Way Walkers

So coming off over 50k words in WW:U3 being written in April and May, i’ve been taking a break in June, partially because it’s good for me and partially because it’s just been really stressful so far this month. I won’t go into details but this time of year i’m always much busier at my normal teaching job what with the art show, the upswing in the craft fair season and jewelry making, and additional life drama has been abounding (we might be moving again soon-ish– yay?). I’ve been reading a lot to keep sane, and that’s all i can brain on my downtime. (That and cuddling pusheens. Give me all the pusheens.)

 

Aside from that, i’ve loaded the entirety of WW:U thats done so far into a massive omnibus thats i’ve been using to track plot holes and stat levels; it’s been educational and i’ll be fiddling with it for a while before i finish WW:U3.

 

For those still wondering about when things will come out…i have no idea. My excessively long Tazu book3 is sitting in the editing que of my ever-growing publisher, and when i am told it’s going into copy-editing, i’ll let you all know. lol As far as WW:U3, i’m still plugging along. It’s a big one, even with me trimming things just so it shall be DONE. I’ve also been taking breaks on it to streamline the stats system for future WW universe CoGs and toy with other ideas, because i can really only stare at it for so long. (six weeks straight seems to be my limit lol) Chances are i’ll pick things up again at the end of June, then break for the four weeks of summer camp, then back to it in Aug for three weeks straight unless the move thing happens. Then gods only know.

 

I’ve also been doing my nails a lot, because reasons.

 

~J. Leigh

SO i spent my birthday being sick and dragged to doctors offices and trying not to die, but today i actually felt human so i finished the Kess recruitment chapter. Here’s the overall progress updates for WW:U3 since Jan:

 

01 Precognition Class (done; 1,975 wc)

02 Decide plan for helping Illyan– A or B (done; 6,290 wc)

03 Surprise Party (done; 36,616 wc )

04 Recruit help for plan; Confront Jun (98% complete; 26,524 wc)

04 Recruit Person A (100% done; 20,747 wc );  Recruit Person B ( 100% done; 21,057 wc);  Recruit Person C (100% complete; 36,250 wc);  Recruit Person D (100% complete; 30186 wc);

05 Next Step Plan A (50% done 10,588 wc);  Next Step Plan B (60%? done 30,551 wc)

06 Classroom Adventure (Bio) (intro 100% done; 12,075 wc for all bio scenes)

06 Bio_work Shelly (20% done); Bio_protest Umbrave (10% done); Bio-cut class with Umbrave(10% done); Bio-cut class with Kess (25% done); Bio cut-class Umbrave  and Kess (90% done)

07 Activity Class (plan B clue) (10% done; 658 wc)

08 Second Step Plan A (10% done; 1,509 wc); Second Step Plan B (10% done; 1000 wc)

Hopefully, the latter half *should* look something like this:

09 Telepathy Class; Energy Manipulation Class

10 Third Step Plan A; Plan B

11 Prank Sem (50% done 5,986 wc)

12 Fourth Step Plan A; Plan B

13 Semryu Past Life Regression (50% done; 19458 wc)

14 Climaxes Plan A; Plan B

15 Epilogues (Climax fall out, academics and romances)

So i’m actually plugging away nicely this year, as opposed to last year where i had thrown my back and all that drama. DX I finished the Umbrave recruitment chapter, adding around 8500 words total. (freaking duelists DX) Kess’s recruitment chapter now has gotten from 6200 words up to over 15k, and still climbing. I’m hopeful i’ll finish it soon ans well, and manage to make my 30k goal for April. Also going to do my best to keep the momentum up and try to live up to my 1k a day schedule– we’ll see.

 

So anyways, i’m alive, i’m working and i’m doing good. Also the weather is insane. Like, really where is spring?

Bronze Dragon, Feator

The Way of History dictates that we are what we were, and that the past holds as many lessons within its depths as the present.  Feator is always an older man dressed in brown monk’s robes with silver dusted hair, a young face and deep bronze eyes.  His domain covers administrators, record keepers and anyone else who must know about the past in order to make present changes. He is also the record-keeper of all souls, detailing the choices made and lessons learned of everyone who has ever existed– literally the accountant for Karma itself.

