So...what did you think? Was it good? Was it bad? A little bit of both?

Would you have guessed that Raviel's brother was guilty as charged from the very beginning? Did you expect Saska or Tessa to betray him somewhere along the road? She probably would have, though, if the Viscount had ordered it.

Personally I'm a little sad over what happened to Noel and Nea. But admittedly they were doomed from the start. If they had succeeded in their mission, they would have just continued a rather meaningless existence in the castle.

This story - or rather, a collection of short stories with an interconnecting plot - was my first attempt at a darker shade of fantasy. Usually I've written more traditional fantasy where everything turns out good in the end - or at the very least there are noble sacrifices if protagonists die.

There can be more. Winds of change are blowing in the cursed land. Raviel and Saska have stirred things up. A new Dark Lord is waiting to appear. The Viscount's reasons for never appearing outside his castle without his "mask" are becoming more pressing than ever. And the true power of the Lord of the Dead may not stay dormant much longer...

What do you say? Do you want this story to be written too? Currently it's at the back of my writing queue, mere ideas sketched on digital paper. But if you, dear readers, want to see where things go from now on, I'll move it to the front of the queue.

Let me know in comments. And thanks for reading this far!