is if the murderer was still alive. The families of the victims got the first shot at ripping a strip of skin off the person who caused them so much grief. I knew what I was in The Green Desert. I was nobody. In the Athenaeum, I am a legend. My name will live on through the ages. I will not end up like those murderers and rapists. You, on the other hand, are so much worse that all the rapists and murderers and thieves and outlaws across all of Terrus. There is nothing I can do that will satisfy all those you have hurt over the long years of your unjust reign. But I can make sure that every day you live for the rest of your miserable life is a living hell. So tell me what purpose I had in The Green Desert. I beg you,’ Ashton hisses.
- How Productive I Felt I Was
I continue to excel in the story telling department, though this came at the expense of the lighthearted tone I promised, though there are still shades of that and I intend to tackle that in the chapter immediately following the current one. As for my productivity, I continue to make steady progress toward the ending of Earth Splitter and it still gives me chills to see how far I have come in such a short period of time.
- What I Intend To Write Next Week
Next week deepens the rabbithole around Ashton and will enable the reader a further glimpse into what life as a member of the Ashaan Assassin’s Athenaeum means to him. I continue to love the work I am doing, despite the multiple content warnings now required for Earth Splitter. It is the perfect representation of my writing path and is eerie in similarity to the original designs for The Elder Ones universe.
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Fenrir's Lair 