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ORIGINS OF A STORY

Fragmented Flies was always intended to be a standalone adventure featuring one of the Dimitrescu daughters as they found themselves in a new realm, separate from the life they had previously known. While maintaining loyalty to the game's canon, the goal was to create an entirely original story that wasn't geared toward romance.

I was inspired to create this world when I was playing Elden Ring one day. I know, not the most formal of inspirations, but with my character modeled after Bela, I began to imagine a journey through a treacherous world involving one of them. Encountering an early NPC, I saw such a dreary existence that this woman (Bela) has now found herself in. Outside of her element and far from home.

Later in the game, I progressed to a part where I heard a disembodied voice speaking about their "sister" which compelled me to think about this further. What if one of these women had been taken from their world and brought to a new land? I wanted to get away from the idea of a castle-set romance and take the risk to start from the ground up.

The initial planning stage was not too organized, as I compiled most of it in my head. Locwitary was originally planned to be a sparse land with large kingdoms, but as the plan went on, I reduced it to what we saw in the final product. Gone was the hierarchy and evidence of advancement. This was now a world stuck in the Middle Ages, for whatever reason. The goal was to tell the story of a killer's redemption, not to establish a greater world.

Locwitary was conceived as a more dangerous world, which would have seen Bela coming to blows with various creatures throughout the journey. As we all know: Bela did not end up being the final choice for the main character, as Cassandra was quickly growing on me and I saw her as a woman with more character potential. Bela would still end up fighting off ravenous beasts on the streets of Serpenmoor in Fragmented Fears, so that idea would eventually be fulfilled, as well.

The first two (or three?) chapters were pre-written before release with Bela's name, but I ended up changing them to have Cassandra, instead. There was never a set plot for the story in the beginning, which is why the chapters were mostly character interactions. All I knew was that this was a character-driven fan-fic and that was it. As long as I focused on that, we would get somewhere.

Inspired by the works of SlyvesterM, NoxEterna, and SilentWinters, I had wanted to get onto this site and begin my hand at this fandom. Time would be my friend, shaping this story along the way. I had seen the artwork included in Blood and Winter, as well as the story Song to the Moon (by lady_valentine and ZerOneSplash). The latter included one in each chapter, which gave me the idea to use my own art to spice these chapters up and give the story an extra flavor.

The art was advertised on Instagram, which helped attract some loyal readers. Creating this art was just as demanding as writing the chapters, and experimenting with different styles along the way kept the task fresh. The more time I had to work on them, the more detailed they were. Sometimes deadlines had to be met, but in most cases, every chapter had something to go along with it.

ALLIES

Cassandra is quickly met by a woman called Lia, who is a fawn. Known for their magical powers, fawns are more comparable to the Scarlet Witch but retain a fae appearance. I, personally, was never a big fan of middle-earth media, so creating this world and a character like Lia was tricky as I did not want to dip into the cliches of the genre. Yet, I didn't know what was out there to be completely original, either.

Lia is presented as someone with exceptional abilities, but I didn't want to write myself into a corner. As soon as we meet her, she is rendered unconscious by the touch of Cassandra's hand. It was a way to deepen the plot, but also give me time to figure out what to do with her. Admittedly, my plans for the story did shift as it went along, as did they for Lia.

She initially has a "come with me" approach; confident, if not a tad cocky. Did she know everything about Cass? I wasn't sure. Milo, when we first meet him, is quick to point out the Dagger of Death's Flowers as the culprit behind her arrival. I wanted to throw the hook in quickly, establishing an interest in the reader before they lost confidence in what was happening.

We do learn that the dagger is a big thing for a duo such as Milo and Lia, but the greater myths took a backseat to the introduction of Leta. This was where the story was beginning to take shape. When I implemented a child character, I knew that she was going to be the driving force behind Cassandra's redemption to the end.

