I didn't know what I was getting into.
I had (I thought) a fairly straightforward and simple save-the-world story, only it would be about the heroes saving it from unicorns crazed by peace and love instead of, say, tyrants crazed by power. I thought it was an amusing idea, even cute. It would just be a little twist, and the rest of the story could go on as the epic fantasies I had read usually went on. (I was determined to write a save-the-world story because that was What Was Done In Fantasy).
As usually seems to happen, whatever is responsible for my stories fed me the germ of an idea without telling me the rest.
I had no idea how long it would take, that I would end up spending enormous amounts of time both with characters I wanted to kill and characters I wanted to leave alive even though I had known from the beginning that the story required them to die. I spent more time (a year and a month) in the head of Maruss, the single viewpoint character for the last seven books, than I have ever spent with anyone else. And the world thus built up turned out to be staggeringly complex. When I was plotting the last book in the series, Silverdoom, I had the naive, innocent little idea that it might actually be more than five hundred pages long.
It ended up 1508 pages long.
This is the first writing I've committed to paper that might actually be salvageable, I think, with some revisions to get rid of the worst cliches. Aklflam, the hero of Silversong, the first novel, was terribly angst- and doom-ridden, and would probably have to go. Destria, the Evil Silver Unicorn Emperor From Hell, was a little too evil. Maruss, my hero, was a little too perfect.
Still, I like them even now. Something about how my cute little idea turned into a ten-book, year-and-a-half-long extravaganza, I suppose. (All prologues and chapters linked off these pages copyright 1995-2003 by Anadrel).
Silversong- Destria isn't Emperor yet, just a young silver unicorn field commander in the excitement of taking his first slave. He is opposed by the bitter land Elwen Aklflam Swiftshine, who fled as a child from the destruction of Rowan and has been trying to pay for the sin of surviving ever since. Aklflam and Destria keep opposing each other while falling in love, encountering more-than-mortal powers, and ultimately facing each other in battle.
Desert Silver- Drilla Desertbloom is the deposed queen of the deserai, her people, for a very good reason: no one believes the unicorns, creatures of cold, will try to conquer the Barren Desert. However, Drilla believes they will come for the Wellspring, a pool of god's blood that can make whoever touches it immortal. And Destria does indeed have ambitions in that direction. Whether Drilla can do anything to stop them is another thing.
Silver Fire- Destria and his people have conquered the whole of the continent of Arcadia, with the exception of one little pocket led by Destria's old enemy Verkus- and even Verkus's people are fleeing Arcadia. Destria comes up with a seemingly foolproof plan to end the flame Elwen's opposition, using Verkus's estranged wife. Several events of mythic import decide to happen all at the same time, and screw this plan up decidedly.
Hero's Ascent- The first story of Maruss Freewind, the hero who will apparently break the Empire's grip on Arcadia- not that he's been told any of this. Maruss is at first much more occupied with fighting with his foster brother Phaedon and coping with his fighting teacher Yuzim's scorn. But these are small enemies. Maruss will take the field against Destria, and he will do it by freeing one slave at a time.
Fighting Shadows- Maruss is haunted by nightmares of the dead, and fears that he cannot lead an effective fighting force against Destria. Then something happens to distract him from these ideas entirely: Jierran, Destria's son, comes to him and offers to turn traitor to his father. Maruss's support of the silver unicorn leads to a disastrous battle, the scattering of his offensive force, the rediscovery of an ancient city and its guardians, and the first disagreement between the Webspinner, Fate, who wants Maruss to be her pawn, and Maruss, who doesn't feel much like being anyone's pawn.
Spring In Time- Maruss knows that breaking the Empire's hold on Arcadia will be impossible without breaking the unicorns' grasp on immortality, and he journeys to the Barrent Desert in an effort to find the Wellspring and do just that. Of course, things refuse to be simple, and Maruss and his companions are flung back in time to just before the creation of the Wellspring, where people promptly proceed to fall in love and die.
Unicorn Tears- Maruss is troubled by strange hints of a presence he cannot explain, as well as preparations for the last and climactic battle with Destria. The children of the Annihilators beg for a role in the battle, and reluctantly Maruss grants it to them, only to have Destria seize them. It becomes apparent that the Annihilators house a traitor, or perhaps more than one, and as Maruss tries to get the children back, placate their parents, and deal with the final flowering of his plans, he must also try to stop the traitors, while avoding suspecting the (very touchy) true loyalists.
Fleet Away- Maruss has lost a good many people, including the love of his life, in the appropriately named battle of the Shattering. Now he waits to die, driven to madness by his grief, while on the road to the north and a doubtful hope of sanctuary with the dragons. It's not only the Webspinner who refuses to let Maruss die, however; his companions, and an aqua dragon named Coastdancer, might have something to say about it, too.
Strands of Destiny- Maruss has come to terms with living, as well as going north in hopes of calling the free northern communities to his side in the war against Destria. His dead love predicts disturbingly that he will fall in love again. Maruss does not fall in love of anything but his own free choice, though, and when Mytti's prediction does begin to come true, Maruss sets his teeth and fights back. He's defeated unicorns, suicidal madness, and fate herself; surely a love affair should be no problem.
Silverdoom- Maruss is finally ready to strike against Destria, and bring the armies he has gathered home to Minamar. Old friends return to him, and old hurts are healed. But Maruss has endured the deaths of friends dying for his sake- the one thing he cannot bear- and has begun to dream of simply sinking into darkness and ending in peace.