His Aspect: Feator’s Aspect typically incarnates as a gender fluid, or Pure Ishim person, and represents the current incarnation of a soul, the ever-consistently changing moment of the ‘now’– the present, the eternal moment wherein all of Spirit exists in the same time. All Precognition supposedly flows from ish, and ishir Ability when Incarnated is unmatched in this.

Stones and other symbols: Picture jasper.

Followers of Feator: Focusing deeply upon past lives and past life contracts; they are the keepers of memory itself, and the decoders of the precious life-ladders.  They are also the keepers of lineages, records, and all number of bureaucratic society, calling on his Aspect to always be in constant ‘in the now’ in order to properly know ‘what has been’.

Path of the dan’trai or ‘karma-keeper’: Often misunderstood and almost always underestimated, this particular follower of Fetor has dedicated their life to the pursuit of the past- specifically their own past lives.  While this may on the surface seem to be a leisurely pursuit, the end goal (and ultimate aim of each follower) can result in a person with experiences and skills from many previous incarnations.  Imagine a ka’melie-fire empathic- houlen combination who has also studied history and the path of the mei, for example.  They lend themselves to be terribly powerful if their current bodies have the capacity to back-up their previous memories.

Path of the man’trai: The same as stated above, but this particular path of Feator uses their abilities to pull-out the past lives’ memories and skills of others.  Though their effects are mostly only for a fleeting few minutes, this particular path is the only one of Feator’s Walkers that is made to consistently travel with other Walkers for the purposes of combat.

 

What Featorians think of followers of:

Montage:  They are the epitome of Way Walkers, the masters of Spirit.  Let no man debate it.

Rhean:  So many ‘empty spaces’ and missing pages in this Way.  Either they are hiding something, or want some deep air of mystery to make themselves feel more special.  Time will tell.

Ulic:  We are similar in method, but differ in practice. 

Rosin: Such contempt for those who decide how you’ll be remembered- perhaps this is why you have such an unfavorable light in the texts.

Desmoulein:  We help them keep medical records, and they know how to learn from what has come before.  Excellent persons to sit and talk with at the end of the day.

Angani:  They do not like change, though they’d learn from us that change is the only constant.  If they were more flexible, they’d be better liked, but I do not think they are in their Way to make friends.  Hum, at least they are pleasant to us; perhaps this is why they are still around.

Beleskie:  A little wild for most of us, but likeable enough.  Great events have had their seeds sown in the un-scripted pillow-talk that is their domain. They remind us of the mortal aspect of events.

Kubesh:  If they’d just ask, we’d be able to teach them so much.  Yet, they don’t.  Oh well.

Turin:  They are too concerned with what’s coming to bother with what’s passed before.

Bree:  They weave some rhythm into history with their ballads and depictions of historic events.  Good for them.

Red:  Its read books, not burn them. 

Balori sect:   This could go very badly or very well.  Like so many things before them.  We’ll see if they’re worth recording.

 

Founded Nation: Casfeild.

I’m going to start writing up some of these Lore posts, wherein I’ll share some tidbit about the world, or some aspect of Way Walkers. I’ll also draw from forum posts and fb, so any questions you have, feel free to post and I’ll place the answers in a special lore post for all to see. 🙂

 

Today we have some ruminations from the Aspect of Rhean, Ra’vien. While he is Protection, she is Punishment– deliverer of divine karmic justice. Culturally, she is terrifying. Taking the form of a phoenix whose body is made of black smoke and whose core burns as a blue-white star, she literally murders evil things. (and people)

 

And yet, she is not vengeance. This is an excerpt from a text written during her second Incarnation which better explains the difference between her and the wickedness that is the Red:

 

Some call me twisted, wicked, claiming my hands are drenched only in the dark stain of vengeance; this is untrue. I am not the spirit of vengeance– but karmic justice. This is removed even, from mortal justice, made by mortal lives and flawed in it’s own right. Mine is Higher, mine is truer. When I punish it is evil, the true evil, that no Ishim can escape. Thus follows the inevitable question: how can anyone truly define evil? There are always circumstances– does the poor man deserve to lose his hand if he steals to feed his family? Does the murder who killed to save a life deserve to be hunted down and murdered in turn by another for the first crime? And on and on it goes. But i say it is simple– with less moral quandary than Ishim add into it. Evil is obvious– Ishim might wrap it up, pretend it is areas of gray and without absolute, but this is untrue. Identifying evil is as simple as the answer to a simple question: what does one do, when one discovers they are wrong? Do they dig in, piling previous belief upon previous belief atop their heads until buried under a pile of falsehoods? Or do they rise– accept the truth of the harm caused, and do what is needed to make it right? There are those of course caught in the middle, dancing back and forth between philosophies– and these do not receive my judgement until decided. But for those who do not repent in their hearts and with their actions– fear me. For I am coming.

