The Thief’s Priestess: One For Another

Hello everyone, how are we, I hope you’re all well, it has been a while I know since the last post like this was released, where I cover the making of a video worked on by a string of talented people; But a lot has been going on personally which results in frustrating delays, and unfortunately there is little I can do when such hiccups occur, mount that onto other people’s schedules that can change and you’ve a recipe for days being thrown aside like they are nothing. This article/video’s specific schedule has been all over the place for example, it had to be re-shifted, re-organised and this body of text included had to be re-written just for it to make logical sense! That’s how disorganised things have been – Usually, I am not able to post anything until late in the afternoon or sometime in the evening when everything typically is ready to go, from blogs, socials, to the site itself, and today everything was meant to be released in the morning, I had it ready, but alas things rarely go according to plan. With that said these pieces of work I am about to share with you have been building for a few months and I’m really excited to present them and in turn, publish this essay to compliment all those involved, because let’s be clear, I could not have done this without their help and their specific talents, talents I admire and talents I cherish; But before I dive right in, I’d like to touch on a recent event, the release of Episode Two-Rise of the Black Doves: Volume Five, a challenging yet very exciting instalment to TAO (The Ancestral Odyssey) series, and what a wild journey it has been thus far – Simply to arrive here feels rather strange, especially when you consider the fact that I started Ep2-Rise back in 2011 (possibly 2012), only to foolishly throw the semblances of a narrative away like trash, and to restart the project somewhere in 2018. The first draft was finished on October 6^th, 2021, Volume Four launched on February 13^th, 2023, and Volume Five released not too long ago, on March 14^th, 2024. And what can I say, I am very proud of it, very happy in fact with how it’s all turned out – I picked up my own copy a few days after it went live, I’ve given a few of my favourite chapters a flick through (Daughters of Omega, Guardian of the Nine and No Turning Back to name a few), shelved it next to the others and continued to make progress with the final third act, with Volume Six, due for release in 2024, providing everything goes according to plan of course, which it rarely does but fingers crossed. Despite a few niggling things displayed on the cover of the Paperback and the embarrassing hiccup involving the Kindle Edition, how a rogue chapter from Volume Four somehow slipped between chapters thirty-six and thirty-seven, which has been sorted, the quality of the work I am certainly impressed with, the text is clear, the paper is soft on the eye and as far as I can tell, the editorial is something of high merit. It’s all very exciting overall, a weight has been lifted and once I get clear of Episode Two entirely, when Volume Six is released and shelved, more of my time can be focused onto Episode Three-Seeds of War, Volumes Seven, Eight and Nine, the continuation which will have big shoes to fill; As it stands, the outline of Ep3-Seeds will have to undergo drastic changes to punch out the heavy-weight that is Ep2-Rise, and some people have criticised me for adopting this lens, you certainly need to tell a story RIGHT for the story and not be overly concerned with what has come before, honour it for sure, but remember it’s not a competition, and although I agree to a large degree with the criticism of this view point, there is an element in the mix that makes me want to trounce what has come before, in terms of writing ability, entertainment, character development, marketing strategy and so on. Sometimes I feel like Ep2-Rise is a monster, one that I have to overcome using Ep3-Seeds as my champion, because I do believe that Ep2-Rise, outmatched Ep1-Dream, don’t get me wrong, I love Dream, it’s a solid foundation on which to build from, but it was after all, my first and worst attempt, the story might be tight, but presentation right out of the gate wasn’t strong, there are parts that are bloated, the pacing could be tightened up and fight scenes do not necessarily need to be as long as they are. That being said, there is plenty to like about it and plenty to get engrossed in. When it comes to the final act of Ep2 and the humbling beginnings of Ep3, there is still lots of work to be done, I am sifting through old ideas I’ve had for Seeds, and like a detective solving a mystery, I am putting the pieces together while writing carefully, but it will take time to make sure I tell the story I want to tell, while being sure to keep the characters consistent and moving in the right direction. Ep3-Seeds will take care of itself in time, for now however, Volume Five has recently been enrolled into The Readers Favourite Awards, I made the earliest possible deadline and as per reward, the book is currently under review, no doubt in a month or two I’ll receive it and post it for display, good or bad I would like it to be read. Odds for winning a Readers Favourite Award are slim for the average author, but for me odds are slimmer due to the fact that this is part of a series and does not technically consist of a beginning, middle and an end, this IS the middle of the second episode, and no matter how proud I am of clearing this milestone, it does not excuse the fact that the academy of writers and readers may look at this project with clinical indifference, which I hope is not the case. Regardless, it’s been enrolled, the results will be announced in September 2024, and I’ll anticipate the review and the feedback. Speaking of feedback, I have received some very heartfelt messages since Volume Five’s release, I have been contacted by some delightful people saying how much they’re enjoying the series, them speculating on what is to come and how they’ve interpreted certain events that befell in the story, it has been thrilling to listen to and hear about other people’s takes, it’s one of many reasons as to why I do what I do. I’ve had a very warm and welcoming reception to the most recent instalment which is rather surprising considering what takes place, and what takes place is not necessarily happy putting it as mildly as I can – Don’t misunderstand, it’s not all doom and gloom, there is plenty of intrigue scattered throughout this instalment, you learn more about the Glyph magic, magic that is expressed in a variety of ways, ways you’ve not seen before, parentage of certain characters is revealed which sews up some hangover questions ever since Ep1-The Utopian Dream, we learn a little more about the ancient history of Equis, more specifically about The Age of Giants and the Pioneers, which has some seriously epic ramifications, and we’re told a genuine story about a selection of characters all from different walks of life, all with something to say and to contribute to an overarching, umbrella plot, one which I am anticipating to see through, much like Lethaniel and Isabelle were the key protagonists in Ep1-Dream, although they were separated by vast landscapes and have polar opposite ways of achieving their goals, their arcs do end up entwining, and this is similar to what happens in Ep2-Rise only you’ve a lot more characters to deal with – But there is a dark side to this, I believe the suspense is built rather well and the payoffs are executed soundly. I worked incredibly hard at this, and I trust myself enough to know that the characters behave in ways which are respectful to themselves, and that the story is delivered in such a way that you’ll be able to follow it without getting too bogged down in exposition, a lesson I had to learn hot off the heels of the first three volumes. It is important to note however, that as intense as this story gets and is destined to get, what with the release of Volume Six later this year, is that it IS just fiction, it is made for your entertainment, it’s here to be consumed at your own leisure if you so choose to do so; This is not supposed to be something punishing, it’s here to be enjoyed, real life is punishing enough, real life is cruel to us all and nature will not show mercy, we’ve all got shit going on, we’ve all a kryptonite of some kind and with the world in the state that it’s in, the more avenues of escape the better, so long as those avenues are depicted well, that they come from a genuine place and are not put in place to further drive the wedge between us. Books like mine are not going to change the world, they are not going to solve any major problems, they’re here to take you away for some escapism, they’re written to give you (yes I’ am talking to you) an outlet, to get lost in some make-believe, and to get excited about something other than the status quo, that’s it, and I think it is important for creative folk especially, to remind ourselves as to why we do what we do. I write to tell a good story, to push the limits of the epic-fantasy genre, to nourish my own mind, to provide me with a purpose and to buy my mother a Porsche should it ever become massively successful, and as a fringe benefit, feed a foolish hope that one day my TAO series might be adapted into a film/tv show (preferably film). Yes, this is extremely unlikely, I am more likely to win the lottery, get struck by lightning and make-out with Emilia Clarke all on the same day (hopefully not in that order), but it’s enough to keep going, enough to see me through the grind of the daily routine. Volume Five is great, it’s a killer continuation after Volume Four, there are many surprises, the best is still to come, and I am eager to know what you guys think. I will be writing a review of Ep2-Rise whence all the volumes are out, and enough time has gone by to avoid spoilers, and I promise you it will be better than my review of Ep1-Dream, which may have hit all the right points, but was awful to read. With all that rabble aside, I’ve another video out now, it’s complete with some fantastic artwork and some engaging music which deserves talking about. To note, this article and video is part of a family of others, there is also; Isabelle’s Theme and A Path Sewn by Fate, if you’d like to listen to them, if you’d like to read about the process and their relevance to the books, I will link them below, but it’s far easier to search them out on my site. I hope you enjoy, The Thief’s Priestess.

The best place to start when talking about projects such as this, is to answer the question; Where exactly does this concept fit into the source material? Before I answer however, I am about to get into spoiler territory, some pretty big spoilers as matter of fact so you’ve been warned – The artwork, painted digitally by artist Ashley Mckenzie, the same lass who painted The Masters Library for, A Path Sewn by Fate, is a depiction of our protagonist, the 23^rd Star Callers of Krondathia, Isabelle Verano as she appears in Episode One: The Utopian Dream – Volume Three. In the book, she is coming to the end of her journey, she is rowing across a channel, from a town called Harbours Edge toward a distant island, called The Zodias Island that is on fire! She has just confronted the Eldor’s Peacemaker on the dock, Mr. Calias Harken, who was accompanied by a class of Glyph Wielders tasked to capture an enemy of the state, someone who is responsible for abducting a High Priestess (Isabelle), someone who was interfering with the Star Callers purpose; A Dark Rogue named, Teo Liolas. Of course, for those of you who have read the book, indeed know that Toula Windeuce, one of two leaders of The Dark Rogues assigned Draygo Dumear and Riagel Tyorn to watch over the Star Caller, to stay with her, to watch over her from a distance, to escort her to safety should the unthinkable arise and to keep her away from all those who wish to do her harm. Originally, Teo was ordered to return to base, to Sentinel, which was situated in Tthenedawn Forest at the time, but they switched assignments for good reason, and it was a good thing they did this too, for it was after all Draygo and Riagel who played a hand in the strategy that ultimately crippled The Dovidian Covenants advance at the battle at Korthak Bridge, preventing the enemy from invading the country which resulted in the turn of the tide, a tide led by Lethaniel Presian and Braygon Augiene. Riagel, also factored into the equation that more men on the ground, pinned at where the war was hot, while Teo kept an eye on the Star Caller, was a better action, and he was right! Riagel displaying brilliant leadership qualities that would elevate him to the rank of Commander soon after the war was ‘over.’ Riagel and Draygo also became Shields of Krondathia to commemorate their brave contributions, to join a cabinet of renowned soldiers and professionals orchestrated by General Lethaniel Presian, this was also a ways to mend the gap between factions of Norkron and Dark Rogue, their alliance becoming something symbolic, but I’ve digressed. Calias Harken on the other hand had a different agenda; His task which was assigned to him by The Eldor, Kastius Greylion, was to arrest Isabelle, but he had to do so in such a way that would not destroy Starillia’s (the Norkron religion’s) reputation, but to find fatal flaw in the woman, in Isabelle Verano herself, so that the empire could keep functioning without pause, without risking its integrity. Calias had to find reasonable grounds in which to arrest and detain her so when the time came to put the woman through the court of law, Isabelle would be found guilty, she would be 100% to blame yet her holy order would remain intact, and the Norkron state along with its highest institutions would be rendered blameless. The people would learn to hate their 23^rd Star Caller, and NOT the culture built around her keeping all those in positions of power, IN positions of power without the need of a reform model, which is what Isabelle represented at the core of her journey and why she had to be stopped. Calias did not achieve this, he came close as you discover in Volumes One, Two and especially Three, but in an attempt at doing so, he learned of the affair between The Dark Rogue, Teo and his Star Caller, Isabelle and threatened to reveal it to the nation. As a Star Caller, they’ve rules which she must follow in order to reach what was prophesised, a utopia, and one such rule is not to form intimate relationships with anyone, for she is holier than thou, she is someone of purity, divinity, someone of uncompromised strength unburdened by the ties of human relations; She is selfless, she is loyal to the order, loved by all and her grace is given unto the people of the faith – This is the message trickled down to the Norkron populace from the preachers in this North Western culture, despite being human, she is not presented as such by her peers, Isabelle has been hailed as The Chosen, to lead the blessed people into paradise. These are not direct quotes by the way, but such phrases are uttered throughout the body of Ep1-Dream, through Volumes One, Two and Three. Calias, with his troop of Glyph Wielders, confront Isabelle on the dock of Harbours Edge, after having captured Teo, Calias knows about their affair, knows that Isabelle cares for this man intimately, and he gives her a choice:- She can choose to falsely accuse Teo of his ‘crimes’ of theft, espionage and kidnapping of a highborn, which will result in his execution, will safe-guard her reputation and enable Isabelle her ‘freedom’ to continue as she is. Or she can admit her acts of insubordination resulting in her arrest but may save Teo’s life for he would not be entirely responsible for the crimes committed. This is Calias’s best weapon against Isabelle, he knows how powerful she is, he knows he cannot physically stand-up to her for she is highly proficient with the use of Glyph magic, she’s a fucking Star Caller, once she flushes her system with this planetary energy (that is Glyph aka Glaphiar) she’s a superbeing, she becomes faster and stronger than anyone alive, and can employ weaponry that can fracture swords like they’re sticks, can stop projectiles mid-air and can crack even the toughest of shields. No one in their right mind would want to fight someone of this class, not unless you are of course another proficient wielder, Calias knows this, so he attacked her heart and Isabelle chose her freedom over Teo’s life…Initially…This is what Teo would have wanted her to do, to see the mission through to the end, to get to where she was going, it’s not until later, not until she sails out on a rowing boat when she changes her mind. Personally, this is one of the most emotional moments in Isabelle’s story, it’s an earned character shift, a notable change to what we’re used to, for throughout she is loyal to her faith, she is for the most part, well-behaved, to the book and dedicated to her practise, someone who is as calm as she can be while exercising her assertiveness given the drama of the story she’s entwined in, so this decision to throw away her reputation, her future as a Star Caller and to turn her back on an order that has existed for hundreds of years, all for a life with a man from the shadows, someone who she has been indoctrinated into thinking that HE is the enemy. To me, this is powerful. I don’t write love stories, I’ll admit I am not actually very good at communicating love, it’s very difficult, like comedy, it’s rather subjective and so easy to derail into a pit of rubbish, so I tend to lean away from love; Comedy, I think I am a little better at (he wrote while shrugging his shoulders), but writing love is a fucking minefield. In saying that however, this demonstration by Isabelle in this scene, I believe works. Feel free to disagree with me, but the idea of someone giving up everything for a chance at happiness with someone they’ve been manipulated into hating, and not only does she successfully dispel this manmade fallacy, but she fights for it, killing the Glyph Wielders who strike at her first, and toppling the carriage that Teo was being carted off in. Unfortunately, Calias not only gets away, but he is able to strike a fatal blow against Teo who quickly shields Isabelle at the last second while her defences are down and is pierced with a sharp piece of splintered wood. Teo and Isabelle force Calias to run but he struck hard enough to cause internal bleeding to Teo, and scarpers. The pair head for the dock, they commandeer another rowing boat and sail to The Zodias Island. This is what is depicted in Ashley’s concept artwork, the journey from Harbours Edge to said island. Isabelle gives up her traditional Star Caller coat, to keep Teo warm as he loses blood. Dark Rogues also employ Day Owls, they’re trained to send messages, to warn of dangers and to scout, Teo’s owl is named Wisp, and Wisp is present in this work, you can see him perched on the rowing boat, he was going to be flying, but because these owls are close to their masters, I thought it would be better if he was nearer to the pair, also I didn’t want to take away from the sky, the night sky is gorgeous, the cloud effects are stunning, and I like the bats in the distance; It’s a nice touch, I like it when artists use their own creative incentive to add to the scene. I did ask Ashely to paint in the end of a whale’s tail, and she did sketch one – Placing it however didn’t go so well, as glorious as it looked, it just cluttered up the concept, it looked too busy, so it was removed. Sometimes less really is more.

