Objective Complete: The Great Revision

Only more than a year since I first announced this effort, the Great Revision is now officially complete!

What is the Great Revision?

The Great Revision effort started in response to me reading over Keelath and Mirium’s various adventures and finding it to be a snarly mess. There were several different versions of them reuniting since Keelath became undead, them breaking up, them coming back together, them breaking up again, and them reassuring each other over various other dramas in the family, most notably Tyrric’s. The Great Revision was also sorely needed after Tyrdan was retooled to be Tyrric, Lellith’s role was swapped out for Alelsa, and Lellith herself got yet another role in the Sunwalker story, which has not yet been revealed.

Most of the work involved editing down existing posts into writing less cringey, as well as reorganizing the ordering of scenes. Some posts switched their places between series and stand-alones as well.

What’s the plan from here?

Oh, I dunno. Filling in some gaps between series still needs to be done, but once that is complete, how about retooling all these adventures to Talmenor and publishing them as an official short story collection? It has certainly crossed my mind…

That’s a lot of writing! Is there a reading list somewhere?

Yes! Though the Sunwalker chronicle only remains half complete overall, below is the canonical ordering of what posts go where, as well as a few outlines for what happens in the gaps between series. Spoiler alerts! Continue reading “Objective Complete: The Great Revision”

A Darkmoon Reading

The final piece to be cut out of “Brothers Apart”, this scene really deserved to be a stand-alone all along. Keelath was given a tarot card reading at the Darkmoon Faire during a Summer Festival roleplay event, which left him chewing on whether he needed to use a lighter touch in his relationship with Mirium. His worries didn’t come out of nowhere: at the time, Mirium was suffering from a mental intrusion by Talthan, via a mind control spell that caused her to see Keelath as an enemy. Since this is nowhere else referenced, this piece didn’t really belong in “Brothers Apart”. I think I originally put it there as it showed how Keelath and Tyrric’s brotherhood was on the mend.

Author’s Note

The cottage was dark when Keelath made it home from the Faire. Mirium was sleeping–of course she was sleeping. It was past moonset, and at this time of month, that happened only hours before dawn.

Keelath dismounted, letting the ghost of his bonesteed drift away, back to wherever such undead creatures lurked until they were called again. He let himself pause to listen to the nightly sounds: crickets, a muffled stamp from the stables, water trickling some distance away from the brook, the cloud of humming from the frogs living near a pond Tyrric had left behind when he had dredged the grounds of Dawnmist from the swamp that had given them its name. Joining those sounds now was a crackling buzz from the new wards Lithliana was helping to lay around the manor, since Haljek had gone. The buzz would fade once the wards were fully up, she had said, but that would take another few days.

He edged up on the cottage. Mirium couldn’t stand his presence at the moment, shrinking away anytime she caught sight of him. He knew it was Talthan’s doing, not a reflection of her honest thoughts about him, but it still hurt. One never appreciated what they had before it was taken away… Continue reading “A Darkmoon Reading”

Dear Estormo

Though this scene was briefly found in the “Brother Apart” series, due to the revelation Tyrric comes upon, it was originally written to be a stand-alone piece. After the Great Revision, it is back to being a stand-alone, though I might eventually rewrite pieces of it to slot into “Tyrric’s Madness” as part of the chronicle of Tyrric’s recovery from Void corruption.

Until then, this scene describes the aftermath of a roleplay session, in which Keelath was rude to Estormo while he was sulking at a tavern event.

Author’s Note Continue reading “Dear Estormo”

Deleted Scene: Meditation Application

This was originally slotted in with “Brothers Apart”, to help provide contrast for how Tyrric treats his wife vs. how Keelath treats his. At one point of time, it was also meant to depict how Keelath learned how to beat his bloodlust problem, by realizing it’s all in his head, but I didn’t feel like it carried the right weight or came at the right time in this couple’s journey, so here the post now stands in the Deleted Scenes pile.

Author’s Note

She focused on her breath. Beside her, Keelath’s breaths rattled almost in time with hers. Though the death knight didn’t need to breathe, the priest guiding their meditation had recommended it, and so Keelath dutifully did his best. Continue reading “Deleted Scene: Meditation Application”

Deleted Scene: Mirium’s Exile

This was originally part of the “Brothers Apart” series. It always felt a bit ungainly to me, as it was describing the aftermath of a bit of roleplay that had gone on in-game. So, as part of the Great Revision, I’ve cut it out and instead put it here.

Author’s Note

When Tyrric announced his choice to exile Mirium for helping an agent of Sylvanas, the impact of Keelath’s anger almost swept his sanity away. He had a vague sensation of being able to lie down inside the wave, to let what violence that would happen, happen, and then there would be no one left to blame.

