Cozy :
It's been a year.
It really, really has been a year.
I started this story out on November 7th, 2012, because I was like 'Fine, to hell with everything, #yoloswag, if the world's going to end I may as well write to my heart's content! I ought to give myself the fair chance, to write as much as I want, as much as I wish!' It was a simple thought like that. To have come this far after a full year... To have made 32 pre-Route chapters and 8 Messiah chapters, this really makes me shed tears of joy.
No, I mean it literally, in actual terms, not figuratively. I'm emotional like that. I cry a lot, despite being a guy.
Considering that every post is weekly, I'd have taken 3 months' off either rushing my project, or gathering materials to improve the story and the plot for improving the true route, and I'd have worked on this for 9 months in total. That's a load of effort and words and text put into a small story driven by one person alone, with slight help and feedback from my readers. (You guys rock! <3)
Back then, the story's plot wasn't even set in stone. I had the plot running off in a) weird, or b) predictable directions. I had imagined things like "What would I do with Bael's personality? How could I play around that and make the journey they're going to have exciting?", before I realized that making her a sort of psychotic, crazed wench with a 'brother' complex would make it work sort-of good too. That was the birth of the Bael you read about now. (Speaking of which, you'll see it soon, how Bael absolutely flips out when she finds out that Katachi and Roberia are married.)
I've also tried making good guesses to the characters' thought processes by giving them appropriate personalities. For Katachi, I tried giving him the sort of detached personality, one who strives for spiritual maturity and *bleep*. WHOOPS THE SPOILERS THAT WAS CLOSE HEHEH, anyway, essentially what I wanted to give him was that sort of serious, kind, and at the same time, fragile, sort of personality. He's a nice person and all, but he's easy to break. Perhaps a bit too easy - And that's what makes the story quite interesting later on.
For Roberia, I've given her the sort of personality that would click well with Katachi - I've made Bael so interesting, that I couldn't keep her in a romantic relationship with Katachi, without him freaking out or doing something interesting as a counter. Roberia is sort of a check to that, and I've made sure to put her pivotal in certain aspects such that her presence in the story doesn't seem filler-like. In Messiah, which you're now enjoying, she is Katachi's wife under official terms.
It's good and bad in itself - They do get along on good terms, but it's never really strong enough to be considered love. In Herald, I have plans of making her an enemy, an ally, and love interest at the same time - Divided and never to meet because of their status. I maintained the 'love interest' part because I've tailored Roberia in a way that she'll always be compatible with Katachi, no matter what kind of story it turns out to be.
So... Yeah. That's the general synopsis of how I'm moving with the story progression.
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Well, that's me rambling on and on about the plot development to come. In any case! Let's get on with the actual event I've been waiting for - The important, titular characters that will take up the three routes predominantly!
Welcome Yvolki, the Bird of Dream!
Welcome Hraxiif, the Wolf of Fear!
Now, what are they, you may ask. It's obvious you'd ask a question like that - I haven't gotten that far into the story yet! XD D'oh.
Well, from the previous chapters, you've learnt that Image Power, this mythical force of a person's subconscious, forms the basic building block of many, many spells. It's quite direct - If you believe something to be true, your energy will be oriented around the fact that it is true. It will get to a point where that energy simply swells up and bursts forth, in the exact image you had envisioned it to be.
Yvolki and Hraxiif, essentially, are the 'side effects' of Image Power. Just as Image Power reinforces a spell's strengths and weaknesses, it too, on a subconscious level, reinforces everything a person thinks and believes. Yvolki and Hraxiif are formed from the knowledge of people - What people consider to bring hope, will collate the subconscious energy they release into this sentient being - With the same vigor, what people consider to bring fear will too collate into a sentient being.
In Messiah , you learnt that Yvolki is a bird-like beast. This is not without base - The dragon has been a symbol of strength, and the bird, a symbol of freedom. The wyvern, a mix of both dragon and avian, has no specific classification unlike its parents; But that also means it is free to choose both, to inherit both benefits at the same time.
That is why Yvolki's shape is wyvern-like : People of that time have yearned for both the strength and power to do what they wanted, and the freedom of a bird to perform as they wish without ostracizing eyes. The wyvern had been the best representation, thus the primary, 'raw' form Yvolki assumes.
Hraxiif is a character you'd first know, in detail, during the Herald route. For now, that's too early to speak of, but I can say one thing for sure - I like the way he turned out. You'd love Hraxiif. You'd definitely love him a lot, if I manage to emulate out the desired effect. If you're the type who enjoys a sort of intellectual, dangerous and powerful anti-hero, whom despite his evil actions is surprisingly rational and charismatic, you'd definitely enjoy the route where Hraxiif appears.
Because, the scary thing is, despite how horrible it is, despite how callous, cruel, merciless it's been portrayed, he convinces Katachi, with a resolute and unshakable foundation and will, why it is necessary. I really like the way he turns out - It brings out his purpose, which at one point Katachi questions and he elaborates the difference between himself and Yvolki.
And, from the way I've phrased that, you guessed it - Unlike Yvolki, whom can only roar and speak in a vulgar manner, Hraxiif is refined, and speaks the human tongue properly. If I can make a sentence that describes him... He is a professional gentlemanly merciless strategist and assassin who will never get flak for his actions.
Yvolki and Hraxiif play a rather important part in each of the routes : Although Yvolki's role in Messiah isn't as clear-cut as Hraxiif's role in Herald, Hraxiif will state a casual comment in reply to Katachi's question. When I write, and you read that far, you'd look back and go "OH~! SO THAT'S WHY!!" to what happened in Messiah.
I really want you guys to have that sort of realization, that discovery effect, where you see things a second time and understand so much more than you did in your first look.. It's really, really awesome to experience something like that, and I try my best to provide you faithful readers with the best content! Someday I will! SOMEDAY!!! *stabs own arm with stylus accidentally* OWWWW-
... Well, that's about enough information disclosed, actually. Give any more, and it's going to spoil the story for you. I wouldn't want that at all. XD Look forward to another happy, fruitful year (hopefully) of the Words of Power Quest! Peace!
Signing off,
Cozy
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