I’ve begun work on Tempered in Battle this week! As of this moment, I have about 12,000 words. That’s slightly less than I hoped, but that’s what happens when you have your boiler fail in the middle of the work week. At least it’s at a time of year where we don’t really need it, but I fully expect the HVAC people coming out to interfere a few times this coming week or two, plus a few other issues we spotted that need to be dealt with. I’d prefer to fully focus on writing, but needs must.

But with Tempered in Battle underway, I figure I can give you a basic overview of the protagonist.

The protagonist of the Embers of War trilogy is Ellinaya Shade, or as she prefers, Elli. She was born in an unnamed elven village approximately two thousand years before the story began (I rolled dice for the number of centuries/decades). Her adolescence coincided with a demonic invasion now known as the War of Black Blood, and her village was evacuated when it came under threat, forcing her to learn to fight to defend others.

She rose in power as the war progressed over the course of decades, merging her skill in battle with her love of crafting, until she became one of the most powerful defenders of the mortal world alive, and the beloved of five gods. A knight of the nation called Cenma, Elli was considered a beacon of hope, and together with a handful of allies, she pushed through the portal to face the Demon King in battle. She died slaying him, only for her soul to be cursed and dragged down and hidden in a lower plane for eternal torment.

Her allies tried to find her, but two died over the intervening years, and the last finally found and freed Elli’s soul, resurrecting her at long last in the modern era, after an intervening demonic invasion and an undead uprising. Her homeland fell over a thousand years ago, and the world is in a state of relative peace, though there are issues she sees in some elements. Yet Elli would love nothing more than to retire as an artisan, assuming she can find someplace she’d like living. Sadly, the state of the world isn’t going to allow the Blade of Light to rest so easily, and some traumas aren’t easily overcome…

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Anyway, that’s that for the project! As I’ve said, Tempered in Battle is Book 3, and I have drafts of the first two complete! I expect to publish all three this year!