Chronicles plan - 1989 plan for development of CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS

What follows is a plan for the development of the CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS which I developed back in 1989. This was before the writing of volume ten, THE WITCHLORD AND THE WEAPONMASTER. As it happens, volume ten was written according to plan.

Volume nine, which was to have been called THE WEIRD AND THE WARPED, ended up being called THE WORSHIPPERS AND THE WAY, and does, in fact, as published, go some way towards explaining the nature of the Nexus.

It would, in retrospect, have been perfectly feasible to go on and write the rest of the series, except for the fact that the economic underpinnings collapsed: with each new book in the series, sales dropped, to the point where extending the series was not feasible.

Anyway. What follows is the 1989 plan:-

        (1) Abstract


        My intention is to complete volumes 9 and 10 in 1990. Volume 9 will clarify the nature of the Nexus and the local cosmos. Volume 10 will bind together all the characters and locales of the first 9 volumes in a coherent story which stars the weaponmaster Guest Gulkan. Volumes 11 to 20 will be sequels to volumes 1 to 10.


        (2) Timetable for Completion of Chronicles


        Volumes 9 (WEIRD/WARPED) and 10 (WITCHLORD/WEAPONMASTER) to be completed in 1990. Timetable for completion of future volumes will be provided toward the end of 1990.


        (3) Function of Volume 9


        In terms of the development of the Chronicles, the function of volume 9 is to explicate the nature of the Nexus and the nature of the local cosmos; and to introduce the political dynamics of Dalar ken Halvar and Parengarenga.


        (4) Function of Volume 10


        Volume 10 will bind together all the characters and locales of the first 9 volumes in a coherent story based on the activities of the questing hero Guest Gulkan (son of Lord Onosh of Tameran) and his long-suffering tutor, translator and pilot Hostaja Torsen Sken-Pitilkin (renegade wizard of Drum and sometime ruler of the Empire of Wizards).
        My intention has long been to use Guest Gulkan for this purpose. He already features in volumes 2, 4, 6 and 7. Sken- Pitilkin of course is first mentioned on the first page of the first volume.
        Guest Gulkan and Sken-Pitilkin make ideal protagonists for exploring the entire world of the Chronicles because it has already been established that Guest Gulkan is familiar with the use of Doors and that Sken-Pitilkin can fly.


        (5) Overview of Volumes 11 to 20


        Volumes 11 to 20 will be sequels to volumes 1 to 10. The story they tell is of a world being painfully unified through the use of three Circles. The end result is that Hostaja Torsen Sken- Pitilkin establishes not an Empire but an Alliance, unifies the world and throws the Swarms back into the Deep South.


        (6) Overview of Volumes 21 to 40


        Volumes 21 to 40 will tell of the struggle between two groups of wizards. The Dissidents value knowledge but the Confederation values power.
        Volumes 21 to 40 will go under the title of CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF WRATH. It will be guided by the same considerable pessimism which underwrites THE WIZARD AND THE WARRIORS, and the story it will tell is as follows:-
        The Dissidents begin the study of the Skull, an intelligent but infinitely alien organism which controlls the bizarre ecology of the southlands. The Confederation seeks to bring the Skull under its control, thus provoking the Long War.
        After the Long War, the Empire of Wizards is followed amidst great optimism. The Dissidents, the greatest minds of the Empire, build many great things for the Empire. The power and success of the Empire fills its rulers with hubristic arrogance, with evil consequences for those who suffer beneath the Empire's rule.
        Arrogance leads to intolerance, and intolerance to a brand of politics which is characterised by savagery. Eventually a group of the most savage and determined coup leaders imaginable overthrow the current rulers of the Empire and install their puppet on the imperial throne - their puppet being the amiable Hostaja Torsen Sken-Pitilkin, now to be known to the world as the Emperor Torsen.
        The Emperor Torsen acts with bloody resolution and butchers the coup leaders, then proceeds to rule the Empire with justice and intelligence. He then strives to repair the rift between the Confederation and the Dissidents - and almost succeeds.
        Unfortunately the Emperor Torsen lacks tact, lacks the ability to delegate, and refuses to countenance piracy in the form of the grotesquely inflated salaries and pensions which his administrators demand. The Emperor Torsen holds that administration should not be the most profitable industry in the Empire, and for this political heresy he is overthrown, the sanguinary Emperor Barglan replacing him.
        Under the rule of Barglan, the Empire collapses in a bloody war which leads the Dissidents to take themselves off to the lands at the southern tip of the continent of Argan, from where they resume their studies of the Skull.
        That hubristic ambition of wizards which led to the Fall of the Empire then leads to further disasters, most notable of which is the Fall of Drangsturm, which sees the Swarms march into the north of Argan and threaten the rest of the world. Fortunately Hostaja Torsen Sken-Pitilkin saves the day by uniting three Circles in an Alliance and throwing the Swarms back into the Deep South.
        Unfortunately Sken-Pitilkin is no better at ruling an Alliance than he is at ruling an Empire. He repeats his very same error by refusing to let his adminstrators loot their people, and again is overthrown.
        The well-salaried and well-pensioned administrators of the Alliance, insulated from the realities of the common people, govern with the same hubristic arrogance which characterised the original Empire of Wizards.
        The underlying political assumption of the Alliance is that it is Good since the Swarms against which it fought were Evil. Since the Alliance is Good, anyone who stands against it is necessarily Evil, particularly the neutral Dissidents in the south of Argan, who are known to have stood by while the Swarms invaded the north.
        What follows is a devastating war in which the two sides tear each other apart in an uncompromising Gotterdammerung, leaving all in ruin, as all was in ruin at the end of "THE WIZARDS AND THE WARRIORS".


