In one of my more standard quest-type stories, Ionathas would likely be the main character. Indeed, there are a lot of his exploits that don’t get chronicled in the story proper that would probably be part of the central plot otherwise. Whether the current setup is a good thing or not, I’ll leave that to the reader.

Besides being the typical hero, Ionathas is important as a representative of Notians sympathetic with the Zephyrians. It’d obviously be a different story if he wasn’t brought up from nothing by the Duke’s patronage, but it was important for him to have a foot in both worlds, as it were. He makes a good counterpoint to Prince Carpos, who betrayed Zephyr to join the Promethean Alliance for his own selfish ends. Also, making him a free knight gives him greater flexibility that a regular member of the legions would have, which is one of the keys to his success when he takes up the Duke’s mantle.

While Prince Carpos is more of an antitype, Sir Caligo is more of a direct analogue. They’re both lowborn men raised to prominence by their military exploits with an elite cadre of close followers who are ultimately betrayed by the very people they fought for. Too bad (or not) for Ionathas not getting the chance to turn into a vampire to exact his revenge. Honestly, I don’t think Ionathas would’ve done what Caligo did even given the opportunity. Therein lies the key difference between the two men. As wrathful as Ionathas was toward the Church for turning on the Crown, he didn’t surrender himself to that wrath, but as a result he was killed for it.

Regarding Ionathas’ relationship with Corona, I think I’ll save that discussion for Corona’s entry. And I believe that’ll do it for now. Ionathas is a fairly straightforward character, so there really aren’t many twists and turns to his characterization. Next up is Lord Xenomachos (once his section is complete). Stay tuned.

I’ve made a little progress on CeleKing3 since I last posted, but I’m still well under quota. As indicated on the main page, I’ve been Disneying it up with the familia. I managed to cap off the magic with my first case of food poisoning, so I’ve been laid low by that. I think I’m on the mend by now, but I’m still a long ways from being at tip-top shape. I’m supposed to be moving out of my current location on Tuesday, so hopefully I’ll be fit to travel by then. I may just have to disregard the quota until I’m settled again. Stay tuned.

It would seem that I’m going to keep you guessing. I worked on CeleKing2 and 3. I should really get the plotline more settled, but I guess knocking out scenes as I get them isn’t a bad thing either. Maybe I’ll devote some time and thought to getting the outlines sorted out. Stay tuned.

Inspiration took me in an unexpected direction and I did some writing on the Cross Arc story Child of Promise. Also did a little bit of dialog for The Boy King’s Madness. Where will the whimsy of my muse take me next? Stay tuned.

I was planning on wrapping up a chapter or two of Tico4, but I wound up doing all my writing on CeleKing2 and CeleKing3. I guess I’m just addicted to Yasuko at the moment. I still have a long ways to go as far as getting the overall plot sorted out, but several key moments have become very clear and I’ve been fleshing them out. It is indeed a lot like my burst of inspiration for JJ. Though I like to have a rather organized approach to my storytelling, more and more I’m letting my inspiration run free and more fully developing ideas as they come to me, even if that means I’ve got these distinct little islands of detail amidst vast seas of nothing. I suppose I can worry more about connections when stories enter full production. Anyway, I’m rambling at this point. I may or may not do a little more work on Tico4 before switching over to TTWC2. We’ll see. Stay tuned.

I made a little progress on Chapter 18 of Tico4, but most of the day’s writing was done on CeleKing2. It’s perhaps fitting that my great interest in this story matches the sort of focused effort I devoted to Junker Jorg last year, seeing as how both are dream-inspired stories. Those seem to have a particular appeal to me. Anyway, I’d like to at least get a chapter or two more of Tico4 wrapped up before I switch back over to TTWC2. Stay tuned.

In the earliest stage of conception of what would become The Trident Chronicles, I didn’t have much to Daphne’s character besides a princess who could communicate with angels and fairies. I believe it had some relation to the Princess character class in Ogre Battle (which at the time I hadn’t played but only read Nintendo Power articles about). She may have been called Daphne at that point. If so, that’s about the only aspect of her original character profile that survived.

When the story was revived in its current incarnation, Daphne began to take shape as we know her now, the sheltered Half Elf daughter of Solon and Xanthe thrust into the role of regent in her parents’ absence due to her brother’s treachery. Her character arc is all about going from the bird in the gilded cage to a proper leader of her people. I like to think that her development really comes through when you compare her encounter with Carpos in her prologue with the one in Chapter 3, then on to her negotiations with Rowland in Chapter 5.

Of course, we can’t talk about Daphne without bringing up Uriel. Pairing the princess and the rogue is a classic trope, but I think we all know that I’m not one to shy away from playing with well-worn tropes. I should probably have a spotlight for Uriel himself, but perhaps I should save that one for a later date. Anyway, focusing on the relationship with Uriel from Daphne’s perspective, there are a lot of elements at work. The element of gratitude for saving her life comes first, then there’s a bit of a girlish crush that forms that later blossoms into a deeper form of companionship. Part of it is to replace her brother and another part is romantic bond. (I’m going to note that Carpos’ incestuous ways are almost entirely one-sided, so there’s not really much cross-pollination going on here with Daphne.) Uriel’s presence goes a long way to building her into the stronger person she becomes, but it’s also no small part of what leads to her downfall. He becomes a blindspot for her. It’s not that she’s unaware of how his presence is compromising to her, but she doesn’t go far enough to keep her distance because she can’t. She needs him too much and it’s used as ammunition against her.

I like playing with the dilemma of balancing the desires of your heart with the duties of your station and I certainly wouldn’t mind exploring that more with Daphne. There may be a short or two in the future for it. Anyway, next up is Ionathas. Stay tuned.

I’ve mostly finished Chapter 16 of Tico4 and also did a fair bit of work on Chapters 17 through 20. I stand a good chance of getting a couple the chapters in that set finished before the weekend’s out. A fairly pleasantly productive week, I’d say. Stay tuned.

I went ahead and added the couple chapters I hinted at earlier. This may throw off some of the earlier entries in WIP Update series, but I don’t think anyone’s making some chart of my progress by story and chapter or anything. One of them is the new Chapter 20 and the other was stuck on the end at Chapter 32. Chapter 20 brings us back to our leads for a bit before continuing into the next arc and Chapter 32 helps tie things up after the climax. I wrote a little dialog for both. I need to update the table of contents on the site, but I haven’t committed to a name for Chapter 20 yet. I’ll get that sorted out. Stay tuned.

Made progress on Chapter 16 of Tico4. Also did a little bit on Chapter 20 and 21. I’m a little worried about pacing coming out of Chapter 16, so I may be making some adjustments to the overall chapter structure. Might be adding a chapter or two. We’ll see. Stay tuned.