Sylvia Talgan’s POV

  The morning light seeped in through the curtains giving the room just enough light for him to be able to see. I waited patiently while he examined himself using my hand mirror. It’s been a very long three weeks. Excruciatingly long…

  Night sweats, fevers, groans of pain… if I didn’t know better, I would have thought Voker was actually dying. It was just like the old healer said, he was barely conscious for more than a few hours at a time. Sometimes he would even go a whole day without breaking his fever.

  I was just unbelievably happy that I didn’t need to help him relieve himself. If he wasn’t capable of at least that, I would have died from embarrassment a thousand times. But Voker was manageable, just like the healer said. Wiping the sweat from him was… enough for me.

  And that wasn’t the only thing she was right about.

  “Hair’s long. Need to cut it,” he said idly.

  His voice was deeper and had a warm even tone to it now. He rolled his head around in his hand and then stood up. Just a month ago, he was barely to my chest yet now he was almost half a head taller than me. He stretched his long arms and grimaced slightly.

  Voker has changed… a lot. The little Dark Elf boy was gone and in his place was what seemed like a new man. His long, raven black hair went to his shoulders, and his broad shoulders and back were marked with scars. After spending some time with Dark Elves in The Barrens, I couldn’t help but notice how different he looks compared to them.

  His skin was much lighter, and his face was a completely different shape. Most Dark Elves had softer facial features that made them look more Human than Elf sometimes, although they all still possessed natural Elven beauty. They were also far bigger than a Wood or High Elf. And it seems Voker has inherited both sides of his blood almost equally.

  Voker’s face was sharp and chiseled like a High Elf, while his body had grown immensely. However, despite being much bigger now, he was still skinny. It was almost like his body used every bit of fat and muscle to make him grow. The frame was there, but it was unfilled.

  He sat down in a chair and summoned his blue cobalt sword from his ring, and was about to start chopping away at his hair when I blurted out. “Hey! What are you doing?”

  He turned around with the most neutral face and raised a single eyebrow at me. “Cutting my hair?” he said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

  I just returned his blank stare. Seems his body grew faster than his brain. I let out a deep sigh. “No offense but I saw what your hair looked like last time you cut it. I’ll help you.”

  “You know how to cut hair?”

  “Better than you, that’s for certain,” I huffed.

  He relented with a shrug and put his sword away. I took out my own dagger and a pair of scissors. I gently grabbed some of his silky black hair and the softness of it was unimaginable. If anything, his hair was prettier than mine…

  Honestly, how is this even fair?

  “How much do you want me to cut?”

  “All of it.” His voice wavered slightly as he stared at the wall in front of him.

  “Okay…”

  Before I even touched his hair, a bowl of earth surrounded his neck. I assumed it was to catch all of his hair, so I set to work on cutting, but I was busy focusing on the way he spoke. He almost seemed sad about cutting his hair…

  “Do you not want to cut your hair?” I asked.

  Come to think of it? All the Dark Elves I saw had really long hair. Even the men’s hair was long, sometimes even going past their hips. Some had braids, and others just had them tied up but…

  “It’s necessary. Long hair is associated with Dark Elves, something I can’t afford.”

  “But if you could… you wouldn’t cut your hair, would you?”

  “No, I wouldn't. I made a promise to my father, but I’m afraid it’s one I wasn’t able to keep,” he said under his breath.

  “Really? That’s a shame…your hair is so pretty, too…”

  Voker turned around and eyed me with his single swirling purple eye. It looked like a gem of the highest purity. “Pretty?” he questioned.

  I felt the tips of my ears burn from the embarrassment. I had let my thoughts slip out and didn’t even realize it. Idiot.

  I grabbed him by his neck and turned him forward by force. “Don’t turn around when I’m cutting your hair!”

  “Okay… sorry,” he grumbled.

  We spent the next few minutes in relative silence. Perhaps I had been a little too aggressive with that move… did I make him mad?

  Voker shifted slightly and his shoulders relaxed. “You know my hair used to be even longer than yours,” Voker said fondly, like remembering a happy dream.

  “Really? I can almost see it… well, on the old you anyways.”