        (7) Overview of Volumes 41 to 60.


        Volumes 41 to 60 will go under the title of CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF HEROES and will tell of the Nexus, of conflicts imported from the Nexus into the local cosmos, of the gradual awakening of the Powers of the local cosmos, of the resulting conflicts, and of the resolution of those conflicts.
        Detail is as follows:-
        The Nexus, a transcosmic civilization which specialises in manipulating probability, is colonising a series of increasingly unstable universes.
        The Nexus approves the establishment of a prison complex on the local cosmos, which is unstable in the extreme, and shows ominous signs of having been experimented upon by the hypothetical Experimenters.
        The series follows the lives of Rinprofen Rum, Ivan Pokrov, Anaconda Stogirov and Shabble, plus several of those condemned to suffer in the prison complex.
        Initially the prison complex in the local cosmos is linked with the rest of the Nexus by the Chasm Gates, but Ivan Pokrov severs that link.
        The series then follows the desperate power struggle between the survivors who are trapped in the local cosmos. The final crisis comes in the aftermath of the Gotterdammerung featured in volume 40.
        The final crisis comes with the rise of new Powers, most notably Codlugarthia of Untunchilamon and Lord Dreldragon of Ling.
        The conflicts between Pokrov, Stogirov, Shabble and Rum finally come to a head at a peace conference held on the Lesser Teeth.
        By now Lord Dreldragon is sixty years of age, at the height of his political power, and the ruler of the Empire of the Sealords, which is supported by the mighty war machines of the Technic Renaissance which were long housed at Ling (and were discovered by Lord Dreldragon in Volume 4, THE WALRUS AND THE WARWOLF, though he thought nothing of the discovery at the time).
        The key issue at the Conference is the making of a Peace between Codlugarthia and Lord Dreldragon. Both of these two Powers are exceptionally ignorant of the needs of the many minor nations which will be affected by the terms of their Peace.
        Delegations from those minor nations have come to the Conference to speak for the needs of their own peoples. They include the very young (who are idealistic but over-optimistic and inexperienced), those at the peak of their power (who must attend to the short term if they are to stay in power and so be able to secure the world in the long term - the conflict between the day- do-day exigencies of politics and the long-term needs of nations ever threatening disaster), and the very old (who are wise, or at least think they are, but who have limited power and influence).
        The crisis in the affairs of the survivors from the Nexus sees the Conference disintegrate in a bloody battle which threatens to doom all those involved and once more plunge the wider world into war. The struggle against catastrophe ends with the death of Morgan Hearst, the death of Shabble, the marriage of Ivan Pokrov to the formidable Anaconda Stogirov, and the signing of a Peace.
        Thus bringing this sixty-volume story to an end.

[points 8 through 10 deleted]


        
        (11) Creative Strategy


        The books yet to come will be a mix of:-
        (a) Extended Histories in the manner of THE WIZARDS AND THE WARRIORS, where events of great import are dealt with at length, where wars are fought, where Great Decisions are taken, and where the fate of nations is decided; and
        (b) Local Histories in the manner of THE WISHSTONE AND THE WONDERWORKERS, where local events are dealt with in stories tightly unified in terms of place, time and action; and
        (c) Picaresque Tales in the manner of THE WORDSMITHS AND THE WARGUILD, THE WALRUS AND THE WARWOLF and THE WITCHLORD AND THE WEAPONMASTER.
        I believe at this stage that I will be able to follow the storyline outlined above fairly closely.


