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bayofwolves · 6 hours

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is there like. a guide for the path of heroes au/the stuff you've written i'm having a Time (<- crazy abt shane)

I have a huge masterdoc for Path of the Heroes in the works, but it will take a while to complete. (I've been working on it for a long time I'm just very slow)

But in the meantime. For anyone who wants to know more about my Spirit Animals project, here's a little guide!

"Path of the Heroes" is the name of the fourth* Spirit Animals arc I'm writing. There will be seven books in total. With this, I aim to tie up loose ends, rewrite some plot points, and introduce a new conflict relevant to the previous arc. It will serve as the conclusion to the series -- hopefully a more satisfying one than what we got.

*I say "fourth" because I count the first and second parts of Fall of the Beasts as separate arcs -- because they are, in all but name. Thus, Fall of the Beasts books 1-4 are "arc two" and books 5-8 are "arc three".

As of now, this project is still in the planning stage. I am rereading all the books to gather information I will need, developing character designs and drawing up a blueprint for the plot. Realistically, I cannot guarantee a release date for the first book at this time. Just know that I'm always working and have no plans to abandon this project.

The masterdoc for Path of the Heroes and all related content should be completed and available for anyone to access within a few months at most.

I do want to say that this is a personal project. If other people read what I create, amazing -- that will bring me so much joy. But ultimately, this is for me.

When I first conceived of this idea, I only planned to write this one arc. However, as usual, my ideas have spiraled out of control, and now there is a pile of companion material in the works.

Here is a comprehensive list of everything I plan to write for Spirit Animals.

The Rewrite — In order to provide context for major canon divergences that are present in Path of the Heroes, I decided to undertake a partial rewrite of the series. I will only be reworking the necessary chapters for everything to make sense (i.e., Shane is alive in Path of the Heroes, so I will rewrite the canon chapter in which he dies).

One such chapter has already been completed! The Return — King

Tales of the Four Heroes — Offering more insight into the Path of the Heroes AU and all its differences from canon, this is a collection of short stories from the lives of the Four at various times during the Second Devourer War. Moments that weren't covered in the books that I think would be fun to write. (Fun fact, the inspiration for this was The Tales of Ba Sing Se from ATLA!)

The Book of Shane: Vow — This final chapter of The Book of Shane tells the story of how the Redcloaks came to be. How did Shane rally his new army? How did he truly become the person Abeke and Rollan met in The Return? I feel like the original book is missing this section. I decided to write it myself, although I doubt I can fully emulate Nick Eliopulos's exquisite style of writing.

Wyrmslayer — A special edition, composed of several short stories, focusing on Abeke during the long timeskip between the second and third arcs. After hunting for Uraza for six months, the two finally rebond, but the road to healing is not that simple. A lot has changed for Abeke, Uraza and the world around them, and they must navigate a whole new reality together. This book aims to explore the pair's trauma following the cataclysmic events of The Burning Tide (while squeezing in a few more adventures along the way). It's a love letter to my favourite character.

Spirit Cats — Catified AU. This will be art-based but may be accompanied by some writing. I would say this is its own separate thing, but since it follows my canon, I suppose it falls under the Path of the Heroes AU. (AU of an AU?) I will explain more about this later.

Miscellaneous — There may come a time when I just want to write a short, standalone fic set in the Path of the Heroes AU. Or even something set in the canon universe! Not really connected to anything, just something I wanted to write for fun. That's what this section is for.

All material will only be published once complete (one installment at a time), on Archive of Our Own under the username bayofwolves (account is currently empty). I will announce new uploads here on Tumblr!

And there you have it! Hopefully this helps explain my nonsensical ramblings for the past year :)

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bayofwolves · 1 day