I made more progress on Chapter 11 of TBP, pretty much finishing it, but I’m not entirely satisfied with the ending. I’ll let it sit a while and come back to it later. Chapters 12 and 13 are already pretty much done, but I’ll go back over them and then move on to Chapter 14. Stay tuned.

I made more progress on Chapter 11 of TBP. I will be very happy if I can keep up progress at this rate. Stay tuned.

I made some headway in Chapter 11 of TBP. Not having any additional genealogy work to do in this story definitely helps on the ol’ progress front. I’d like to get through Chapter 14 if I can (Chapter 12 is already written if you recall), but we’ll see how it goes. Stay tuned.

I made some progress on Chapter 11 of TBP, enough to satisfy quota but not as much as I would’ve liked. Can’t do much when you’re nodding off at the keyboard, after all. It’s time to move on to CeleKing1. We’ll see how far I get. Aiming to get into Chapter 19 before the week’s out. Stay tuned.

I put those finishing touches I mentioned on Chapter 6 of TBP, did some revisions on Chapter 8 and wrote a few lines on Chapter 11. I hope to get at least Chapter 11 done before the weekend’s out. Stay tuned.

I made a little progress on Chapter 6 of TBP, mostly finishing it but still coming up under quota. I’ll add the finishing touches and then move on to Chapter 11. Stay tuned.

I made more progress on Chapter 6 of TBP. A bit under quota, but the little boss was insisting I go to bed. I did get about halfway through my review backlog, though, so that offsets things a little. I’m going to try to get through the chapter with the next push. Stay tuned.

I made more progress on Chapter 6 of TBP. Another day and I should be done with it. Stay tuned.

I got things off to a good start making decent progress on Chapter 6 of TBP. If I can continue at this pace, I should do rather well. Stay tuned.

Stock fantasy races like Orcs, Goblins and Trolls tend fit the Always Chaotic Evil mold, no doubt in part as an easy way to have them slaughtered en masse without triggering any moral compunction. Some more recent authors go to great pains to avert the stereotype. I don’t set out explicitly to upend what you think about when you hear the word “Goblin”, but my two Goblin leads in the Trident War Chronicles are among the more sympathetic, so you could be forgiven for thinking that was specifically my objective. No, I just develop characters in ways I find interesting.

Actually, Urgill was more of a stock Goblin character in earlier incarnations. Only as I tried to make her more interesting did she become a more rounded character (and in many ways more upstanding than a lot of my human leads). Her tragic infatuation with Rowland was an early development, but as she became a consecrated warrior maiden kept from fulfilling the traditional female role in her society, that infatuation took on grander proportions. You can imagine the fantasy that took shape in her mind, her returning to her homeland in triumph with her otherworldly prince to liberate her people from the Monarch Lich. Of course, even if Rowland had any intention of helping her, even if he loved her the way she wanted to be loved, that dream would’ve been doomed to failure. Her ultimate fate was almost a mercy.

Originally Urgill went to Notos entirely of her own volition, a terribly ill-thought out bit of teen rebellion. Now it’s part of a plot by her father that’s still ill-thought out, but has a little more credibility to it (if you ignore the overwhelming power of the Monarch Lich, which is something no one who hasn’t faced him directly has a good handle on). You feel more of a touch of destiny in Urgill’s mission, even if she was destined for failure.

It might’ve been fun to have more scenes of Urgill’s rivalry with Simona, but I think I had just the right amount. If I showed too much of Simona’s merciless contempt for Urgill, there wouldn’t be much audience sympathy left for her. I did like the juxtaposition, Urgill who was elevated in the eyes of her people contrasted with the debased Simona (not so much in Rowland’s service, but definitely in her old life as a comfort woman). Both of them had their unrequited love for Rowland, though as we learned, under different circumstances Rowland might have actually responded to Simona’s feelings. I still feel a bit sorry for Urgill getting hooked on someone way out of her league.

If she had the resources for it, it might have been interesting to see Urgill found a community south of the River. It definitely would’ve sown the seeds of future conflict, but Rowland’s ruthlessness put an end to that possibility well before it could present an actual threat.

And I guess that does it for Urgill. Next time we’ll deal with Mab, a character who developed in some interesting ways that I look forward to discussing. Stay tuned.