Brett Armstrong's Blog, page 3

FUN FACTS FOR RELEASE DAY!

Resurgence of Dawn is here!

It’s hard to believe that the fifth story in a series I started imagining so many years ago is in my hands. I keep looking at it, it feels so surreal. I’m still processing that Silent Stars released earlier this year and finished the Tomorrow’s Edge series. It’s so wild that there’s only two more stories left to tell to complete the story for Jason, Anargen, and the other characters I’ve come to care so deeply about. I’m working on the next book for release in September 2024, but it’s still so wild.

Enough wistfulness from me. I thought it would be cool to give you some quick fun facts about Quest of Fire and Resurgence of Dawn to celebrate its release!

1. Resurgence of Dawn, like all of my books, is “….dedicated to the glory of God without Whom there

are no words worthy of writing…”But each book also has a dedication for those closest to me. This time was particularly poignant for me: “… to my son who tells fantastic stories of his own and whom I hope to inspire to dream boldly and follow God passionately.”

2. The name of a key city in Anargen’s story came from son— Cattingsford. Him talking about a town named that led to a fun origin story for the town’s name in the Lowlands (check it out HERE), which is in pretty sharp contrast to the tumultuous events that take place there.

3. It took months to sketch out the full breadth of the Lowlands. Every nation listed has a culture, national symbol, and most have their origin story and which side they’ll take in what’s to come mapped out. Pun intended.

4. Resurgence of Dawn covers a huge swath of the territory depicted on its six maps (a third of the Lowlands per map with Middle and Modern Era maps. The style they’re done is intentionally meant to look like something that has been sketched, because, as sort of an Easter Egg, they were done by Anargen (Middle Era maps) and Cinaed the Storyteller (Modern Era maps) respectively.

5. I had the first and last interlogues for Jason’s story written way before anything else.  I knew where it started and where it ended for a long time, but man were there some surprises along the way! As it happens, the last paragraph of the series is already largely written as well.

6. I struggled to name this book, because of book three in the series. I couldn’t decide between Shadows of Nightfall vs. Shadows at Nightfall and Resurgence of Dawn vs. Resurgence at Dawn. They couldn’t both be “at” or “of”! Yeah, I’m silly enough to get twisted around the minutiae like that. I’m glad the title ended up as it did.

6. This book has a major character “crossover” from the novellas. And it was one of my favorite parts to write!

7. I love that the book is the 12th publication with my writing in it and it released on 12/12, the 24th anniversary of the day I was baptized!

8. This is the third book to feature the mystical shadow assassins, the Sombra. And means that the only book in the series not to mention werebeasts is Succession…or is it? Am I just being mysterious to get everyone rush back and check through Succession or is there a secret reference in there?

9. It was a blast getting to show more of Jason’s Modern Era and having 1920’s technology show up alongside traditional sword and fantasy elements. I feel like that’s one of Quest of Fire‘s more unique features as a fantasy story.

10. The newly debuted civilizations of Uldiquim and Yusbilsi turned out a lot darker than I initially imagined. They had some secrets I wasn’t prepared for and had a lot of trepidation writing about.

11. A lot of this book is set in Misbyr (February) in both Eras. All four seasons appear in the series, but more importantly there’s now a pretty diverse range of backgrounds and places characters are at in terms of their “seasons of life” and spiritual journeys. Already readers are commenting on the Scriptural influences and parallels in the book and this one does feel more attuned to spiritual themes than Shadows at Nightfall. I know that will turn off some readers, and that really hurts, but the Lord really led me down this path and it felt like this book came out just as it should be. Exciting, fun, sweeping, adventurous, but most of all encouraging, earnest, and spiritually poignant. 

12. The Lord has really blessed me, beyond words. I can’t go into it in depth here, but 100% Soli Deo Gloria for this book and this crazy, wonderful author journey I’ve been privileged to be on and have so many join with me to enjoy.

Thank you for stopping by, reading, and sticking with me on these wild and wonderful literary adventures. I hope you enjoy exploring the Lowlands in Resurgence of Dawn as much as I did while writing it. Above all, may the Lord bless and be with you always.

4 days till Quest of Fire: Resurgence of Dawn releases! I...