It was always the intent for Cassandra to take on a big sister/motherly role as the story went on, which is what ended up happening by its conclusion. The idea of a child breaking through the exterior of a killer is not unheard of in stories, and the search and rescue mission that this story turns into was also not the first of its kind, either. But, in doing so, I knew that these characters needed to be expanded upon.

Milo was meant to fill the role of the male father figure that Cassandra did not get, but when he was first created, there was no conclusive idea for his backstory. This was the reason why these characters did not have their pasts revealed until the mid-section of the story, as the time was spent forming a relationship with Cassandra. Milo came off as a knowledgeable individual, who gave Cass the direction she needed at first.

With the trio all set together, I alternated between their interactions with Cassandra, until Lia came back into the picture. It was at this point that I had a solid plan as to where she would go. She would be Cassandra's rival, eventually escalating to the point of assault when she feels Cassandra must pay for her crimes. Lia was always a fun character to write, as her hidden emotions quickly began to mirror those of Cassandra herself.

With this in mind, I decided to craft her backstory into one of regret and loss, but also delving into her dilemma of purpose. Lia's past is trickled in as the story goes along, which was planned to culminate with the reveal of why she was there in the first place. I took Lia away from her original position of 'knowledgeable guide' and made her a more grounded character who has fragile emotions.

Sisterhood was the biggest theme of this story, seeing as how Lia and Leta's relationship sat on the brink of collapse in the later stages. Cassandra ultimately proved to be the uniting factor, again, taking the theme away from Leta's emergence as a surge, even though that holds huge consequences later in this writing. Solidifying the family bond through fights was the best way to make it believable, as these characters all falling into each other's arms in pursuit of quicker resolution would've gutted this story.

I had to do a ton of rewrites in the earliest chapters, mostly around Cassandra's attitude. It was tempting to make her friendly with Leta, but I had to change that. I originally had her being playful with the little girl, even going on a race, prior to their fight. Knowing that Cass would never have done a 180 like that, I had to write her as ruder and more unapproachable.

It wasn't until the very end that this race was written into the story with the friendliness intended in the beginning.

FEROCIOUS FAUNA

While my creativity involving monsters would flourish in Fragmented Fears, I had plans to include several dangerous animals in Locwitary. Most notably, the dhins were the apex of them all. These carnivorous deer-like monsters were conceived to have a more recurring role in the story.

For instance, the surviving dhin that Cassandra had faced would've jumped out of the woods and killed a licker that was tailing Cassandra on the outer skirts of Acomb during the ambush. However, not wanting a T-Virus-infected dhin running about, I scrapped the idea. It would have been cool to see these animals have a sense of awareness about them, as they were never truly explored.

I just couldn't find a suitable reason to bring them back, as Cassandra had more problems to deal with as the story went on, and they would have risked her safety even more.

There was consideration of creating another deadly creature that Cassandra would have glimpsed during her travels with Gibbin in the later part of the story. Following the idea of the uncanny valley, this creature would have been a plant-based lifeform found at the edge of the forest. It would have been structured to resemble the form of a woman (fawn?) but greener, with a covered face.

It would have emitted a wailing sound, which would have caused Cassandra to inquire about helping her. Gibbin would have explained their nature, saying that they would grab someone if they got too close. The story would have gone to describe the way the lifeform's face would look as the steed walked along, far away from its reach.

Eyes and a mouth, made up of nothing but colored patterns along one or two giant leaves, would have been concealed under the foliage of its "hands." Ideally, a very creepy thing to exist, but when the writing came down to it, this idea just didn't fit in. The story does make mention of flowers that will attack people, but those are separate things entirely.

Again, the original plan was for Cassandra to face creatures as she crossed a treacherous land, but the story went a different way.

On that note, there was a plan for a dhin to enter Cassandra's home world during Lia's attempts to conjure up portals. Unbeknownst to our gang, a dhin would have been allowed to pass through into a forest in America.

The story would have had an occasional glimpse at its activities, including flashing its grim smile as a hunter stared at it through his rifle scope. The hunter would have mumbled, "That is one fucked up deer," before the story would imply the dhin eventually charged and killed him.

