So it’s summer again, and this page has me thinking back to the summer when I first started, if not writing, at least planning the story of The Black Orb in my head.
Last Thursday there was a storm just like the one I remember the day the idea first struck me. The air was just the right warmth and humidity where it’s comfortable but not too hot, and it's sunny and not too cloudy, but the wind is starting to stir ominously so you just know a storm is going to blow in soon (now my left wrist/arm tingles in this kind of weather). At that time, I was just twelve, and in the middle of reading the first book of a very long fantasy novel series that had caught my attention at the library.
The storm finally rolled in, turning the sky black gusting winds billowing sheer white curtains back from our front windows (we didn’t have air conditioning, so when the wind came, my mother would send us to open every window wide to blow the stale humid air out of the house). The story I was reading (about a mysterious traveler unlocking secrets not only about himself and humanity, but about magic and the very foundations of the world) combined with the force of the storm created an electric tension in the air - it almost felt as though when the thunder cracked, something remarkable, something magical and surreal, was going to happen.
It didn’t, of course, because this is real life, and stuff doesn’t happen that way, but my brain started to itch with the “what if”s and that’s how this story started to be born. I wanted to create a story that made others feel like I had felt - like maybe, just maybe, magic was out there somewhere, just waiting to be found.
So now, with this page, not only am I finishing Chapter 8, I’m also wrapping up Volume 1, and I kind of can’t believe it. Last week was a big week for me - I just turned 30, I've left my office job that I’ve held for 5 y+ years to do something….(I don’t know what). I feel great, and I’m truly honored and grateful for each and every person who has read this comic and supported me so far.
I'll be taking a two week hiatus before starting Chapter 9 on July 21st. During that time I'm going to be putting together a print and digital version of the first volume, as well as getting a good buffer going with chapter 9, so the schedule will hopefully become less erratic.
<3
That’s quite some origin story for a story. I can’t even remember, how my ‘Magnus opus’ came to be. Probably a myriad of influences, combined with childish loneliness (being the ‘other kid’ does that to you) lead to creating the characters, which was followed by the rules of the universe, their abilities…and from there on it simply kept growing up to this day. (Maybe you remember I told you, that we’re really similar in that regard). And not just that, I’ve turned 30 this year too, how’s that for coincidences? 😛
So…the bear is in fact a transformed human, who kept the power of the medallion in check, eh? Probably with the gem he gave to Olly.
I shudder to think what might have happened, if he hadn’t done that…the kingdom would’ve most likely ended up in ruins if the full power of whatever possessed the king had been unleashed.
Though that ‘hidden’ feels a little odd in this regard…as in ‘it was there, but you couldn’t see it’. If something was ‘alive’ within that medallion, it would know about the ‘true power’ and try to use it, but to no avail, because that gem keeps it sealed.
Unless of course, the gem isn’t as much of a seal, but much rather a key. A missing piece, detached from it. If the holder of the medallion had gotten his hands on it, he would’ve unlocked the seal of the medallions power.
But of course none of that answers the important questions:
Who made the medallions?
Why were they made?
What exactly are they?
And now a new one:
Who the heck are those two now, who seem to know a whole lot about the previous questions, but would not reveal themselves before the party they put their trust in?
So yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing what else you’ve got 🙂
ah yes to be expected that bear was a person and htat old guy was sussy