Well, it's finally here. After months of work, the most intense chapter yet is finally ready for everyone's review!!

First thing to tell you all is that this is a very long chapter now. The longest in the entire story, in fact, weighing in at just over 15,000 words. And to think that originally, I was worried that there wouldn't be enough content to make a proper chapter out of this... what used to be the final third of 'Portents of Darkness' before it got split off last December. And yes, that means the story content of the original chapter has now been expanded from about 12,000 words to about 28,100 words!

Because it's so long, I'm seriously considering splitting 'Blood and Fire' into two chapters yet again. There's a pretty solid spot to do this right before the team splits up and Flitter flies off on her own to check out the zebra camp. That's about 7500 words, in -- nearly exactly half-way through.

Next thing to let you all know is that this chapter is quite a ride. It is, by far, my best work yet. Everything from the balance of tension, to the humor, the dialogue, the character development, and of course the flow of the plot, all work together to make this a fantastic chapter which I hope you all truly enjoy. I know most of you have read this part of the story before, but you're going to have to trust me that this is vastly improved.

We are now entering the final edit for the chapter before publishing. If we publish it as a split chapter, that actually buys me some time to work on the prologue and early chapters a bit before releasing the second half. So please look it over with a fine tooth comb or whatever apparatus you prefer when editing for quality. There's a lot in here to cover.

Have fun!

Link

5934816 , I don't think I'll be able to get through all this right now. Some things have come up in real life that need my utmost attention. I apologize for the inconvenience.

5934840

It can wait. I probably won't publish for at least another 2-3 weeks anyway. Unless your urgency will take a really long time?

5934848 , Probably not, and thank you for your patience.

5934848 , By the way, there's nothing inherently bad about being unrealistic. I was just caught up in the combination of morbidness and absurdity all mixed into one.

5947719

Hmm. Well, being "realistic", at least as far as the term can be applied to the high-fantasy genre, is one of my top goals. I want the events that take place to follow my story's rules very tightly. So if it's unrealistic, or absurd, that's a major concern.

This story is about talking magical horses who can fly, so if we can accept that this, at least, is realistic, then we can adjust our definition a bit and see if the rest of the story is likewise realistic.

5947725 , Note to myself: Do not try to combine a serious comment with a sarcastic joke into the exact same sentence. It will just confuse everyone, including myself, and will make somebody stress over nothing. *sigh* This is what I get for trying to be funny when I'm usually so straightforward: misunderstandings.

5948864
Ahh.
You're right in that you usually come across as deadpan straight in most comments. I didn't expect humor. Don't let that stop you though! Everyone needs to lighten up from time to time. Emoticons help.

Well anyway, thanks for proofreading. I hope you're enjoying the chapter and notice the changes from the original.