A later scene, some chapters down the road, would have a bus full of children driving along an interstate road during the day, where the dhin would be found feasting on the corpse of the hunter (or some other animal). It would have turned to look at the bus as it passed by, flashing its flesh-covered grin at every screaming passenger inside.

Sadly, these moments broke the tone of the story, especially with the drama going on. I kind of wish I included it, but I wanted to share this with you all.

I still think of these beasts as the monster mascots of this story 😊

A HOPELESS ROMANTIC

Vasan was never intended to have a role bigger than the one that we witnessed. He was a comic relief character, of sorts. For the most part, he did not change much at all. I had a fleeting thought in my head that Cassandra would have taken the opportunity during their "date" to explore her sexuality, given that she was now a free bird.

A sex scene with Vasan would have been after the fact, as we would have seen Cassandra getting dressed, appearing somewhat aggravated or disappointed. Vasan likely would have asked how it was, and she would have some "okay…while it lasted."

It was a funny little thought, but I couldn't bind myself to Cassandra just doing that, especially with Vasan, given everything before it. Again, it would have been a nice little surprise for the reader, but it was quickly put away.

The thought of him as her love interest was still there. I did intend for her to give him a kiss on the cheek or lips after he passed away, showing the reader that she did discover a love for him, even if too late. The story still shows that scene, but it takes a different context after Cassandra's relationship with Lia blossoms.

His death was always envisioned the same way and was not changed at all, save for maybe a quick clash with Narratha, where she deflected his weapon. I considered just having her stab him outright when he rushed her, but her disappearing act added to her danger and trickery.

While he was only in this story for short segments, Vasan's actions had a lingering impact on Cassandra, as he was another close friend that is lost. Personally, I feel his character arc is what also helps inspire Cassandra to rise to the occasion.

He appeared weak most of his life, but when push came to shove, he was the only poil who ran towards Narratha and tried to fight her, knowing that he would surely perish. A warrior mindset through and through.

A TALE OF LOVE BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

Lia and Cassandra were never intended to fall in love with one another. I'm not an expert in fan fiction, but I believe that a lot of OCs are created for the purpose of romance. Lia's sexuality was never hinted at in the beginning, as I never had a goal for her to establish a love life. She was supposed to be a devoted ally and nothing more, but the tension between these two characters and the resulting fallout gave me the impression that they could be something more.

I know some readers were pushing the idea of the two together, but these stories tend to write themselves as they go along. When I finally got Lia and Cassandra to talk and settle down, their interactions gave me the impression that neither knew what they wanted until they tried for it.

With the new intent to craft a small romance, I kept it at a slow burn, wanting to keep the readers guessing what the truth was. Fawns are affectionate by nature, but Lia is so reserved, so her being happy with Cassandra was the first clue. This love was what allowed Lia to stand by Cassandra's side as her past came to light.

In Cassandra's past, we met a woman named Olivia, who by incident, is the only person whose name is divulged in her memories. In truth, that was an oversight on my part, but when I look back on it, it fits with how imperfect the cadou was. I left parts of this story up to interpretation, so feel free to decide what significance that can now hold.

Olivia was Cassandra's best friend, but as we all know, there was a part of Cass that had some hidden feelings for this girl. We could chalk that up to the times they spent together, where the brunette may have felt more than the usual connection that friends shared. Cassandra died not understanding her feelings and entered her new life with no desire for intimacy at all. The cadou hindered her thoughts, but that placement of Olivia was me establishing her as a closeted lesbian.

Lia was the woman from another universe who would take on that role. The Olivia that she wouldn't lose. I now began to steer this relationship toward Cassandra's wider arc of repairing and obtaining what was stolen from her.

Finding love with Lia would mean living the life she could have had. In my heart, I don't know if Olivia would have felt the same way, but I cannot say for sure, as only so much was written about her life. That's the beauty of it, as the author cannot confirm some things. Again, we only saw a snippet of the past, while the present is as certain as ever.

