UPDATE 2/03/2018: Sorry it's taken so long to upload. Things are a little crazy over hear. Getting ready to move, and find new work that hopefully won't be so draining as it has been. Chapter 9 of 'PR' is about halfway finished, but may take some time as I'm still not satisfied with how precisely it's shaping up. HOWEVER, I was able to write a little one-shot in the meantime, and will be releasing it around Valentine's Day. It's over 6,000 words, equivalent to about 1 1/2 - 2 of my normal chapter lengths, and revolves specifically around Queen Zelda (based in my 'SoS' lore, of course). So don't forget to check back here in another week or two.

As a side note, I also had a second one-shot written up involving Link and Ashei, but I'm hesitant to upload it here for a couple of reasons. Firstly, due to the subject matter, there's a brief (and I mean VERY brief) section of the story that I'm fairly certain would give it an MA rating, and I'm not going to risk posting it here if there's a chance it will just get pulled, and I might get booted from the site entirely. Not worth the risk. Secondly, I'm very frustrated with how to end it. As it stands now, it just sort of ends abruptly, because the conflict within it isn't something that can actually be resolved in a one-shot; at least, not without ruining the mood and feeling of the story (removing the soft-MA stuff would do the same thing). I COULD write another two chapters, but one would basically be an "exposition dump," with very little interest (as I perceive it, at least), and the other would REALLY give it an MA rating, which I refuse to write (it was already hard enough to convince myself to write soft-MA stuff). Alas, it's already written up, and perhaps if I find another site that permits fanfics with an MA rating (that aren't intended to be...citrus), I'll upload it there, and give you guys a link. Until then, I'm keeping it on file.

SORROW OF SILIDAN

On Christmas Day, the final chapter of 'Sorrow of Silidan' will be posted. That means the story will be over, right? Well...yes, and no. Bearing in mind, I started this story seven years ago, and while the structure of the plot has been the same for nearly all of that time, my writing has not. As such, I intend to go back and edit all of my chapters. Some of it will be to breathe more life into the minor characters, to increase the detail of the world around it, or to fix the tone of the chapters (mostly earlier ones). Also, I'm gonna make sure that all of the threads I made all came together. Sometimes, I came up with ideas, but don't remember where, if anywhere, I placed them in the story. So, that may take some time, but I believe it will help shore up the weaknesses I've allowed to slip by.

For those wondering why I seemed to jump over Shad's achievement, instead of spending a chapter on him, that was intentional. I want to give him a one-shot of the event, as I'd like to tackle the scene in a style that is different than the rest of the 'Sorrow of Silidan'. Does it hurt the story by doing this? Possibly. I'm willing to accept that, just as much as I'm willing to take that chance and write that story in the way that I believe would make it better.

The first question to answer is the one I expect most are wondering: It's the whole Link and Ashei coupling. Okay...I'm not one to believe in mucking up what is already set very well in stone, but I made an exception this once just to see if and how I could develop a relationship (that possibly could develop into romance), which I've never even attempted before. I eventually settled on Link and Ashei because of a number of short stories I had done with Link.

You can read two of them here, but the third is lost forever. In that one, I'd introduced Ashei as a helping character, and was actually fascinated by how the two interacted and worked well together. This made me wonder how close they could actually develop. Since 'Sorrow of Silidan' was going to be set in the Twilight Princess era, it made sense to try putting the two together. I'm a firm believer that Link and Ilia are without a doubt the expected pair coming out of Twilight Princess, which is why I've continued to push it along the story. I don't believe that there ever was a possible pairing between Link and Ashei in the game, so I'm obviously starting from scratch.

Also, some are probably wondering right now about the character called Mandrakos Fears. He is an original character I created years ago for a game of Neverwinter Nights, but as I used him more and more, I decided to give him more and more. I eventually used him in a short interactive Zelda story on , which as far as I can tell no longer exists, and he was a...well the story itself was all right, but I like to think it was my characters that kept the story going. Anyway, despite the fact that he actually died in that tale, I wanted to use him in a more open story where I can handle him with full reigns. He's a bit of a break-the-fourth-wall type and makes references to outside worlds, such as his "princess in another castle" quote, or most of the songs that he sings (in Chapter 25, we hear one song and get nine references from a particular band. See if you can figure out which one and where they all are. Might give a reward to the first person to do so.)

Actually, I enjoy using real songs to fill in certain emotions. I believe it makes a lot of sense to use songs that people here can actually look up and understand what I'm thinking or feeling. That being said, I also created a couple for this story as well, the first and biggest one you saw/heard was Sorrow of Silidan, the titular song. I actually did write that with background music and everything. It makes perfect lyrical sense while still leaving room for emotional draw, which is important for a song like this. If I ever get a youtube account and someone to play the lute (guitar), I could sing it and send you all a link, but I'll be honest: that's not likely to happen. Just trust me that it's good. Besides, it's all about the words, which you can read anyway.

