Here are some notes on the ideas/plots I had in mind for Gone Rogue 4. I'm not sure how many of them would've made it into the final cut though.

By the end of this document, you'll see how the first version of this book looked, which…is a little different.

Andr and Krysphion

You may remember Herskagul calling Andr Krysphion—one of several little threads I added for book 4.

Here's the short version of it: despite Herskagul's suspicions, Andr and Krysphion are NOT the same person. Indeed, Krysphion is the Enderdragon herself, the Elyfotist goddess of the End, and basically Andr's mother. Krysphion would still care deeply for her child by the time of book 4, but she wouldn't have the same warm feelings towards the rest of the Overworld (or humanity, for that matter). She'd be the primary antagonist of the story.

Andr's amnesia would connect to this. Andr was born in the End, and the Enderdragonness basically trained her to fight and fend for herself, basically turning her child into a killing machine. This is Andr's dark side.

Now, I'll admit—I didn't have everything figured out for this part yet, but at one point before her amnesia Andr killed some humans and made her way into the Overworld (not necessarily in that order). She'd then lose her memory; afterwards, upon seeing the blood on her hand and the corpses, she'd be so repulsed by what she'd done that her new personality became a near-opposite of her old one.

Anyway, about Krysphion: I'd have her pose a threat to the Overworld, or at least to Ironhand (cuz, y'know, posing a threat is basically what antagonists tend to do). In book 4, Andr would uncover and unlock an End portal in search of clues about her past; Krysphion would use this portal to invade the Overworld.

Throughout the story, Andr would once again be torn between her two selves; both selves would preferably want to keep her mother alive, but given how destructive Krysphion is, this may not be an option. At the same time, Andr still has to come to terms with the destruction she herself wrought before she lost her memory, and the destruction she could still cause if she let her 'darker self' take hold.

In the end, she would be the main candidate I had in mind for killing Krysphion, with the other two candidates being Jack and Raulyn. I feel like it's better if Andr deals the final blow, because it forces her to make a choice between blood and water. By that point, her personalities have in some way merged into one, resulting in a 'compromise' personality.

The Hunters

Raulyn being the Rogue would be a continued plot thread in book 4. At first, no other Hunters (barring the ones that accompanied him to the Aether) would be any the wiser; Raulyn knows that they would see him dead if they knew the truth. His companions from book 3 would be divided; some would agree with him, others would be more optimistic. I was considering adding a (sub)plot where one of his companions would get into conflict with the other members of their little circle, and eventually betray Raulyn's true identity to the other Hunters. The Hunters wouldn't all immediately believe him, but it would make for conflict among them as a whole.

Raulyn's methods would have changed by then. Alongside Kai and his other confidants, he'd try to help the mobs they hunt, mainly by deterring them rather than killing/capturing them. This, however, wouldn't always work out, and in order to maintain his credibility and authority over the Hunters, Raulyn would send those he did capture to the prison in Duskraid as he always had.

Inner conflicts would happen here, as Raulyn is repeatedly reminded of his past (and present) misdeeds against mobkind, and his regrets grow with every mob he has to imprison. He knows he has to end this somehow; this makes him consider telling the other Hunters about his true identity in an attempt to show them that mobs aren't that different from humans.

His identity would be revealed ultimately. However, there will also come a moment where the Hunters—all Hunters—have to work alongside the mobs in order to combat the threat posed by Krysphion. This would then basically result in what happened in book 3, but on a larger scale, and it would be a beginning for a potential peace between humans and mobs across the Overworld. If the Hunters can end up seeing the mobs as siblings-in-arms, anyone can.

Oh, and there were some other things I wanted to add. Flamma would get her revenge and subsequent comeuppance (or, alternatively, a bit of a redemption arc), and Elektra (Cupa's evil twin sister) would get an appearance as well. More on Elektra in a bit.

I was also considering letting some of the mobs stay in Ironhand, much to the Hunters' chagrin. These mobs would mainly include the ones that accompanied Raulyn to the Aether. Andr would most likely stay to play bodyguard for Jack and his siblings.