As for the music, it was written and composed by Jilaine Wheatcroft, the same musician who produced Isabelle’s Theme and A Path Sewn by Fate. Links to her Soundcloud and her specific works under TAO are listed below; If you do wish to message her about the music or want to get in touch about a specific project you’d like to work with her on, I’m sure she’ll be keen to hear out your ideas, she’s very professional and I am positive you’ll be pleased with what you create. However please please please if you do message, be thoughtful and respectful about it…The music she wrote in question, the theme she designed for The Thief’s Priestess, is as good if not better than A Path Sewn by Fate; The piece is instilled with a heartfelt ribbon of emotion, a melody laced with the notion of a long goodbye, the end of a journey and a sadness that will sit with Isabelle, left alone, forever – And yet there is a reason to still hang onto hope, that Isabelle WILL make it in honour of Teo, a thief that did his job, that stepped up to the challenge his superiors entrusted him with, and delivered her to the doorstep of her final destination. It’s sad, poetic, and inspiring, or at least I hope you find so to. I’ve listened to it several times now in preparation for this segment, and each time I hear it, when I close my eyes and start assembling the vision for the scene pulled directly from the book, it gets more and more vivid, to which I had to come away from my desk and re-read the event (with coffee), for I have been told by others that it’s handled rather well. A lot of people get caught up in the battle scenes of my books, and although this is no bad thing and not a complaint by any stretch of the imagination, readers sometimes overlook the personal battles, and in this case it’s to do with a confliction from within Isabelle, the confliction itself coming in the form of a question; Is Krondathia, is Starillia, is a line bound not by blood but by the spirit worth the sacrifice of one man, of one soul? … Isabelle hesitates when confronted by Calias on the pier, she’s human after all but comes to her senses somewhere across the channel, she finds her courage, leaps back into ice cold water, drags herself up the harbour, and participates in Teo’s rescue, retaliating furiously when attacked by those who had at one point trained under her. This act demonstrates that Star Callers, even though they’re of the same ilk as Glyph Wielders, are still insanely more powerful than they are. I hope this scene moves you as much as it moved me, I hope The Ancestral Odyssey in remembrance (if remembered at all) is known not only for its collisions of epic proportion, but the personal drama’s and conflictions that stir from within its characters, characters that may very well be larger than life in some cases, but deep down are relatable at heart, for if a story is bereft of a beating heart, it lacks all the weight and gravitas needed to make it come alive, to feel real when in the hands of the reader. This is the challenge writers have if they’ve respect for themselves and their material, the challenge of making something emotional and tangible, something that feels alive. I’d like to think I’ve achieved such a feat, and one of the essential ingredients that enables me and perhaps creatives in the same boat, are people like Jilaine, people who can communicate in ways, in languages I am barely able to grasp, people who make my level of creativity look like something cobbled together by an amateur. I am humble enough to admit that I am jealous, even envious of musicians like Jilaine, who can whip up a theme such as The Thief’s Priestess using nothing but a laptop, a keyboard and her own voice, and give it a river of epic professionalism I only thought was possible from major studios; Not only do I think Jilaine’s work is on par with the bigwigs, I believe she’s better despite the fact she works from home between jobs. If huge establishments were to employ people like Jilaine, or give over their resources, their technologies to genuinely creative people and stop wasting time with those looking for a quick buck (buck sounds better than pound), I do not doubt they would be able to utilise their talents and create something worthy of high praise, something of merit and something to be remembered. The Thief’s Priestess is another fantastic piece of music, music that captures the spirit of The Ancestral Odyssey, the sensitivity of the scene and the strength of our lead protagonist of Ep1-The Utopian Dream, Isabelle Verano.

When it came to the layout of the video itself and the effects which you see displayed, the task was to simply communicate that I essentially wanted this video to be the exact same as the video that had come before, say for a couple of different slides, it’s going to be the same. Why? Because this is part of a series, it’s a phase, a family of work so to be speak and I am making sure that these milestones feel connected, that they’re consistent with one another, so when I start a new phase, you will see an edge of difference as if it’s a seasonal change. Jilaine has handled the music thus far, so her signature is secure. Ashley is on top of the conceptual artwork, her style is prevalent and easily recognisable while Alex is in control of the edit/effects which has its own sense of style, and I am of course the one creating the groundwork in which to grow from. Once I had prepared the slides from my end, once I was near in completion of this very article and readied all the socials, I sent the slides off in an e-mail to Mr Alex Hunt, a fellow H Productions associate and good friend of mine. I attached the labelled images with a detailed brief, same process as last time pretty much, but this brief was shorter; At this point, Alex knows the deal and how I work, so the pitch isn’t as heavy as it used to be. What was discussed in this letter and what we followed up on with a few WhatsApp’s, was what we could do with the image digitally, how could we make it come alive like we did with the last one? The answer to this question is simple, we had to work with what we have, and what we have is a lot of sea and a lot of sky – One would think that this posed a problem, in actual fact it was easier to make creative decisions. While the last concept was of a floor in Eran’s library, this one is out in the open, under the night sky blanketed with a galaxy of stars, and the Moon, so let’s make them sparkle, let’s make the water ripple, let’s gently sway the boat and perhaps create the plumes of smoke distort the air space around the tops of the temple, and Alex delivered.

I did mention earlier that the island in the distance, The Zodias Island, was on fire, in actual fact, it’s not on fire, the village of Penstrive is what’s on fire. Penstrive has only featured twice, briefly, in the books, once when Isabelle passes through right at the start with Honour Guard Thao Hikonle, Lucion’s father, and when she re-visits at the end, when it has been set ablaze by an unknown aggressor. Penstrive itself is a place for the renowned, the holy and their servants of Starillia to live, and for others of the faith to retreat to; It’s a small, simplistic settlement consisting of bricked houses, pointed slated rooftops, a central chapel, and an inn called, The Chanting Inn. It’s all situated a short walk away from Cathedral Alley, which leads to the great Column Temple. To help paint a picture of Penstrive, I’ve snipped out a description from Ep1-Dream, from Volume One:-

Across the shiny meadows and woodland areas, the large band of people followed Isabelle under trees and over small stone bridges spanning streams of gushing water. The path soon merged into a greater one, becoming a rocky road large enough for carts. The hills rolled over to reveal a small village. Isabelle looked up at the old, wooden signpost; it signified that this was the village of Penstrive. Small and built for convenience by the servants of the island, it was a grey place and quite lonesome.

The group made their way through the quiet community. Locals had noticed the visitors and were staring at Isabelle with envious eyes as she strolled passed. Women were washing priests’ robes, while the men worked on a stone tower of another cathedral and the children carried water from a well. They all slowed and stared, though Isabelle ignored the whispers and looks that became unwanted. The village although small had many residents; it consisted mostly of buildings of work, storage sheds squeezed between average-sized households not leaving much room for places of leisure, but for a single inn that stood out. It had a large sign above the door, proclaiming its name: The Chanting Inn. Looking back, she could see that people had dropped whatever they were doing and were now following her group with haste, having to jog to catch up. She turned to a priest who rushed forward, eager to listen or carry out a command.

So why is it on fire and who caused the devastation? Well, remember when Calias left Isabelle with a choice? When she went ahead and decided to row away from Teo on that pier, there was an exchange of dialogue between Dark Rogue Teo Liolas and Peacemaker Calias Harken, and it went like this:-

“She lies well, don’t you think?” mused Calias, watching her sail away, standing over his prisoner.

“Peacekeepers do it better,” sneered Teo. They both watched The Star Caller rowing out to sea, disappearing into the darkness, under the shadow of the lonely island. “You’re not going after her, are you?” the rogue asked, taking a steady breath.

“No…I don’t have to follow her anymore; she won’t make it to the temple. Her safety is no longer my concern. My hands are clean in this. I wanted to take her away, back to the city, where she could carry out her duty. What awaits her now is…What she deserves.” His words were soft; no doubt he had practised them for hours as he waited for his prey.

“Is this what it was all about, huh? Catching me, exposing her humanity? Strange way to serve your country, don’t you think? There must be something more to this?” implied Teo.

“Oh yes, there is, but that is none of your concern, not anymore.” Calias looked down upon The Dark Rogue. “I maintain the order. It is my purpose. I follow orders, just like you.” Teo had nothing more to say as he was picked up by two Glyph Wielders and thrown inside the back of an armoured carriage, the kind designed to keep dangerous prisoners locked inside. He was to be transported back to Xiondel City for execution.

