Crafting a Saga.
At times I wonder, how did I create a saga? Whenever I ask myself this question I always stop, unsure whether I could plot the path from idea to realised story, to a vast interconnecting web of narratives.
I have asked myself the question countless times during the last couple of months. How did this story come into being and how did it then become one of the largest universes I had ever created, full of many planets with a millennia of unknown history?
The Thomas Lita series had it origins in one of the humblest of settings, childhood. Growing up as a fan of Tolkien, Doctor who and Marvel, I played a lot as characters in these universes. Eventually, creating my own characters, with their own stories. In those games, the first seeds of the Thomas Lita universe were formed.
As I grew older and more “Mature” the games stopped but the stories did not. In my head these characters lingered, their stories growing every time my mind wandered to them and yet I had no outlet for their use. I had toyed with the idea of writing but had never gone further than hasty and outlandish plans.
In sixth form that all changed. One day, when I should have been studying, I started writing and have never looked back. Re-reading the original, handwritten, copy of The Escape from Humanity, is always a thrill. Not only was the story not particularly good, but it was also vastly different from the story I would eventually publish six years later. Then, there was no wider universe. Ilmgral was a faraway place with no real connection to the story, the Ilma had no Origin and the Graul did not exist. Thomas Lita was then a strange mix between the X-men and the doctor, with plans to match.
I had finally done it though; I had started my career as a writer. The next books in the Knights of Earth Saga formed quickly and I knew how the story would end as one series, with no prequels or sequels. Oh, how naïve I was.
The Second draft changed everything, and it was one side character that brought the change. I soon realised a major plot hole in the first draft. Why would Cirtroug/Urgarak call someone to the volcano, who had the power to defeat them.
I began to imagine another character, one who lingered in the shadows, pulling the strings of Tom’s life. The Tempter was born within the second draft. Instantly, the character fit into my already made plans and I began asking questions of his origins. Answering these questions took me down the rabbit hole of lore I would need for these stories to work.
Within weeks of introducing the Tempter, I had created the God’s and the Vassal’s, realised their origin stories and how they connected to the Knights of Earth saga. I had created the Graul and separated them from the Ilma. Stories grew from their separation, like the Enlightenment of the Graul and the curse of the Ilma.
This led me to the realisation that The Knights of Earth Saga, could not stand alone. I could not answer all the questions that needed answering while still telling a compelling story. I had to tell these stories separately.
Even now, after publishing two novels in the Knights of Earth Saga, I am still learning about this world and this universe, creating more stories that my heart says I must tell.
Jacob Bower.
Knights of Earth Publications 