Lf3: An Oasis At Twilight - Tumblr Posts

Book 3 is well and truly underway~

I've been poking slowly at LF3, and have decided to reflag the first chapter to be a prologue. I think, closer to release, I may even release it early to Tumblr as a little teaser.......

Also, research for the book has been going slowly but steadily! I'm very happy I started looking into the history of Baghdad in particular, especially since details from what I've read seem to match Ul'dah as it exists in-game. The Round City of Baghdad's early existence feels like it directly inspired Ul'dah, so I'm quite excited to take what I'm learning and insert it into An Oasis at Twilight!

Gave myself a heart attack, accidentally published an (empty) book 3 onto AO3 while building the skeleton of its formatting. I practically tripped over myself to hide it back away 🙃🙃🙃

I'm sorry (I'm not)

Had a very good day of writing today, some serious progress was made. I think I'm still only 1/6th - 1/5th of the way finished, so quite a bit left to go, but the first section of the story is finished and I'm off to the next.

I really can't wait to start showing this book off, hopefully by the end of March I can start finalizing a release schedule!

Yensday #5 - 6 March 2024

Hi everyone, and welcome to another (belated) Yensday! Life ended up being more busy than I anticipated, so I unfortunately needed to push back publishing this by a bit. However, we are back on track with another entry!

<><><> Q&A <><><>

PurpleNidoQueen asked: After hanging her hat in the Quarrymill hamlet for so long, does Yen have any hopes and dreams about the home or career or life she wants when she settles down? Does she think she'll settle down at all?

I think this is a question that will vary significantly based off of when you ask it. At the point where the story is at presently, and where it will be at for a little while to come, the honest answer is that Yen is not really able to liberate herself from the idea of "I have to go back home when this is done." The closest thing to an escape she has is to try and just… not think about it.

For a very brief moment in time, the role of Gridanian Envoy that was bestowed upon Yen has allowed her to explore Eorzea without feeling guilty about it. It's very adjacent to how Yenifer so completely let herself sink into the role of lancer; at the back of her mind, she isn't really able to forget why she left Quarrymill, but the more she throws herself at the now, the less guilty she feels about not really wanting to go back. And there's a horrible tragedy to that - at any point, Yen could go back, and that would be the end of her adventure. She could say that all of this just isn't for her, she wants to be with her people, and she just… takes the next cart south.

So, why hasn't she?

The best answer I can give is that she doesn't want to settle down, she doesn't want to go back, she doesn't want to return to a mildly changed status quo and live out a life of uncertainty and fear. At some level, she does feel like that desire is a kind of betrayal, but at the same time… Yen wants to live. She wants to be free, to see things, to go to places, to not be shackled to a miserable place for the rest of her life. She loves her people… but she wants to love herself, too, and that is what is keeping her from home. This deep desire to find herself in the deserts of Thanalan, in the grassy fields of Vylbrand, and even in the forests of the Black Shroud.

In other words - she doesn't want to settle down. Not yet.

<><><> Tidbits & Errata <><><>

Following up from this week's question, I've been thinking a little about where and when Yen would actually hang up her hat. A lot of this internal conversation is made difficult by how far away that point is. The most brief answer I can give is that she wouldn't retire until after Endwalker - a point in the story's chronology that is several dozen books away, and who knows how many years… I try not to think about how large of a commitment this series in for a reason, which I suppose makes me like Yen in a little way.

I have not committed to continuing Light's Falle after Endwalker (i.e., the 6.1+ patch cycle on through Dawntrail and beyond) yet, mostly because I just don't know how long it will take for me to get to it. If I reach the Endsinger when I'm 50, I will probably just hang up my hat! However, if by some miracle I finish things significantly sooner than, y'know, 32 years from now, then I think I very well may try continuing the story.

So… where would that go? What would that mean?

