The Fall of the Black Masks - Update

 

The Fall of the Black Masks - A Fantasy Novel: Update as of May 4, 2021

It's been a while since I updated readers about this particular project. While it's not the one that I'm focused on lately (that one being The Pirates of Sissa, which takes place in the same world and is part of the same series entitled The Qarran Tales), I recently had a nice brainstorming session where I worked on improving character dynamics - particularly between Mila and Ragnar.

The Fall of the Black Masks delves, too, into politics, but on a much lower individual scale. In essence it deals with what happens to the individual when forces larger than themselves are making decisions that affect the person in question, especially when they affect them negatively. The entire Empire of Belvatria is facing trying times due to a criminal organization, political instability, and an epidemic. I didn't want to write a story in which a foreigner, a young woman, and a doctor basically solve all of an Empire's issues - this, I felt, was too unrealistic, though decidedly very cool and epic-sounding. 

Instead, the Belvatrian cast revolves around about 5 main characters from very different backgrounds and how their decisions - and their reactions to certain events happening both around them and to them - will propel the story forward. The actions these individuals take are minute in the big scheme of things, but have concrete and important consequences in their lives. While tackling an entire epidemic, criminal organization, or crumbling political institution is a gigantic job for these characters, dealing with how these issues impact their day-to-day lives and their communities is a much more manageable ordeal.

 

Today, I did some brainstorming specifically for the relationship between the characters of Mila and Ragnar. There were decisions I had made in earlier drafts of the story that no longer apply, and because of that I've decided to take stock of the dynamic between these two characters once more to see how they have been impacted. In short, I created these two characters as foils of one another, and have worked hard to ensure that no matter what plot changes are made to the storyline, that remains true.

Mila is young, full of hope and wonder, and relatively naive, while Ragnar is older, wiser and more jaded. He sees the world for all of its darkness and cruelty, while she sees the world for all of the wonder and adventure it has to offer.

Because I often mention these two together, one reader asked me if Mila and Ragnar are going to have a romantic relationship in the books. I've never seen these two characters as romantically involved. To Mila, Ragnar becomes a guardian of sorts - someone she can rely on, who keeps her safe (for reasons that have something to do with the events in The Fall of the Black Masks) as they travel together to his homeland, each in search of something different. For Ragnar, Mila is a reminder of the person he once was, before his life was destroyed and the wool was pulled from his eyes. Both of them will mean a lot to one another and change one another throughout the course of the series, but ultimately, there will never be a romantic plotline between the two of them.

This brainstorming session helped me iron out some of the elements within The Fall of the Black Masks with regards to this relationship between Mila and Ragnar. While most of this was originally portrayed in later books (as they travel to Vakkar) and not in The Fall of the Black Masks, I've had to sit down and rethink how to best set a foundation in the book for the dynamic these two characters will have throughout the rest of the series, especially as many moments where their relationship is highlighted will be removed in future drafts.

However, there are particular scenes that I'm quite attached to, as I feel they're quite strong and portray the development of their relationship - and highlight the differences between them - very well. I'll have to find out how best to include these scenes, or if including them is at all possible. I'm playing around with the idea of including short stories and novellas in between the main novels in The Qarran Tales that readers can choose to read if they wish, and perhaps that's where I can include those scenes. I'm not entirely convinced, though, because I feel the important relationship-building and character development should happen in the main books...

Will think about this some more!