Calias is not stupid, far from it, he is an intelligent, cunning villain able to outwit a Dark Rogue and halt a Star Caller; He knows someone, an agent, who is waiting for Isabelle on the island, he knows it’s someone who has a chance to stand against her, he knows that even IF he were to fail to bring Isabelle in, that a counter measure would be in place should she have decided otherwise. Either way, Calias knew he would be victorious and would have come out on top despite what decision Isabelle made. What he couldn’t control however, was Isabelle’s love for Teo and her ability to manage herself when toe to toe against a Cursed, against the agent, Miranda Simbidia, who was knighted by The Magpie as a Black Dove, who was carefully inserted into the orbit of The Eldor, who passed her over to Calias for positioning and tasked to stop Isabelle from entering The Column Temple, which she gleefully accepts, why? Because Miranda was primed to be the next Star Caller, but it was Isabelle who came into the fray, ruining it and invertedly taking away Miranda’s purpose for being. The Utopian Dream’s theme is about finding ones purpose, so when all that you are is taken from you, that would hit hard, Miranda especially, so it’s no surprise that she would jump at the opportunity to face off against Isabelle, she has after all received the same training, she’s a competent Glyph Wielder, a pyromaniac falling to the Curse; From a strategists perspective, Miranda IS the most worthy candidate to defeat Isabelle, there is no other (yet) that anyone knows of who could withstand Isabelle’s power, and Isabelle is a water wielder, also known as an aquamaga – Side note, aquamaga as a class of Glyph Wielder has not been mentioned in any book thus far, so that’s a little exclusive…God I need to get out more…So that’s it, that’s the set up that happens toward the end of Ep1-Dream, and what the concept is centred around, I cannot detail any further because the piece of music that comes next, the artwork that is to follow on from this one, happens to be the scene directly after. Nevertheless, I hope this essay gives enough context for the video, that the music captures the rich level of sensitivity and can assist leading you to that emotional place, which is one of the most heartfelt moments in The Utopian Dream. As I said, I do not write love, I do not write romance, but for an epic, acts of love are necessary because forming intimate bonds is part of what makes us human. I hope I succeeded.

Guys, gals, as always thank you so much for reading today. Special thanks to everyone who was involved in the making of this short music video, a work inspired by the ramblings of a fantasy author whose bitten off more than he can chew, I very much appreciate it, you’re the best. The next music video will be called, Isabelle’s Calling, I do plan on involving the same team to complete this vision and phase, after that I’ve only one more and that’s that for this musical series. Episode One-The Utopian Dream and Episode Two-Rise of The Black Doves are available for purchase, it’s true I’ve still the final third (Volume Six) of Ep2 to edit with Joyce, work has already commenced, we’re up to Chapter 53 leaving only 7 left, but we hope for a mid to late summer release. It is a very exciting place to be in right now, we’re in the final hurdle of Rise, this has been an incredible journey, one that I will never forget, one that I will cherish and there is still so much more I would like to share, so much more to this Ancestral Odyssey which is yet to be put to page; Such as new characters and groups, fresh ideas, intense battle sequences, intricate plot threads, great beasts, crazy creatures and wild environments, so much more to come, so much on the horizon that will all be wrapped up in Episode Three-Seeds of War. The site is yet to be updated, I apologise for the delay, my web technician is a very busy chap, he will get round to me when he is able to, just have to be patient. Links to the work and people’s specific outlets are listed below, as I said if you do decide to message them, please be kind and respectful when doing so. Thanks again, and I hope you come back for the next one. Peace!      

E-mail – taotome@outlook.com

X (Twitter) – @MegasTeque

Official Website – www.taotequevault.com

Donation Page – www.taotequevault.com/support

YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nc_VEmC27AIz6pP51UVkQ Bitchute – www.bitchute.com/channel/x9K5vwi2SsNu/

Author Page UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Author Page US – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Isabelle’s Theme (Direct Link to Video) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfMr6dONTPA

A Path Sewn by Fate (Direct Link to Video) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3MgNYB8gss

The Thief’s Priestess (Direct Link to Video) – https://youtu.be/okCBM4Qd5-Q

Jilaine’s Soundcloud (Producer and Composer of: A Path Sewn by Fate) – https://soundcloud.com/jilaine26

Ashley’s Artwork / – http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089622653877 Atlas Audio

D.W.Gill

A Shade of Red

It’s not enough to write a series of epic fantasy books, it’s not enough to build a folder full of brilliant artwork from various artists along the way, it’s not enough to visually interpret aspects of this story into film and to articulate your writing journey through an archive of essays, but what is important more than anything, is to cast a spell over those who indulge in the/my work, to capture its own unique aesthetic that is bolstered and felt; And one powerful way in which to do this is through the language of music. I love working with creatives, creative people are what bring colour and life to what is swiftly becoming by the day an insufferable cooperate world, one that focuses on nothing but the vacuous nature of making a profit; Creatives are wonderful, but it’s musicians I particularly enjoy collaborating with, and I’ll explain why very shortly, but before you snap at my underlining tone of hypocrisy, understand that I get it, I too hope to expand my reach and to grow to the point where I can retire early, and do nothing but enrich this fictional world I call Equis, this is what I do. My model IS similar to those grey husks of men and women you see walking around in suits thinking they’re above it all, people who’ve long sold their souls to a faceless company, driven mad to do nothing but climb the ladder of wealth only to one day wake up old, worn out, exhausted and haunted with the realisation that their path is not laden with the fondness of warm memories, that their road is not as long nor as comforting as they remember, but instead it’s short, stressed, tired and hopelessly played out – This is a modern day horror story, one that is very real, one I’ve seen and heard of first hand, it tells itself every day, typically to unsuspecting people who’ve had the wool pulled over their eyes having been sold a lie, a lie I’ve been aware of since I was as young as 19. The difference between my world view and theirs, is that I would choose the life I am living now, whether it be in poorness or in a place of comfort, I’d choose it each and every time; Why? Because I believe it is what I am here to do, it was a path that formed naturally, one that spoke to my personal side, one that has been with me for as far back as I can remember. I pride myself on not getting swept up with the hustle and bustle of robotic business, to not die the death of a thousand cuts, cuts that mask themselves as meaningful responsibilities. I relish in the fact that I chose this journey, that I’ve kept with it in times of doubt, even when everyone around me was encouraging a firm stop, and at times saying extremely hurtful things to try and get me to conform. Well, I will NOT conform! Not to you, nor the most powerful man or conglomerate on the planet, I will never leave the road I’m on, I will not give up, but I say to those who have done their best to deter me, I say; ‘Why, why so adamant to derail me!? Your words although spoken sometimes with such passion, are indeed a thin veil of something ugly, something I’ve seen in nightmares and do not wish to touch nor host no matter how tempting the short-term rewards might be. Does this rot you spew perhaps come from a place of insecurity, are you sure that the doubt you see in me is not in fact a mere manifestation of your own grim reflection of the life you’ve chosen to harbour, and would gladly offer it to me despite the misery it stains you with?’ No, I will not conform, I’d rather be poor and have what little I have, than be wealthy and not know the truth, the truth of pursuing that one thing that nurtures our soul. Possessions are passed on, money disintegrates, and the avatar you parade around in will one day return to the earth, but the legacy you leave behind, the feelings you elicit in others will either wax away, or live on, make sure you leave behind a healthy legacy, but for me, I see no better way to leave behind something people can engage with, something that taps into a psyche, teaches them about human behaviour in all its strengths and weaknesses. Musicians, have the ability to bring out our passions and everything in between, if you speak to any one of them worth their salt for long enough, you’ll have no choice but to communicate in ways you never thought existed, because music brings something to the surface, it is a language, it is a conduit, a ways of communication that inspires action, and perhaps change. Without music, life would be meaningless, and without meaning what is a life? It’s with great pleasure to bring you another main theme, a general theme that captures the heart of Episode Two-Rise of the Black Doves. Like with the music paired with Episode One-The Utopian Dream released almost a year ago, I worked once again with the guys at Atlas Audio, Julian Kirk and Alex Adams who wrote and composed the music. Everything goes through a process, one reason why I like writing so much is because everything created starts out on the ominous white, everything starts on the blank page it’s the foundation for everything around you, and I would like to take a moment to detail the themes origins, the work that went into them and why I think it is important to do so. Grab a drink, I’ve gone with coffee, make it a big one, I do hope you enjoy A Shade of Red, and of course I very much hope you like listening to the new music, the link is listed below, please check it out when you can, you’ll be doing me and the boys at Atlas a solid.

When setting out to make a piece of music, collaborating with musicians, in this case the lads at Atlas Audio, I’ve one goal in mind, to translate a sense of feeling or a multitude of feelings I’ve been present with throughout my writing journey of a book. The book in question is Episode Two-Rise of the Black Doves, the second instalment to The Ancestral Odyssey series. Much like the design flow of Ep1-Dream, I asked myself a series of questions before the collaboration began, questions which I felt were most pertinent when music is being created, questions like; What did this book bring to the table? What feelings resonated with me throughout this story and what is its major theme? This book is an absolute roller-coaster, it’s a nightmare for some of the leading protagonists, an explosion of intense action poisoned with a lick of horror, and a clash of fantastic, poetic (yet meaningful) fantasy violence. Its pace is of a swift one especially amidst volume five, whence you’re re-introduced to Equis set twenty years after the events of Episode One-The Utopian Dream and have a firm hold on the characters, it transforms into an elaborate spectacle spread across a plethora of dynamic stories in different parts of the world, each one unique in its own way, capturing different aspects of the story being told. Rise is a story I’ve been wanting to write for a very long time, when Ep1-Dream was my classic fantasy adventure, a ways and rite of passage into the genre, one that does take risks but at the same time plays that vanilla tune, Ep2-Rise cracks open that shell of familiarity and unleashes a deeper dish of creativity that’s been bubbling under the surface for many years, and soon I get to show it all to you. While Dream was written at a steady pace, following but two protagonists struggling to find their purpose, and the reader often provided with some space to breathe and recover, Rise does not offer you the same courtesy, it is relentless, each chapter taking the reader deeper and deeper into an onslaught of emotional states all the while betrayal resonating at its core, and it’s the theme of betrayal that I expressed to Atlas through a forty minute video call and numerous e-mails.

One thing I made clear during all my interactions with Atlas, was that I am in favour of taking risks over something safe. Instead of relying on a solid theme that would indeed deliver if orchestrated by these lads, I’ve every confidence in them, I expressed it might be wise to gamble on something they perhaps thought to be dangerous territory. I’d often encourage this line of thought, to try things that they were unsure of in the hopes they’d stumble upon something fresh and exciting. From where I stand, I can only advise and offer inspiration from other people’s work, which I did with The Utopian Dream’s general theme, difference here is the tone of the story, obviously it is going to be different because it is a fresh instalment, the level of intensity which has been amped up, and the theme of betrayal bellows throughout. I did my best to express a creeping dread, a slow march toward catastrophe that matches the moves of the protagonists in the book. It’s really something when you create something like this because it allows you to learn about another creative’s perspective, you share in your own unique ways to build something special. I have no idea how to write music, I often express my humility to musicians and do my best to enter their frame when they’re explaining how the development works, in the same way when people reach out to me for advice or to ask about my process when writing a scene in the book, I take them through the steps, relaying to them what I believe is the best, most effective way to tell a story. I am aware that two parties are trying to relate, and it is up to the pair of you to do your best with the languages you have to come to an understanding, a mental handshake and sometimes words are not adequate enough to land this, so in this case specifically, music is introduced. In the same way to Ep1-Dreams theme, which I will link below for your convenience, Atlas and I spoke often, we entered into a video call when are schedules were clear which lasted just under an hour, where we shot some ideas around the room after a detailed explanation of the plot and some details surrounding some of the key characters.

