Just over a year ago I posted about an idea I had for a four POV book to be written as part of The Válkia Chronicles. It could have been a novel or a novella, but I've been struck with another possibility.

I now want to condense the four POVs into three -- works well for the umbrella heading, Three Bridges. And the possibility I'm considering is this: Could I instead write 3 separate novelettes/novellas?

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Would you rather pay for 3 separate novelettes at $1.99 each, or just a novel at $2.99?

(This book is a work-in-progress.)

After having made edits to the concept of the remainder of Aundes Aura, there is a lot I'll be missing out on writing that I feel really summed up the Chronicles, bringing peace back to Válkia. These novels are fairly plot-driven so far, and I think they work well that way. But the characters and their motivations should be consistent and meaningful. The Aundes Aura cast didn't really fit the concept of shiny epically epic Part Two, so I stripped Part Two back so that it's significant to the characters, and they help the world in their own way.

So it seems like Aundes Aura may not be the very last book chronologically. As part of Válkia's history, the conquering of the Church is something I really want to explore, and just now I feel like I've come up with a decent way to approach it. Sure to change and develop profusely, this is the first concept for Maechre Aura.

(In order to facilitate this idea, I have swapped two gods between countries. Maechre is now attributed to Meira and Taemus is now attributed to Duthonne.)

Maechre Aura

For quite a long time, I have planned to write Aundes Aura in two parts. Not two books, but two parts to the book.

In this way, I was going to flesh out the parts separately so I would have story of decent length, and then cut it down until it really is the best it can be (that is, after content revisions, of course).

Whether the book is in two parts or not in the end, I don't know, but it's easier for me to think about it this way.

I think about the parts as though they are two smaller books. I have given the first part its own beginning, middle, climax and end. However, I've left the first part not quite resolved, and the resolution comes in Part II.

The ideas I had for Part II were always extremely vague. They were bland and seemed to involve just travelling around without a solid purpose.

[Warning: Unpurposeful rhyming ahead.]

But one night as I lay in bed, a light bulb lit up above my head. For the sake of this rhyme I should end this with red. And thankfully I kept to the meter dead.

Anyway, Part II has grown into something so epic I could never have imagined it (until, of course, a particular light bulb lit up above my head).

I'll do my best to avoid spoiling much, but I'd like to give you a general idea of how Part II will play out. I feel it will be a spectacular way to finish the Chronicles, resolving conflicts that have sprouted over hundreds of years (and several books).
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Aundes Aura
Part II

There will be three main objectives in the second part.

1. Gather the other **Gifted who are scattered around the continent of Válkia so they can send away the *Auras.
2. Find the rightful ruler of Duthonne, overthrow the Church and instate the rightful ruler.
3. Sign a treaty between Meira and Duthonne.

* Auras are "gifts" sent down from the gods to help humanity overcome its problems. This backfired when people started using them as weapons.
** The Gifted are people with Auras.

In order to do all this:

- The group splits in two. In this part, Faine will take a regular POV.

- Eoin and Saera use their father's gold locket to locate people with Auras. They hope to send the Auras back in a ritual to bring peace back to the world.

- While Eoin and Saera do this, Faine and Athrù follow the details of a family tree to help them find the rightful ruler. [Hint: It is one of the characters from the first part of the book.]

- Faine, Athrù, Eoin, Saera and the other Gifted storm the Church of Duthonne in their tower and miraculously overthrow them. They instate the rightful ruler and sign a treaty between Duthonne and Meira.

- Together in the Chamber of Kings, the Gifted gather, and through a ritual they send the Auras which spoilt humanity back to the gods where they belong.

A rich fantasy world calls for several social groups and organisations that, of course, affect each other. These don't have to be involved with your main plot, but it helps when your characters come across one or another of these groups to know what condition they are in.

I wrote a lot about certain groups in my last Fantasy World Building post, but this time I will include the smaller parts of society and show how they affect each other.

Social Groups and Organisations in Duthonne

The Church: When the King was overthrown in 218p.i. (which was also three years before his death), immediate power was given to the Church. The Church were expected to seek out a suitable successor to the throne. However, the Church quickly became addicted to the power and refused to give it away. Over hundreds of years the Church passed on their power to their own heirs or next of kin, until they were finally overthrown in 703p.i. (which is also the year Aundes Aura takes place). Over their roughly 500 years of power, the Church taught the people of Duthonne to hate those who don't agree with their beliefs and brand them as heretics.

The Válkia Chronicles

Current planned novels:
- Aundes Aura
- Three Bridges

Further possible novels:
- Maechre Aura
- Endures Aura
- Elcalades Aura
- Kathes Aura
- Taemus Aura
- Careus Aura

These stories would tell of characters who had to deal with Auras in their lives, and would be set before the events of Aundes Aura.

Known characters from Aundes Aura could be re-used in these, such as Faine in Endures Aura, the Thief-King in Elcalades Aura, and Echo in Taemus Aura.

Plans are that the characters across the novels would come from different cultures, lands and times across the Válkian history. For example, in Kathes Aura the main character might be from a druidesque clan in "pre-independence" history. In Careus Aura the main character could travel to Válkia from overseas. Perhaps that continent from which he came could be the base for another Chronicles series.

I don't know. All I know is that the idea excites me immensely, and whether it's possible or not, I've made a strong start.