The answer is - I'm still deciding! But there's a few things I know for sure; first, it would be a five summer timeskip between The End of Endwalker and Estinien saying he has a good (bad) idea. She would be living in Ala Mhigo, and would probably be offering herself in a half-dozen different ways to aid in the city-state's reconstruction in a post-Stormblood star. I think her picking up the lance again would be a pretty impulsive, "I kind of miss adventuring so let me try this again with low stakes," decision… and it would pretty rapidly spiral out of control from there.

I did think, though I don't think this idea is one I will commit to, about doing an even larger time-skip, where the protagonist of 6.x onwards would be Yenifer's child, but I think the amount of work to wrangle that into being wouldn't really be worth it. It's an interesting counterfactual, at the very least!For the curious, however, here is my current rough (very rough) timeline of events for Light's Falle using in-universe dates:

4th Astral Moon, 5th Summer of the 7th Umbral Era - Start of A Realm Reborn

Winter, 5 7UE - The Praetorium (end of 2.0)

Winter-Spring, 1st Summer of the 7th Astral Era - Start of post-2.0 patch storylines

Winter, 1 7AE - The Banquet (2.56), start of Heavensward

Spring, 2 7AE - End of Heavensward (3.3)

Summer, 2 7AE - Start of Stormblood (4.0)

Winter-Spring, 3 7AE - End of Stormblood (4.3)

Spring, 3 7AE - Shadowbringers (5.0 - 5.3)

Summer, 3 7AE - Endwalker (5.4 - 6.0)

Again, this is all very work in progress, but in my mind's eye the story will take a significant amount of in-universe time. It's something I look forward to going into in the future!

Thank you all again for stopping by, I look forward to more questions (and more rambling) next week! Until then, may you ever walk in the light of the Crystal!

-H

Book 3!

I'm extremely happy to announce that the third Light's Falle book is beginning to be released onto Archive of our Own here!

An Oasis in Twilight represents a new paradigm for how I am putting out new chapters going forward - unlike LF1 and LF2, LF3 is still mostly unwritten (though not unplanned). Because of this, I am limiting the number of chapters posted to once a week. Sundays at noon is my regular plan, though for the rare occasion where I work a weekend, it will be moved to whatever day opened up; rest assured, I'll try to warn you all ahead of time.

Given the amount of material I have available, I am confident that I will be able to maintain a pace and prevent there from being any noticeable lag in releases. More-over, if I can keep my nose to the grindstone, there should be no lag at all between the release of book 3 and book 4! That's still a ways away, so we'll have to see, but I am confident that I can keep up with it.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the prologue to the new adventure!

-H

The next chapter of An Oasis at Twilight is available to read now!!

Where? Here!

Another Sunday, another chapter of An Oasis at Twilight!

Read the latest here!

Quick apology - a later chapter had been posted as well on accident, which I just realized today and took down.

Sorry!

A day late, but the next chapter of An Oasis at Twilight has been released! You can read the update here.

I want to apologize for the delay; this weekend was... tumultuous, to say the least, and while I am okay, I just couldn't find the will to do anything in the wake of it.

Next Sunday will be business as usual - stay safe, all of you, please.

Slightly belated, but chapter 5 is live!!

Come read it here!

I did a quick and dirty formatting pass on all published chapters, moving the chapter subtitles out of "Chapter Summary" on AO3. Should make things a little ways nicer.

See you all tomorrow for the next update!

I forgot when work opens on Sunday, so I am enjoying a nice morning in front of my library.

My time-blindness is your benefit, though, because the next chapter is out NOW! Come check it out here!

Chapter 3.6 is LIVE!

Yenifer’s eyes snapped open; she was on the floor, the rough carpet of the Quicksand nestling against her cheek. Stone was above her, staring down at her in bewilderment. Thancred was saying something, repeating what almost sounded like her name in alarm. Her mind struggled to catch back up as the Echo released her with all of the grace of a fist to the head. She looked up into Stone’s face, at the bloody streaks in his cheek that she hadn’t noticed before, and Roysa’s fear returned in waves.     But Yenifer was not Roysa, and the fear did not stay fear.