Another one of the new characters I created is a human slave-owner named Saffir. I based part of her off of 'Miss Hannah Hunter of Greenbriar,' from John Ford's classic film 'Horse Soldiers.' She (Saffir) is a sort of southern-belle type with a decently-loyal servant (Lukey in the movie) who, like most others in Silidan is a racist, but only against hylians. Despite her servant being buko, she isn't prejudice against them. While in her introductory chapter, she seems to deal with a certain character flaw rather quickly and on her own (a VERY impressive feat), she still has a lot of room to grow, and will continue to follow Link and Rusl for a time being.

I'm also gonna address this right now: the abomination, 'Soarinox,' (whom I keep catching myself calling 'Searinox') as it has now been named, is NOT powerful enough to face the goddesses. I know that's what the wizzrobes think, and what a couple of the light spirits say, but that's only because they don't know the truth. It will be made apparent why the goddesses chose not to destroy the abomination when they had the chance (and they DID have a chance). If you'd like a hint, I'll just point back to 'Twilight Princess.'

Inconsistencies with Canon

Now whether or not anyone has noticed, I feel a need to address some issues that may or may not be real canon to the series. I've already stated in an author's note above an early chapter that I believe that Ashei is supposed to be a hylian and not a human, but there are other issues I'm aware of at that moment that might cause concern as well.

One is the ages of the different characters. I have a 'Premiere Edition Strategy Guide' for Twilight Princess and the brief character bios that it provides are rather inconsistent or seemingly inaccurate. Apparently Coro, who is between 15 and 16, is the older brother of Hena, who is between 10 and 20 . . . wait what? Really?! Those are the numbers they have? Now this could be a simple typo, but the range they've got for both characters is another issue entirely. Apparently they could narrow Coro's age down to a year difference, but Hena has a ten year difference. Why? I can think of no other reason except that they are just trying to make some ed-ju-ma-cated guesses. No I'm not using these characters, but you can bet that I'm completely going to ignore any other character age reference that has no real basis. So Link and Ilia are safe, but that's it. I'm not going to make drastic differences, but just know that there will be some.

PANTHEAN REVELATION

Within the next couple of hours, "Panthean Revelation," the sequel to "Sorrow of Silidan," will have its first chapter posted. It takes place quite some time after SoS, and while it's obvious I hope everyone reads that story first, I'm going to do my best to write PR in such a way that it is not mandatory in order to understand what the heck is going on.

With the release of chapter 7, the primary plot of the story has been revealed, and I hope will get people excited. I'll have spoilers posted below discussing it in more detail, but just know that the "slow" start is coming to an end, and we're gonna hit the more intriguing parts of the story VERY soon. Also bare in mind that even though the majority of the adventure will be at sea doesn't mean it's gonna be like 'Wind Waker' (or 'The Phantom Hourglass'). A closer approximation would be "Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

As for the sailing itself, I'm doing my best to make sure that all of the proper sailing terms and information is accurate. The problem is that all of the information is scattered around the web, and no single source can give me everything I need. Heck, just finding a proper ship type for the Peacemaker took several hours to find. I settled on the carrack as it seemed proper for a multipurpose vessel that was amongst the first of its kind to travel across the ocean. They could be either merchant boats or warships, and the idea of them being made within the Zelda setting was not far-fetched. As a specific example, I modeled the Peacemaker after the Mary Rose, which was the only ship I found lots of information on (even though I couldn't tell you precisely how long it was).

As for terminology, each country has their own way of saying certain things. When Trejon says "Heave ho" in chapter 8, that's brit speak. American sailor speak would say something closer to "Lee oh." It's all different, and I can't guarantee that the various terminology will be consistent, but then again, this is a fictional world, so it shouldn't have to be. Nevertheless, for those that are familiar with sailing terminology, feel free to correct me should I ever get something wrong.

Last note (for now) is that PR, based on my most current outline, is looking to be only about 2/3rds the length of SoS. So, instead of 60 chapters, expect there to be closer to 40. It may get longer (maybe even shorter), but this is how it is currently shaping up to be.

(MASS EFFECT 2: FACTOR "X")

I finally gave this one up to someone else to write.

A MATTER OF SURVIVAL

This is the story of my primary character in 'Star Wars: The Old Republic'. I haven't played this game in some time, so I feel less inclined to finish, but it's almost over anyway. Besides which, I'm really just writing this story for myself.

