NOVEL NEXT It's a Holiday in Canada Today
Sorry friends, after running 15+ panels over 3 stream keys for 13 hours yesterday... I got no writing done. And today is Canadian Thanksgiving!
I am thankful for my friends and family, and for my readers, and I'm thankful for being a silly goose and taking a sudden day off <3
Hugs and Love all!
Because you need 500 words:
Have some DELETED SCENES from Book 3
Chapter 1-3 Sentences Deleted:
Who needed to defeat an entire nation of monsters leveling up to perma-kill the Dark Lord? No one. Especially when she was one of those same monsters.
Was it her fault that she woke up in the body of a troll? No. Her only saving grace was that she’d found herself in Valaria five years ago, with ample time to prepare. Alright, technically being a troll was pretty amazing.
The late Grand Duke Lysander von Slyke was an elven royal of Sumbria who had fallen madly in love with a human woman from the Empire of Sands. They had married and had two children, and while he had fought and fallen in the civil war, Calisto had survived and poured all of her heart and soul into innovation and wondrous new magical artifacts for the duchy. Grand Duchess Calisto was a veritable genius.
As such, it was also beautiful. The Crystal Palace, the seat of Duchess Calisto’s power, was everything a fairytale palace was supposed to be. A large ornate crystal tower rising high from the center, surrounded by spires accented with pink and teal coral, and the city sprawling out around the lake.
It was the perfect place to hold a wedding between Countess Julia von Slyke and Necromancer Chloe Watercress.
Alternate final Wedding Battle ending /Portalling onto the bridge in chapter 38-39:
The black haired woman started to cast a spell, pointing a finger at the bridge troll. A reasonable defense when someone attacked first.
“Between all Matter and from…
The bridge troll’s face flashed in panic and she unsummoned her axe. “Trust me! Please!”
Julian released the shield. Just in time for Gerda to reach out and grab the arm of the black-haired woman and redirect her attack upwards.
“...the Endless Cold all Burn, now to Eternal Darkness, All Shall Return. [Void Field]”
…..
This was my third time in so many days magicking onto the palace sky bridge. I did so because I knew that Guild Master Alice was going to cast this exact spell… and whoever it hit might suffer perma-death if enough of them were swallowed by the Void.
And the only one standing on the dais where the spell had been cast in my vision… was the duke. Julian wasn’t allowed to die. Not on my watch.
Speaking of death.
“-Darkness, All Shall Return. [Void Field]”
Alice’s finger was originally pointed at me, but luckily I’d grabbed her arm to bring us here and could position myself out of the way. The [Void] damage area of attack hit the bridge behind me closest to the main palace tower.
And then it vanished.
We both paused for a moment as we recognized that an entire piece of the walkway we were standing on was eaten by void magic. When the rest of the bridge didn’t immediately collapse under us, Alice yanked her arm free and took a step back.
“You!” She hissed. “It’s always you!”
“I think it’s time we formally introduced ourselves.” I gave her a winning smile and swept out both of my arms in an elegant flourish. “I am Gerda Jones, the Bridge Troll.”
“I know who you are.” The celestial spat. Her appearance was still that of the black haired human. The Countess la Rouche of Ildsfeld.
“And you.” I ignored her outburst. “Are the Keeper of Fate, Alice Smith.”
The woman froze, her frown cutting deeper. “How do you know that name?”
The sounds of shouting below prickled my ears. Courtesy of excellent perception. “Come with me. Let’s have a talk.”
I turned my back on the woman and walked slowly towards the West Wing. My perception would catch the slightest movement of her hand. She remained still. When I reached the door, I looked back. “Coming?”
She cursed and stamped towards me.
“I should gut you where you stand.”
I opened the door and waved her inside. “My room is one floor down. We can take the stairs.
Ie. What could have happened ^ But then I realised that Duchess Calisto was watching and they wouldn't have very much time to talk before getting stormed in on. And currently that bridge has it's own personal guard - you know, since that's where Julia was found haha.