4 days till Quest of Fire: Resurgence of Dawn releases! I cannot tell you how excited I am to share this book with you. It is the biggest and most ambitious Quest of Fire book so far in a number of ways. It’s the longest, has the most maps and series insight features, most land traveled by the characters, and biggest payoffs yet on one aspect of Quest of Fire I don’t talk about much: parallelism.

I really love foreshadowing and reversals and events that show parallels in stories. You find it in surprising places sometimes, like the The Super Mario Bros. Movie with events at the start that made Mario and Luigi look foolish and then their dramatic, heroic parallels later (I might elaborate more on this in a future post). I love it most in Scripture’s recounting of Israel’s history that resulted in a failure to lead the lost world back to God and the Lord Jesus Christ’s life mirroring that history and His success at delivering man from sin.

What does that have to do with Quest of Fire? Well, my love of the aforementioned paradigm of parallels shows up in the way Anargen and Jason’s stories parallel one another. And the series as a whole has some mirroring in it for the novellas and novels both separately and jointly. It’s not perfect mirroring or reversals across every event, so I would say I followed the famous Mark Twain quote about history’s principle of events “rhyming”.

I talk a lot about Quest of Fire being a story about storytelling and how it shapes us. In Resurgence of Dawn you really see that showing through now and the way Jason’s story shapes out you can see him going on a journey that rhymes very well with Anargen’s in The Gathering Dark. In terms of the structure of the series, in book 1 Jason had a sliver of the total page count for his story and Anargen’s took up almost all of the book. In Shadows at Nightfall it became much more equal, and now in Resurgence of Dawn it’s Jason’s story that takes the lion’s share of space. For the finale in Book 7, I’m expecting things to be back in an even split (if the Lord allows and doesn’t redirect things). 

You might be wondering why I’m mentioning this, what does it all matter? Since storytelling is discovery for me and I feel like a guide along a mountain trail, leading readers along a path I enjoyed trekking already, I feel like I have to pause and point back the way we came, because so much of what Quest of Fire is and shows is seen when taking a broad look at the whole series just as much as a single entry. There’s beauty in the way it has collectively unfolded and I hope you’ll take a moment to appreciate that with me. There’s so much more to come, but for now, with Resurgence of Dawn, you should be able to see how it has all shaped to this point. How Anargen’s story is reflected in Jason’s and how each character’s struggles mirror one another. Most of all, how those struggles can mirror our own in the real world, so that having faced them in the stories of Anargen and Jason, the ones in our world may feel more manageable, particularly when faced with the true High King of All Realms, the Lord Jesus Christ.

QUEST OF FIRE FRIDAY: RELEASE NEWS

Today is the first Quest of Fire Friday in a long time and it’s full of big announcements.

First, on December 12th, the next major installment in the Quest of Fire series releases with Resurgence of Dawn. It’s available for pre-order now:

Next, starting on December 9th, you can read the first three chapters (two Interlogues and Chapter 1—those of you familiar with series understand the breakdown) for free! This is an intense, sweeping story with a lot going on around and within the characters, so you’ll definitely want to read this one. Fans of the series will finally learn what became of Jason and those who are new to it will have some help getting into the story from “The Story Thus Far” and “Dramatis Personae” sections.  

Starting on December 5th, Resurgence of Dawn has the tremendous honor of being on tour with CelebrateLit. From December 5th – 18th you can catch interviews, reviews, and more from the book along with the chance to enter a cool giveaway at the tour stops listed below:

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 5

Artistic Nobody, December 6 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 7

Simple Harvest Reads, December 8 (Author Interview)

The Lofty Pages, December 8

Texas Book-aholic, December 9

Through the Fire Blogs, December 10 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 11

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 12

For the Love of Literature, December 13 (Author Interview)

Blogging With Carol, December 14

Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 15 (Author Interview)

Splashes of Joy, December 16 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, December 16

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, December 17 (Author Interview)

Guild Master, December 18

(You can check out more on the Official Tour Page)

Also, during the tour weeks, I’m going to try to share some additional insights here and across social media. It’s me so the day they drop is subject to change, but I’ll be shooting for a Quest of Fire Friday each week throughout the tour.

I really hope you’ll join me in celebrating the release of Resurgence of Dawn! It’s such a cool story and it’s been coming for years, so it feels surreal to be so close to sharing it with everyone. Thank you for all the support and encouragement you give me. It truly blesses me and helps keep me moving forward in my writer journey and seeking out new literary worlds to explore.

