Vol.5 Afterword

Well, there you have it. With this, TraCon is officially finished with Act 1:Prologue.Yep, you heard it right! Everything so far was just the Prologue, thebeginning, the tutorial! Even still, I can’t believe that we’ve made it this farinto the story in just 7 months. That’s quite a short timespan when you thinkabout it! The first character that I introduced in the original draft may havebeen Lune, but Act 2 will feature the second, so stay tuned! I’m actuallyreally hyped for what’s to come, as this is technically one of those ‘Parts Iwas waiting to write’ for lack of a better term.That being said, how did you enjoy Volume 5? Issei was fun, but he wasn’tplanned to make an appearance in the story yet, much less take such apredominant role in the Volume, but I just really wanted to add him as soonas possible. If I had to state any regrets I have with him, I would probablyonly say that I didn’t ever write about him teaching Marina how to play Shogion his phone, but let’s just say I’ll edit that in in the rewrite (ehe!)If you’ve been following me for a while, you may have noticed just howimportant I find names to be, but did you notice that ‘Issei Kaido’ containtsthe word ‘Isekai’ in it, further explaining his origins. I had a real tough timewith finding that name, so I’m pretty proud of it! Another name is Licht,Lune’s would be son’s name, referring to ‘Moonlight’, or the ‘Licht’ (Light)that comes from the ‘Lune’ (Moon). One could also argue it comes from‘Sol’ (The Sun), but I’ll leave that up to you, the reader, to interpret howeveryou wish.Marina’s bad naming conventions were meant to be a gag, but I don’t think Iemphasized that enough. Also, no offense to the Velmas and Gunthers outthere! Those were the first names I thought of, they were chosen completelyarbitrarily!Let’s see, what else? Oh right, I wanted to emphasize Lune’s loneliness, andhow much Marina was guiding him along the path that she thought was right.Lune was straying off what could be considered the right path, what withconstantly overworking himself, getting drunk, and of course, cheating onCecily, but I also wanted to emphasize the happiness and fulfillment he felt asSol. He was certainly wrong to be doing these things, but they made himhappy, and that’s what mattered to him. In the end, he was hit by reality andfinally realized just how bad of a life this is (hence the “I don’t know whoSol is, I’m Lune Grimheart.“ line).Oh, but I did like how I portrayed Marina’s and Lune’s relationship. Shereally was his Guardian Angel in a way. Sort of like what Beatrice is toDante in that one famous book. Somehow, I feel their relationship, whilstflawed, was a lot more realistic than Cecily’s and Lune’s, which was writtena lot more like an unrealistic yet cutesy fairy-tale rom-com. Still, I’d like tohave written Marina to be a bit less horny, sometimes I feel like I forced thataspect of hers.Eh, things turned out well, so I’m glad. Like I said previously, Volume 6 willbe the start of Act 2, but I don’t yet have a title for it like with Prologue. I’llthink of something later. Who knows, maybe I’ll change Act 1’s name in themeantime as well, cause until I get published, everything’s tentative! Well,not everything, just some names I guess.I elaborated a lot on the Four Gods here, about the 6 World Wonders Issei’strying to visit, as well as Heaven. As for the information further explainingthese plot-points, you’ll just have to wait until I explain them! Sorry~!Thank you all once again for reading this far, you’re literally making mydream come true with each follow and rating! Hope to see you again inVolume 6! Here is the new World Map, made by the lovely and amazinglytalented Ariana Vivoni, a felllow RR community member just like you! If yousee her around, send her my regards and also tell her she's a beast!                           -Mikan Sensei