The culmination of Lia kissing Cassandra resulted in that hesitation, which was intended to rattle the idea that this fic was speeding toward a quick satisfaction. I needed the audience to wait a few more chapters before Cassandra embraced the feelings inside of her, even if she still did not fully understand them. The sex scene that followed was brief, highlighting that love was just a puzzle piece in this bigger game.

Still, the relationship that these two fostered, in my mind, was just beautiful. It only made the rest of the story more impactful.

CRAFTING THE ENEMY

One of the biggest challenges in writing this story, if not the greatest, was figuring out who the antagonist was going to be. I originally planned for a male to take the role of Cassandra's rival, envisioning a person capable of magic like Lia's. I start my plots with a barebones concept in mind, so I pictured a stereotypical alchemist/wizard-looking person, shifting back and forth between age ranges.

I was so eager to show the audience that there would be a foe for Cassandra to face that I considered having a scene where the yet-to-be-revealed antagonist is shown killing a poil in the woods outside of Acomb after the first few chapters. However, I scrapped that scene because I did not want to write myself into a corner. That is the reason why we do not even get an idea of who the antagonist is until the third act.

I chose to build this story up in the meantime. That way, when they would finally arrive, the stakes couldn't be greater.

My first idea was this individual who had a thirst for power and a connection to the dagger. There were plans for them to wield a weapon called the Sword of Death's Flowers, or something very similar. Thus, establishing the dagger had a counterpart. Cass was always intended to fight them inside a castle, rescuing Leta, and clashing while the man utilized this weapon against her.

The purpose of the struggle wasn't entirely clear, but I imagined her presence in this world holding a powerful significance to him. They would end up tussling until the weapon was used to create a rift in the realms.

Now, I figured that this rift would lead Cassandra to a choice: return to her world, or don't.

Instead, she would wound him and throw him into the rift, which would have sent him to her world – on the night of the village massacre.

The antagonist would have been besieged by a horde of Lycans, only to then be finished off by Urias. At the same time, he would have seen the silhouette of Cassandra as she watched the massacre from her castle window, unaware of who this man was to her.

It would also have been learned that the fawns were actually creations of his from centuries ago, having been injected with otherworldly magic and cursed to risk their health at the expense of their powers. That would have spun the story upside down, as this man was revealed to be ageless like Miranda. At some point, readers would have discovered that the Megamycete was a creature from Locwitary, thus, connecting the worlds (and explaining Rose's powers).

While the Megamycete was eventually revealed to be a creature from a world elsewhere (more pertinent to Fragmented Fears), this concept was eventually scrapped, leaving Locwitary naturally free from infectious organisms.

I kept the idea of a magical enemy in my head for a while, but then I came across another possibility.

One that would not leave my mind at all…

THE BAD FAWN

With the idea of this man being the antagonist, I wanted to expand upon it and give Cassandra even more to face. The concept of this person as a followed leader by a group of individuals came to mind, and then I decided that he would have six to eight poils who aided his cause. These men were envisioned to be something akin to raiders or pillagers. It would have been a stark contrast to the kindness we saw from the people of Acomb, highlighting that not everyone in this world was good.

Knowing that Cassandra would be outmatched without her powers, I tried to figure out how she could obtain them again. That was when I decided that there was one, sure way to unlock one's dormant abilities.

Fawn blood.

With Lia out of the picture, I needed someone else to fill that role, and that was when the character who would later become Narratha was created.

I envisioned a single fawn who had steered away from the teachings of the others, electing to follow this madman into hell for whatever reason. Having a rogue fawn spiced up the mantra of an evil group, and created the perfect enemy to counter Lia at every turn.

The ambush at Acomb would have seen this group besieging the villagers just like it did in the story, minus the lickers. With Narratha battling Lia, Cassandra and the others would have had to contend with these violent men. I pictured that the leader would not have been there, but my focus was tied more to Lia's battle.