Both now and always to come, may the Lord bless and be with you.

You Have to Experience Yourself

12 days. That’s how long until Quest of Fire: Resurgence of Dawn releases! I cannot tell you how excited I am to share this book with you. You might be wondering why I’m breaking my usual silence on Thursday instead of the usual Quest of Fire Friday… well, it’s because it felt really appropriate to share today. The book comes out on 12/12 and it’s the 12th book to feature my writing. Even more special, 12/12 is also the 24th anniversary of the day I was baptized as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are some things in life that you really can’t fully describe or wrap your mind around until you’ve experienced them. Things like life after high school, getting married, and becoming a parent are really difficult to explain people on the cusp of each, let alone children—which is what the Apostle Paul likened believers to in 1 Corinthians 13 when it comes to what God has for us. The reality of His love and being eternally with Him in unending fellowship and closeness. He said:

 “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” *

I mention this, because coming up to that 24th anniversary for me, it’s incredibly important that I say how significant that moment was to me. The difference between being a follower of Christ and not is difficult to frame. I was young when I chose to confess Him as my Lord. But even so, I’ve seen the progressive effect He’s had on my life and many times considered how differently things would have been without Him. I have certainly failed Him more than I would want to admit. Through it all though, I’ve had the persistent pull on my heart to keep following and I know:

“… that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” **

For those who haven’t accepted Christ, haven’t yielded your heart to Him, none of this may make any sense. It completely confounds the prevailing wisdom of our day to step out in faith and pledge yourself completely to the God Who is invisible and immortal. In truth, it’s never made sense to those who don’t follow Him. Consider what the Apostle Paul said to the church in Corinth in the 1st Century AD, a couple decades after Christ’s life, sacrificial death on the cross, and resurrection three days later:

“Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” ***

It doesn’t make sense until you’re on the other side. Till you’ve crossed that barrier to experience His Spirit and grace yourself. Even for myself and my brothers and sisters who are following the Lord, we don’t even fully get it. We’re still just kids imagining what it’s like to be an adult. Trying to wrap our minds around the love of God knowing what love is like:

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” ****

But not fully grasping the depth, breadth, or wonder of it all right now. We have to wait till what is mortal gives way to the eternal and we are raised with Him. And that is something so incredibly important to hold onto, both now and forevermore.

Thank you for letting me share this with you. I know it seems like a distraction from my book news, but really, this is what Quest of Fire is about as well. The Quest we’re all on in service of the High King Who

“…is a consuming fire.” *****

It’s been an incredible journey with Him so far, and the best is still ahead. I would love to talk with anyone who wants to know more or share just what the new life Christ brings means to them. Just send me a message and we can talk.

So, for now and always to come, may the Lord bless and be with you.

Scripture References:

* 1 Corinthians 13:11-12, ESV

** Philippians 1:6, ESV

*** 1 Corinthians 1:20b-21, ESV

**** 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, ESV

***** Hebrews 12:29, ESV

TOMORROW’S EDGE THURSDAY: GOOD THINGS AHEAD

This isn’t a Tuesday for my Tomorrow’s Edge updates, but it’s great to be able to share some really cool news today! If you’ve been hanging with me for a while now, you know that usually, I don’t do a great job of speaking up till right before something happens (I’m sorry!). This time, however, I thought I should have my act a little more together and give everyone a heads up about:

PRE-ORDER IS UP!

First, Silent Stars is available for pre-order NOW! Only the Kindle version for now, because of how Amazon handles the release of the print version. Both will release on September 26th, but while on pre-order, the Kindle version is a dollar off. It really helps the book a ton when you pre-order, so if you can, go ahead and put in your order for the Kindle edition:

ORDER NOW

TRAILER DROPPING

Keep a weather eye out for a trailer to drop for Silent Stars. It’s still in production right now and is having to compete with some other projects right now for time, but I’m really hoping to have it out within a week.

DAY MOON DAY 2023

Day Moon Day 2023 is coming up! As a reminder, Day Moon (Book 1 of Tomorrow’s Edge) starts Tuesday, October 4, 2039 AD. So, each October 4th I have some special things planned to celebrate it. This year, Silent Stars will be on a blog tour with Just Read Tours (more on that soon).

Along with the tour there will be a reveal of a fantastic rendering of the most memorable scene in the series for me by an incredible artist I’m looking forward to introducing everyone to. I won’t give away anything more than to say its so cool and really captures the essence of Day Moon.

