Foreword/Notes
(Reading this is completely optional, feel free to skip to the prologue if you feel like it.)
In the beginning of its existence, Redrock Isle was not a piece of fan fiction at all. It was originally going to be a forum-RPG at a site I use. I planned out a story that I thought was good and asked if anyone was interested in walking through it. A few people politely nodded their heads, but in the end there wouldn't have been nearly enough players, so I scrapped the project.
The plot, however, just seemed too damn good to waste, so I chose to write it on paper (or in MS Works, rather) and put it up on the site as a sign of what the people missed playing themselves. It never achieved any "omigosh, how could we miss this" -effect, but it finally opened me to the joys of writing a story to an audience.
RRI ran from the 28.2 to 3.5 (2.28 and 5.3 in American dates) during the year 2007. Some people read it and gave feedback, I was just happy that the project was over, though I had already started planning my second project, The Rage.
I learned a lot about storytelling from RRI: Having too many characters makes writing a hell; Having an (arguably) epic plot is not enough if your characters are two-dimensional and without any personality (I have to defend myself by saying this is because I originally wanted the players of the RPG to fill in the personalities of their characters); Having too much fighting makes a boring story; Other kinds of characters are needed than valiant heroes, rugged anti-heroes, greedy evil dudes and evil overlords, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
However, one-and-a-half years after finishing RRI, after I chose to enter and update the fic here at fanfiction dot net, I took a look back at what I'd achieved. I was horrified at my past mistakes and saw no redemption but to fix the most glaring ones. The original thing, in its unfixed un-glory, can be found at the Scrolls of Lore fora (the site is put up as my home page), while the version I'm putting here has fixed grammar and storytelling.
I invite you, friend, to step into my world.
-Kerrandrius
on the 25th of August 2008
PS: I assure you, even though my most common internet nickname is "Kerrah", the character with the same name is not my avatar in the story. He is one of my World of Warcraft characters, whose name I took as my nickname AFTER coming up with RRI's story.
PPS: If the story still feels a bit forced and bland, it's because my later mission was to fix the most blantant flaws of the original text, not completely rewrite it.