I had planned for Lia to suffer a hit from an arrow, fired by one of the men, as she fought the evil fawn. Injured and seeing that the town would be destroyed, she would employ her fullest potential and knock Narratha out of the fight, sending the rest of the men running, though Leta would still end up being taken and Lia's life ended.

Knowing that the rogue fawn would be her greatest threat at that time, Cassandra would enter the castle with her in mind. I planned for an ambush in the lower levels to set off the fight at first, before the idea of the pink liquid that could disable a fawn's powers.

A strike to the hands or wrists with her sickle would have rendered this woman's powers useless, but they would have engaged in a physical clash, nonetheless. The way she would have died was the same way that Falena ended up being killed, and Cassandra would have noticed the re-emergence of her abilities after this woman's blood touched her lips.

She would then use her powers to demolish several of the poils who entered to find Narratha's corpse, slaughtering them on her path to their leader. The next chapter or two were planned to be split between the leader with Leta, and Cassandra killing more men on her way to them.

I found myself enamored by the idea of this woman, discovering that she held great potential. It got to the point where I had concocted a suitable backstory (the one we see) but for the life of me, I could not figure out the placement of this male lead.

Narratha was originally written with the same role Falena had: submissive, yet unpredictable. Loyal, yet abused. She would have been his lover, of sorts, and would have been subjected to being hit by him in front of Leta. As in the story, the girl would have tried to reach out to her, only for the fawn to lash out, taking his side.

However, I saw her as someone too strong to be placed in that role. With the same backstory, I couldn't imagine her following a poil, so, I had her take the lead and ditched the idea of this magical guy. I found her to be a better pick on her own, having been more fascinating and wrathful. With Narratha at the helm, the concept remained the same, with her having her own set of poil followers. Yet, that idea would soon break apart as well.

With the fawn prisoners she kept, it would have been stated or implied that these men would routinely violate these women. I wanted to add to the horror, but with Narratha's past and dislike of poils themselves, it did not make any sense. She would not have allowed anything like that to happen, and thus, the idea of Cassandra facing off against a team of men was abandoned.

That left Narratha – and the story was set.

At the start, I conceived this "evil" fawn to have the trademark antagonist appearance. Dark hair and shadowy eyes, mixed with pale skin. I soon noticed that this mirrored Cassandra and her sisters, so I decided to do the complete opposite, taking someone who would appear kind, and make them into a monster.

I swapped Narratha's dark hair for bushy red. Her ghostly skin was riddled with freckles and sun-kissed patches of tanned corners. Her slim appearance gave way to a fuller figure, establishing her as the opposite of Cass in build. However, their personalities were close in some regard, making her a reflection of Cassandra's past self.

The red hair was also a better choice, as Cassandra spent the majority of the story battling herself over what she did to Daniela. So, to have her be a redhead just worked out so well.

Her outfit, namely the large, white cape, was inspired by the apparel worn by Chelsea Wolfe in a series of photos. I wanted Narratha to be set apart from the rest of the fawns, wearing the white cape of an elder. I never devised a reason why fawns wore these capes, but being one with nature was the only conclusion that I could draw. Again, sometimes it's best to leave things to the imagination.

Narratha's name was not decided until her first chapter was created, but I knew it would begin with an 'N." This tragic background of hers evidently gave readers the impression that she would pursue a noble cause, but I wanted to blur that line and establish a character whose actions made them questionable as well. The thought process behind this was that everyone was rooting for Cass, but when they saw how terrible she was, some may have felt she was hard to side with.

Having Narratha undergo a terrible turn of events, the script is flipped when she turns out to be worse than those who had wronged her. It fulfilled the goal of Cassandra encountering someone who was worse than her in this new world, setting her further away from the position of the alpha.

Narratha's death was never intended to be prolonged, even though everyone sought her to endure a torturous end for what she had done. The first plan was to have her sword break during the fight, only to stab Cassandra with it in the gut after a series of slashings with the halved blade. When Leta crippled her stance with her powers, Cass would have used the broken sword to stab Narratha in the thigh, before hooking her sickle into her shoulder as she climbed up.