The week of Day Moon Day I’ll be sharing (Lord willing) articles every day that highlights things that have happened in our world since I started writing the Tomorrow’s Edge series. There will be a mix of articles about technology, society, and more that have walked us ever closer towards Elliott and Lara’s world.

And for those who haven’t read one or both of the books before Silent Stars (Day Moon and Veiled Sun), there’s going to be a sale on the eBooks and signed print copies of each during October 1st – 7th.  Both books will be $0.99 for the eBook and you can place orders with me for signed print copies for $12 each.

IN SHORT

Lots of things are happening this month and next. This has been six years in coming and caps off a decade of dreaming about what our future might be like. Many of you have been with me since the beginning and I hope you’ll join me to celebrate the series’ completion!

RESURGENCE OF DAWN – COVER REVEAL

Welcome to today’s Quest of Fire Friday! I hope you enjoyed Desperation‘s tour. If you missed some stops, you can catch up on them HERE and still get some entries in the giveaway.  The tour was a huge encouragement for me. I hope everyone who joined in enjoyed the conversations and thoughts shared by the tour hosts.

As promised for today’s #QuestofFireFriday, I’m sharing the cover and blurb for the next book in the series! So, without further delay, here it is:

Hope returns with the dawn…

Haunted by tragedies and failures, Anargen and Jason each struggle to find their way. Night has fallen in the Lowlands and neither teen has an easy road ahead. In Anargen’s Era, Monarch Ilyron’s powers and influence grow, forcing Anargen and his dwindling list of allies to travel the length of the Lowlands in a desperate attempt to keep the Quest and all they hold dear from falling into ruin.

Jason meanwhile must find Aria and her grandfather to help unite the Knights of Light from across the Lowlands against his brother, Dorian. But agents of darkness and painful vestiges of his past mix with vindictive new enemies to make the hope of seeing the dawn of the longed-for King’s Day ever so faint. If either teen gives in and surrenders, doom will come swiftly on their world.

Piqued your interest? Resurgence of Dawn releases December 19th. If you can’t wait to read what happens next for Jason, Anargen, Aria, Seren, Mia, Thomas, and others, you can reach out to me via my new “Rangers” page HERE to request to join the book’s street team and get insider updates on the book’s progress to release, behind the scenes art design, and a free digital copy in advance of release.

Thank you to everyone who has joined the Quest of Fire and been immeasurably supportive.  Remember, even when the days are dark, hope returns with the dawn

QUEST OF FIRE: DESPERATION BLOG TOUR

Hello there!

This week’s Quest of Fire Friday comes a little early in the form of sharing the schedule for the Desperation blog tour! The tour is hosted by CelebrateLit and the fantastic group of bloggers who joined to help me share the word about the fourth book in the Quest of Fire series. As some of you already know, book 5, Resurgence of Dawn, releases in December. Desperation is the novella that bridges Shadows at Nightfall to Resurgence of Dawn so it’s pretty important to have those story bits. For those of you who have already read Desperation, there’s still lots of great stops along the tour to get glimpses of what’s ahead and what’s behind some of the storytelling in Desperation and the series as a whole. I hope you’ll join me for the tour, especially because that’s a super cool giveaway at the end for those who participate along the way! If you want to learn more you can visit the tour homepage and each of the stops are below. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you’ll join in on this portion of the Quest of Fire!

Tour Stops

Texas Book-aholic, August 10

By the Book, August 11

Blogging With Carol, August 12

Artistic Nobody, August 13 (Author Interview)

Christina’s Corner, August 13

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 14

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 15

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 16

Through the Fire Blogs, August 17 (Author Interview)

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, August 18

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, August 19 (Author Interview)

Mornings at Character Cafe, August 19

Holly’s book Corner, August 20

Guild Master, August 21

The Book Club Network, August 22

Splashes of Joy, August 23 (Author Interview)

No Small Miracles

Recently, I had a scare of the health variety. For my whole life I’ve been blessed with really good health. Every so often though I’ll have something new or strange happen health-wise and because of where I work, I know just enough of medical conditions to do armchair diagnostics and freak myself out. These self-diagnoses always put me into a prayerful state because I’m seriously concerned. Reminders of the fragility of the earthen vessels we sojourn in are very effective that way. Most recently I’ve been before the Lord because of a lump I found on my tongue that was really sore. I get cold/canker sores in my mouth every few months, but none of them have ever been so far back in my mouth or created the lump I have this time. At least not that I know of anyway.