 

Happy holidays my readers! I’ve been busy on the baking and celebrating front (despite a small blip of tweaking my back again, ugh) but I’m officially on break from my classes I teach until Jan, so i thought i’d take a moment to say hi, and show you guys a little bit of the base structure behind WW:U3. (If my cat will let me, she’s literally trying to sit on my chest as i type this lol)

 

Anyways, so here’s the basic scene layout thus far for WW:U3, with each number being a ‘chapter’, with WC (word counts) and approx completion %s:

 

01 Precognition Class (done; 1,975 wc)

02 Decide plan for helping Illyan– A or B (done; 6,290 wc)

03 Surprise Party (done; 36,616 wc )

04 Recruit help for plan; Confront Jun (98% done; 26,561 wc)

04 Recruit Person A (done; 20,747wc );  Recruit Person B (done; 21,057 wc);  Recruit Person C (30% complete; 3,651 wc);  Recruit Person D (30% complete; 3,361 wc);

05 Next Step Plan A (10% done 1,303 wc);  Next Step Plan B (40% done 12,384wc)

06 Classroom Adventure (Bio) (intro 100% done; 12,075 wc for all bio scenes)

06 Bio_work Shelly (20% done); Bio_protest Umbrave (10% done); Bio-cut class with Umbrave(10% done); Bio-cut class with Kess (25% done); Bio cut-class Umbrave  and Kess (90% done)

07 Activity Class (plan B clue) (10% done; 658 wc)

08 Second Step Plan A (10% done; 1,509 wc); Second Step Plan B (10% done; 1000 wc)

This is what’s structured and ‘done’ for now– with most of the scenes being either completely done, or at least laid-out fully with just the actual writing to be filled in. After this, things get a bit more scattered, as I need to finish the structuring of the first two steps for the two Illyan plans before i can lay-out the rest of the steps, and then weave the other, non-plot integral scenes like the Past Life Regression with Sem and the Pranking Sem and at least one more classroom thing with Tele. and Energy Man. (i hope) in between. There’s at least two more steps for each plan (total of four), before moving into the climaxes. It’s my dearest hope that i’ll be able to take some time in the next week or so to actually make all the structured pieces, and thus finally finish the “skeleton'” for WW:U3 after all this time.

 

Hopefully, the latter half *should* look something like this:

09 Telepathy Class; Energy Manipulation Class

10 Third Step Plan A; Plan B

11 Prank Sem (50% done 5,986 wc)

12 Fourth Step Plan A; Plan B

13 Semryu Past Life Regression (50% done; 19458 wc)

14 Climaxes Plan A; Plan B

15 Epilogues (Climax fall out, academics and romances)

 

All told, the finished portions of WW:U3 already surpass the original game by about 50K words, and it’s still climbing. So far, WW:U3 has about 175k words while WW:U1 had approx 120K and WWU:2 was i think 130K. For comparison, the novel Tangled Paths was 170K, and Broken City was around 120k, and the third Tazu novel i’ve just submitted was 160K (pre-edits, it will probably come down). When complete, WW:U3 will be the largest CoG i’ve done, and i’m willing to bet the longest of the Way Walker stories I’ve ever written. S, i *am* working hard, but it’s just really, really long, lol. Part of this is because i really believe in giving strong replay-ability in my stories, and allowing the reader to have two vastly different plans to help Illyan matters to me.

 

Anyways, i hope you found this as interesting and helpful as it was for my mind to write it out ^_^

 

Have a good holiday my friends and i hope you all have love and joy!