  “What do you mean the old me?” he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

  “Well, you’ve changed so much and…”

  I didn’t know what else to say.

  “Is that so? I don’t think I’ve changed all that much. Well, besides physically, but that was long overdue. I’m still me, you know?”

  “I know that! It’s just… different!” I yelled.

  “Okay, okay… you don’t have to yell. You’re making my ears ring,” he complained while rubbing them.

  Yeah, well… don’t state the obvious!

  Voker took a deep breath, then shuffled in his chair a little. “Thanks, Sylvia.”

  “What for? I didn’t—”

  “But you did. You took care of me for weeks even though you didn’t have to. Judging by the weather, you should have left me behind and gone to Luminar on your own. But you stayed with me instead. Thank you,” he said earnestly.

  My face started burning from his kind words. Voker doesn’t usually praise me. He does thank me a lot but never unnecessarily. When he’s being so earnest like this, it’s hard to look him in the eyes. Thankfully, he didn’t turn around.

  “Yeah, of course. You would have done the same for me, right?” I asked curiously.

  Would Voker have stayed behind for me? To take care of me for almost a month?

  “Of course. I made a promise, didn’t I? Besides, I haven’t heard your answer to my offer yet.”

  His offer…

  “I haven’t decided! Barely even thought about it!” I blurted out.

  “No need to rush things. We have plenty of time. Speaking of time… what month is it?”

  “Ah… about that… Voker,” I said seriously.

  “Yes?”

  “If the dates are right… we were in the dungeon for over a year,” I said.

  “I see… that explains the weather. It’s far too cold to be summer or fall. But if I was going off my food supplies, it should have been mid-summer. I wonder if teleporting us out messed up the timing somehow? Guess it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.”

  I blinked slowly at his words. Voker doesn’t talk all that much, but when he does, he sometimes says the weirdest things… occasionally, he will say words that I just don’t understand. But if he is really from some backwater village, then how does he know so much? I know his grandpa was a good teacher but…ugh.

  “So… what are we going to do then?” I asked, trying to dispel the silence.

  Voker turned around and eyed me suspiciously. “We? You want to stay with me? After everything that has happened?”

  “Are you really going to make me say it?!”

  “Ah? What? Why are you turning red? Did I make you mad?”

  Idiot!

  “Did you think after everything we went through, I was just going to leave the second we got back to the surface?!”

  “Umm, I don’t know… that’s… why I’m asking?” he said nervously.

  “You really are stupid. You know that?” I snorted.

  “Sure?” he squeaked.

  “You said it yourself… it feels good having somebody you can trust. Being able to close my eyes at night knowing you are there. Well, I don’t think I can trust anyone else like that.” I said sheepishly. “And of course, you know who I am so I can’t let you go running around telling people!” I yelled.

  This idiot…when he said he didn’t care about me being Talgan’s granddaughter that night, it made me so happy. Once I heard about how the world saw grandpa I thought nobody would ever accept me. Yet Voker doubled down and said it didn’t change a thing… he still saw me as Sylvia and only I could change that fact… honestly…

  A small smile crept upon his face. Was this the first time I’ve seen him smile?

  “I’m glad to hear that we feel the same then. And I would never do that to you, just like I hope you would never do that to me.”

  “Of course, I wouldn’t do that… you would probably kill me…”

  Voker turned back around and chuckled to himself. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  Huh?! Wait! Is he—

  “That was a joke… by the way,” he said defeated.

  “You aren’t funny at all!” I hissed while pinching his neck.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  He flinched and gently rubbed his neck.“Oww…so I’ve been told…” he said with a sigh. “Anyways, what are we going to do? Has the first snow fallen yet?”

  “No, but it’s going to happen anytime now. If we hurry we might be able to get through the pass.”

  “So the odds are pretty low then? What are we going to do if we can’t take the pass? Is there another way?”

  “Unless you want to go into another dungeon. The Iron Citadel is a dungeon that has multiple entrances and exits. You can find a path to the other side of the mountains using it,” I said.

  Voker’s shoulders tensed and I could see the lines of his jaw clench.“I… going into another dungeon ever again is far too soon for me.”