It’s important to recognise before I begin to break this general theme down, that this music as well as the story of Ep2-Rise, is very, very different to Ep1-Dream. In the first story just to recap, we follow two protagonists, a Star Caller named Isabelle Verano, and a young military General named Lethaniel Presian. They’re of the same age, on a journey to achieve the same goal, to bring rise to the belief in a utopia envisioned by Isabelle’s line, and to protect their country Krondathia from an imminent invasion. Both go about their paths in different ways, Lethaniel being the more physical, fighting with sword in hand on the battlefield, dominating his enemies with complex strategies and his unbreakable dexterity, while Isabelle’s arc is entwined with faith and the powers of glyph magic. Needless to say, this creates two different dynamics that coil rather well around the underlining theme of purpose, making for a wonderful piece of music which captures its essence. When it came to Ep2-Rise, we do not traditionally follow one protagonist, not two nor three, but six, and all six are not alone; Glenn for example is a new recruit a rookie, playing the part of an underdog in a special unit who use black powder based weapons called, the Firehands, and within this unit are up to sixteen members, all of which you meet, all of which you get a feel for, some more than others, sure, but I’ve taken care with each of their personalities for the audience to identify with them. In Deacon’s story you meet up to half a dozen characters and that’s not including his enemies, in Nielata’s you meet several you get the idea. So, the prospect of including all of the six story arcs, and those few not large enough to merit a journey in that of themselves but are just as significant, into a single theme lasting a little over four minutes would quite literarily be impossible, and ill-advised. My first task was to narrow it down, I had to choose a character arc to focus on and grow from there – this was easy, I HAD to choose the Star Caller story and I’ll explain why. Had I been in a position to choose between a Lethaniel and Isabelle theme, I would have chosen Isabelle every time, not because Lethaniel is not important, or relevant or his story lacks any significant weight, no, of course not he is indeed vital and adds a meaningful dimension to Ep1-Dream. The reason I would choose Isabelle is because she brings something unique to the table, something I do not think we have seen before. Like it or not, we have seen characters like Lethaniel before and as interesting as they can be, I believe giving people something new is more important, especially in this day and age where we are fed remake after remake. If you can picture The Ancestral Odyssey as a tree, then the Star Caller story is the tree’s trunk, it’s the centre in Dream and so is it the same in Rise, the other stories as crucial as they are, are branches when you put all of this into consideration. However, selecting the most obvious choice was only one of many challenges to come, the Star Caller story in this monster of a book follows the road of eight characters; Isolde Beatrix, Alessa Coldan, Donna Klade, Kina Serisa, Kayna Serisa, Amanda Lesil, Telsi Clewvier and someone else, someone I am not about to name at this point but is deeply tied to these characters, one in particular which adds to a greater mystery and intrigue. Eight different characters pivoting around the theme of betrayal, yeah, this general theme was difficult tackle.

My outline of this theme was similar to the first, I detailed the characters to Atlas, I described the story, talked about their goals, their journey as a group, what they learned, what they lost, I even revealed some of the ending to hammer home some heavy points. The goal here was to relay TAO’s message, to deliver the heart of Rise over to the musicians, Julian and Alex who would translate the black and white into a polished score. I went into meticulous details with each character, they’re all so different each one deserving of their own musical signatures, however I was specific to note that I wanted to hear them in the music as well as the overwhelming threat of their mysterious counter, and so Atlas took the material away, and weaved my descriptions and suggestions of ideas into music, and eventually sent me their first draft. Whenever I receive an e-mail like this, I freeze in my tracks, the day slows down, giving over to the sense that I’m about to be transported to a place that exists only in me; This is not something I’ll be able to see or touch, music is not something you can approach to critique in the same way you would literature, the mechanics of a game or a scene in a film, no, this is something where the objective and subjective blur together, of course there are things that can been defined under the headlines of objective and subjective within music, this is indeed true, all I am saying in my experience when analysing something like this is that the waters muddy, and the fruition depends entirely on how you/the artists feels about it. I’ve been in rooms with musicians who point out flaws in particular pieces of music they’re designing for me, yet I am unable to hear it (unless it’s blatantly obvious), due to the fact that I am running off the positive fumes that linger in the subjective, and whence its changed or has been altered to fit something that is objectively better, often I’ am left not feeling the same way about it. Could this mean my ears are deaf to the objective and favour more in the subjective, perhaps…But in my defence I am not a musician and I regularly humble myself to their word, in which I trust, I would not be working with them unless I trust them, but problems can arise when you’re heart loves something on a subjective level, you’re told it’s broken, the fixes leave you somewhat lesser and you’re asked to choose between the two versions. For those of you who read my blog, you’ll know that I would rather side with the objective over the subjective at every turn, I’d rather have something that is objectively good over something that just feels good in the moment, trust me your work will benefit from it in the long run. With music however I am torn, maybe it is because it is harder to point to, maybe it is because it is not glaring at you from a screen or written in a book that music merits a softer critique. It’s hard to narrow down, as I said I am not a musician and perhaps I need to spend more time with my favourite people to open my eyes, widen my horizons so in the future we can create the perfect piece – Which I intend to do and saddle it onto The Ancestral Odyssey. In the meantime, for this piece and the pieces of music I’ve yet to release (music which I am seriously excited about), I did that which came naturally and listened to those who knew more about this craft than I, all the while doing my best to maintain the subjective feeling I elicit when listening, you could argue this is doing your best to strike a somewhat balance because this is after all my vision, it is my world after all and what I say will go, but it is up to me, to step out my enclosed space as a writer and learn to collaborate with those who hold professions I could not begin to grasp. In my attempts to produce a short film, I knew going in that filmmaking IS a collaborative process, not one man can do it alone especially on the time and budget I’ve set myself, but on the flip it is important to get YOUR vision across, you can meet with other people in different professions all day and everyday but if you as the lead are just going to bend over backwards at every turn, you’ll end up with something alien, a jangled mess of something that barely represents what it is you’re trying to create, so the lesson here is; Be sure to put your foot down upon entering the creative arena, but not so firmly that you break your tether with those that will assist make it into what it is destined to be.

The first draft of a piece of music is arguably the most important, it sets a tone, it builds a framework of what story you’re trying to tell and gives someone like me something to dissect and work with. Yes, I said story, because inside music is the heart of a story, and the more intriguing, thought provoking and interesting the story is, the better the music will be, and I genuinely believe this. The more layers a story has, the richer the characters are and the importance of the message at its core, is all the ingredients needed for the musician to work with, and through this descriptive haze elicits emotion, and emotion is what you want to hear in the music being played, whether it be slow and ominous, fast paced action, desperation, whimsical and romantic it matters not, it needs a fuel, it needs a narrative. The early narrative of the music like with the first draft of a piece of literature, is easier to change at this stage, I’ve often described it like working with playdough or clay, fresh out the pot, its moist, fun to handle and easy to mould into anything you desire. However, the more you handle and play with it, overtime it gets less fun, chunks begin to dry and fall off, the novelty has crumbled and the harder it is to make anything new, the more difficult it is to get anything to stick, until the inevitable time of its binning comes. This is exactly what it is like (in my experience) when working in the creative field, with writing, music, filming whatever, the more you tinker the worse it gets, the more you fiddle the more you realise your vision was not as strong as you might have thought and this is a wakeup call for everyone starting off, or are on the cusp of branching out, taking their work into a new media; Make sure you you’ve asked yourself those tough questions, be sure you know your art through and through, be its master and know what it is you’re trying to create because you will be taken to task if you’re chain of understanding is weak. This has happened to me, it has happened more than once and because I am someone who wants to do great work, I take those lessons as wounds, wounds you would receive in a fight and need tending to before you step back into the creative arena. Had I known what I know now before I foolishly entered, I would have saved years, yes years of my life, so again, I urge any striving artist to know your work, know your strengths and build upon your weaknesses before going toe to toe with those who know better than you, you’ll be better off because of it and save so much pain in the process. As for the first draft of the general theme of Ep2-Rise, a theme I’ve called, A Shade of Red, my initial thoughts were ‘There is a lot in here.’ We were dealing with eight characters and the theme of betrayal, each character needed their own section, each section needed its distinct time and proper placement and Atlas had done exactly that, they were able to squeeze this into a piece of music lasting a little over four minutes and for that I applaud them. It takes a certain level of skill to take all of which I had described and forge a competent theme and beyond anything else I say in this article, this (I hope) should be your take-away, the music exists in all its complexities, it exists and that is incredible. Furthermore it wasn’t what I expected, and at first this draft concerned me greatly, but then I remembered what had been said on our most recent video call, and I said to the boys ‘Do not be afraid to take risks, try something new over something that has been done over again and again’ and I praise them for having taken a dive into areas that were new to them, that challenged them, nothing worth doing is ever easy, if you’re not made nervous by what you do then you’re not onto anything special so I decided to go with it, despite my concerns which were numerous. Having listened to the draft several times, having noted each and every second, time stamped areas of which I thought needed improving or re-imagining, I got back in touch with Atlas and made my thoughts known, all the while I was sure to relay to them my appreciation, my praise for what did work (because there was a lot in here that worked) and encouraged them to press on, and that they did, and it wasn’t long before they sent over their second draft, which was much better. The music itself sounded crisper, certain areas were tightened up, notes that initially went high were toned down and the introduction of a hymn was introduced. One of the concerns I raised in the first draft, is that the music always felt like it was rising and falling, it seemed to be forever reaching with no satisfying payoff, this was due to the number of characters needing their sections, sections that also needed to be overshadowed by this maniacal overarching presence, this needed to be smoothed out, chopped up and adjusted to make for a simpler telling, something people would be able to grasp and form a connection with and that is exactly what we did, Atlas took this instruction and immediately began to trim it down, touch up and iron out those jarring catches in the flow of music, making for a finer, sharper third and final draft. This did mean we had to lose a significant portions of the original piece, re-write smaller sections and re-fit them with new material. These significant portions were in fact character inspired, where there were eight-character themes written out we ended up slicing through three of them, removing them entirely to narrow our focus. Elements of those lost still exist in there but play a very small role they’re almost impossible to identify, unless you were actually involved in this process from the get-go. When I listen to it, I can hear Alessa, I can hear Donna and Amanda, of all the characters Amanda is the quietest due to the fact that she cannot speak, but her theme resonates illuminating her power lifted from the book, expanding the story, the universe in which they operate elevating her above the rest, which was planned but surprised with how well it worked. There are traces of Kina in here and the menace haunting their steps, her sounds being mainly the subtle hymn at the start, but the rest was unfortunately cut, cut in order to make this what it is, an interpretation of the trunk, the roots of Ep2-Rise, told through the language of music and I am so happy this is what it is, giving what was for the longest time but words on a sheet of paper, digital or otherwise.

This brings me to my most important point, it’s not just about writing a book, creating neat artwork or in this case collaborating with musicians to make music, it’s about giving the work a beating heart, it’s about making something faithful to the vision, something you can all hopefully be proud of, and even though this last piece of music is not what I was expecting, I do think it is in keeping with the second instalment of The Ancestral Odyssey: Rise of the Black Doves. Seeing as we are intrenched in music creation I do have something special to report on, Jilaine Wheatcroft the girl who wrote and performed Isabelle’s Theme, the piano piece which is accessible to listen to via YouTube and Bitchute (links below) has been working on some more music orbiting Ep1-The Utopian Dream. She has re-worked the original theme of Isabelle and given it a more of a cinematic touch, given she knows about the short film work I am doing my best to advance with; Jilaine figured she would embrace this moviesque feel and go to work, and for that she earns my endless praise. She also has embarked upon making music married to certain key scenes of the book, layering the emotions she elicited when reading and weaving it into music, music which when you listen to it, can tell it is of the same family, something incredibly hard to do but she managed it, making the unique yet seamlessly flowing. I plan to hire a new, competent concept artist, someone who is skilled with working in colour to draw/paint me the scene Jilaine has chosen; From there I will couple it with the music and animate an aspect of the image to give the impression it is alive, such as the floating mist, busy fireflies or the glinting of stars, a living breathing piece of art, as if time itself has been slowed down to a crawl enabling the viewer to remain in the same spot as the characters, given the chance to feel what they’re feeling, the sense heightened with Jilaine’s insane ability to bottle the emotion and capture the heart of the scene, something that Atlas now continue to do when working on the larger general themes.

Thank you for reading folks, this would be my eighty-fifth article found thus far on this diddy site, and although some articles haven’t aged gracefully and some could do with an update or additional content, nevertheless I am still proud of what has been achieved, and I will continue to build up the Taoteque Articles for as long as The Ancestral Odyssey is in the making, and seeing as I am still floundering around on the first few pages of Ep3-Seeds of War, with two more instalments to follow, I’m not going anywhere, I want to stay until this is done, it’s my purpose so expect at least another eighty (if not more) articles in the future, linked to artwork, music a short film and so much more. This whole project is done while working two jobs so please understand why content is at times slow. If you’d like to support me and the TAO team, the best way you can is by following this blog, subscribing to the YouTube, signing up to the e-mail list on my website, buying the books (they’re cheap as chips now) and engaging so long as you’re prepared to be respectful, but if not, if all you would like to do is dip in and out of this small universe, that’s fine too, I’m just happy you did so today. Speaking of my official website, it is in the final throes of completion, this has been a long endeavour to get this far, and I am certain tweaks will have to be made upon launch. Episode Two is still undergoing editing, actually I’ll be getting back to it after I post this article and release the music. My editor and I are up to Chapter 16 – Eyes on Me, we’ve still a ways to go yet but it’s coming along, it’s reading rather fantastically, and I cannot wait till I announce the day of its release, I promise you it is a book to remember, I promise you it will leave you absolutely stunned, shocked and yearning to know what happens next, not only has the time changed but you’ll note an expansion on this grand adventure known as The Ancestral Odyssey. Thank you, Atlas Audio, thank you Jilaine Wheatcroft, thank you Alex Hunt for cutting together the video and thank you all again for reading and for your support. Be sure to check out the links below if you’ve the time, share with me your thoughts on the music and I look forward to writing again in the future, PEACE!