The lump no longer hurts but is lingering, which raises the specter of all sorts of scary things in my mind. In past instances, I have tended to get scared, pray fervently, and then have been blessed to see my fears dissolve. Which is wonderful, but I’ve always felt guilty that I’ve never shared what the Lord has done, because in part I wasn’t sure how to declare the good He has given me when there’s never been a diagnosis and therefore it would be hard for most to believe my “minor” healings miraculous. I decided this time to say that I don’t know what He has delivered me from, but I do know what He hasn’t delivered me to yet.

My life hasn’t been filled with many of the scars it could bear and I don’t think I’ve ever shown enough gratefulness, honor, or praise due the Lord for not just all the good I’ve received but all the bad I have not. This isn’t meant to be the equivalent of the Pharisaic “I’m glad I’m not like…” On the contrary, what I’m saying and hopefully living out going forward, is gratitude to and reverence for the Lord expressly because I do not deserve good things, yet God in His graciousness has bestowed them. It is my sincere desire to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-21, ESV)

I of course welcome your prayers and prayers requests for yourselves and those you care about. Each time something shakes me and the winds of life whip noisily all around me, I want to walk in the words of David: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” (Psalm 56:3, ESV)

And when the storm is past,

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
    I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2, ESV)

More than that I long to have the same mindset as Abraham and traverse the highways of this life looking to my true home with the Lord. To the “…city that has foundations, Whose designer and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:10, ESV).

It’s impossible to overstate how important it is for us as fragile-shelled sojourners in this world to see everything around as it is: ephemeral, transitory. Before us stretches the deepest expanse of eternity and every day we edge closer to stepping across the divide to join the Lord. And I hope in each moment I hold onto that mindset a little better and thereby keep my eyes on the One Who is my Healer, my Redeemer, and my Creator. Who gives me grace undeserved in this life and hope of things beyond anything I can comprehend thereafter.

“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.” – Hebrews 11:13-16, ESV

“But, as it is written,

‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love Him’—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, ESV

SILENT STARS – COVER REVEAL

It’s been more than a little while since I last did an update on the Tomorrow’s Edge series, and it feels great to get to take a beat to share some things with you. I’ve been in an extra intense writing mode pretty much since the start of the year and by the Lord’s grace and help got both of the novels due out this year to the publisher. So, things are still on track for the next and final entry in the Tomorrow’s Edge Trilogy, Silent Stars, to release September 26th of this year! 

It’s been such a long road getting here and some of you have been with me from the very start six years ago when Day Moon first released. You’ve been super patient with me over those years, and I hope you find Silent Stars worth the wait.

THE COVER

But that’s all things I’ve said before, so onto what’s new. So, here is the cover and a quick intro the story of Silent Stars, plus an invitation to do something I’ve not done with a book before: I’m going to provide a sign up for anyone who is interested in being on the book’s launch team. Some of you may be wondering what is a launch team? More on that in a bit.

THE STORY

AD 2040: Barely eighteen, things have become much harder for Elliott. Reeling from the losses during the confrontation that brought Project Alexandria to a halt, Elliott feverishly hunts for the original files needed to finish it off. Finding only dead ends, he instead stumbles upon something dire: messages about the Babel Initiative. Conceived as a successor that would make Project Alexandria’s manipulations seem tame, this new threat once again forces Elliott into alliances with morally grey programmers known as Siegers. Beset by continual setbacks and defeats, many Siegers abandon the cause and go underground to survive the dangers ahead. The bleak reality that Elliott and those closest to him are almost certain to die in the fight against Dr. Almundson begins to set in. But Elliott isn’t ready to give up. He knows the cost of such a silent surrender will be humanity itself.

LAUNCH TEAM

Since you’re still reading, I hope that means you’re both curious and excited to find out more about the launch team for Silent Stars. Some people call them street teams, but you don’t actually have to get out on the pavement to be a part of this, so I’m going with launch team. There are a few things a launch team member needs to do:

1. Read Silent Stars

2. Leave an honest review (anywhere is appreciated though Amazon and GoodReads are of course the major ones)

3. Share about the book’s release on release day

4. Have some fun

Understandably, you might wonder what you get in return. Here are some of the benefits of joining the team:

1. A free copy of Silent Stars in advance or release day.

2. Entry to win a$25 Amazon gift card.

3. An invite to a Zoom “Ask the Author” call where you can ask any questions you have about the series, the characters, the settings, and the tech of the books and share anything you wanted to see in the series and anything you wish you hadn’t.

