I knew as soon as I finished the last chapter that the time had come to let the dragon out of his cage. BIG chapter. BIG antagonist. But how big…how evil? Let me start off by telling you about something that really bothers me. More and more these days it seems like evil is being glorified in TV shows and movies and books. Antiheroes are becoming more popular than heroes. I’ll list a few names here to help me illustrate my point; Dexter, Hannibal Lecter, Walter White, Raymond Redington, Tony Soprano…and let’s throw in Darth Vader just for good measure. All of these characters are antagonists who are treated like protagonists. And here’s the rub; in my opinion, wittingly or unwittingly, these characters were all “developed” to inspire admiration instead of distaste. This is nothing new, and it happens plenty in real life too, but I don’t want to add to something I find to be very disturbing. So, while I definitely want my dragon to be BIG and BAD, I don’t want him to be ‘admired’. The other goal of this chapter revolves around harmonizing the brief span of events within the time fold containing Khaos with the decades that took place in ‘real time’. How would fifty years vs fifty minutes play out and what would that look like from the trapped wizard’s point of view? And lastly, I needed to come up with a plausible way for Khaos to escape from his cage. That’s a lot to get done…let’s see how close I came to pulling it off.
EHLSEWHERE Chapter Twenty Nine
Well, thankfully, some scenes are just more inherently interesting than others–though personal preferences obviously come into play, and who wouldn’t want to know what it’s like to be transformed into a dragon? Upfront, I like the mechanics and how the events play out in the chapter. And I think I hit the plausibility mark. Khaos’ transformation and escape from the time trap worked within the magical framework that had already been established. Most importantly, I don’t think Khaos is likeable/admirable, but he is formidable. I’m very happy with that. What I found a little lacking was the ‘liveliness’ of the narrative. That was especially true when it came to Khaos’ point of view of both the humans he despised and his embrace of the worship bestowed upon him by his new followers. So, add a little depth here, do some polishing there, and I think this will be a good chapter.
May the Lord light you day and your path,,
Mike
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