  “Agreed. I figured if worse comes to worst we can just stay in Nactus for the winter, then head out as soon as the snow melts.”

  “Seems that may be the only option. My shins and knees feel like they are burning and my lower back is killing me. And I’m starving… but moving forward is more important. We can head out today,” he suggested.

  “Sounds like a plan. And I’m finished,” I said while taking a few steps back.

  Voker brought the hand mirror back up and started checking my work. I might not be that good at cutting people’s hair, but anything was better than whatever butchery he committed last time. If anything I must say that… he looks very… uh… good.

  Voker stood up and looked over at me. “Looks nice. Far better than I would have done.”

  He tilted his head to the side after looking me up and down. I felt a tinge of embarrassment from his intense gaze. Everything about him was always so intense and he was always serious… at times like this, would it kill him to relax?

  “Speaking of food, you are looking more pale than usual. You haven’t drank any of my blood, have you?”

  “I haven’t… I didn’t want to hurt you while you were well… growing and stuff,” I squeaked.

  Stupid voice! Why am I nervous…

  Voker didn’t smile, but his eyes softened somewhat. “Then I can wait to eat. Seems I have another reason to be thankful.”

  He sat back onto the bed and beckoned for me to come over to him. I obliged and crawled onto the bed and positioned myself behind him. I took my mask off and stored it so it wouldn’t get in the way. I moved to sink my fangs into him, but I hesitated. His body was warm despite the cold room, and he smelled of sweat.

  We’ve done this… I can’t even imagine how many times… so why does this feel so different? Why is my heart pounding in my chest? Ah, screw it! I bit into the side of his neck and his body went rigid for a second.

  Voker let out a weird sound then. “What are yo—you…” he said with a shaky voice.

  I didn’t end up drinking all that much but I felt a pang of fear as I looked up at Voker. His breathing was short and fast but it wasn’t strained and his entire face was flushed a bright pink. The tips of his ears were the same bright pink color and he was staring at me with his two different colored eyes while trying to mouth out words only to make barely audible gasps.

  What kind of face is he making right now? What’s with him? He looks confused? Uncertain? Something else… I’ve never seen him look at me like this before.

  Suddenly Voker shot up from the bed. “I’m going for a walk!” he proclaimed in an uneven voice.

  “Wai—” my voice faltered.

  Voker was already up and, with swift movements, had donned his old cloak, which barely fit him anymore. Which he didn’t seem the least bit bothered. His mask hadn’t even finished changing him yet. I watched as his black hair changed to an ashen gray and his tan skin washout to a creamy white. He slammed the door on his way out… he didn’t even have shoes on…

  What… what have I done?

  —

  Kaladin Shadowheart’s POV

  Two hundred and twenty-two…Two hundred and twenty-three…Two hundred and twenty-four…Two hundred and twenty-five

  I collapsed onto the hard cold dirt of the empty orchard and sucked in the fresh winter breath. My chest ached and pulsed with blood from all these pushups. Despite puberty smacking me like a railgun, my body was still weak and hurting. And judging by the pain in my joints I still had some growing to do. I’ve heard of late bloomers but this was something completely different.

  Did my body know it was in danger so it was holding off the process for as long as possible? Is that even a possibility? Or did coming into contact with that dungeon core do something to me? Puberty was long overdue for me but… more importantly… what the hell is wrong with me?

  Never in any of my combined twenty-eight years of life have I ever felt like this before. Or is it twenty-nine years? My birthday is coming up soon again. Argh!

  My heart feels like it’s about to burst out from my neck, my hands are sweating profusely, and my mind is hazy as all hell. And it’s not helping that this won’t stop either.

  I was feeling fine until Sylvia drank from my neck. She has done it hundreds of times and I’ve never once had this kind of reaction. At that moment… I felt… I’m not even sure.

  Whatever this feeling is, it feels great but I’m sort of afraid of it. At that moment… if I didn’t snap myself out of whatever daze I was in? What… what would I have done? What did I want to do…

  And is this me? Surely this all can’t be put onto Sylvia… I’m so uncertain.

