LORE ARCHIVE | ATAR
THE BOOK OF MORALITY | THE SACRAL COMPENDIUM
“Know the amoral by the lies they speak,
the truth they obscure,
and the helpless cries they ignore.”

Some scars don’t fade. They deepen.

Here’s another update from the world of Atar. I finally pushed through with the second draft of Maro 3—and knocked it out in a day. 

This time around, draft 2 was all about internal thoughts, emotional resonance, and voice. Yes, there’s prose tightening, of course, but this is all about homing in on what makes the character sing. Maro went from a 2D representation sketch with hints of shading to a full 3D rendering—complex, textured, alive with his layers.

Here’s what I focused on:

Maro’s voice is much sharper now—richer in cynicism, sarcasm, and emotional insight. And the humor is better placed—if I say so myself. The boon of fire and its implications are more deeply embedded into the overall narrative, but it’s still just an element and not the whole story. There’s a more matured emotional arc, with parts introspective and multilayered with regret, betrayal, and lingering affection.The sentences are cleaned of clutter for stronger rhythm and sharper sentence variation. 

With key improvements out of the way, let’s switch to the overall progression. First draft was considerably lean, falling well below the target 30K word count mark with 25.8K words. But I was able to flesh it out, and now, we’ve got ourselves a proper novella with three drafts remaining. Here’s the final count:

Chapters: 14/ 14Epilogues: 1/ 1Total Words: 32,0641st Draft: 25,8432nd Draft:32,064

So, what’s next on the agenda? Well, as you know, I’m still plugging away at Vol. VII. I’d say I’m about 70% done. I’ve also spent a great deal of time thinking about the finale of the series, Vol. VIII, and I’ve been jotting down notes and ideas. My number one rule for the end is to pull a Makayla Maroney and stick the landing, but only you, dear readers, can pass judgement when the time comes. 

I’ve given myself a hard deadline to finish piddling with Vol. VII by the end of May. After that, complete or not, I need to shift gears into Decimation Protocol, the second Sci-fi entry for the Warmaster Series. It has a release date for next year, and it needs some TLC for the 3rd–5th drafts. Will keep you posted on the warfront. 

What are you most curious about in Maro’s next outing? What are your theories for the Sci-fi universe? Comment down below!

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Oblus ina’ti Sepan Eti — Live and die by the sword.