        (12) Strategy for Volumes 11 to 20


        Volumes 11 to 20 will in effect be sequels of volumes 1 to 10. Plans for these volumes are outlined below. In some cases the outline plots have been freshly created to fit my latest plan for the series. Other outlines, however, represent a return to long- cherished ideas, such as that of setting a story in the Stepping Stone Islands with Nuana Nanalako as the protagonist.


        (13) CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS: Volume 11


        Morgan Hearst and Thodric Jarl separately return to the islands of Rovac and there make an alliance. One isolated island is contaminated with creatures of the Swarms. On the island is a Door which Hearst opens with a star-globe he brought from the Lesser Teeth: the Star Globe originally brought to the Lessers by Yen Olass Ampadara. The book then follows the progress of Hearst and Jarl as they seek to integrate themselves into the society of Rovac and to control this Third Circle.


        (14) CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS: Volume 12


        After Togura Poulaan becomes king of Sung, he appoints a young man known as the Wart as guardian of the wreckage of the green bottle which lies near Keep. The book follows the Wart's difficulties as he struggles to protect this wreckage, which is increasingly becoming the focus of questing heroes and other such rabble.


        (15) CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS: Volume 13


        Nuana Nanalako returns to her home in the Stepping Stone Islands only to find that she was officially declared dead years ago. The book follows her difficulties as a living ghost.


        (16) CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS: Volume 14


        Drake Douay and his companions proceed to Tor after the wrecking of the good ship Dragon. The book follows the adventures of Drake and his companions during the years in which Jon Arabin establishes an empire in the Drangsturm Gulf.
        With the help of war machines from Ling, most notably a skavamareen (a PsyOps weapon which flies) Drake and his companions push deep into the Terror-lands of the Deep South, where Drake makes himself lord of the ancient city which houses the tectonic lever.


        (17) CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS: Volume 15


         As Hostaja Torsen Sken-Pitilkin and the wizards of the Confederation tighten their grip on the Circle of the Partnership Banks, it becomes increasingly clear that there is precious little scope for the more ambitious warriors. Accordingly Watashi and others, having come into possession of a star-globe, seek to establish their own empire by opening the Circle accessed through the Old City of Penvash.
        The Penvash Circle runs thus: Old City - Eucalyptus Forest - Ocean Cay - Drangsturm Southside - Mountain Snowland - Plain of Tazala - Jungle Temple - Dalar ken Halvar - Cannibal Beach - and back to the Old City.
        Having opened this Circle, Watashi and his allies must cope with the consequent complications. The Door in the Mountain Snowland is on one side of a high pass. On the other side is one of the Doors of the Third Circle exploited by Morgan Hearst and Thodric Jarl. Near these mountains is the city of the tectonic lever, where Drake Douay resides; and in due course Drake explores to the Door, mounted on his trusty skavamareen.
        The Door on the Cannibal Beach is disconcertingly near Port Domax, the free port where Shabble dwells, and it is not long before Shabble comes bobbing along in company with a considerable retinue to demand access to the Penvash Circle. The Door in the Eucalyptus Forest is in the south of Parengarenga, the continent which is home to the city of Dalar ken Halvar.
        The power-seekers heighten all complications when they attempt to seize the home city of the young Lord Dreldragon, who saves himself by briefly using the tectonic lever. This has has far-flung consequences, including the opening of a sea channel between the Drangsturm Gulf and the Ocean of Cambria.


        (18) CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS: Volume 16


        This book deals with events on Untunchilamon after the fall of the Empress Justina. It focuses on the artist Slanic Moldova.
        A wazir sent by Aldarch III seeks to exercise his authority over Untunchilamon. An Expeditionary Force from Odrum makes an ill-advised excursion to the island. And Codlugarthia establishes his rule on Untunchilamon.


        (19) CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS: Volume 17


        This book is set in Chi'ash-lan, the ruling city of the Cold West, which is experiencing severe difficulties. The Rovac will no longer fight for Chi'ash-lan, but instead have returned to their home islands to place their swords at the service of the Rovac World Ring, aka the Rovac Ring, the Third Circle of Doors controlled by Morgan Hearst and Thodric Jarl.
        The old enemies are turning on Chi'ash-lan.
        Above all else, those enemies demand the death of Bailiff Vok, Chi'ash-lan's long-time ruler. They are also intensely interested in the x-x-zix, the wishstone of Untunchilamon, which has come into Bailiff Vok's possession. In Bailiff Vok's prisons there is a man who has the ability to command the x-x-zix. If this man is allowed to proceed to the City of Ice with the x-x-zix then he can warm the weather of the Cold West, causing an icemelt which will unlock, amongst other things, the sea route from the Cold West to the Hauma Sea.
        Bailiff Vok refuses to concede either his own life or Chi'ash-lan's supremacy. As Vok fights increasingly desperate and savage battles for control and survival, two men make the decision to dispossess him. These men are Prince Tatsu and the gladiator Bork. The book follows their ultimately successful attempt to win control of Chi'ash-lan and the difficult diplomacy which follows as, by a mixture of bluff, threat and bribe, they endeavour to protect their city from its enemies.


