It’s Monday! And according to my previous post, that means its time to start discussing some of the background behind my first series “The Last Chronicle of Azurden”.

So why Azurden in the first place? Why not call it “The First Chronicle of Enavordin”? as that’s the continent most of the story takes place. Well, first, Enavordin didn’t “start” when Renard got pulled into it by Adriana. It already had a rich history that Archimede was, at the time, unaware of. Second, it’s also because the series isn’t so much about the events transpiring on Enavordin as it is about how Azurden met the fate hinted at in the preface of Book One, A Deal in the Darkness, and how the two worlds of Azurden and Enavordin end up affecting each other. Finally, Azurden is the oldest of my many worlds, and as such it only seemed fitting it be one of the first  I write about, even if it is from a “looking back” perspective.

To clarify what I mean, I must first point out that unlike some of my other works, this series isn’t something I came up with over a week of brainstorming, or a month of “wild ideas”. It is, in fact, a story that has been twenty six years in the making, and it has been in the making for so long because Azurden was the world of my childhood. It was an escape from the many pressures of adolescent life, a playground for my mind to throw together whatever it wanted, and a place where that pesky “logic” couldn’t pull things down. It had flying whales, a futuristic domed city, gardens that came to life, lands that floated over the ocean, magical gods, and its own fair share of talking animals. Perhaps this will make it quirky for some, thinking they are reading a child’s fantasy, but I did say it has been twenty six years, and a lot of nasty things can happen to a, supposedly, innocent place in that amount of time. In Azurden, the heroes didn’t always win, the villains weren’t always incompetent, and the cities and nations did not always get along. That’s right, even in my imagination, my mind forced me to face some harsh realities. Some would say its a coping mechanism, others would insist I was just abnormal. Whatever the case, as I grew older, Azurden became a darker and more intimidating world, until a time came, at about sixteen years old, I decided something needed to change. What was that change? Well, that will have to be revealed at a far later time, as it has very much to do with the current story. I’m sure there will also be those that notice sixteen does not equate to twenty six. And I certainly wasn’t coming up with this stuff as an infant. That is where next week’s discussion will begin.

Unfortunately, that’s about all I can say at this point and time, as much of Azurden’s existence, and it’s fate, is left up for the book series to reveal. However, we are not done with this place. Far from it. As I highlight characters and places over the coming weeks and months, I will also discuss more of the world around them and reveal bits and pieces of the story that simply aren’t, or can’t, be covered in the scope of the books. I also think I will let Archimede handle the discussions, as he’s much better and more prolific with these things than I am. I’ll instead focus on the upcoming hobby corner discussion on Thursday, as I haven’t made up my mind yet as to where to start with that.

Sincerely,

-Allan B. Anderson

P.S. watching the Atlanta Falcons choke in the final quarter of the Super Bowl is not a great way to start off the week.