Chapter 333 - Author's Note 23/10/2020

Another ending and another new beginning!

From the moment Aegin decided to join Rassa on his journey, I knew that there would have to come a point when he would need to go on his own journey and truly start making his own decisions. He's been controlled all his life in one way or another, and seeing him break free of those restraints, no matter how messy it was, has been a privilege. Now that he has reached a point where he can truly choose to stand beside Rassa, and not just see it as his only path, it feels great to have gotten him there, and I'm happy to see that everyone is on board with that. To see you all jump onto the Aegin bandwagon despite him being a "side character" is really rewarding for me, and makes the world I have created feel all the more real and accessible from points other than Rassa's.

I love Rassa, he was the one who started this for me so I'll always love him and his story, but the more I delve into this world, the more curious and eager I get to explore other parts of it. To find out what makes each character tick. What they've been through. How they react to current events, and best of all, where they're going and how they're going to weave their paths in this world.

Thank you so much for loving Aegin as much as I do, and supporting me in writing his journey!

Of course, you're probably reading this because you're interested in what's next...but some shout outs first!

Top 10 Voters (23.10.2020):

SoraxKairi - 1694 (Holding strong I see! Thanks for your tremendous efforts and dedication!)

Nekomino - 1602 (Naw, I'm blushing from the love you've shown this story, thanks so much!)

zecond - 710 (I mean, to catch Rassa or Aegin blushing is a rare sight, but I swear I...nevermind, they just got back from a hunt...)

Nourah1999 - 686 (Olly's just gone to find me a truth charm...I don't believe this is happening)

Rabliel - 668 (Well, okay, now that I've seen that it is real, I'll just get sore cheeks from smiling too much)

Oskulos - 642 (My cheeks seriously are sore, just had to pause typing to massage them)

I_am_Titan - 641 (Well, hello there, just gotta say, love the picture/icon you've got. Very memorable)

DVDD - 626 - (Sup? Been a while since I've seen you comment but your votes mean just as much, thank you!)

esmeraldo - 615 - (Tree of life - celtic style, right? - thanks so much for your votes!)

JaxShadow - 511 (Thank you for your support!)

Thanks so much for all the votes, comments and reviews! You have no idea how much it means to me, and how much it encourages me to continue writing this story and others!

First, I suppose I should get the disappointing news out of the way; Vol.4 The Ruin of Eldovia, will not be coming this year. In fact, depending on the plans below, I'm not sure that it will come to Webovel or RoyalRoad ever.

The Primary reason for this is the support I have received for this story. Really, I started this story 18 months ago, and have gotten nearly 2 million engagements from it. I am blown away from this support, and it has given me the reassurance I needed to pursue formal publishing.

From next month, I will be rewriting Vol.1 of The First Vampire in order to prepare for publishing. The story as a whole will not change, but there will be alterations to certain parts of it that I've decided to improve, scrap or redo to build the overall quality of the story. Once it has been rewritten, the manuscript will be sent off to begin the editing and self-publishing process, with the hopes that it can be published some time next year.

I will keep my patrons and those on my social media and discord updated about this process, but for those not following me on these platforms, the indication that Publishing is imminent will be when the chapters of this story disappear from this site and RoyalRoad. I may keep a few of the first chapters as a sample, but nothing beyond that.

Following the publishing of the second book, I will work to rewrite and publish the others, with The Ruin of Eldovia being written and published somewhere down the line.

I am sorry to those who enjoy the 'free' aspect of this, but writing is something I plan on doing for life, and as such, I would love to make money from it some day. Hopefully, through this process, that day will come sooner rather than later.

Of course, I won't leave you totally hanging in the interim months while going through the publishing process.

As many of you know, I've been posting The Moonshadow Trading Company Short Stories on my P*atreon, which is essentially Rassa & Ebony's story between Volumes 3 & 4. As of November 4th, I'll be gradually publishing each short story in 4 parts, with each story published over the course of a month. This should keep your curiosity fed until the end of June next year.

For those of you who are looking for something with faster releases, I'll be continuing on with my book Soul Blood which I have let sleep for quite a while now. I love the main characters in that story just as much as I do Rassa and those here, so I can't very well leave them forever, and I think now is a great opportunity to pick up where I left off. I'll be rewriting the earlier chapters, with the new chapters scheduled to begin releasing from November 16th at 10pm AEST. Probably looking at 4 chapters a week for that, but yet to be confirmed.

To have your support on this site has been an honour and a privilege. I can't believe that this story has grown as much as it has even without the marketing support of , but in a way, I'm so much happier that it has. Knowing that this story can build a following organically like this is like a dream, and knowing that I have the time and drive to make it so much bigger is really a thrilling thought. After all, I'm just a 23-year-old girl from country Australia, I've got a lot of life left to live.

Though I have yet to meet any of you, I hope one day I can thank you in person for your support.

If it does happen in that dream-like future, and you happen to see me on the street, or come to a book signing, please tell me that you found the book here. That you were there from the beginning. I'm positive that my gratitude will show through so much more - there may even be tears, just don't tell Aegin, he'd never let me live it down.

Hoping you're all well and working on living your own best lives,

Jelim