“I couldn’t end this segment without paying my respects to her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II, who sadly passed away on the 8^{th of} September 2022. Rest in peace your highness, you served this United Kingdom with honour, integrity and blessed us all with your wisdom and compassion for all. It certainly feels like the end of an era, but I have faith that with your great example, we can pull together and march on as a people who continue to set a royal standard for not only ourselves to meet in the darkest of times, but for the world to follow, cherish and admire. My thoughts are with you, your family, and every Briton who loves this country, who was touched by your presence, I know I certainly was. You will be missed my Queen, thank you for your seventy years of service, from a humble servant and keeper of the realm.” – Duncan William Gill

I apologise for the lateness of this letter of respect and project as a whole, I had planned to post this article much, much sooner, but due to setbacks beyond that of my and Atlas’s control, the project had to be temporarily suspended. Moving forward in the future with collaboration work specifically, I will be adamant to set appropriate time frames to avoid any long-term setbacks. Once more, apologies to all who have been patiently waiting, you are the best. Have yourselves a great morning, noon, and night, and I hope to see you again in the next one where we’ll conclude my Handful of Horrors trilogy, so much to talk about in that one and easily my best in the series, catch you all later, PEACE!

E-mail – taotome@outlook.com

Official Website (UPLOADING) – http://www.taotequevault.com

Promotional Material YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nc_VEmC27AIz6pP51UVkQ

Promotional Material Bitchute – http://www.bitchute.com/channel/x9K5vwi2SsNu/

Author Page UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Author Page US – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Twitter – @MegasTeque

Episode One: The Utopian Dream: General Theme –

www.youtube.com/watch?v=itGV60ndqMI

Isabelle’s Theme – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfMr6dONTPA

Episode Two: Rise of the Black Doves: General Theme – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8bW4pwDCuE

Atlas Audio Official Website – http://www.atlas-audio.co.uk  

D.W.Gill

The Storytelling Medium

I feel like we have all been in that situation where someone says to you in a smarmy kind of way ‘It’s okay, it’s just a book’ or replace the noun with the word film and or a piece of music, we’ve all had these discussions and it’s likely whoever is reading this, myself included, have been on both sides of this isle. In some cases that smarmy douchebag who thinks he or she is never wrong, is right, it IS rather unnecessary to fly off the handle when you see your favourite franchises go down in flames, or when you see your iconic character of your childhood be utterly eviscerated by a production team/company who have no fucking idea what they’re doing, who do not read into the source material, who do not understand the complexities of the media they’re trying to adapt, or even fathom simple storytelling, lacking in both respecting their scripts and unable to make that connection with audiences, which is the most important part. This is frustrating, and can be painful at times to see something you’ve loved and invested in for years just to be demolished, only for then to have someone patronise you with ‘It’s just x,’ but at the end of the day, it is just a book, or it is just a movie or a piece of music, and what was made special all those years ago will always be special to you in some form or another no matter what the future holds for it. There are more important things in life to concern yourself with, such as your family’s well-being, your own health, your state of mind, your four walls and roof and so on, these things matter and everything beyond should be considered a secondary. However, there is a counterargument, always there is a counterargument and it’s wise to explore BOTH sides before any progress can be made – This is what I would like to breakdown today and feel free to call me a hypocrite, because I too have leapt off into the deep end at some poor soul when it comes to defending my favourite pieces of art or criticizing others when I really should have been focusing on establishing my own platform (more on my progression with TAO at the end). I’ve done it and I’ll likely do it again because there is something here worth exploring, something worth dissecting, but before I get into it, I think it will be wise for you to grab yourself a drink, something strong for this one because it’s going to be a heavy hitter. I’ve gone with what’s left of the New Year’s Eve prosecco, it’s not exactly strong but it’s the strongest thing I can reach for while I am writing this article. So, let’s raise a glass to the new year 2022 everybody and begin to analyse why stories both great and small are more important than you may have realised, let’s dig into the many ways of telling stories and lastly, let’s try not to lose our shit in 2022 shall we, we had the rioting in 2020, we’ve just endured the lunacy of 2021, let’s converse like adults this time and not set anything on fire or break anything, you know who you people are and you should cut that out, honestly whenever I turn on the news or log on I see everyone acting like deranged children it’s embarrassing. Anyway, I hope you enjoy The Story Telling Medium, my first article of the New Year, and one I feel is a little late, we’re already nearly done with January.      

I’ve talked about films a lot on this blog, more so than books, some consider this to be a little strange considering that I’ve written an epic fantasy book of my own, one of gargantuan illogical proportions, and the sequel is going to be even larger, if you can imagine such a thing. The reason for this leaning toward film is not exactly a mystery if you’re a regular follower of mine, I apologise for repeating myself to you wonderful veteran viewers but I feel it necessary to do so for anyone here who happens to be new, to explain my process, that way it will be easier to understand my style and in turn the purpose of this article – I am a very visual person, before I write any scene, before my characters dive into any situation I must know every single detail down to the smallest nook and cranny. You’d think this is self-explanatory for writers, however I’ve read stories where key elements are barely touched upon and sometimes outright ignored! I picked up a book not so long ago from Waterstones, it’s cover was striking, it’s synopsis well managed, and the hook was a promising one, but when I read the introduction and the first portion of Chapter One, I was completely lost! I had no idea what to visualise in my head, no indication as to who was who, the scenery in where the action was taking place and thus it ruined my appeal to travel further. This happens and it’s extremely frustrating especially for someone like me who is nourished when such care is given to a story. Of course when it comes to my own work, I do not or at least I do not detail everything each time I present something new, I have been criticised in fact for being overly wordy in the past, my writing has been quoted as unnecessarily bloated, so instead of ignoring such criticism, I am doing my very best to adapt my writing style to accommodate those who cared to review my work, to be conscious of how I present the context of whatever it is I am writing; For example, detailing things that set the scene while noting only the relevant parts is a troublesome balance to master, readers do not need to know what the grass is doing, or how hard the wind is blowing, but glossing over such elements like the environment in a subtle and creative way can give the reader enough colour for them to paint their own picture, after all reading is an engaging experience, readers find enjoyment in exercising their imaginations, its partly the reason as to why they pick up a book, and for the author why it is they write, to explore the world they have created, to live, to breath and to see it. I’ve stated in the past that my first book The Utopian Dream is not perfect, I’m not about to make excuses for myself that’s not what I’m here to do, however I was an amateur back in 2016, I was handling tools of the Self-Publishing trade for the first time, I was working long hours every day at a job I hated to afford travel expenses to Australia and a working visa to ensure a living. The culmination of inexperience, stress and dealings with swindlers disguised as professional editors all contributed to a poorly made, rushed book and it wasn’t until 2020 when I ripped the whole thing down and started over, weeding my way through the text like a worm through soil, removing as many inconsistencies, errors, and thorny typos as possible and still after all my efforts, problems still find their ways to the surface. In short, The Utopian Dream upon release was broken, the re-release in 2020 was much better, cleaner and tighter, and still hangs on a limp, but what you could not accuse it of is a book lacking in vision and scope, what you could not accuse it of is a cheap cash grab leaning on what was considered trendy at the time, pressing up next to such stories like Game of Thrones and anything related to Harry Potter. What you could not accuse The Utopian Dream of is a book lacking in colour and depth and realism within the context of the world, Dream is riddled with wonderful moments that I am still extremely proud of, moments that leave me grinning with glee, moments that leave me gutted and distraught, and moments that let me envisage what’s to come. Ep1-Dream is still layered in awe, grandeur and mysticism boasting a re-enforced foundation where the sequel, Rise of the Black Doves can perch upon with pride. Flawed, absolutely but it offers so much in its wake by employing the visual methods of writing I’ve self-trained in, methods that will carry over into Ep2-Rise and hence fourth.

Having practised this technique for so long, writing in such a fashion akin to visualising the world I wish to welcome you to, the fringe benefit of this has been a massive appreciation toward films and their makings. Whereas before I was able to shut my brain off in a dark room and simply enjoy what was being shown to me, now however I can do no such thing without that level of immersion, now my taste is far, far more selective. You could argue this is a result of getting a bit older, but I say there is something more here. My time is valuable, your time is valuable, why waste it on productions and their company that care little of detailed storytelling, little of strong writing and more about how much of your cash they can milk from your pockets? I am referring of course to the likes of Disney, a corporation that is systematically buying the film industry and churning out title after title that resemble botched clones of themselves. Don’t believe me? Well, if you’ve watched the films, anyone with an eye for patterns will be able to spot the similarities, in tone, humour, structure, run time and so on. Let me direct you to their movie posters, look at the posters of say Aladdin and Star Wars, they’re different movies for sure of totally different genres but they stink of each other, after all they come from the same household, and you’re probably asking me at this point; What is the problem, where are you going with this ranting and raving about Disney? My answer is simple and blindingly obvious to those who are paying attention, there is nothing wrong with Disney’s own unique style as bog standard as it is, I indeed advocate for a world where it’s trait is as accessible to the next film, but because they are buying up all the properties and productions, it won’t be long before it’s all we’re able to see and experience, and that is a hell I do not wish to visit. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if we want to put a stop to this capitalisation on our childhoods, if we want to give way for other talented artists and remarkable creators who are if not more adept than those slaving at Disney, we as the audience have to show up, support and spread the word about the people who are swamped by the hordes of drones who relentlessly cheer on the next Marvel, the next Star Wars or the next ripped, recycled piece of trash that infects the industry. Before you start to wonder, I do practise what I preach, in the past I’ve praised my concept artist Will Towns, the man who is responsible for sketching several of my characters. I’ve shared with you the talent of Oliver Richards who’s editing and special effect skills compliment his works as they did bring my own work to life in the Live-Action Trailer of Ep2-Rise. Atlas Audio graced The Utopian Dream with its own theme music, I made a documentary where the founders Julian and Alex happily sharing their thoughts on the work, I look forward to working with them in the future. I’ve sang the praises of Nate H also known as Mr H on YouTube for his short films Breaking Lights and Black Fields, films I had the pleasure to assist with on set, and today I plan to reveal another artist, so with all that said I think it’s fair to say in this case, I avoid being tarred with the label of hypocrite. All these people are creative artists laced with their own uniqueness and individuality bubbling under the surface, only with such talent do big projects get made, projects that barely see the light of day in comparison to the mainstream and it breaks my heart when so much work, time and energy isn’t even deserving of a glance by the suits who think they know better than you, suits who put profit over anything else. This worries me, but why is it I care so much about this? Aren’t there more critical aspects to life that need work on before we begin to fix the entertainment industry, and the truth is, yes, you’re right, there are, but the answer to solving these problems is intrinsic on the other, both hinge on one another so please, allow me to explain.

