Still here and just posted Chapter 11 for everypony to read! · 2:47am Nov 5th, 2020
Hello Everypony!
Sorry to be away for so long, life sort of interrupts the story process from time to time. The newest chapter is just posted ands I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. There's lots more yet, but it's taking longer due to some elements that were changed, including some character names and appearances, the various trials the recruits still had to undergo as well as some new academy cadet characters to fill out more of the school body.
One of the things I found lacking in my writing of this story is not showing more of Wind Raider and Stormbringer's angle of looking at the trials and their perspective on the idea of griffons and hippogriffs trying out. Yes, they are not pleased with it and the 'why' of that point had not really been addressed. I've given some of the backstory of these two characters but needed to get more into the details.
Once more, my editor was very vocal about not doing a 'flashback' or 'dream sequence' to tell their history's and was adamant about not letting me fall into that particular trope with these two antagonists. We came to a compromise of how I could share the backstory of these two while not being so predictable. I think what we came up with works well and it let me tell more of the story angle I wanted and give more depth to Wind Raider and Stormbringer. They are not supposed to be likeable but they are also not supposed to be 'EVIL' in the sense of a true villain or foe of the BFF's. Misguided and narrowminded, yes. Evil like King Sombra or Queen Chrysalis, no. Also, it was imperative to give these two some other friends among the recruits as well as some of the cadets at the academy. I wanted Wind Raider to be the 'oldest' recruit of the group; I was thinking along the lines of 18 or 19 years old and, therefore, having older friends and having a slightly more 'worldly' view on life, even if it was skewed terribly by the Storm King's attempted invasion. Just keep reading on and you'll see what I have in store for all of the characters and hope you find it exciting.
Thanks for the update Jay, will check it out when I get back in a few hours!😁👍