Then with an effort, he was back again. He was Keelath, ex-paladin, not Keelath, undead monster. He wouldn’t give in to the bloodlust. Not now. Continue reading “Deleted Scene: Mirium’s Exile”

The Rise of Keelath, Part Five

I couldn’t decipher how much of the reports of Evelos’ Shadow corruption was coming from Tyrric’s own madness or was true, and I was unable to investigate for as long as he lived in Stormwind. The urgency to act before my memories slipped from me entirely was becoming more frantic. Mirium still lived, or at least I had heard no news to the contrary. Dark rumors regarding her and a failed marriage to a cruel magister was surfacing in Silvermoon.

While Evelos looked after his pregnant lover and Tyrric tried in vain to beget the same condition in Alelsa, I knew it would have to be my duty to find Mirium. I try not to be resentful, but it was hard not to see his foolishness as the result of Alelsa’s manipulations. Continue reading “The Rise of Keelath, Part Five”

The Rise of Keelath, Part Four

Originally published on January 5th, 2022.

This part contains some events I intend to return to in more detail in another series, but for now, my goal is in bridging the gap between The Rise of Keelath and What Darkness Lies, so Tyrric’s adventures trying to bring Evelos back to the Horde is a summary, only.

Author’s Note

The immediate effects of the restoration – my breathing and bodily sensations – wore off within days of the ritual, but the memories of my old life remained.

At first, I wanted to spend more time with my brother, reliving our past experiences and reknitting our fractured relationship. At first, he was just as overjoyed by my restoration as I was, but as the days passed, that faded, and his distraction returned. Something had changed, and while he explained it away as his excruciating experiences during the Second and Third Wars, I worried.

I grew better acquainted with Alelsa too, and I grew to dislike her more with each passing day. Tyrric’s distraction seemed to increase in proportion to how much she was around him, and I didn’t think this was any coincidence. Still, I was unable to move against her, not wanting to jeopardize Tyrric’s love just as much as my own sense of honor kept me from accusing her of wrong-doing before I was sure. Tyrric was utterly enamored with her, gushing on her beauty and cleverness unless I shut him up with a slap.

We instead turned to the problem of Evelos. Continue reading “The Rise of Keelath, Part Four”

The Rise of Keelath, Part Three

Originally posted on January 4th, 2022.

Author’s Note

Tyrric often returned to Silvermoon for the army’s allotted recuperation and vacation periods. Perhaps my dismissals were beginning to work on him, as he seemed more distracted whenever he showed up again. Continue reading “The Rise of Keelath, Part Three”

The Rise of Keelath, Part Two

The timeline on this one is a little strange, as the first part of The Rise of Keelath includes the Lich King’s defeat, while this one spends some time with Keelath while he was employed by Sylvanas pre-Wrath of the Lich King. The confusion might be canon on Keelath’s part, for his mental faculties took a while to kick in as one of the Scourge ghouls and then an early Forsaken death knight.

Though the publish date of this reads as April 1st, 2019, this was actually written on January 4th, 2022. The plugin I use to tie series together is outdated and can only organize posts by date, hence the confusion.

Author’s Note

I do not sleep. My mind pulls tighter to the same thought, circling it like water spinning down a drain. Hours pass, the sun leaving different shadows of color across the cave mouth that leads to what is to be my mausoleum. The hunger grows rather than abates. I see blood, focus on its feel in my mouth, the re-beating of my heart as I chase imaginary prey. I struggle to see them as something other-than, comrades or family — people, not my quarry. It becomes harder as time draws on.

I feel the power of my limbs fade as the rot of stolen flesh advances. I build up my frost magic, feeling it not as a chill on my skin but as an easing of the faint disconcerting hum that the Lich King replaced my sense of pain with. I work the ice as a tomb for myself, to keep the rot-inducing warmth out and to keep myself safe within.

Yet this, too, drains me. I see now I am not one of the simple Forsaken, who can lose themselves to long meaningless stretches of existence, whiling away sleepless hours with book reading or water fetching. I was a death knight of the Lich King: an elite soldier, a shock troop. I was given the endless bloodlust so I would have motivation enough to carry out his will.

I could struggle with it, endlessly, and go mad from it. Or, and I am not sure if my logic was colored by the relentless urge, I could find an acceptable way to sate it. I needed another war. Continue reading “The Rise of Keelath, Part Two”

Son of Silvermoon, Part Six

It’s intended that you can’t tell what really killed Croatius’ mother, just as you can’t tell what really killed his father.

Author’s Note

He looked up at the manor front. It seemed smaller now than when he had been a child, as if he had grown or, perhaps, it had shrunk. The gates were twisted as if someone had rammed them with a siege engine, but they had ultimately stood against the Scourge’s assault. Croatius put a hand to them, and they instantly sprung open, still responding to his blood even though he hadn’t been to this place in centuries. Continue reading “Son of Silvermoon, Part Six”