     One of my most cherished pieces of work beyond that of TAO, is an article titled The Irreplaceable: Final Fantasy VII. Within that detailed essay of one of the most successful, iconic, and loved stories on the planet, I give reasons as to why the lead protagonist Cloud Strife, is one of my favourites and why he resonates not just with me, but with a generation. If you’d like to read it and I certainly hope that you do, you can find it on this blog simply by scrolling down until you see it, or for easier access, visit my website, enter the Article section, and select it from the on-screen menu. It’s in the folds of this essay where I explore Cloud as a character in meticulous detail, but for the sakes of this article and its word count, I’ll simply say that the reason he resonates with YOU the player, is that he despite everything he has gone through in his harrowing journey of loss, misery, betrayal, inadequacy, is just like you and me. Where most games allow you to embody powerful superbeings, characters larger than life, Cloud when everything is said and done is not like that, he is normal, he is enough just as he is, enough to meet the trials ahead, to face his worse fears head on, who has come from a place as humble and as simplistic as you is able to overcome the nightmare that has plagued him all his life, and with the help of his friends is able to reign victorious and start a new life elsewhere. It’s a message I feel a lot of people especially disenfranchise young males desperately need, giving Cloud massive popular appeal, and it’s through his journey mixed with a diverse cast of others who too struggle, where you learn how to genuinely be a better person, opposed to his closed off hard stoic nature at the start, it’s beautiful in its execution and conclusion. Am I saying that fictitious characters are the key to solving world problems, no…But how many of you have been influenced by such characters in stories you still know and love from childhood? How many of you reading this can say that you’ve never stopped at a junction in your life and consulted the feelings or revised situations of those you’ve learned to love in your entertainment? This IS important because if the heroes you aspire to are terrible people/creatures then it’s likely this stench will rub off on you, yes you the real person in the real world reading this, or perhaps it’s your children who will fall prey to this clear and present cult like agenda that’s eating its way through everything that we consider to be art! Therefore, this is why stories matter, this is why the stories you write matter, they may not be at the forefront of your mind initially during a crisis, but I promise you, resemblances will crop up somewhere, patterns will be drawn given the fullness of time and writers such as myself feel a responsibility to study human nature in all its facets from the good, the bad and the ugly, we are compelled to leave audiences with a sense of duty, to be kinder toward one another, to inspire you to make wise choices over poor ones, to learn from mistakes, to grow and to overcome adversity when it arises.

With all this said, when you sit back and think about what is happening to our entertainment industry, to our culture these days and the ways in which it is being contorted and twisted to fit a damaging, preachy woke like message that is systematically eroding once great franchises, it only emboldens assholes like me to make something of myself, to work harder, to motivate yourself further while under the bitter realisation of the fact that you’re probably, likely not going to amount to anything of significance, at least nothing to deter the great wave of nonsense in circulation today, a wave consisting of quotas, remakes, reboots, comic book heroes, it’s all too much, no one is particularly interested in the independent artists these days, everyone wants junk food fed to them time and time again, but we do it anyway despite the odds, because being creative is a reward in that of itself and deep down you press on because it’s in your heart, it’s in your mind to do something and I’d rather spend my life actively doing something in the field in which I love, to make a dent as small as it is, and when the time comes to pack this in, when the time comes to fold and move on, I can say that that dent was mine. I want to deliver something that will touch audiences, through the soul of literacy, film, and music, and to do that I am going to need some help, help from those who share in my vision and have one for themselves, and on this note I’d love to talk about a piece of music written and performed by Jilaine Wheatcroft, a beautiful piece called Isabelle’s Theme. If you’d like to click the link titled Isabelle’s Theme Music below before reading further, this next segment will be easier to understand, there will be mild spoilers ahead, my work is easily available so if you do not want to be spoiled everything you need is listed, I do hope you enjoy it.

When building a story as grand as this, when you’ve a vision, something you can see so vividly in your head, something you can feel when music is played to the beat of the actions, it’s important to know that each building block deserves equal levels of attention. From the literal work that fills up the pages, from the cover art both inside and out, from the world itself in which the drama is set, to the story arks of your characters they’re destined to fulfil, or not fulfil if you’re brave enough to go there, but I’d like to focus on the music aspect of this article, the music after all being central to this entire essay. I’ve stated before on many occasion that music is a driving force it’s a key ingredient to making your work rival those of the initiated. Music at its best can land you in the moment, pit you right into the heart of the action, build tension, create dread, experience passion, it can also assist you in understanding your characters through their own theme at an incredible depth, like it unlocks a door to a trove of emotions you’d never know were there without it. However, the process in creating music for a character is not as simple as just whipping up a tune, more about digging in deep under the surface than slapping a few notes together over the character in question. It takes time, it takes a lot of trial and error, you need to study his or her journey, examine the ark, dissect the themes, the crucial details, and the outcome. Only then coupled with the help of someone who knows how to write music will you fit together a piece that captures a story in which you seek to tell. To help describe the level of work that goes into such a project, the musician of the Theme of Isabelle recently written, performed, and filmed for viewing has leant her insight which I will share with you in the following.

“First came character exploration. With the authors help and my own knowledge of The Utopian Dream which I’ve read once, I made a timeline in my notebook of Isabelle’s journey. I was sure to list key events while consciously mapping out her emotional states from the very start to the very end. While I studied the character of Miss Verano, I found that curiosity, doubt, despair, love, support, self-sacrifice, and a hint of a deep-seated combative nature framed who she is as not only a great Star Caller, but as a human being.” – Jilaine Wheatcroft

This is true, before a note was even echoed Jilaine requested some insider knowledge of Isabelle Verano, insider knowledge I happily obliged her with via lengthy texts, e-mails and voiced messages which went on for ten to twenty minutes. Jilaine’s interpretation however was already on point, after all she had read the book, was able to articulate her relations clearly having understood Isabelle’s complexities, she was also able to relate to the Star Caller on more than one level giving me a boost of confidence as a writer, a writer who has grand visions for the TAO platforms future. I guess I am on the right track despite my flaws and troublesome doubts. Jilaine indeed was given a thorough detailed breakdown of Isabelle, she was referred to the character study I wrote in 2020, was dropped a handful of spoilers and given my own experiences with one of the most powerful and mysterious protagonists in The Ancestral Odyssey.      

“Following my study of the lead protagonist, I made it an important task to find a key, time signature and chord progressions that would embolden the characters defined traits. The key of F# minor and 6/8-time signature, I felt captured the melancholy, dynamism and internal strength of Isabelle.” – Jilaine Wheatcroft

I’ve always admired those with raw uncompromised talent and professionalism, people who work on a craft, who build themselves into something amazing, who harness a passion this has always garnered my undivided attention. I’ve always envied those who can do intricate math problems, understand physics, and can perform complicated surgeries that save lives, these things are so far removed from the things I do I cannot help but just stand idly by in awe and watch. I also become rather jealous of bilingual people, those who can switch languages on a dime, it’s utterly fascinating to me – Someone I know can speak four languages, four fucking languages and I can only speak one, God I wish I paid more attention in French classes at school. She can just flick through them as easily as it is to click your fingers it blows my mind! Jilaine too speaks a language I cannot, she can tell a story through the medium of music, a talent I can never hope to accomplish, not unless I put down my book work and devote five to ten years of my life to practising. Maybe when this is all over, maybe when The Ancestral Odyssey is done, I’ll go back to learning to play the piano, picking up where I left off as a kid, that might keep my mind ticking over in the wake of completing this insane project of mine that seems to keep getting bigger and bigger. Jilaine assures me that the songs I tend to listen to are not that hard to play, that even for someone like me it’s possible to master well within a year or so, who knows we’ll see. Over the course of working with Jilaine however, I’d sometimes be invited round her house and discuss the music. I’d be sitting there like a shlub, tea in my right, biscuit in the other while she walks me through her incredible process, playing as she explains to the fraudulent creature I am in those moments. She’ll create these elaborate poetic notes she’s been fathoming while I try to hide the drool coming out my mouth as she exposes her talent…Honestly, I hope when this is all over, she finds herself on a stage performing in front of millions in a shimmering golden dress, or perhaps writing pieces for movies that appear on the big screen, that’s where I hope she’ll find herself in years to come.

“Idea generation is easily my favourite part of this process. This is where I explore and create melodies that strongly link with the highlighted themes. This involves lengthy sessions at my piano, sessions that can last several hours at a time. I improvise and perfect various sections until something I’ve made clicks. I know it when I feel it, it often makes me sit up and say, ‘Yes THIS is Isabelle!” And as if I’ve just stuck gold in my living room, I leap upon it, repeating and refining like my life depended on it. The first time this happened was when I was playing with the ideas of love and support. I sent it to Duncan right away, and he too took note of the weighty indications that highlighted a story, a whimsical nod toward the poetry of beginning, middle and end. I believe it was here where real progress was made.” – Jilaine Wheatcroft

It’s no secret that music is a massive inspiration to me a driving force if you will that allows me to find the moment for the scene. I write to music on most occasions, I could not do without it, and it doesn’t have to be music played by your favourite bands, but instead I sometimes listen to those long pieces of music created by those online, videos of a landscape or a floating galaxy say, as relaxing tunes are played in the background, couple this with a hot cup of tea and hours of writing time, it’s likely magic will happen. Music is also one of the key things I look for in movies, if the music is bad then that can weigh the art down heavily, but when it’s done right it can elevate the material in more ways than you can imagine, what can I say other than music is more than essential. Listen to enough pieces of music especially soundtracks and the initiated ear can track patterns, patterns that tell stories on their own without the benefits of the images. One of the worst selection of films in history is the sequel trilogy to Star Wars, they’re terrible on almost every level it’s hard to find anything redeeming about them, it’s insane, but one cannot fault the music here, the music I still respect, it’s gorgeous especially Ray’s Theme or the Imperial March. I can listen to Ray’s theme several times in a row but instead of associating it with the travesty that is Disney Star Wars, I’ll replace it with my own images, images I have of my own story. Quite a while ago on a livestream I did with Mr H Reviews, I made a note of the Fellowship of the Rings soundtrack, and how that’s one of the best pieces I’ve ever heard. Why is it one of the best? It’s because it focus’s on its story, at the beginning you can hear the fellowships theme building, when you get to the council of Elrond and that trek through the mountains the music is booming, expressing that this party is at its height. Soon after the fall of Gandalf the music is hitched to a limp until it’s at a whimper, as Frodo stands on the banks of Amon Hen questioning everything that has taken place since her volunteered himself for a suicide mission, it’s beautiful. The fellowship theme does not appear again until they’re re-united again in Minas Tirth, as if the soul of the adventurers has returned – Now with all that said, as brilliant as the footage to go along with this soundtrack is, you can simply play it and feel a story being told here, you don’t necessarily need anything else BUT the music to elicit such a heart-warming response. Getting this message across to Jilaine was easy, she didn’t even need me to explain she already understood. It was then, in that moment where I knew I was working with the right person. Pointing out the essence of Isabelle’s story, allowing it to transcend into the music she played was the key to making this work, and it worked for sure, you can feel a beginning, a middle and an end, the end being slightly more impactful after the trials she struggles with and passes, as if her ark is coming full circle.   

 “Once that spark has been born into existence, everything slowly falls into place. Progress seems to be swift at this stage and after each step made, I send the creator of the project snippets of the unfolding work and record the feedback. These moments can become tense, for we as individuals resonate with art differently. So, if my client feels like something needs to go despite my own opinions, I must respect those wishes and make do with what I have, honouring the source material. Duncan and I however often agreed at every junction and raised no creative disagreements that may have soured the air. This enabled me to move onto the melodic/harmonic developments where I refine the favourited ideas and play with them until the authenticity bleeds through.” – Jilaine Wheatcroft

I often send snippets of my own work to my beta readers. Beta readers are a collection of wonderful people who have expressed interest in the work you are doing, have a flare for your passion and are open to receive excerpts long before publication. Why do writers do this? We do it to attain a measurement on how well our material is resonating with audiences, we cannot send our work out to thousands, that would be impractical, so we select those who are willing to give up thirty minutes of their day, to evaluate some work, to let us know what they think is working and what isn’t. It’s important as a writer, not to get caught up in the opinions of others, it’s important not to write their story that derails you from your own, rather take the praise or criticism lightly and proceed with it in mind. Simply put, take the feedback, and refer to it as a simple guide. Of course, if every single beta reader points out the same issue, I advise that is something you should investigate and perhaps patch up at your earliest convenience – But if one of say fifteen beta readers takes issue with something, I would say it’s not to be overly critical about. Nevertheless, beta readers are valuable, and every writer should equip themselves with this resource during their writing journey. With all this in mind I believe it’s wise to note that beta readers are NOT as invested as you no matter what they say, unless they are a self-proclaimed writers, editors, or proof-readers themselves they’re insight into the mechanics of your piece will be limited. To better explain, where a piece YOU send you know is problematic, beta readers will often not be able to see what it is you see and dish out praise left, right and centre leaving the author a bit, puzzled. This is how I felt sometimes when Jilaine requested my feedback, I could feel her frustration when all I said was ‘Yeah it’s good.’ I did my best to add more of course, I did my best to hear what she heard. Because it was Isabelle, one of my most cherished and loved characters, I do not think I was completely useless, but was sure to express to Jilaine that perhaps my opinion was not the strongest in this regard and that sounds strange considering that I am the creator of TAO, but it’s true, I suggested she take my words lightly, I suggested she perhaps turn to another musician of experience in order to collect a more detailed piece of feedback one that would assist her in ways I unfortunately could not. Like my beta readers are sometimes unable to read what I read, unable to read what is between the lines, I too felt like I could not deliver an evaluation Jilaine was looking for, so we worked around these problems. I am happy to admit when I am out of my depth, happy to accept that there are somethings I fall short on, but the best thing I and anyone can do in these situations is try, try your best to empathise, do what you can to understand another’s perspective and learn something from it because I guarantee you you’ll find yourself in a similar situation in the future; Would you rather be ill-equipped for this moment, or slightly more prepared? The answer is blindingly obvious.   

