ATTE – Recap
When I started writing, I wanted to write novels. I wanted to emulate the scope and scale of many of my favorite books. My first attempt at a novel was awful, as all first attempts are. The thing that struggled with most was my plotting, I couldn’t quite keep everything together. Focusing on short stories these last four years has allowed me to hone my craft and I’ve become confident enough to focus on novels again.
This series, Across the Tainted Earth, is something I’ve been working on for the last two and a half years. A lot of thought and preparation has gone into it. Additionally, the format is a bit different from most novels. Because it is published weekly, I decided that each episode should be mostly stand-alone, making this akin to the written form of a TV show.
Now let’s get to the story so far.
Major characters: there are four POV characters. To get a good idea for each of them, read the prologue. For a refresher, read the brief bios below.
Valeria: While there are four main characters, Valeria is the focal. Despite her relative youth, she has become one of the most prominent people in Verdant. She has been trained and groomed for success and for the capacity to work at a larger stage and in the larger cities by the Magistrate of Verdant and by others. Her most definable feature may be her unwavering dedication to Verdant.
Abraxas: Abraxas is a shy apothecary. He moved to Verdant to take up an apprenticeship under Illoc. He is, in some regards, a prodigy when it comes to medicinal plants and herblore. Despite this, he’s unsure of himself, most often finding solace in his garden or among the wildflowers.
Malik: Malik is a Scukos, and has a shell like glass around him. He was orphaned at a young age and grew up on the streets of Caespen Ru. He can’t produce spirit, the fur of magic, on his own and has some resentment toward those who can. He’s jaded and tends to be wary of others. Trapped in Verdant since the incursion, he longs for an escape.
Crescent: The Tivour is a con artist. Only about seven years old, by one way of counting, she’s leveraged her charisma and mystique as a Tivoir to get money out of people. Stuck in Verdant, she wants to make the best of it and start accumulating money.
Brief recap:
Episode 1: Valeria notices the lack of travelers over the prior week and decides to investigate, bringing along Abraxas. They meet Crescent just before they fight a strange, aberrant deer that attacks them.
Episode 2: Abraxas attends a meeting about what they should do. Focus turns to Willowbrook, a small hamlet just a few miles away. A group journeys there to check its status only to end up evacuating it.
Episode 3: Malik and a group of caravaners travel with goods for Verdant. Malik is the only surviving member after being attacked by an aberrant deer. He tries to make his way to Verdant despite the threats.
Episode 4: Crescent tries to procure a government job. To secure it, she must help deal with unrest due to price hikes and stores barring entry to refugees from Willowbrook.
