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In almost every story that’s worth a damn, you need a bad guy to make bad things happen to the protagonists. Unfortunately, not every story creates a good reason for why the villain acts the way that they do. Some of these characters may be excused depending upon the genre, but it is often not acceptable for a fantasy story to create a villain like Sauron that only wants to conquer the world for, you know, reasons.

Why?

Larger-Than-Life Historical Villains Were Motivated By Something.

The ideas of this particular fool cast a long shadow over the 20th century.

From the distant past to the present, each and every villain from history had an ideology that drove them to do what they did. It could have been money, power, hurting the other guy, destroying an enemy, or anything in between. Despite the fact that we now see them as evil, it’s important to remember that it wasn’t quite perceived that way back then. What could have possibly caused people to think like this?

It’s simple: Everyone is the hero of their own story.

Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to develop the same type of concept for Thrakoth and his Empire because it would allow for an exploration of the nature of evil and would also present a variety of questions. Why did he not just manage his world and try to keep the peace with the Callistans and Fieans? Could there have been elements of magic that forced his hand? What were they, exactly?

Of course, you’ll have to read to find out. However, the most important thing about this particular story is not truly Thrakoth. It’s the heroes that oppose him.

To Be Continued in Part 3.

Crossposted from ericmrozek.com.

Now that Destruction has been released to the world, I thought I would take the time to remark on the project and how it came to be. The concept for this novel came about from a wide variety of sources that offered pieces of inspiration, ranging from related books and movies to readings about history to discussions with friends and family about said subjects. In the beginning of 2014, the story began to take form around the concept of a fantasy environment that was shown through the eyes of a single protagonist in the form of a diary. However, I wanted to do something different because I felt that sword-and-sorcery had become a bit too mundane, mainly because we see it everywhere we look in stories like Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, and so on. Therefore, I had to consider other avenues that keep the same epic feel, but offer different elements that I can have fun with and that you can enjoy reading.

What About Gun And Sorcery?

WCTD — It’s as legendary a setting as you could ask for.

My initial thought about how to change things up would be to move it forward to a fantasy equivalent of the early modern era, which would allow it to be removed from the sword-and-sorcery staple by a sufficient degree. In addition, the telling of a story that would be set in a period from the English Civil War to the Industrial Revolution opened up a whole new set of ideas to play with. Over the course of my research and consideration about the novel, I began to think about the various trials, terrors, and triumphs that were developed in that era and found too many to list.

In my opinion, the 17th to 19th centuries are a gold mine for themes that allow a writer to deeply connect with the audience and build up a richly developed world. The period created the rise of the nation-state as we know it, but also brought about new moral questions with each and every war, colonial conquest, revolution, and new invention that came our way. Rather than focusing on one (and risking the wrath of an audience that thinks that I ripped off a history book), I decided to follow a more generalized approach that connected the sword-and-sorcery of old to this new world, namely…

The Clash Of Ideologies

Oh, France. You and your obsession with epic titti... er... I mean paintings. — Oh, France. You and your obsession with epic paintings.

The late 18th to mid 19th Century was my inevitable choice for a setting because it marked the perfect crossroads between the two genres. As the world developed in the shadow of the American and French Revolutions, it was a time when people began to question the traditions that had overrun the world up until then, especially with the clashes between the rising democracies that we know and the absolute monarchies that were still entrenched into positions of power in Europe. In an era with a magic all its’ own, I began to develop a world that is filled with fantasy elements that are new and old, but it soon coalesced around a villain that is known by the name of Thrakoth.

He’s powerful, he’s dangerous, and he has a plan…

To Be Continued in Part 2.

Tag: Lord of the Rings

Inside Destruction – Part Two – Why Sauron, Why?

Inside Destruction – Part One – In The Beginning…