The Snyders

A stable passageway between Earth and the Overworld would be established. This was how Dean and Ruby had made their way to the Overworld in the first place. This would present the threat of conflict happening between the two worlds. I haven't worked out the details here, but I figured I'd make the passageway related to the Far Lands somehow. I even named the book after that idea ("Lands Afar").

Side note – Mystia lying to Jack about finding a way back to Earth would come back to haunt her. Jack would find out (probably through her telling him), creating tension between the two that would need to be resolved. This resolution would probably have Mystia working to use the Far Lands passageway to offer a way back.

Back to the Snyders themselves. Throughout the story, Dean and Ruby would learn about the Overworld, as well as Jack's past. Their first response is disgust; Jack has killed people? He associates with these weird superhumans, many of whom have also killed people? Not to mention the Hunters! Their reservations about this would cause trouble. I still had to think about how this would happen; would they (or one of them) feed information to the Hunters? Would they make reckless decisions based on their limited knowledge? Regardless, they'd learn their lessons over time, and they even learn to respect many of Jack's new friends.

Side note – all three Snyders would have reservations when hearing the Aether-goers talk about their human companions. Despite what Andr, Mystia and the skeletons say, Jack maintains a strong mistrust of the Hunters as a whole—something that's perpetuated by Raulyn's continued persecution of mobs that fail to escape—and this sentiment goes two ways, as the Hunters still recall what happened in the Silver Cave in book 1. This is another thing that's gradually fixed over the course of the story. Jack and Raulyn might actually end up working alongside each other, and learn to respect one another. Dare I say, they might become friends (another thing that may not sit well with Jack's siblings; befriending your would-be killer? Really?)

Regardless, at the end, all three Snyder siblings would have to pick between returning to Earth (using the aforementioned passageway) or staying in the Overworld. Dean and Ruby would do the former; Jack's decision would be influenced by his developing relationship with the other characters (especially Andr), and he would eventually choose the Overworld. Yes, I know that that's weird after the pessimism he showed in book 3, but that's what character development is for I suppose.

I was considering letting Jack give his final goodbye to his parents as well before separating Earth and the Overworld for good. Later I thought, "Huh. If this passageway is reproducible, it's basically a time-bomb waiting to happen. Is there a way to end this differently?" I didn't fully work this out yet. I might've had the main characters establish contact with a group of Earthlings who were more aware of magic than most, or even with the US government. This would also allow Jack to return to Earth once in a while, or perhaps act as an ambassador of sorts. However, I felt as though I could easily mess up the execution of this outcome, as it felt a little…much, I suppose. I've gotten overly ambitious about endings before. This one feels a little more natural, but still.

Oh yeah – Jack and Andr's romance (which I've tried to tease over the past books) would develop to a greater degree. Their relationship would become official. This would play a part in Andr ultimately choosing to save the Overworld rather than letting Krysphion continue her path of destruction.

The mobs / miscellaneous characters

Cupa and Elektra

Like I said earlier, Elektra would make her first real appearance. According to her backstory, she was basically Cupa's twin sister, who underwent a massive change in personality and powers when she got struck by lightning. Cupa then left her side in fear of her now-destructive tendencies.

In Gone Rogue 4, Elektra would return as either a 'traditional' secondary antagonist, or as a mob who was subjected to Duskraid's secret brainwashing program. This latter option would give her a zealous, unquestioning loyalty to the Hunters. Eventually her brainwashing would be reversed, and she'd turn against them.

How is her brainwashing reversed, you ask? Well, I intended to have Cupa have something to do with that. Either her interactions with Elektra would trigger a breakdown of the brainwashing effects, or Cupa would actively take measures to return her sister to her former self. Cupa would basically choose to try to help her sister despite it endangering the nearby people. She'd do this in the hopes that she can convince Elektra to leave human society with her, sneakily and peacefully. Elektra would have other plans however; she still holds a grudge against Cupa for leaving her side all those years ago, not to mention the humans who brainwashed her. Elektra would then take the role of a secondary antagonist.

