We’ve arrived at last! The final short story contained within Pathways in the Dark! I’m going to dig deep into this story so SPOILER WARNING ahead for this author commentary…
Founder’s Day
This story was always going to be in Pathways in the Dark. At the end of Resurrectionists I left the door open on a number of threads that eventually had to come to light. Figuring out the narrative, structuring the story of Founder’s Day had to be one of the greatest challenges of the entire series.
Starting Points
The Founder was my way into the story. In the initial draft of Resurrectionists, the Founder was taken into custody. His history came out at the end, his work at the Church of the Second Coming on full display for the public.
It didn’t work.
It sucked the life out of the scene. Instead of the story centering on the shattered life of Loren it became about this cloaked cult-like figure and how he managed to wake the dead.
I scrapped it for the simpler solution. He escaped and was still looming in the background.
How to bring him back?
If the Founder was my starting point, this question was the first of an indescribable amount of challenges in plotting the story. Why would this man come back?
The murders built from this.
I love detective fiction. I love building crime scenes and going through evidence; finding new ways to offer up exposition while also strengthening character moments. Signs of Portents was built from this love and I wanted to circle back to those good old days with some classic detective work on Loren’s part.
Signs of Portents’ influence…
For me, nothing was better than building the history of Portents. From Nathaniel Evans to the ebony tower, from the Corridor to the Courtyard, all had their place in the expansive history of this fictional city.
When developing the murders, when playing with the idea of the return of the Founder, I realized I could play with that concept on multiple fronts.
Make the murders about the Founders of the city. Make the city in the midst of celebrating a Founder’s Day celebration. All little tidbits to hint at the mysterious figure in the background. All feeding into the main threat, while also returning to the roots of the series and the history tucked behind the narrative.
The Evans line, Patrick Hennessey, Wilbur Caldwell, William Rath. Some fictional, some real to the people of Portents. All important to the past, the beginning of Portents. History matters in this world and that was what I wanted to touch on here in Founder’s Day.
Next time:
Challenges Part 1 – The many roles this story was forced to play…