AFTERWORD
In many ways, the publication of Phoenix Rising is the most personally important and thrilling part of my writing career so far. Oh, the publication of my first book, Digital Knight, has a certain special something about it that nothing else will ever match, but the roots of Phoenix Rising are much deeper—even though the two books take place in the same overall universe.
The world that Kyri, Poplock, and Tobimar live in, Zarathan, was first created in 1977–1978, about 35 years ago. It’s changed a lot, of course, but there are elements that have remained the same for decades. Most readers will notice—will have a hard time not noticing—that there are a lot of things going on in the book which aren’t, precisely, covered, just touched on. That’s because Zarathan is, to me, a living, breathing, complex world, and the world-shaking events that Kyri and her friends encounter require more than one team of heroes to deal with. There’s room on Zarathan for many heroes—and many villains. There is the story of Kyri, Tobimar, and Poplock, which I call “The Balanced Sword”; there is the story of Xavier and his friends, which I call “Spirit Warriors”; and a third set of heroes includes none other than Kyri’s little sister Urelle and young Ingram Camp-Bel in “Godswar.” I know all their stories; with luck, I will get to tell them all as well.
I have always dreamed of having Zarathan presented to the world. It almost scares me, in a way; the only other people who’ve entered the world of Zarathan have done so in a very personal fashion, as people playing in the campaign for which Zarathan is the setting, where I can convey the world in the spoken word, with gesture and voice and hours upon hours of time; I can’t be sure how well I succeed in mere writing. But if I’ve done it well enough, some readers—maybe only a few, maybe many—will see the Towers of the Six and One glowing with the colors of a thousand jewels in the setting sun, momentarily come face-to-face with a mighty child of dragons, hear the thunder of the voices of the gods, or just perhaps, smile at the wit of a tiny golden-eyed toad, and feel some of the joy and wonder that I do as I survey a world that exists only in my imagination . . . and the imaginations of those who have visited the World of Magic.
Ryk E. Spoor
January 30, 2012
Troy, NY
www.grandcentralarena.com