Cupa's involvement in Elektra's release would damage the trust between her and the other main characters, but she'd later make up for this by saving her friends from Elektra (possibly at the cost of her own life; her 'exploding' power might play a role here). In a way, Cupa choosing between Elektra and Ironhand is similar to Andr choosing between Krysphion and the Overworld.

Sarah

Sarah the Wither was to make an appearance. I considered making her a long-lost relative of the skeletons. Sarah would interact with them and with Kai, whose life she spared and later saved in the past. She'd note how much Kai has changed over the years, and they end up becoming friends.

Sarah would undergo character development, as would her friends. She has been a maverick in the past; her great power would cause other mobs to fear her. Throughout the story, her newfound friends will learn to trust her despite (or because of) her power, and she'd gain a little hope upon seeing that she might have a place among them.

Athena and Kai

Athena and Kai will end up in a relationship. They'd keep this secret at first—even from their confidants and close friends—but the secret would eventually come out. Many would have reservations about this; a mob in a relationship with a Hunter? Who's to say either are to be trusted? What other problems could arise from this, with terrorists, Hunters and dragons threatening Ironhand?

One scene I had in mind involved someone (probably Jack or maybe a Hunter) knocking on Kai's door to deliver a message or something (though they don't enter the house). After Jack leaves and the door is shut, the narration follows Kai, who watches as a naked Athena crawls out from her hiding spot under his bed (keep in mind, this is when they still kept their relationship a secret). Their interactions in the remainder of that scene would further show where their relationship stands at that point in time, with them exchanging jokes and flirtations the likes of which they never showed in the previous books.

It would be a subplot, influencing both characters' choices at times. I intended for their story to have a happy ending though, so that's a thing.

Blazette

Fragments of Blazette's past were alluded to in the earlier chapters of book 3. The basic gist is that she'd been in the Overworld before, and her prejudices about humans were far harsher back then; she viewed humans in basically the same way as humans view mobs.

Back then, she'd killed people, some of which were innocent; she also ended up killing Azer—a tyrannical city lord—freeing the citizens from his grasp. As a result of this, the citizens (who were all human, mind you) hailed her as a hero, despite knowing she was a mob. This made her question her views on humans, and the deaths of the innocents that stained her hands would come back to haunt her (or at least be discussed/shown) in Gone Rogue 4.

This backstory would explain why she, despite her 'fiery' personality, gained a kind of respect for Jack. She's still wary about humans, but recognizes that they're more complicated beings than just 'evil incarnate'; she considers Jack to be one of the good ones.

Basically, before the events of Gone Rogue, she underwent an arc not dissimilar to what Raulyn experienced in book 3. This gives them a kind of common ground, which might've made for some interesting interactions between the two in book 4.

Gone Dark

Besides the fourth book in the series, I was planning at least one spinoff/sequel/prequel story, called Gone Dark. It would take place after the events of the fourth book, where Jack, the mobs and the Hunters would gather around a fire and tell about their respective pasts.

Gone Dark would basically hold various different stories that would act as prequels, exploring how some of the mobs got separated from their Nether siblings; how they interacted with other mobs and with humans (like mob hunters and bandits and so forth); Blazette's aforementioned story regarding Azer, etc.. It wouldn't stop at the mobs though; it'd involve a story of how Rayallv once mutinied against his mad military leader in his hometown; Kai's story with Sarah from when he himself was still a zealous and bloodthirsty mob hunter from Slaenone; and so on, and so forth.

It'd be a gigantic beast of a fic, given how many stories there were to tell. Between each separate tale, there'd be a short interlude chapter where the characters react to what they just heard and prepare to listen to a new story.

THE VERY, VERY, VERY EARLIEST FIRST DRAFT

Believe it or not, before all of this, the third and fourth book of the Gone Rogue saga looked even more different. In fact, book 3 looked very different – a lot less eventful.

Please don't judge too harshly. This version was from literal years ago. I was new as a writer.

- Jack's plot would involve climbing a mountain to reach the portal… Yeah, that's about it. No Valkyries or anything. What can I say, it was a big mountain.