 “Finally, I create the overall structure and rehearse it several times. I review what’s missing, what needs more development with the authors help of course, it’s important to keep the client informed and aware with what is going on at every stage. I am conscious of any changes made this late in the work, making sure that the improvements communicate Isabelle’s ark effectively and cutting out anything unnecessary. Capturing the feeling of ‘despair’ was my biggest challenge while working on this project, previous versions were minimalistic but when incorporating it into the piece alongside it’s completed counterparts Duncan, and I both agreed it felt limp, was a little loose and could have done with some movement. Shortly after I made a final recording only to be filmed for the video, a video we hope you watch and enjoy today. This was a lot of fun.” – Jilaine Wheatcroft          

This would be the second time I’ve worked with musicians, and something I’ve noted during the processes is that they run a similar street to that of writers, only it veers off ever so slightly, and it’s within that slight difference, within that fraction where I find them to be utterly fascinating both as people and as artists. Where my voice can be read in the black and white, their voices can be heard through their notes, touching upon emotions in a way unique to its own and because it’s something I lack the skills to manage, this only heightens my appreciation for them. One of these mediums whether it be writing or playing, can be powerful but combined and married well, you end up with a beautiful cocktail, with a project such as this one and I could not be prouder of the outcome. Not only that, but from what I’ve found, musicians as people are soulful, they wear their hearts on their sleeve when in their element and care deeply about their poetry. They’re thoughtful, charismatic, emote a radar of sensitivity, often they’re modest especially when underrepresented, and let’s be real most musicians are underrepresented these days due to the digital age we live in. Where only a tiny, tiny portion of independent artists are recognised, with most of their music lost among the millions upon millions of uploads per day, the life they lead must be frustrating and rough especially when trying to monetise themselves to the public. This I can relate to because now it’s not just a musicians issue, but a creatives problem in general, a problem that has no easy solution other than to persevere (my favourite word in the English dictionary) and persist regardless of popularity; If it’s popularity you seek then I do not think you’re being authentic to yourself and I’d encourage you pursue another line of work to save time. Artists, myself included go by with little acknowledgment, little encouragement and often have to sacrifice the cushty comfortable life style that comes with an office job FOR your chosen craft, because the only thing the artist wants to do is to be creative, it’s our lifeblood! Take my ability to write away, take a musician’s instrument away or a painter’s brush and they wither on the vine, that’s what its like believe me I’ve been there and its hell, the reward for finishing a milestone is I believe universal, there is nothing better and no pay check comes close the satisfaction gained from simply being creative, and those that are walking the path, for those that have chosen the hard path in life you have my utmost respect. We may not see eye to eye, you may not like what I do nor I you, but we share a similar walk of life that MUST be respected, cherished and most of all encouraged despite how difficult and impossible it seems, otherwise what world would we live in, what world would we find ourselves in if we simply stopped. We’d live in a world I would not want to be part of, and I think that those who sit on the other side of the fence would agree with.  

Chaps, thank you for sticking with me throughout this article. Big thank you to the lovely Jilaine Wheatcroft for sharing not only her musical talents but her words for this essay. Thank you as always to artist Will Towns who sketched Isabelle Verano and too coloured the image, I recognise that this was the first time Will practised in colour and I think it looks incredible, really, really good work Will I mean that through and through, you’ve come such a long way. Seeing as we’re here I would like to touch further on Will’s talents, this gent has been drawing for me for about three years now, each and every time he delivers, there is rarely a depiction he misses on if not ever, his attention to detail is insane, I mean if you’ve read my work, if you anything about some of these characters he has drawn, you’ll see not only are they proportionally perfect but the small details that bring that extra gravitas to the character are there. Take Donna Mu Klade for example, if you look closely, you’ll see the hint of her tattoo on her back, you’ll see the Miranda’s serpent gauntlets wrapped around her wrists under the falls of her coat. If you look at this latest one of Isabelle you’ll see the golden locket around her neck, check out Kina Serisa and the feather hanging off her person, that feather ties her to her lineage, a big part as to who she is, and Will was wise enough to draw that in plain to see because he understands that the attention to the little detail is ever so important. There are so many other examples I could point out, but I feel like you understand where I am coming from. Will and people like him deserve some recognition, a reward for all their efforts, and yes I am sure to pay the chap for his fine work, even though he has expressed to me that its not about the money, I hope to one day pass his name onto others, I want to see his career shine and take flight, it is almost painful to me to know that he is working in retail, that his talent is going by unappreciated and wasted, Will should have an office made of glass, he should be surrounded by artwork, have access to some neat tools of the trade, he should be producing work not just for me but for a bunch of people it should be his bread and butter at this point, but it’s not, he like so many of us are being strangled by a world that relentlessly tries to crush us, this goes for everyone mentioned in this blog and all those people I’ve not met. If I won the Lottery, if I somehow come into money, if TAO ever lifts off the ground, I will take as many of you with me as possible because without you I’d be stuck to one artistic medium and as powerful as that medium can be, it’s simply not enough to deliver a tangible vision of an epic fantasy that I hope will change the face of the genre forever.

Thank you to a fellow H Productions crew member Alex Hunt, for editing the music video together so beautifully, you did a terrific job my friend, I will be seeing you soon come April no doubt to assist Mr H on his next project, exciting times. I look forward to working with you all again in the future, 2022 I hope will be a productive year, I’ve a number of projects in the works one of which is the release of Episode Two-Rise of the Black Doves. Yes, the mighty sequel to Episode One-The Utopian Dream IS coming out and I cannot wait! I simply have not been more excited about anything as much as I am about this books launch. It’s been one hell of a long road fuck it’s been hard for us all, but finally we are here, finally we have arrived and are mere months away from its release. After everything the book has gone through, through the chaos that has been the last few years, I am so happy to announce that it will be available in Kindle, Paperback and Hardback Edition. I promise Rise will deliver, I promise an expansion on every level, from the characters, the plot, and the world building itself. I promise it will blow you away, the ending is without a doubt something else, something you’ve not experienced before, something that I think will change you, I hope you’ll be a slightly different going in than you were coming out I believe it has that level of intensity. I’ve ambitions for a short film to be made, my fingers are still crossed, still waiting on a verdict with whether it’s got the go ahead, but even if its dire news I’ll be sure to let you know and begin formulating a plan b, one way or another it will get made. These articles will continue, Will Towns has agreed to sketch for another year so you can expect not only more character concepts but we’ve a few creatures and monsters on the way. I’ve been in touch with Atlas Audio, the guys over there are keen to start up on a theme for Rise, similar to the one we had with Dream but this time its been amped up to eleven…God bless you Spinal Tap…I would also like to hire a landscape artist, someone who can digitally paint some of my environments starting with Krondathia inspired by the English countryside littered with iron mines, and slowly we’ll work our way up to the nightmarish realms of Theed and the blistering snowy tundra of Maire, Maire under the shadow of the mountain Heaven’s Ankle. So much I’d like to get started on, so much I’d like to do between working the day jobs, I’ll be sure to put in some extra hours.

If you’d like to watch my newest video, please visit the highlighted link below and leave me a comment, honestly your input is not only helpful, but it’s massively appreciated. If you want to go above and beyond do share it with folks who you think will also like it, that will do wonders for me, and everyone involved. I’ve a website worth checking out if you’ve a moment that has over seventy more articles like this one listed in its own section. I’ve a handful of other videos such as a couple of documentaries, a Live-Action Trailer of Ep2, more music, and a Gallery that’s growing into something worthy of respect. You can also pick up Episode One-The Utopian Dream on all formats say for audible – this is a project I’ve yet to tackle for the second time so please bear with me while I get my shit together. Plenty is going on but regardless, thank you for visiting this blog, thank you for reading, take care of you and yours and I’ll see you again in the next one. Peace.

E-mail – taotome@outlook.com

Official Website – http://www.taotequevault.com

Promotional Material YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nc_VEmC27AIz6pP51UVkQ

Promotional Material Bitchute – http://www.bitchute.com/channel/x9K5vwi2SsNu/

Author Page UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Author Page US – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Twitter – @MegasTeque

Mr H – https://www.youtube.com/c/MrHReviews

[ Isabelle’s Theme Music by Jilaine Wheatcroft ] – https://youtu.be/rfMr6dONTPA

Oliver Richards – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8IkMDKc6macVgsP-GtdSow/videos

Atlas Audio – http://www.atlas-audio.co.uk

D.W.Gill

The Ghost of Regret

Hello everyone, I am smiling as I write this because today is a great day. I’ve hit a milestone you see, and I am excited to make this announcement. I had this planned in 2019, but due to Covid and definitely not my weakness of procrastination, I’ve finally got it done – I released my new documentary not an hour ago, it is called The Making of Dream – Building the World. In it I cover the making of my first book Episode One: The Utopian Dream. I share with you some of my thoughts on the two lead protagonists, Star Caller Isabelle Verano and General Lethaniel Presian. I talk about the complexities of the story and detail the importance of music, how integral it is to my process and creativity as a whole before playing the piece of music written specifically for the book itself at the end, and I am very happy with it. I am so impressed with the work that has gone into this, including the results of the documentary/featurette, I love it and I cannot thank Atlas Studios more than I already have for their contributions, you guys are the best, you have worked unbelievably hard, you’ve been incredibly patient and as enthusiastic as I have, and that is an attribute you cannot be without in this business. In fact, creatives cannot help but show enthusiasm for art and entertainment, it’s necessary, it’s what I look for when collaborating with others and I will be working with Atlas again in the future, to make more music tied to each of my five episodes. I look forward to what we create with Episode Two: Rise of The Black Doves, but before I delve into future projects, I’d like to address this piece of music further in this article, a portion of the documentary and what I would do differently. The music in question however is a general piece you see that encompasses the essence of the first instalment, based upon what I shared with the composers Julian and Alex at Atlas – a detailed explanation of the characters, the story, and my own ideas on how I think it would sound. I’ll do my best to cover each of these points starting with how I came to work with Atlas. The documentary is available to view on YouTube and my Bitchute channels and is currently being uploaded to the website, this may take a little while longer, but it will be up soon, along with four of my most recent articles this one included. You do not have to watch the documentary to listen to the music, there is a separate video with JUST the audio, I am sure it will be worth your time if you love epic fantasy melodies, it will be worth your time if you’re a follower of my work. I hope you enjoy this article titled, The Ghost of Regret.

