Thanks!
As the end of the first half (?) of UNWOUND is getting reached, I wanted to take a second to note a few things, as well as show off some stuff!
So, first up: UNWOUND is, easily, one of the things that has taken off the most that I’ve done…ever. In terms of reach and views, the small but growing number of readers I’ve been getting is unlike anything I have ever managed, not that I’ve tried much before now.
So I wanted to thank you all! I know it’s rough at parts, because I’m not doing much in the way of editing (yet). UNWOUND started as a project to force myself to just write consistently, and in that, it has more then succeeded! The fact that other people, even ones who had no idea on who any of these characters or the world were before they went in, have found enjoyment in it is really inspiring to me.
Future Plans (UNWOUND and Otherwise)
Now! Some general notes and plans as I’m moving forwards: UNWOUND is going to likely end up around 25-30 parts when it’s wrapped up, so we’re getting close to the halfway point.
I’m planning on starting a few side stories, both in the same world and not, and redesigning the site a bit to make finding the different stories easier. UNWOUND should continue at the same pace with this, until we reach the end!
Once the end hits, I’m going to spend some time making more short content like Etel and the Tree of Blades and Ghostfire while I work on planning out whatever comes next. I want to improve in my craft, so whatever comes next is going to be a lot more edited and a lot more planned.
While I’m working on whatever the next project is and the shorter content, I’m planning on taking all of UNWOUND and getting to work editing it again behind the scenes, taking this little web serial and seeing how I can expand it even further, improve what is there, all of that good stuff. I’m planning on keeping those edits a bit more secret, although I may give previews and sneak peaks for people who subscribe to my Ko-Fi.
All in all, the future is looking pretty solid for Strike the Horizon!
Behind the Scenes and Art
Now for the juicy stuff. To give a bit of context to UNWOUND so far: the original two short stories, UNWOUND and UNBROKEN, were based on events from my Saturday D&D 5E game, The Mirror Sea. In The Mirror Sea, neither Zelith or Grey existed, but a number of other characters, such as Professor Verin, Caspar, and other owl-shaped friends are NPCs, specifically controlled by me and not my lovely co-DM (hello, whenever you’re able to catch up with everything! I will never apologize for the backlog.)
The Lahrii Disaster in those original stories happened as described, with the heroic Firewatch, the PCs, rushing in and saving the day. I wrote that version to explore the background and buildup that the players weren’t there to see, and to flex my writing.
But, what of our protagonists?
Zelith Witchblood and The Grey Storm also originate in a D&D game, since ended for the time being. In that game, I was a player, with Zelith Witchblood, a tiefling noble and chronurgist wizard, as my PC, while Grey was the Blood Hunter (?) being played by another one of the players (hello as well, I only realized I didn’t know what her class was while actually typing this.)
To make a long and likely too complicated story short, a few dice rolls on the random background tables resulted in Zelith and the Grey Storm having a one night stand before the game began, eventually over the course of the game resulting in the start of an actual more long-term relationship forming between the pair, one which wouldn’t have ever happened without that random dice roll.
So, when I was wanting to write my little Lahrii side story, I decided to (with permission), bring Grey and Lily back! And writing that is what made me realize I’d missed the two of them, which resulted in me making the current version of UNWOUND, now in a fresh, non-DND world, to really dig into the two of them and their dynamic.
The results speak for themself!
And now, with permission from the artist, the original character sheets that were commissioned for Zelith and Grey for that DND game! They look basically the same in UNWOUND, at the start at least.
Art created by The Sleepy Panda! Check her stuff out, UNWOUND would not exist if it was not for her, so if you like it, you have her to thank. There’s a few of my DND characters throughout her gallery as well because of my many generous DMs over the years (fans of Ghostfire might find a familiar face! Scavenger hunt.)
Zelith Witchblood.
The Grey Storm.
Thanks again to Rebs for both the art and allowing me to share it. Great writing thrives on great inspiration!
Master the Storm, Destroyer of Stagnation.
Strike the Horizon.
Strike The Horizon 