Thread:Sakaros/@comment-29301-20180903145046/@comment-104549-20190121210937

I'm really glad to read your assessment. It was a tricky balance fleshing out the characters without doing so much background that the story lost momentum; I initially envisioned only three segments for the core narrative, but I wound up transitioning from Grayv to Lishedra and adding the Lishedra segment. I also hoped it would add to the drama of the duel. "Would he kill a POV character?" Yes. Yes he would.

It was nice unleashing Vandak in all his malevolent glory, and I'm glad the result was up in the air for the reader. Had things gone just a little differently in any of a dozen spots, even insane Vandak could have killed them all; at his prime and in full sanity, Vandak would have killed them all.

Was the relationship between Elmir and Bekli sufficiently surprising, yet clear in retrospect based on little hints?