Come read the new chapter here!

EDIT: I keep forgetting that my actual chapter numbers are offset by one backwards compared to AO3, because it won't let me make a Chapter 0 jkskjjd

Chapter 3.7 is Live!

    Blood thundered in Yenifer’s ears in a steady drumbeat, the rest of the star drowned out by the storm resounding in her temples. Her mind swam in the freezing waters of Roysa’s borrowed fear, leaving nothing to arrest the red that was settling into her vision, into every ilm of her body. This was no mere stirring of anger’s breeze. It was a hurricane of rage, of vengeance and righteous fury and being so godsdamned tired of taking it, laced with the poison of protectiveness. It was a perfect storm that bade her to fight back, that this once she would make the difference she couldn’t for so many summers. It was that perfect storm that made her slide her pack off of her shoulder and, in a single, trained motion, freed Albert’s spear from its mounting loops.

Come read the new chapter here!

    Yuyuhase shrugged. “She’s resisting arrest.” he said in a falsely mournful tone. “What else can my men do to restrain her?” He nodded again, and Yenifer coughed as another blow hammered into her chest. Her grip, tenacious as it was, finally failed, and her spear tumbled from her hands uselessly. “Good girl. Fighting only makes it worse.” Yuyuhase said, stepping towards her. “In the name of Ul’dah, and of the Brass Blades, I am placing you under arrest for assault and vandalism. Do you understand these charges?”     “Charges?” Yen repeated. She tasted blood, but mercifully she also felt all of her teeth still in place. Another hit, though, and she was probably going to lose one… if she was lucky. “I…”

Chapter 3.8 is LIVE!

Content warning: The chapter focuses on police and police violence, please read at your own discretion.

Check it out here!

Chapter 3.8 is LIVE!

    Adalberta’s eyes went wide like dinner plates. “You know?” She asked, sounding almost horrified.     “Of course she does,” Thancred said cooly. “She’s been staring at my neck since the moment we met.” The Scion reached up to his collar with a hand, and gently lowered it back down. The choker around his neck still obscured it to some degree, but it was impossible to miss the familiar shape of the tattoo Yen had seen on Yda, Papalymo, and Y’shtola. As if to remove all doubt, painted into the cloth that Thancred had just bent back into place was the familiar eye mark of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.     “You…” Yen stammered, paling from sudden social horror. “You noticed?”     Thancred nodded slightly. “It’s my speciality.” He gave a slight bow. “Thancred Waters, at your service.”

A day early due to me being busy as all hell tomorrow; come check it out here!

Ch3.10 is LIVE!

    A look of honest, desperate gratitude spread across Adalberta’s face, but before she could say anything, Yen forced herself to her feet. “I’m going too,” Yen said, as bravely as she could on wavering legs.     Thancred turned his head to look at her, bewildered. “Yuyuhase must have struck you harder than I thought,” he mused, but his eyes had no humor in them. “You are in no state to go anywhere, Yenifer.” He pulled his fist away from his face, letting his hands return to his sides, one palm placing itself readily by his dagger’s hilt. “I can handle this better alone.”

Come read it here!

    “Mmn.” Yen hummed through a full mouth to voice her accord. The edge of panic had yet to fully retreat from her chest, but food sated the gnawing in her stomach, and the flavor gave her a different sensation to focus on beyond razor-sharp anxiety. For a single, mad moment, some part of Yenifer dared to wonder if Thancred maybe wasn’t so bad after all. In fact, the suspiciously kind look in his eyes reminded her a little of…

    Whatever bedraggled and exhausted part of her mind that acted as Yenifer’s voice of reason dumped the mental equivalent of a bucket of streamwater on her carriage of thought. Suddenly aware of her brush with disaster, Yen nodded vigorously and prayed he didn’t notice that any errant thought had crossed her mind at all.

Come read the new chapter here!