The Southern Archipelago
New week, new blog! Back on track and continuing the weekly blogs, we have a release for the next chapter of Tearna’s Journal! Additionally, there are a few updates in terms of art, as well as another report on the number of words that have been cut out of the Sapphire Verdict! It’s all very interesting stuff, I promise! Let’s dive in!
The Southern Archipelago
While Thericia’s mainland is mostly jungle, it’s southwest corner is a massive collage of islands all separated by thin rivers, hence the name ‘Southern Archipelago.’ In Tearna’s age, the archipelago region is still mostly a wild frontier. Development out here is sparse, and villages are extremely few and far between. Her expedition will be marching into the thickest, deepest, swampiest jungle the world knows, but it won’t be too rough of an adventure for her this time. Apart from getting across the raging rivers, the only other obstacle in her way is her own head, which may or may not prove to be insurmountable by the end of this!
In the Sapphire Verdict, even in what is currently planned but not yet written, the Southern Archipelago is quite possibly the only place that Sapphiria won’t visit in the present. In the years after Tearna’s visit, it receives some development, but not enough to make it make sense for her to visit. Not to mention that it falls well under the Archon of the West’s sphere of influence. As such, this is quite possibly the only time we’ll get a glimpse of what it has to offer, but we’ll see if in the future something doesn’t happen to warrant us revisiting this watery land!
Tearna’s Journal as a Whole
There are four entries left in Tearna’s Journal! Four! After that, as warned about in a previous blog, there will be a lull before short stories start popping back out again. It has been a long journey to get to this point, but I truly do think the best has yet to come! Up next, we have Tearna’s adventure to the Glass Lakes, a region that is exactly what it sounds like, and after that, we venture to the north to see the highlands. Once the highlands are behind her, however, it’ll be time to return to where this all began!
Art
I don’t have anything too wise to say about this, but I at least wanted to provide an update! I’m still sitting on the line art project, but hope to get to it more this weekend. In the meantime, have an update on the pokemon piece! I’ll probably do a deeper writeup on it later once it’s finished, because I’ve learned a lot from working on this piece!
The Sapphire Verdict
Major cuts are still underway with the main novel, but they are progressing at a wonderful pace! When I started my major cut roughly a month and a half ago, the book was at 370,000 words, and it now sits at 250,000. There are still several more chapters left to edit, including the two biggest in the entire book by a mile. I ultimately expect this pass to end around 230,000, which isn’t where it needs to be, but is eons more acceptable than where it started! Do I have any idea when it’ll be ready to publish? Not a clue! All I can say is that I’m working as hard and fast as I can! I promise!
Conclusion
I’m trying to stop myself from rambling in this blogs. I want to try and do a more focused blog next week on a random topic that I haven’t yet decided on, so stay tuned for whatever comes sliding out of my brain on that one. For now, enjoy the short story, and keep your eyes peeled for the pokemon piece to get a final publish! I’ll be sure to do a full blog on it when it’s done! With all that being said, until next time, cheers!
The Flying Fennec