Fallen Eagle

Hey there, everyone! Just wanted to chime in and thank you all for the massive deluge of comments on the previous chapter. I really enjoyed all the discussion in the comments and the engagement. I wasn't expecting such a strong reaction to the chapter, and actually thought you might all find it quite boring.

I enjoyed reading the discussion, and although I haven't been active in the comments at all, I do read most of them. It's interesting to read them knowing what will happen in the story, and a bit surreal to see the things I wanted to address with the scene actually resonating with my readers. Sometimes they land perfectly, and sometimes the discussions take completely unexpected turns, but it is supremely gratifying to see people discussing topics that remain relevant even today because of something that happened in the story. It means they are invested in the story, and it means I'm getting my message across. Not in the sense of pushing any agenda or my views onto my readers, but in the sense of making them think about important topics.

Most of you were on Christos's side, but plenty understood Agape's side as well, and that is exactly what I want. Delicate topics like this require nuance, and often two people can both be right (or wrong) and still clash because of their different POVs. One of the things I prize most is ensuring that no one acts irrationally or outside their own worldview (although sometimes it's difficult to juggle that with a compelling storyline haha).

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You might have noticed a shift away from the previous Nomikos storyline, with less emphasis on Apostolos and Cassandra, and that was in large part thanks to your feedback. I started pushing for more self-contained POVs that showcase different advancements in a more subtle way (the best example of this was Ephebos's mini-arc). I get that this also adds to an already bloated roster of characters (with an outdated glossary), but some of them are meant to serve as mechanisms for progressing plot points and don't necessarily have to be fully fleshed-out main characters.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm trying to shrink the number of actual main characters in the novel. Expect side characters to appear more often only when they're relevant, and expect them to have arcs mostly when I have specific topics I want to touch upon or interesting storylines I want to explore in the background. Hopefully, this means the main plot remains the focus while still allowing for compelling side characters.

I would like to finish these rambling thoughts by asking whether you feel that the latest chapters here on NovelPhoenix have been better than the previous ones, and whether I'm heading in the right direction. I'm a bit scared of having too many POVs and diluting the main storyline, but I hope the approach I mentioned will work for you all. I think that, over time, Fallen Eagle has gradually become an enormous, almost encyclopedic world, and while that comes with great power to tell many good stories, it also comes with great responsibility to ensure they don't fall flat.

Thank you all for your support! I honestly thought Fallen Eagle was dropping in engagement and popularity, but I'm glad to see that people still care about the story and its characters!