- There was no alliance between the Hunters and the mobs. They'd stay separate. The mobs would travel to the Nether, where they hear what happened. They also learn how to get Jack back. The Hunters, meanwhile, would determine that Jack reached the Aether through sheer f*cking big-brainery, and they would act on it like the geniuses that they are (AKA pure speculation that actually makes no sense for a military/policing organization. Don't judge, I said I was still new as a writer! I didn't know squat about making plots interesting or wrapping up loose ends or whatever. Besides, it was a first draft; many first drafts tend to be messy.)

- Raulyn wasn't a mob and would never undergo a redemption arc; if anything, he'd only grow more frustrated and vengeful as Jack—whom he blamed for Tristan and Drake's deaths—continued on surviving against all odds. Finally, he'd end up dead at Jack's hands, and his corpse would be left in the Aether.

- After Raulyn's death, Kai (who, even in this version, was more openminded than most) would overtake his role as captain of the Hunters and allow the mobs into the city.

Book 4 would pick up from there. Now, before you read this, please…have mercy. I wrote this version years ago, too. And no, I'm never going to publish it.

- Before book 4, Jack would disappear. Andr would have Kai train her to become a Hunter, so she might be able to find her lost friend. Other mobs would do the same, albeit for varying reasons. The Hunters would be repurposed as protectors against any threat, so mob hunts would become a lot less common.

- Again, before book 4, The Ironhand residents would swiftly be swayed by the mobs roaming their town, witnessing and (very easily) accepting that their preconceived notions regarding mobs had been incorrect. In response to this, the residents would rise up against the Hunters for their past crimes (without acknowledging their own role in that) and have them jailed. The mobs would (somewhat reluctantly) take control of the Hunters from there, with Andr—who'd received the most Hunter-related training—at the helm (again, reluctantly).

- Also before book 4, A new faction would rise, with the infamous twenty warriors plus their leader as their main military force. These warriors would possess moblike abilities that render them nearly unkillable. They'd be razing cities and inhabited areas to strengthen a little artefact shaped as a gem, which apparently holds the soul of their god. This god would later turn out to be the surviving remnants of Áhýdan from book 2, and those warriors would turn out to be under his mind control – with a brainwashed Jack as the leader. At a point in the story itself, they'd destroy Duskraid, leaving only one survivor who'd make his way to Ironhand.

o The warriors' leader's identity as a brainwashed Jack wouldn't be revealed until later in the story, after he already went toe to toe with the one mob powerful enough to beat him: Andr. After this event, Áhýdan's hold over Jack's mind would weaken a tad.

- Andr would be able to get the human Hunters out of jail under the excuse that they're a necessary addition to the current Hunters' ranks. The Duskraid survivor – who was also trained as a warrior, like most prison guards there – also joins them.

- After learning of Jack's involvement, Andr gets too invested emotionally, which messes with her judgment. Thinking herself powerful enough, she seeks out the faction's base by herself, where she confronts Jack in the chamber where the gem/Áhýdan is held. It's only here where Áhýdan's identity is revealed, and he dampens her powers long enough for Jack to deal a critical blow. She doesn't die though; wounding her is enough of a trigger for Jack to break free of the mind control altogether, enabling him to destroy the gem and kill Áhýdan's remnants by himself.

- Jack and Andr would only survive because the remaining Hunters would have found the faction's base and launched their own offensive. They'd arrive in time to get the two out of there.

Okay. Yeah. So that's it. With this final document detailing the messy list of ideas I had and the embarrassing layouts of the first drafts, the series is officially discontinued.

I think we can all agree it's had its ups and downs. Some of that came from the waiting time. I'm just glad it's over, now. Takes a weight off my shoulders.

I know that some people lost interest over the years, and I can't blame them. Heck, I lost interest. It pains me just to write that down, but it's true.

Thank you all for reading my works, for all its flaws and virtues, its strengths and its weaknesses. I'm finally going to put this one to bed. Perhaps one day I'll publish a remake, just for the fun of it. One with better worldbuilding and more complex characterization.

But until then, it's time to say goodbye to the Gone Rogue series.

It's finally time to let it rest.