 

J. Leigh

SO– i’ve been so busy poking around the forums and my FB page i’ve neglected the journal XD. Sorry guys >.<

 

Anyways, big thing on the home front– we got a new kitten in Oct! His name is Loki and he’s adorable. My friend who is sick has made it though surgery and his first round of chemo. Outlook is actually super good, all things considered!

 

Books stuffs: The third Tazu Saga book is done, submitted and accepted by Red Adept Publishing– line edits to start sometime after the new year, idk when.

 

The update for WW:U1 &2 is done and submitted and might go live as soon as Monday, so keep your eyes peeled! You can now play as any gender– male, female, trans, fluid or neutral, & there are two full new scenes in each game, and expanded scenes in both as well. You can also now earn achievements in both games! 😀 I am also plotting additional DLCs (download contents) that might be available after WW:U3 is done– the chance to play as non-human race as well as some other surprises. 😉

 

WW:U3 is currently taking up most of my time. No, i still don’t know how long, but top priority. Until then, enjoy the updates in 1 &2– that content is my gift to you guys for waiting so long. XD

So, progress made in WWU updates– i completed my 60 hours of work spent on it in NaNo in June, and that means i’m finished the base updates for 1 &2, just need to get in and finish-up the new scenes and deal with some coding bugs.  I don’t think i will make the fall deadline i had hoped for– just too much going on.

 

I have the ending for Tazu Saga 3, finally. Just got to sit down and write it. With three weeks off between now and classes starting again, i hope i can do it, i really do.

 

Just finished up four weeks of art summer camp– it went really well and i had a lot of fun with my students, but very little writing happened after week one, as i was tired beyond reason.

 

In an attempt to stave-off the demon diabetes that stalks my family, i’ve implemented a drastic diet change, and we bought an elliptical. It’s been a month and I’m doing good. Gives me time to think and thinking= writing.

 

The only wrench in all this personal positive atm is a very close friend of mine received a diagnosis of an aggressive and later stage lung cancer this past week. This is a man who has never smoked a day in his life. He’s extremely dear to me, and massive contributor to Way Walkers as a whole– nearly half of the monsters and mage-tec in the world is based either his direct designs he made for me, or born from hours of talking with him. He has written all of the technical specs for the Way Walkers RPG my friends (and some fans) have used over the last 10 years. He is family, and he is facing a very dark prognosis, with a tough road and bad odds with his head down and a devil-may-care smile on his face. For myself, i know the odds, and if it were anyone else i’d plan for the inevitable– but him, he is one of those rare magical people driven by will who might just beat the damn thing. So i follow his lead, ready for the worst, but willing to fight for the best.

 

And i will carry on and write, and finish every damn book in my head, because he’d ask me to.

 

Send good thoughts.

J. Leigh

So, i have managed to add a whopping 15k worth of new words– an entirely new choice scene set –to WW:U2, not counting code. 😉  That’s a pretty impressive amount in a little over two months, and while not as much as i’ve once been capable of, it’s still pretty darn good for what i’ve been doing lately, which has been a whole lot of nadda DX. Anyways i’m pleased with the set, and hopefully everyone will enjoy the chance to pick out outfit for the dance with either Jun, Sem, Kess or (to a lesser extent) your Angel.  Now that it’s done, i’m going to continue editing the rest of WW:U2, adding in the gender options and general edits.

 

As far as WW:U1 and the new scene contest goes, i’ve got everyone’s ideas saved in my inbox, and while i *do* have a front runner, i’m going to hold off announcing a winner until i really sit down and try to write the scene, to make sure it works within the narrative well before telling everyone. (and it gives me the right to change my mind and try a another of the ideas if it doesn’t work) I will probably go back and add that once i’m done the edits for WW:U2.

 

I shall also be including new unlock-able achievements for WW:U1&2, and if anyone has any suggestions for those feel free to leave them in the comments. (essp for WWU1)

 

As far as Tazu Saga #3 goes, i *think* the overall issue that had been plaguing me has been achieved, but to fix it requires me basically rewriting the entire back quarter-of the book, somewhere around 30k words worth. So while i’m confident i’m finally on the correct track, i do know it will still be a bit until i can reshuffle the mess.