  Uncertain enough that my clouded mind didn’t register the footsteps of two people approaching me. I kicked myself off the ground and took my gladius out from my ring to face the two people. They weren’t bothering to hide their presence and their footsteps were heavy as they trudged through the dead orchid.

  The man turned around a grouping of barren shrubbery and stopped dead in his tracks. With wide eyes, the man tried speaking but his friend ended up running into his back only for him to stare at me in surprise.

  “Voker? Is… is that you, kid?”

  “Mr. Nick and Mr. Adrian…” I muttered.

  Standing side by side now were the two members of The Stars. An adventurer group that was friends with Dem and co. I had even gone on a small adventure with the three men to terminate some vegetable monsters on a farm last year. Nick was wearing his usual leather armor with his two long daggers strapped to his chest while Adrian stood tall wearing purple and gold robes, his scimitar on his hip.

  Adrian was a native of The Dunes, a desert region on the western side of Amoth. It appears he has gotten a few tattoos in the last year, as his right arm was now covered in black markings.

  “I heard you died in a dungeon… is that really you, kid?” Nick asked with trepidation.

  “Unless another High Elf found his mask at the bottom of a dungeon and put it on…” Adrian mused while crossing his arms across his chest.

  “Does that mean Dem and everyone survived?” I asked quickly.

  “Yeah, they all made it out beside you and the other masked girl… hey… did they?”

  I could already tell what Nick was alluding to. “No, they had nothing to do with our downfall. There was nothing any of them could have done to save us,” I reassured him.

  “Ah, that’s good… just wanted to be sure,” Nick said, relief spreading across his face. “But what happened to you? It’s only been a year and—”

  Adrian had nudged Nick on the shoulder and when our eyes met he quickly averted them. Adria mumbled something so quietly I couldn’t even hear it and then Nick looked over at me. His eyes went wide and the two of them spun around with their backs to me.

  “What!? What is wrong with you kid! Sheath your swords please!” Nick screeched.

  Adrian chuckled nervously. “I always thought that it was just a joke when people said Elves like doing it in nature…”

  My face started burning from the absolutely tremendous amount of embarrassment that washed over me. I was sort of happy to see them but now I just wanted to crawl into a hole and bury myself and hoped nobody finds my body.

  “I— I’m sorry! This has never happened before! I don’t know what to do! I…” I stammered out nervously.

  “What do you mean this has never happened before!” Nick yelled in frustration.

  “Don’t you have somebody to talk to? A father? Brother? Uncle? Anyone?” Adrian suggested with an awkward laugh.

  “No! I don’t… I don’t have anyone…”

  Nick turned his head around slightly and looked at me with a mix of pity and second-hand embarrassment. “Seriously?”

  “Yes!” I yelled back.

  Nick looked up into the clear blue sky and sighed deeply. “Ah, shit…”

  Nick turned on his heels and walked over to me. He never once broke eye contact and refused to look at me anywhere other than my masked face. He set a hand on my shoulder and nodded more to himself than to me.

  With a small grin, Nick said, “Okay… then let me teach you some things I wish somebody taught me when I was your age. Learn from someone else's mistakes, ya know?”

  “You are really gonna… uh… help him?” Adrian choked out.

  Nick snapped around and pointed a finger at Adrian’s face. “Not like that!” he hissed in frustration. “Just gonna teach him some things so he doesn’t make the same mistakes somebody I know did, that’s all!”

  Adrian sighed and turned around, his face red. “I guess… you’re right. Alright, sure.”

  “Now then, I beg you… please cover yourself, kid.” Nick pleaded.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  —

  “So, you understand things now? This is the type of stuff you have to handle as a man now… on your own… in a more private place. Got it?” Nick chided while patting me on the back.

  “Ah, yes, I understand sir,” I said.

  “Don’t start calling me sir. It’s weird.”

  “Okay, sorry.”

  I hadn’t been sure what this reaction from my body was, but with Nick and Adrian’s explanation, I now understood, and my embarrassment was insurmountable. I’ve never lusted over anyone before let alone had such a strong inclination to do such things. I didn’t even know that’s what it felt like until Nick explained it to me. I knew about it but experiencing it was a completely different thing. I now understand why they hindered those parts of our brains.