4. A special digital poster commemorating Silent Stars that won’t be sent to anyone else.

You’ll also receive an invite and guaranteed slot on future book’s launch teams (including Quest of Fire‘s next book releasing in December). If you’re still reading and still interested, here’s the link for the sign up:

https://forms.gle/QLp2LJpEVUTJsYjq6

This is a huge milestone for me as a writer and for the series, so I really want to make it special. I’m looking forward to sharing more about Silent Stars as we close in on release day!

QUEST OF FIRE FRIDAY: LORE- LOCATION FUN FACTS

Hello there!

Today’s Quest of Fire Friday ventures into some interesting details about a couple locations central to the next book in the series. What’s especially fun about these locations (besides their fun facts) is the contrasts between each one and what they imply about writing as a whole. One location I’ve had the back story for and significance in mind for years now. The other came about through discovery writing and its back story grew from details of the scene it first appears in. One is enormously obvious in its geopolitical importance, but the other is just as important to how Quest of Fire unfolds. One has a silly back story, the other a more fraught one. One actually appears in scene and the other’s shadow looms over the series.

But enough about that. Here’s the two locations I wanted to reveal/discuss for today!

NAME: Cattingsford

APPEARS IN: Resurgence of Dawn

TYPE OF LOCATION: Small town

ERAS: Early Middle to Modern

FUN FACT: The town got its name because it is positioned along the Knight River north of Youngsland. There is a river crossing that is shallow and local lore has it that a settler in the region had some young lambs he needed to bring across the river to new grazing land. He was concerned the lambs might get swept away even in the shallower waters. As it happened, a cat had been following him, trying to coax the settler into giving him some the dried meat the settler carried. Scooping up the cat, the settler tossed him into the river. The cat landed in the middle and with a squall dashed to the other side. The settler decided if the cat could ford the river, so could his lambs. Once on the other side he gave the cat some of the cured meat and brought him along. Thereafter when travelers asked where to go to cross the river, locals would direct them to the spot where “Cat’s Can Ford.” Overtime the pronunciation got slurred and morphed into Cattingsford, which became the town’s name.

RELEVANCE: Cattingsford is the location where Anargen and his allies face an important inflection point in the Quest. The events in this seemingly unimportant farming town come to ripple out and affect the course of the Lowlands’ history.

NAME: Aridgulch

MENTIONED IN: The Gathering Dark, Shadows at Nightfall, Resurgence of Dawn

TYPE OF LOCATION: canyon

ERAS: All

FUN FACT: The canyon known as Aridgulch for over a millennia separated the civilizations and corresponding nations that are presently known as Surcalido and Zilnen. During the Middle Era, the canyon became hotly contested as gold was discovered in the surrounding region. The Gado Mines were established and subsequently controlled by Surcalido. However, the end point of the canyon, a lake, Lago Amurgo, fell under the control of Zilnen. Because the lake allowed access up the river through the canyon and the land is mountainous and rugged near the mines, the most expedient route of shipping the gold was up the river. This forced Surcalido to pay heavy tolls to Zilnen to transport its gold from the lake up the river to awaiting trade caravans. As the Middle Era ended and the Modern Era began, the balance of power shifted in the region as the Rehalcyon Empire came to control both sides of Aridgulch and the Gado Mines. Surcalido was able to emulate its longtime rival Zilnen by forcing the Empire to pay hefty fines to transport the gold down the Yellencia River to the end of the Straits of Calido where Ecthelowall’s merchants then carried the gold farther east.

RELEVANCE: The lucrative arrangement for Surcalido and Ecthelowall was secretly in jeopardy and events in Resurgence of Dawn see the power dynamic of the southwestern Lowlands completely upended which has serious consequences for Jason’s part in the Quest.

Thank you for stopping by to read! My intention is to try to take the opportunity to share little insights like this as I finish up Resurgence of Dawn, so hopefully I should have more for you to see soon. May the Lord bless and be with you always.