I’ve always wanted to make music for The Ancestral Odyssey, it has been on the agenda for quite some time now, but since the spark of the idea, I’ve not had the contacts nor networking skills necessary to undertake such a hallmark of my journey. Music has been such an integral part of this project, without music I’d have nothing, it gives fluidity when constructing certain scenes, it gives weight to the emotional moments and tells a story in its own right, it’s the life blood of my work and I’m sure other writers feel the same. Quite often while writing, I’d have a piece of appropriate music playing in the background, to assist with my own immersion, for if I am not immersed, why would my audience be? I have deleted chapters before…CHAPTERS…Because of this one reason. During the 2020 re-edit of Episode One: The Utopian Dream, I shuffled through chapters driven with music. Some of my most recent chapters I’ve been writing in Ep2-Rise, have been completely erased never to be read again only to be immediately started over from scratch, due to the simple fact that I was not feeling anything in the words I was linking together. Music is key, it instils your words with the power needed to hook your readers, it is so important. Strange for me to say this when my profession is writing, when one reads, we do it usually alone and in silence; ‘Why is music so integral?’ Well as I said before, without it your words can appear cold and sterile, lacking in life and colour. I’ve written passages without and with the inspirational flow of music, and those written with this remarkable resource are infinitely better than those without. I can write to any genre of music, it doesn’t have to be your books go to, in this instance epic fantasy, I can write to folk music, country music, classical, rock, heavy, movie/game soundtracks and so on. Just because I write fantasy, does not mean fantasy music is my only source, it’s a great source but I can use other pieces to fit my scenes, if the emotion is there, if the spirit in the notes is there then I can transport myself to the scene I play out inside my head, which is why in the documentary I refer to this method being heart-breaking, because when the time came to finally fit the music into its rightful genre (epic fantasy) it can no longer be anything it wanted to be, it has stopped being fluid and has chosen its camp in which to grow. Of course, The Ancestral Odyssey was always going to fall into the epic classical fantasy genre, it belongs there, it deserves to be there, it has to be there, but it saddens me because the more it becomes itself, the more it matures and projects like this are completed, it solidifies becoming harder to handle, becoming less like anything and everything. In the documentary I describe this as being similar to that of seeing your child off to school for the first time, he or she has the ability to do anything, to become whatever they or you envision, and slowly but surely the possibilities whittle away and they find themselves, it’s both heart breaking and wonderful at the same time. All the music I’ve ever listened to, everything I thought it might sound like, is now narrowed down into it’s category. This is an interesting topic because I am not a musician, I used to play the piano but that is all the experience I have with understanding of making music, but I’ve listened to it diligently all my life, and now I am finally in a position to couple it with my life’s work over the last year, I have been asking myself some questions, some that have been extremely hard to answer; ‘What will this sound like?’ I am not able to write music, but when the time came to communicate with Atlas Audio, Julian Kirk and Alex Adams, I had to translate a lifetime of literal work very dear to my heart and make a decision as to where I wanted the music to fall – But I am getting ahead of myself.

The first hurdle I had to tackle was to decide upon what I wanted to music to cover. When I analyse my characters, the vast world of Equis and the events that take place therein, I could have quite easily picked a moment or a character for that matter and have Atlas write accordingly. It would be nice in the future to have individual themes written for my cast, I’d love that in fact to hear Isabelle’s theme, or Cephie’s theme or perhaps have an album of music play, as if telling the story as it unfolds in the book. I very nearly went with the idea to have the WHOLE thing covered, or to have one character have a piece written specifically for them, it was all ever so tempting to pick the juicy fruit, but I decided against it. Why? Money! Funds, I do not have such resources to play around with, this is TAO’s bane. I’ve still bills to pay, food to buy, travelling costs to cover, the list goes on. I’ve only so much in the way of money and I have to deposit them wisely, I have to create the most powerful pieces with what little I have to spare and can delegate. The only reason I was able to create a Live-Action Trailer, was because my Grandmother left me some money when she sadly passed, I could have wasted that money on a dumb holiday, I could have easily blown it on something forgetful or something with an expiration date like a console, a new printer or a new PC, but instead I built something timeless and I’d do it again, I love my trailer and hope to make more, but that will NEVER happen without help. There is a section in my website where you can make a donation if you’d like to assist speed up my productivity, simply click on Contacts and then in the side window a Donations tab will appear, anything you donate will be greatly appreciated, but please leave me your name/alias and what you’d like to see the money go toward, I’d credit you and thank you warmly. It’s a shitty situation because this is all I want to do, all I would like to do is build this platform, with more blogs, more artwork, more trailers, more music such as this most recent update and of course future book instalments, but I am a slave to the system, and the only way out of the system is through support or the lottery, and because I do not have great odds on the lottery, I am relying on people like you that find value in my work and would like to see more – Anyway, back to my article.

I decided to capture music of Ep1-Dream, not a piece that focuses on one moment or one sequence of events, but a piece that was built with the two main characters in mind. Because Isabelle and Lethaniel carry this story, because they present two different perspectives, you have Lethaniel who represents the physical, the strategic, the nuts and bolts so to speak, where Isabelle is more spiritual, abstract, and magical. I figured that to not have them influence the music would be a horrible mistake, you could have the greatest story written on paper, but without the characters to drive it, you’re dead in the water, so the inclusion of Isabelle and Lethaniel was a no brainer. Having been passed onto Atlas via a friend of mine, Miss Amy Sergeant, who was the original musician working on my pitch, she felt it better to be in the hands of Atlas, who had the enormous task to adapt the personalities of two very different characters and incorporate them into a story of music. We spent hours on the phone, shared e-mails, and long messages for months to get this right. Atlas would read certain key articles of mine, listen to character and story breakdowns all in order to hammer home what the meaning of Episode One-The Utopian Dream was. It’s a book about finding one’s purpose, it’s about challenging broken foundations and uncovering ancient lies, it’s about war and the changing hands of power, but more importantly, it’s about inheritance and the importance of being responsible with the most important thing to us all, something we all could not do without, something we all find common ground on, something that needs cherishing and protecting, and that my dear friends, is the planet itself.

Getting all of this information across can be difficult, sure you can read it off a script you’ve memorized in your head, but being able to talk about your project fluidly with an endless supply of enthusiasm, love and excitement, talking about it like it were part of you eloquently takes practise, this is what friends and family are for, a good friend will let you prattle on and on until you exhaust yourself, because when you do it next, each time you’ll refine your words, and slowly but surely it will start sounding like a presentation. When you’re doing it for real for the first time, when you’re talking to folks who can elevate your vision into a new media, in this case music, it’s daunting, like when that curtain goes up before going out onto the stage, or stepping onto the starting line of the one hundred metre sprint, you’ve practised and practised and practised but there is always an element of tension there, when the spotlight is on you, a cocktail of emotions brewing inside, fear being one of them, and it never gets easier. Pressure effects all of us differently, some people thrive under such conditions while others buckle, do yourself a favour if you’re giving a pitch, and learn your craft like it is the back of your hand, talk of it over and over, study it, delve into it, learn every detail until it’s second nature you should want to do this, it is after all your baby, because the day will come when someone wants to know more about it and on that day you better be ready. Don’t mess up what could potentially be your one shot to do something great, it’s what I kept telling myself while giving my pitch, not only did I want to break down the story and everything I had done up to this point eloquently, but I felt like I had to do Isabelle and Lethaniel justice, as if they were real people, clients of mine I was representing. On that note, they are real to me, everyone who appears in my story is real, they emote their own sense of feeling, they’re different versions of me, the good and the bad parts, authors do tend to be a composite of the stories they tell, and I am no different.

The temptation to go big right off the bat was definitely there. I have a tendency of escalation this documentary being the best example, it was only meant to be the music, the music being played over some concept artwork of Isabelle, simple right? But noooo as usual my brain decided to have the image slightly animated, with shinny text and snowfall captured by a light wind, thank you Miss Saffron Willmott for putting it together, I owe you a coffee date one day. Then I decided to jump on the opportunity, to talk about this project in full, in the same way as I had done a year ago when making my Ep2-Rise documentary, A Year for a Moment which I do hope you check out, it’s a little slow to start with but picks up about ten mins in, I hope you like it. This project escalated dramatically when I got a hold of a camera and bit the bullet to make a five minute interview, five minutes turned into thirty, accompanied with artwork, snippets of previous work, I even asked Atlas to put in there two cents, and they did for which I am overly grateful for, and before I knew it, I had gone from just the music to a full ‘making of’ documentary that took a little over a month to assemble. Brilliant! The music is as I’ve said a general piece, it dances between Isabelle’s and Lethaniel’s themes, Isabelle’s being slower, bearing emotional weight, where Lethaniel’s is at a faster grander pace, honouring the writing style of The Utopian Dream. As much as I would have liked to go even bigger on this, my wallet stepped in and slapped me across the face! Once again, I was severely limited with what I wanted to do, limited by…You guessed it, budget. The phrase ‘art to adversity’ comes to mind, I know I made the right choice, because the curtain has long fallen on Episode One, it is what it is now, it is no longer malleable, no longer susceptible to change, so laying it out across the table for all to see is easy, it’s completed and can begin its musical transition can begin, where the other instalments are not yet finished, they’re still highly susceptible to change. Until they tighten up, I cannot categorise them confidently. What Atlas and I create for Episode Two excites me, I’ve already got some pretty cool ideas centralised around the Star Callers, they being central to this story, but it will start with Cephie’s hymn, a hymn reflecting her complicated past, one I cannot wait to explore further, it’s not what it seems, nothing is ever what it seems.

I wish I recorded the moment when I heard the first draft for the first time, the music itself was not perfect, it was very close to being spot on but there were a few moments that jarred for me, and I had to write Atlas an evaluation on my feelings toward it. That being said, a lot of it was captured wonderfully well, Isabelle’s theme especially that starts it off is just magical, it almost made me tear up, like listening to music for the first time, a piece tailored to you, to your personality, but not only that, capturing your own creations, your characters that are essentially real people to me at this moment, when I hear their names, when I refer to them or write them in the sequels, I am flushed with emotions like they’ve their own personalities, like they live nearby, like friends do. I know this sounds awfully odd, especially to those who do not dabble in this stuff, after reading back over this last paragraph I’ll admit it does read strangely, but this is the best way I can articulate my journey thus far, this whole experience not only with the music has been life changing in some degrees. Writing such epic stories and exploring the psychology of many characters in this made-up universe enables you to view the world somewhat differently to whence you had prior, and you cannot go back to who you were, why would you want to?

I remember the time when I was just a young teenager with a dream, I wanted to write an epic, I had to, there was no choice, it was something I felt like I had to do, no way was I about to let this idea go such as it was back then, it was just a seed. Ironically the work I was presenting was titled ‘Seeds of War.’ I’m not an office worker, I’m not built for factories or the 9-5, I was never someone to work to a bell, I didn’t like being told what I should do and how to do it, I wanted to make my own choices, I wanted to pursue my own course and only within the last few years of thinking hard about all this stuff, catching myself awake at three in the morning, have I realised that we barely make any of our own. Someone told me one time, before I was going to one of my many dead-end jobs, that I chose this path. I wish I had responded with something other than silence, I wish I had said “I did not choose this life, the life I chose is upstairs, it’s in my heart and my head waiting to be written” The idea of going to work, to a soulless company, where you’re forever under the thumb, a slave to money, a slave to the trudging bore of the system is hell to me, I don’t want to wake up old and tired with that haunting soul crushing feeling of having accomplished nothing with my life, that feeling of regret having NOT made those decisions that capture who you are. To me, that ugly spirit awaits so many people in their futures, every day it creeps a little closer, with the passage of time at its feet. It’s coming for us all, and the only way to evade it is to make some choices, choices that will set you on a path where growing old is a privilege, not a burden. Further in response to the man who said this, that I chose this, you’re wrong, I did not choose the daily grind of life most fall into or fail to see a way out, so they accept this inevitability, like it’s their fate, I said no to this but am forced to wear the cold chains, the shackles. I like to think I devised the strategy to escape, at eighteen years old knowing I was in for a long journey full of pain, joy, hardships and challenges, sitting on those College steps with a lukewarm cup of coffee, moments after my Graphic Design Exhibition had ended and the excitement passed, I plotted out my path to liberty through the only thing I was good at, and that was escapism, escapism to a place I call Equis. Utilising what made me, me is the only way I can find a place where I am…Happy, happy and content, and I am still searching.

In the creation of the music, my chains to the system that are draining my energy, my colour, my individuality, is just one step closer to their fracture. With each project I complete, with each milestone I tackle, with each brick laid, I gain some paces closer to evading what awaits so many poor souls in their future, the ghost of regret. Do something today after reading this, do something now, begin your journey, start something that speaks to you, no matter what that is, because the longer you wait, the longer you leave it, the harder it is to evade the embrace of regret.

E-mail – taotome@outlook.com

Official Website – http://www.taotequevault.com

Twitter – @MegasTeque

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/MegasTeque/featured

Bitchute – https://www.bitchute.com/channel/x9K5vwi2SsNu

Author Page UK –   https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Author Page US –  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01JMZ2BE6

Atlas Studios – http://www.atlas-audio.co.uk

D.W.Gill