  Augmented super-soldiers with a sex drive would have been a huge problem…

  “You know? You are pretty strong-willed, kid,” Adrian mused while nodding his head at me.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I agree. Not sure what happened to you to make you like this, but most men would have succumbed to their temptation. Especially with a cute Elf hanging around,” Nick said earnestly.

  “I… I suppose…”

  If I hadn’t reined myself in, would I have attacked Sylvia? I would never want to do that in a million lifetimes… I would never forgive myself.

  Nick had a far-off look in his eyes as he addressed me. “Let me leave you with a bit more advice, kid. Don’t succumb to your temptations. It’s hard… it really is. You get some drink in you… do some things… and you will never live it down.” Nick chuckled to himself, but the man looked defeated. “You make those mistakes, and you have to live with it your entire life… I couldn’t imagine living with those kinds of mistakes for hundreds of years…” he muttered.

  Nick was looking at me with a dead-serious expression. “So learn from those who came before you, alright? Heed my warnings and all that?”

  “Yeah, I will.”

  “I’m serious, I really am,” Nick said, almost threatening me.

  “I know you are, Nick.”

  “And one more thing, it’s just as important as not giving in.”

  “And what’s that?” I asked.

  “Not ignoring those desires. It’s one thing to act on them but ignoring them is just as bad, you know? You’re a man, so there’s nothing wrong with admiring someone that catches your eye. You see that beautiful girl at the tavern. Go talk to her. If you’re interested, you're interested, right? Nothing wrong with that. Just don’t give into that stupid urge in the back of your head… don’t do something that would make your mother disappointed in you.”

  “Exactly. If you don’t have any desires, are you even a man? Ignoring them will just turn you into an empty shell of a person. Everybody has to have something they desire, or they aren’t even alive. Find a balance,” Adrian added. “And if those urges ever get to be too much, there are plenty of women of the night who would be more than happy to assist a young man such as yourself.”

  A balance… don’t give in but don’t ignore your desires… women of… the night?

  Just when I thought I couldn’t get more embarrassed. “I—I… I will keep that in mind,” I squeaked.

  The man gave me a small smile and a nod. Then Adrian chuckled. “That’s a good one, Nick. Don’t do something that would disappoint your mother. I like that… did you come up with that on your own?”

  “Shut it…” Nick griped.

  “I understand,” I said to both of them. “I have a lot to think about, but I will take your words to heart. I feel much better, thank you both very much.”

  “Don’t mention it, kid, and stop being so formal with me...” Nick stood up from the dirt floor and dusted himself off with a wave he said, “Good job on surviving that nightmare and coming back even stronger. I’ll see you around, Voker.”

  “I look forward to our next meeting, Voker. Take care of yourself… in more ways than one,” Adrian said with a short bow and chuckle.

  My face flushed with embarrassment yet again. I feel attacked on every level. There isn’t a manual for this kind of torture…

  Bastards…

  The two of them walked off through the orchids and left me to my own thoughts. I had much to think about. But I was thankful for what these two men taught me.

  I also had a whole new set of problems to deal with. Things can not continue like this…

  I’ll die from the embarrassment or grief… Is it too much to say I would rather go back into a dungeon than face Sylvia right now?

  Q: How's your day going?

  A: Pretty good. As of yesterday, I'm officially on spring break. This means I get to write more and finally relax. Speaking of writing more...

  Q: What's with the current schedule? Are you keeping it like this?

  A: In short, yes. For the remainder of April for Writathon. You can expect at least 3-4 chapters a week, maybe more. There will probably be a point towards the end of the month where I post as soon as I finish a chapter. However, when April ends, I will be changing gears back to school and focusing on the last leg of the semester, which probably means a return to 1 chapter a week.

  I also agree that I haven't been clear on the release schedule like I was once, even more so on Reddit, where I don't have a "main page." I'll rectify this starting now.

  Q: Could you make a list of semi-important stuff you have changed in the previous chapters and volumes?

  A: I did once upon a time, but I didn't do it this time around. When I said I went back and changed Vol.1 around, I just meant grammatically/style/formating. I did change some story bits but they were so unbelievably minor they aren't even worth mentioning, and you wouldn't need to go back and re-read to understand. If anything, the Prologues got the most significant rework, and even then, the story is still the same.

