I had A Thought about the next part of This Dark Road. I couldn’t decide whether it should be told by Thel or Jann, or maybe by both. And I thought maybe Chael, or even Zani, or even Zania. But why not Sharrec? I can get into his back story from his point of view, rather than just having him info-dump it to Thel. And the beginning, something like this:

 I don’t think I knew I would [fall in] love [with] Arathel Corthinn-Aldien the first time I saw her. I don’t believe in love at first sight, no matter what the songs and stories say. Anyway, it wasn’t the way she looked that first got my attention. She was pretty, [even at that young age] – [their age difference] but couldn’t be called beautiful. And just sitting at a table in the [tavern] with her brother, she wasn’t doing anything that interesting.

 No, I didn’t even notice her until, suddenly, she needed me. And [at that time in my life] I needed someone to need me.

 I’m thinking of incorporating, in some way, the line from “Man in Black”: “I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back.” Something about the fact that he’s old enough to be her father, but I don’t want to make a big deal about that because I don’t want it to get creepy. I don’t even know that they’re going to ultimately end up together. But I think in some way he’s going to help her find her abilities. And giving him the book gives me the title: either Unchained or, if I want it to sound less like a 70s pop album, just Freed.