        (20) CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS: Volume 18


        Three Circles are now in operation: that of the Partnership Banks (the Safrak Circle), that controlled from the Old City (the Penvash Circle) and that of the Rovac (the Third Circle, aka the Rovac World Ring, aka the Rovac Ring).
        Unfortunately one of the Doors of the Penvash Circle is underwater, which compromises its effective operation.
        Nevertheless ...
        It functions, after a fashion, pouring a river of salt water into the Mountain Snowlands.
        The one common meeting place of these three Circles is in the city of Dalar ken Halvar.
        The powers of the three Circles fight an increasingly bloody war of spies and assassins for control of the city of Dalar ken Halvar, which some see as meaning the control of the world.
        This book deals with the clash of those spies and assassins, those spies and assassins being themselves caught up in the complexities of an internal power struggle in Dalar ken Halvar itself.


        (21) CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS: Volume 19


        This book is set in Drake Douay's home city, the city of the tectonic lever, where he has generously allowed certain wizards of the Confederation to make their homes.
        Drake Douay is progressively unlocking the secrets of his home city. His latest discovery is a cache of some twenty-seven million telephones which date back to the days of the Nexus. Drake proposes setting up a telephone network to link the entire world.
        The telephones are very enthusiastic about this idea, as they are sick and tired of sitting in the dark with nobody to talk to but each other. Unfortunately, this idea is anathema to the wizards, who are alarmed at the speed of events, and particularly alarmed at the way Drake's new technology outstrips their own powers.
        The wizards accordingly attempt a coup against the young Lord Dreldragon, who must struggle against them as best he can. Fortunately, the telephones are all on Drake's side.
        This book deals with the days of the coup and Drake's efforts to save both himself and his beloved telephones.


        (22) CHRONICLES OF AN AGE OF DARKNESS: Volume 20


        In Volume 15, one of the Doors of the Penvash Circle was sunk when Drake Douay briefly used the tectonic lever, with far-flung consequences which include the opening of a deep sea channel between Argan North and Argan South.
        This book opens at Drangsturm, now a deep sea channel between Argan North and Argan South. Sken-Pitilkin is supervising the salvage of a vital Door from the deep water channel. An entirely unrepentent Drake Douay is assisting.
        Drake is now the lord of Babel, the international telephone network. The telephone is the latest (and in many ways the most powerful) of the devices which is rapidly changing the world beyond recognition.
        Another change is that airflight is increasingly commonplace.
        Hostaja Torsen Sken-Pitilkin, the true inventor of effective flight, has taught other wizards of his Order the secret of his stickbirds. A wizard's power is inimical to the natural order of the universe, which seeks to destroy that power. When enchanted objects are not properly shielded, they are usually destroyed in short order, most commonly with devastating effects.
        It is Sken-Pitilkin's genius to have devised a system for partially exposing an enchanted object to destruction, then trapping and using the turbulent forces which result. This is why he can fly his stickbird across entire continents, a feat entirely beyond other wizards of his order until he shows them the way.
        The world is now linked by telephones, by three Circles (the Circle of the Partnership Banks, aka the Safrak Circle; the Circle of the Old City, aka the Penvash Circle; and the Third Circle, aka the Rovac World Ring, aka the Rovac Ring) and by many airpowered wizards.
        The Confederation of Wizards, which has slowly been regrouping, and has now established itself firmly on Ashmolea, intends to bring this new world under its rule, and so summons Sken-Pitilkin and others to a conference at which submission will be demanded. Unfortunately for the Confederation, it has severely underestimated the strength of some of the Powers it has summoned, most notably Codlugarthia and the young Lord Dreldragon.
        The book follows Sken-Pitilkin's ultimately successful efforts to preserve his own life, his political power and the peace of the world at this Conference, which he does in part by postponing all issues which are incapable of easy resolution (such as whether Lord Dreldragon is within his rights when he lays claim to the Stepping Stone Islands), and in part by encouraging the destructive tensions within the Confederation.
        By the time the Conference has been brought to a successful conclusion, the Confederation of Wizards is almost on the point of destroying itself. As the people who have taken part in the Conference disperse, Sken-Pitilkin is detained, and must use all his skill, wit and expertise to bring about the political destruction of the Confederation and remove the threat which it poses to the new order of the world.


        
         ends
        
        
        # Copyright 1989, 2003 Hugh Cook