  Q: The italics formatting is consistently screwed up on RR. I imagine it's an RR problem, anyway.

  A: Is this true? I have no idea. Nobody has ever mentioned this to me before. Everything seems fine on my end...

  Q: Describe things like nervousness ticks more, maybe? Small details like body language and bad habits he picked up like eating fast.

  A: This is good. I feel like I've sort of dropped the ball on body/facial details and focused more on voices and stuff. Hopefully, I can get even better at this type of stuff. Look forward to a noticeable change in Vol.4. Hopefully...

  Q: Kaladin often speaks using idioms/colloquialism that are appropriate to us, but would most likely be completely confusing to people in the world - like 'brainwashed'.

  A: This right here is a mistake on my part. I try my best to make sure I use the proper idioms and stuff, but I'm sure I mess up a lot. There are times when I do it on purpose and have a character call out Kal, and sometimes I try to describe the character just being confused at his words but more often than not, I probably made a mistake. If you catch me doing this kind of stuff, please point it out. I promise you I won't be mad. And that goes for any kind of suggestion.

  Q: The story so far has established characters each volume but then discards them the next.

  A: There was more to this question, and a few you brought this up amongst other things which I will touch on. But first, I understand. I want this to be a big world with lots of characters. Some characters you will learn about won't be essential and others will. Some will return, and others won't. I know right now it feels that I am just forgetting these characters, but I'm not. I know they are there, and I promise you will see them again when the time is right. As a matter of fact, in Vol.4 you will see more familiar faces than new faces at the start.

  Q: POV Swaps to other characters.

  A: Lots of questions on this, and this connects to what I said in the last answer. Ask yourselves, do you want the POV swaps because other authors do it or are you afraid I won't ever bring the characters back? If it's the former, then Idk what to tell you. But if it's the latter, I promise I have no intentions of ending this story any time soon. I would have to become physically incapable of writing to stop now. Even if it takes me longer, I will finish this story. And remember, this story is all about Kaladin Shadowheart always has been. Besides the epilogues... but I already explained that last chapter down below.

  Q: Kaladin being more militaristic like.

  A: This was brought up a bit as well. As we can see here, a vast majority of you who filled out the survey agree with how I am handling things for the most part. However, there is a large pocket of you that want more and I understand. I think when I go back, I might add more tidbits of stuff like overanalyzing fights and so on, but for the most part, I'm not sure I would change much more. Let me give you my train of thought.

  Since he has been able to walk normally, Kal has put himself on a rigid training schedule that includes both physical and mental training. He comes from a time when most of his training is currently null. He was a soldier/leader of a squad that mostly participated in large planetary scale battles—using weapons/armor/resources that he no longer has. Of course, things do cross over. He has shown that in his magic/when fighting people. I believe fighting monsters is a little different.

  There is also the mental aspect. Kal has been through a lot. I feel when most MCs go through what Kal went through and either shrug things off like it's no big deal or overcome them in moments doesn't make alot of sense. But if you were a battle-hardened super-soldier, coming to terms with brutally killing someone/going through absolute hell would be a bit easier. At least, I think it is. Not that I'm either of those things or have experience. Keep in mind he is doing all of this while being reluctant.

  I suppose as the story is right now, Kal/Kronos can't show up fully because of the circumstances if there was ever a war/large-scale battle. Best be known, I would lean more into Kronos's experience 100%. But until that happens, I think I'm happy with how things are, but I shall make an effort to improve and be more detailed.

  Q: There should be more of a noticeable difference between Commander Kronos' personality and Kaladins personality.

  A: This is not what I am aiming for. I don't want Kal to have multiple personalities. There should be times in the story where it's like, "Oh, he is in Kronos mode right now." or "Oh, hey, that's him trying to be Kal right now." But outside of those moments, I want Kal to be a combination of all his experiences. Just like how we are as people. People tend to be a culmination of all their life experiences, after all. So when Sylvia, at the end of Vol.3 said there were "3 people" inside his head, that wasn't exactly right. There aren't 3 people in his head, but sometimes Kal embodies different versions of himself. In my mind, Kaladin Shadowheart is his ideal personality. Kronos is the version of himself that he no longer wants to be. And Voker is the personification of both his ideal and unideal self. And at the end of the day, Kal is just a combination of these things.

