AUTHOR'S NOTES

Dear Reader,

Crafting this book has been an odd little journey. It is the second novel in the series, yet it was written and published first. The inspiration for this story originated with a scene set thirty-five years in the future of the events chronicled in The Artifice Mage Saga when Devin is a middle-aged and respected [redacted] and falls completely outside the scope of what is essentially a coming-of-age fantasy.

To address why the first book written is second in the series, we must examine the concept of in medias res or beginning a story in the middle of the action. My original intent was to start with Devin in chains and then unspool the narrative thread of how he ended up in that courtroom over the course of the series. An element of that little teaser remains—ahem, what exactly happened as he tore through the provincial capital to reach his mother and Misera?—but I soon realized the story of Devin learning to accept a scary new side of himself, which was so utterly foreign to his mindset as budding mage talent, was both exciting and worth telling. Also, to be perfectly honest, Drusilla played a much larger role in this series than I had originally envisioned, so we needed to see her perspective on those early events as well.

Front loading all of that excess into this book would have either spawned the mother of all bloated prologues and/or turned the plot into a shambling, ungainly monster. Besides, this is not an origin story. This is the journey story. This is the great rambling adventure of discovery where the “hero” is thrown into the wide, wide world to suffer and take his lumps before finally coming home an older, wiser person . . . who then sparks a mage revolt with his automaton son in tow. A classic Campbellian monomyth if I never heard one.

As to what inspired all this? The scene in Devin's far flung future? That is waiting in the wings, fair reader. Keep an eye out for The White Mage Academy series. There is so much of the Metal vs. Magic Universe left to explore. I can't wait to show it to you!

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Bardwell

February 15, 2018

Twigboat Press