 

~j. leigh

So, to get my brain back to work, I’ve been updating WW:U1&2. The biggest new additions will be the expansion of the MC to now play as male, female, trans male, tans female, gender fluid or gender neutral. It might not seem like a big change, but as it affects pretty much every scene that has yr angel or the MCs pronouns in it, it’s been taking me a bit. I’ve also been fixing up some grammar and capitalization issues to match the novels, as well as adding in a few additional *choice options here and there. I’m still debating adding another classroom scene or two to WW:U1, but as far as WW:U2, you all are getting an entirely brand new scene, dealing with picking out an outfit for the dance.

Here’s the sneak peek so far:

 

Of course, after all this you find yourself elbow deep in your closet, all your clothes brought from home strewn about the floor, bed, and chairs, and uncertain if you have anything to wear to such a dance.

*if (target != “none”) and (date = “solo”)

Though you’ve still some time to deem if you’re going to go it alone, you decided to see if you have options ready, just in case.

 

“I’ve got five sets of the regular school uniform,” you say to ${angel}, pushing aside the beige pantsuits to one side of the closet, the hangers making a little scrapping noise as they slide along the bar. “The one ‘dress’ uniform, which is the same as the others, except for this heavier, braided gold trim, and then there’s all my clothes from home.” Peering at where they lay across the room, you tap your finger on your chin, pondering.

 

*if nationality = “Aralim”

Most Aralim clothing is very plain, made of sturdy materials and built for comfort and practicality. Good enough for lounging around in during your non-class time, only one outfit could be considered ‘fancy’, and it’s a hand-me-down from an older sibling that is least six years out of style and the same beige color as your regular uniforms.

*goto just_dont_know_outfit

*if nationality = “Nor’wah”

Most Nor’wah fashion is made for warmth and ease of movement, heavy wools to keep out wetness and preserve body heat. While some of the lighter shirts and leggings are good enough for lounging around in during your non-class time, only one outfit could be considered ‘fancy’. It’s the traditional outfit of your pack, used for high-holidays and heavy in embroidery detailing your family’s hunting and fighting exploits– perhaps not the best choice for this type of gala, though you’d never think twice about wearing it to big gatherings back home.

*goto just_dont_know_outfit

*if nationality = “Lubreean”

Most Lubreean clothing is very light and airy, loose, silky materials meant to combat the heat of the south and dry quickly during the rainy season. Since coming to Tar’citadel, you’ve been wearing them in layers, the cold getting to you even indoors most days. The single piece you have that could be considered ‘fancy’ is a hand-me-down from an older sibling that is least six years out of style and you’ll likely freeze to death even in a room full of people. (Or at least be fairly uncomfortable for the duration.)

*goto just_dont_know_outfit

*else

Most human clothing from the Tazu Nation mimics the fashions worn by Tazu themselves, loose, draping things meant to be removed quickly in order for the shapeshifting Tazu to turn into their tyrn forms. (Or made of Tazu leather, which would shift with them, but humans of course do not wear such things; rather you have a lot of belts and accessories made from slaga leather.) Lacking sleeves and overall cut rather short, you’ve been using most of your wardrobe in conjunction with your school uniform to combat the cold of Tar’citadel, which seems to get to you even indoors. The single piece you have that could be considered ‘fancy’ is a hand-me-down from an older sibling that is least six years out of style and you’ll likely freeze to death even in a room full of people. (Or at least be fairly uncomfortable for the duration.)

*goto just_dont_know_outfit

 

*label just_dont_know_outfit

 

Hands on your hips, you sigh. “I just don’t know if what I have is good enough, ${angel}.”

 

[i]”Does what you wear really matter so much?”[/i] ${ahe} inquires. Fluttering down, ${ahe} flits across the room like a hummingbird, alighting briefly to examine each of your outfits before stopping to hover inside the closet. [i]”Your friends see you every day as you are. I thought clothing is for protection and expression, yes? Are you trying to express something different than normal?”[/i]

 

From here you will have choices as to what you’re trying to express, and then who you want to go to for help getting a new outfit, and then multiple choices on what, exactly you’re going to wear to the ball. And fear not, all this is not in vain; the right outfit could just boost yr date’s opinion of you, or cause some other interesting side effects. 😉

 

I will release this update as soon as i’m done the pair of games, so *hopefully* by summer’s end. 🙂