Faerûnian Times
Exclusive interviews with the cast of Kail's Story.
-by Alara Nimbletoes
Halfling reporter
Interview 10 - Sand
It's a slight, dark-haired elf who steps so quietly into the room that I don't even know he's there until he clears his throat and startles me. I gesture at the chair, and he seats himself delicately with a grateful smile as he steeples his fingers and watches me.
Alara Nimbletoes: Hi, Sand. Can you share with your many fans what you've been up to recently?
Sand: Why, of course. As you may be aware, we've just finished work on chapter 100 (Burning your Bridges) so I've been working on my parts in chapter 101, and also doing some small parts for the sequel.
AN: I've just read chapter 100 myself. Your part in it is quite small, isn't it? Do we get to see more of you in chapter 101?
S: A little, but not much more. We have quite a big battle scene coming up next, so the action's a bit all over the place. My presence will be felt more by the effects of my devastating magical attacks, rather than by direct observation of me.
AN: Is this the battle on the walls scene we've all been waiting for?
S: Yes, and it promises to be rather dull. [he rolls his eyes]
AN: You don't like battle scenes?
S: They're a little boring, aren't they? I mean, the only reason anybody ever writes a battle scene into a book is in case somebody else wants to turn it into a film. Take Lord of the Rings, for example. They only had one decent battle scene in the whole book, and that was the one with Galdalf fighting the Balrog at Khazad-dûm.
AN: I liked the battle of Helm's Deep.
S: Oh yes, a great battle where the forces of darkness siege the walls of a human stronghold. That's never been done before.
AN: I think Tolkien did it first... but speaking of Lord of the Rings, I heard you almost lost out on the part of Sand because it was offered to Elrond first?
S: That's true. We're cousins, actually, Elrond and I. You can tell by the hair, though mine's naturally much glossier. I was his hair-double in Lord of the Rings.
AN: Dare I ask?
S: Basically, whenever you saw a shot of Elrond from the back, that was really me. They didn't want to pay his extortionate fees when they could get in a cheaper, glossier hair-double. Anyway, he turned the part of Sand down because he thought it was a bit of a demotion. Going from the Lord of Rivendell to a humble shop-keeper just didn't appeal to him.
AN: In Kail's Story, you become something of a mentor to Kail, and help her with various problems. What was it like, working so closely with a human?
S: Charming. Humans are always such fun to work with, as long as one remembers to blink quickly. There's always a chance they'll die of old age whilst your eyes are closed. I've enjoyed working with the whole cast, but the humans most of all, I think.
AN: Do you ever get the urge to Imprison Qara, away from the story I mean?
S: [he laughs] Of course, not my dear reporter. Qara's a wonderful child.
AN: Is there anybody you don't like working with?
S: Not really. Though if you ask me, Zhjaeve sometimes gets a little too in-character. Sometimes I get the urge to throttle her when she comes out with one of her 'know that' lines when we're away from the story.
AN: How does it feel to be the oldest member of Kail's group, if not the oldest member of the story, King of Shadows notwithstanding?
S: I don't think of myself as 'old' per se. Elves don't age as humans do, after all. Mostly I think of myself as 'more experienced'. Not that my superior experience gets me a higher wage or anything. I'm not bitter, I swear.
AN: Your involvement with Lord Nasher following the war with Luskan several years ago has been somewhat underplayed in the story. Do you think that will be expanded upon before the end of the story?
S: I doubt it. The first half of the story was about the characters exploring the world and their own pasts, as well as learning about each other and forming new friendships. Now, those friendships are pretty much set, and they're not going to be changing now that the story's near its completion. As far as I know, the same goes for exploring the histories of the characters. What's known now is all that will be known, and the rest of the story will concentrate on moving us forward, not backwards.
AN: Do you identify at all with your character?
S: Well, I suppose we both have a rather dry wit and a good line of hair-care products. Other than that... not so much. He takes himself too seriously at times, and he can be as arrogant as a sun-elf when he wants to be.
AN: Why do some chapters take a lot longer to write than others? Sometimes we can wait for weeks or even months without an update, and then we might get half a dozen chapters all at once.
S: The biggest reason is because the writer has an extremely busy schedule. There's also the fact that there's really only three things you can write about - action, travel, or dialogue/monologue. Some of the chapters are heavily weighted in dialogue and monologue, and these chapters tend to be dynamic and move quickly, and as a result, they're fairly simple to write even when they're quite complex. Take chapter 81 and 82 for example (Games and Three Days respectively). Lots of dialogue interspersed with action, and they were done very quickly despite all the planning that needed to appear to go into them. The chapters which are weighted more towards travel, on the other hand, tend to be tedious, and need to be broken up with action or dialogue, and these sort of things can be jarring and difficult to write.
AN: Why bother with travelling scenes at all, if they're so tedious?
S: There are times when they're glossed over, of course. For example, when Kail and her friends returned from rescuing Shandra from the githyanki, the journey back wasn't covered. Nor was the trek to Jerro's Haven - we're simply seen to arrive there. But at other times, even though travel scenes are tedious, they're also necessary to make the world more real. If the story was set in only half a dozen locations, and the characters were only seen in these locations, then the world would seem a very small place, and moving between the scenes wouldn't make much sense. By fleshing out the world, by making the Docks and Merchant districts of Neverwinter real, by giving the outlying lands of the Keep some substance, by making the journey between Neverwinter and Port Llast real, it gives the world substance. It gives the characters chance to interact with the world around them, and to react to it. It's a way of slowing things down and spending time on character development. And then there's the special effects, of course.
AN: Special effects?
S: You don't think all those magical effects happen all by themselves, do you? Every time a spell is cast, whether it's divine or arcane, the special effects need to be added afterwards. You know, the twinkling lights, the flashy fire, the silvery glow of the Sword. It tends to slow production down. Not to mention the takes. Every time somebody fluffs their lines, we have to do the whole scene again. And if by the grace of the gods we do get the lines right first time and the monsters remember to fall over the right way and the extras remember to act according to their characters, then the writer suddenly decides the lighting isn't right, that Bishop's eyes aren't glittering dangerously enough, that Casavir's armour isn't shiny and reflective enough, that Zhjaeve doesn't look knowing enough, that Khelgar doesn't sound drunk enough.
AN: It sounds like a hard life.
S: It can be. But it's usually worth it in the end. When you look at the finished product, even though it has occasional typos and ghastly use of incorrect tenses, it still looks polished. Even the dirt looks polished, because we've spent an hour in wardrobe and makeup having it added for that extra realism. Every little thing, right down from the dust on Aldanon's bookshelves to the pawprints left by Karnwyr walking on the floor, has to be perfect.
AN: I didn't realise so much work went into every story. It seems like there's a lot more going on behind the scenes than we're first led to believe.
S: It's a labour of love.
AN: Well, thanks very much for the interview, and I hope one day you're famous enough to have your own hair-double.
S: Believe me my dear, it's what we all pray for.