A more violent end involved Narratha receiving a strike to the chest, before Cassandra pushed her across the room into another wall, hacking her chest further before dishing out that final blow to the head.

In the end, Narratha's quick death is another focal point of the story. Everything outside of Cassandra's sacrifice to save Leta (the dagger, the Megamycete, the saving of the village in her home world) no longer mattered. When the story dwindled down to Cass's true struggle being against this murderous fawn, the end of the antagonist was another breath of the wind.

Narratha did not matter anymore, as the story was about letting go of the past.

I am very fond of the way that this character turned out, as she was a big figure in my head for months before her reveal. Loathed by many and praised by some as a great villain, Narratha held her mark and presented Cassandra with the ultimate adversary.

A FOLLOWER AND A VICTIM

Falena's presence in the story is mild to moderate, but the second evil fawn ended up being not quite the villain that we expected. Falena turned out to have been another victim of Narratha's, who was so broken down that they adopted the same mindset to stay alive under her care.

Falena is killed early on in Cassandra's final push to save Leta, but not before we see cracks in the persona she puts on. A lot is intentionally left to be guessed about her past and her values, but the original concept for her was to be a taller, even more physically-developed companion to Narratha, with sleek blonde hair, tied into a ponytail.

It wasn't until drawing her that I realized I had made the model shorter than intended compared to her accomplice, but then I realized the idea was perfect. It added some diversity to the fawn and stature of fawns. She is the only fawn who goes to masquerade as a poil, while also possessing a frightening level of awareness at times. She was small and wild, yet, very dangerous.

I wish I ended up doing more with this character, but her place in the story was sufficient when the bad guys didn't show up until the third act. In all realism, Cassandra wouldn't have uncovered every detail of their life story during her trip to the castle, much we only learned so much about the daughters as Ethan.

Falena ended up adding that much-needed layer to Narratha's castle of horrors.

A SACRIFICE

The climax of the story saw Cassandra, at the end of her life, crawling to Leta and giving what she had left to keep this girl alive. Leta's original injury was supposed to be two stabs to the stomach with a knife by Narratha, but the throat cut was more likely and realistic.

The sequence we see after was the exact same as planned with no changes, but what followed after for Cassandra was changed completely.

In the earlier stages of the story, and for a little while later, I intended to have Cassandra find herself in a strange plain of existence. Instead of meeting her original family, she would have encountered Bela and Daniela, who are together in the afterlife. The setting of this place was never finalized, but she would have embraced her sisters and apologized for everything that she had done, Daniela especially.

At this point, amends would have been made, but they would have told Cassandra that their love for her was forgiveness enough. Cassandra would then be told that "there is someone who wants to speak" to her.

Ethan Winters would have made his entrance after never having been shown in the story prior. Cassandra would ask him for forgiveness, hoping that he found his daughter. Ethan would ensure that Rose was safe, before hugging Cassandra as she thanked him for stopping her.

Similar to what we did see, Cassandra's body would have begun turning to light as the fawns back in Locwitary fought to save her. Cassandra would have told Ethan, "Take care of my sisters," and hugged him one more time.

Ethan would then say, "Other worlds, huh? If someone told me about all this a few years ago, I would never have believed them."

This scene was cut from the story after Fragmented Fears was devised, as Ethan Winters himself would embark on his own journey through a different realm within the canon of this series. While the timeline in Flies does have him meeting his canonical ending via explosion, the fate of the other Ethan has yet to be shown.

With this, I decided to cut the scene entirely and give Cassandra a different type of closure, showing that not everything can be fixed, but leaving her with the trust that Bela and Daniela are safe in death and loved her nonetheless.

A VILLAGE IN A VALLEY

The village sections of the story were presented heavily in the beginning for two reasons:

- There was a story to be told about Cassandra's mistakes.

- I wanted readers to have familiar ground to stand on.