  Q: Deeper meaning/understanding of Bloodlust.

  A: I have been rather vague on this. I've touched upon it only a tad in the story and answered it sometimes in my Discord, but to sum it up, I'll be delving into it more in Vol.4. However, for the time being, it's less of a magic ability and more or less connected with a type of 6th sense. I suppose you call it a mental attack and less of a physical, if you had to weaponize it. But more on that in Vol. 4

  Q: I would like to see the difference in expertise levels in magic a little more clearly. Having it described earlier in vol.1 helped, but since then, there hasn't been much to compare...

  A: This is... accurate. I've sort of dropped the ball on this one, huh? I felt like I was pretty good initially, but I haven't done a very good job recently. I'll just say that I'll be working on this, and hopefully, I can provide a better understanding in this upcoming volume.

  Q: Genres.

  A: This is what you guys had to say about your favorite upcoming genres. If you are in the majority, then I believe you are going to enjoy Vol.4 a lot.

  Q: Romance/sex in the story. etc...

  A: Now is an excellent time to talk about this, considering the chapter you all just read. What you just read is reaching the upper limit of what I'll be writing regarding sex/sexual encounters. I won't be writing in-detail/in-depth sex scenes at all, and that won't change regardless of how much time passes in the story.

  I've always wanted Romance to play a part in the story but I've been waiting for when the time is right. As you can imagine, this will probably be a slow development for Kal as a character. He is almost 14 at this point, so I feel comfortable about finally touching upon this genre. Then again, don't expect anything crazy. Kal isn't suddenly going to start pumping out babies with every female character in eyeshot. And when I do the Romance aspect and what form takes shape over the course of the story, I am aiming for something realistic. No, every female character loves the MC because he is the MC. As you can imagine, loving Kal would probably be a difficult challenge for both parties. Hopefully, I will do this justice.

  Q: Vol.3's dungeon scene felt dragged out/long.

  A: I sort of felt like this as well... so I wondered why and did a little digging. What if I told you that it was only 12 chapters long and made up less than half of the volume? It wasn't that much bigger than the first half, even word count-wise. Then I remembered that's when I started posting only one chapter a week. I see this as being a significant contributor to a lot of your guys' worries. I do admit there might have been some chapters I could have condensed down but... meh, world-building, right?

  Q: Cerilas deafness being unfixable, its ok if its nearly impossible, but it would create a good McGuffin -Kal and the quest to find the holy hearing aid.

  A: This right there, this is gold. Whoever wrote this, you made me laugh really hard.

  Q: Did you enjoy Arifuretia season 2?

  A: I haven't watched it yet. I told myself I would binge it during spring break. Things changed. RIP.

  Q: Kal, teenage phase moment when?

  A: Now :D

  Q: Do you enjoy writing this?

  A: Absoslueltly, I'm having a blast. Thanks for coming along for the ride. I appreciate all of you guys. You all make this a much more enjoyable experience.

  Q: I would love for you to go back to twice a week.

  A: Me 2. If you are a millionaire and wish to fund my life, I will gladly accept, and I will write for you and everyone full time. Hmu.

  Q: Really hope you keep writing it, but if you ever decide you're ready to move on to writing something else, please give the story an ending.

  A: This story will have an ending. Unless I die. Which I don't plan on doing anytime soon.

  Q: post faster pls

  A: I try.

  Q: How do gods work just in general.

  A: idk yet. Are they even here? Who knows. We gonna have to read and find out.

  Q: Without spoilers, what are you looking forward to most for Volume 4?

  A: OOOOOOO, idk. Lots of fun stuff coming up. Lots of old faces. Some new people as well. Kal no longer being a child, slowing down for a bit. Lots to look forward to.

  Q: I would leave a few permanent scars on kaladin.

  A: He has some. His body scars were not healed by Sylvia. More on that in Vol.4.

  Ko-Fi.