Anyway, on to the actual story. This is my first serious attempt into the first-person perspective. I've dabbled in it before, but not with too much intent. It's a very opinionated perspective, in some respects similar to 'A Catcher in the Rye,' but from an older more mature person looking back at his life. The reason that it is rated M is not because it's explicit, but the subject matter really is mature, and I want people to look at it as such. Just reading the first chapter, one should have realized that this is not a happy story, nor is it really one of triumph. It's about a boy (and eventually a man) who is just trying to get by.

Shipping Panel

...Yeah, I don't do these.

Favorite Quotes

Or these either. I mean, if I wrote every quote that I liked, I'd be spending more time writing them down than my stories.

My Thoughts on Fan Fiction

I'm generally done reading fanfics, as I've become thoroughly unsatisfied with it all around. I just find it perplexing that I could look for something so simple as a Zelda story that feels like a Zelda game (good transition or no) and be so underwhelmed with the numbers that I find (fewer still that are even decent). If you have a request for me to read, I will do so, but my review will more likely be in the form of a PM, as I may be harsh in my critique.

My Thoughts on The Legend of Zelda

I am still impressed at how much effort Nintendo puts into its games, and though I'll gladly admit that 'Skyward Sword' wasn't flawless, I'm even more perplexed at the amount of hate or disinterest it received. It seems that the franchise is slowly going to fade from the "professional designer's" ideal, and become something passed by like Final Fantasy (despite the fact that Final Fantasy has faded FAR below Zelda). As disappointed as I am in people who simply hate change, I feel that the public idea that the franchise needs to change MORE is ridiculous. Now I'm sure that if Nintendo decides to fundamentally change Zelda, they would do an amazing job, but I highly disagree with the idea that it's grown stale. That's just ridiculous. On a side note: The 'Hero of Time' fanfilm is a disgraceful piece of trash that betrays the ideals of the franchise FAR more than it embraces them.

Oh, 'Breath of the Wild' has finally come out, and I must say that this is just another example of how Nintendo continues to puts TONS of effort into their games. And considering how well it received, my earlier fears of it slowly fading from the favor of gamers seem to be unfounded (for now).

My Own Weaknesses As a Writer

I am in serious need of an editor. Like, for real. While I do make it a habit to read my chapters out loud when I edit them myself, I also miss little bits here and there. Also, my style is often to come up with ideas, events, characters, and THEN shape a story around these ideas. Now this CAN lead to some pretty good work (Sorrow of Silidan), it can ALSO lead to staled ideas (Factor X).

I've recently realized (with the help of one reader), that I have a tendency to let certain details be skimmed over in order to get to the ones that I deem more necessary. And after reading more literature than I have in the past several years, I've realized how much of a mistake that is. That's primarily my largest fault at the moment, and I'm working to reduce it.

In regards to The Legend of Zelda: Sorrow of Silidan, while I have gone back and edited my earlier chapters, I still dislike how I essentially forced the story to begin with tragedy, and how many of the side characters (Colin ESPECIALLY) had to die in order for it to work. Aside from the fact that it does essentially repeat the beginning of Twilight Princess (but with actual consequences), it also means that many of the characters that grew during Twilight Princess had to die (again, Colin). This is why I would never try to suggest that my stories ought to be considered as canon (aside from the fact that that's incredibly egotistical).

Final Words

Though I am a harsh critic, I am hardly the ONLY critic. And even though I believe myself to be a superior critic, you don't have to please me to be successful, and I'm not always right either.

Thank you, and God bless!

SPOILERS: DO NOT READ, IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW

Sorrow of Silidan

So...Ilia's dead. No, she's not coming back, I think the method in which she died would be made much less effective if she "got better." I honestly can't remember quite when the decision was made, but I think that what really determined it was the fact that I wanted the characters to be going through some serious ordeals. Shad had his fear, Ashei her guilt, and Rusl his anger. Before this scene all Link had was...longing. That wasn't going to cut it. He was the hero, and that meant his struggle needed to be the greatest of the bunch. As for how it would come about, I knew for a long while that Ilia being on her own would certainly affect her emotional stability as well, but I know I'd previously considered putting her through a lot worse. That changed when I knew she was going to die. It didn't feel right to make her go through so much, only to get killed afterwards anyway. In the end, I realized that Ilia wasn't a 'character' in my story so much as she was a 'goal', and while I'm generally not a fan of killing of characters, I felt it simply made the most sense considering where the story was heading.

Panthean Revelation

If there's one thing that I am anticipating discussion on is the fact that Ashei and Link are willing to risk the possibility of placing their kids in harms way by taking them along their voyage. Make no mistake, the controversy is intentional, and I don't expect every reader to agree with the decision of the characters. Even if this is based on a series that has habitually placed a ten-year old up against the forces of evil, it still shouldn't be taken for granted that all children ought to be okay in similar situations.