Ryk E. Spoor
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Things I Might Write 2: The Wanderer
🕑 Added 2020-07-08 01:11:21 +0000 UTCThis series of posts covers stories for which I have a general idea or even a fairly detailed outline, but for one or more of several reasons I am unsure whether I should or can write it.
For this month, it is the story of The Wanderer.
Those who have read the Balanced Sword trilogy (Phoenix Rising, Phoenix in Shadow, and Phoenix Ascendant) are familiar with the Wanderer to at least a small extent, and if you've read Godswar: The Mask of Ares you've seen a lot more of him. Irreverent, at turns sarcastic, comedic, and deadly serious, the Wanderer is a powerful wizard of the type called "Shaper" -- one who literally changes the way the world works in order to achieve their goals.
It is said multiple times that the Wanderer stands outside of the normal rules -- that fates or destinies have no hold over him -- and he is clearly also not native to Zarathan, with turns of phrase that strongly indicate he is from Earth, and an SF/F fan to boot; this is most obvious when he gives young Urelle Vantage a way to contact him which is a sparkling lens, activated by the word "Arisia".
He is one of the legendary figures of the world, and yet is clearly human and independent of the oldest mysteries (unlike the Sauran King, or Konstantin Khoros). I have a clear idea of his original appearance and adventures and how they eventually led to him being the person we meet much later. But...
... well, the first problem is pretty obvious for a lot of readers: the Wanderer is me, or at least an alternate-universe version of me; in his universe he became very successful with his writing about this place called Zarathan and then ended up going there, after a very peculiar event he found both confusing and frightening.
I've already published a book in which a version of me is one of the protagonists (Polychrome), and honestly I'm not sure whether I could, or should, write another book like that. It's terribly self-indulgent. His appearances in the other books are pretty much unavoidable -- the Wanderer's influence on Zarathan's history is fairly extensive and I never tried to change that much -- but as it currently stands, he's a side character whose foibles and characteristics are only on-screen for short periods of time, and mostly as an enabler for the heroes rather than the one who solves all their problems. He's not a self-insert Mary Sue (or Marty Stu) who runs the show, and in fact in some ways he's less of an annoying bastard than Khoros.
His adventures also are a long way back in history -- at least a few Chaoswars -- and so the connection to the other Zarathan material is a lot more tenuous. In some senses I'd be almost starting from scratch, since his arrival and initial adventures happen in an entirely different area of Zarathan than the ones we have yet seen.
On the other hand... it is a story that I think could be quite fun and interesting. It does let us see more of the world (specifically, of the giant peninsula called "Elyvias") and would give us a much more direct insight into the workings and history of the world than any of the three main stories (Balanced Sword, Godswar, and The Spirit Warriors) that I have currently planned.
So I'm still undecided on this one... but written or not, his story is one of the most important ones in that universe...