With this story beginning in a strange realm, I assumed some readers were hesitant to dive in, as would I. The village sections linked it closer to the game and for the most part, fulfilled their intended purpose. We saw how horrible Cassandra was to everyone, keeping in canon with how violent she was.

There was fighting between her and her siblings, which was reviewed as rare as many stories sought a more peaceful sisterhood. I wanted to link these flashbacks to what we saw in the game, but the drama with Daniela was added for extra tension.

One scrapped scene would have shown how far Daniela went down the deep end after being hit by Cassandra. Here, Bela or Cass would have found her down in the dungeons, where she would be discovered making out with a maggot-infested man's head. A look of madness would have been expressed across her face, showcasing how truly delusional she was.

She would have said something in regards to the head being "her boyfriend" or how Cass "was wrong about" her not finding love.

After a short period of time, I concluded that this scene was nothing but shock value and did not fit in at all. The way Daniela was presented in the game was certainly one of questionable sanity, but she was not like the way I imagined that scene in my head.

There was the promise to include the other lords in these flashbacks, but I could not force it to happen.

Donna was intended to pop around, even if in passing. But, I couldn't figure out how to include her.

Heisenberg was intended to have a least one scene, which would have seen him strolling along the castle during a time period between the 60's and 80's. There, he would have encountered the three daughters torturing a foreign man, who was strung up to the ceiling.

Inevitably, he would have drawn their ire with some remark, to which they (Cassandra, namely) would have told him that Alcina does not want him there. Heisenberg would have mentioned that they "do whatever" she tells them to do, "just like she wanted," before casting a smile and walking off.

That cryptic comment would have served to dwell in Cassandra's mind, or at least, be a thing she would have remembered in Locwitary, after finding out the truth of her life. I wanted Heisenberg to deliver that line because, to the Dimitrescu family, he was not the preferred friend.

I originally had an idea for a Fragmented Flies sequel, that would have seen Heisenberg be pulled into Locwitary, now free from Miranda's hold. However, his drive for power would have persisted, which would have endangered Leta and the others, placing him and Cassandra as enemies.

With the decision to turn this story into part of a trilogy, each focusing on a respective daughter, I dropped that idea. However, it is worth noting that Heisenberg, who has briefly been shown in Fragmented Fears, will have a more sizable role in the Daniela story when it comes out.

And not in a sequence of flashbacks 😉

*Also, there were never any planned scenes for Moreau*

THE FUTURE OF FLIES

Since this story began and received such a positive reception, it was then made to become part of a greater universe(s). Many films today have hopped on the Marvel train, making their properties part of a bigger tie-in. In my heart, I did not want Flies to be something that a new reader has to digest to understand what is going on in another story.

I figured that this would all be a series of mostly standalone tales, each focusing on a different character. The realms and lore in between would be canon between each story. However, the focus on timelines playing a big part in why this is all going down is a good way to steer away from the greater RE universe.

To explain it better, the timeline of Village changes when Ethan and Bela are suddenly taken away in Fears, changing the course of that timeline, while the events of Locwitary still went down. This little split in a canon universe allows a fresh start, even though what has been changed still happened out there, somewhere.

It allows a path for fresh stories, allowing new readers and veteran readers to enjoy what lies ahead. I have plans for three spin-off stories, involving other RE characters encountering new realms. They will still be canon to this series but have nothing to do with what goes down in it.

So, you get to see some other horrific (or not so horrific?) worlds, that still exist within the reach of characters like Lia and Narratha. It's a fun little treat for those who want to see more, and with the Leon/Ashley story still coming along, we'll see how some realms are just best left unvisited.

There was (or still is) consideration of creating a standalone story based on Lia, focusing on her a year before Cassandra's arrival. It would be planned to be ten to fifteen chapters, but since I intend to divulge even more of her backstory in the upcoming (canon) alternative chapters, this concept may not be needed. Let me know what you'd like, however. It is an original character story all the way through, but a treat for you guys, nonetheless.

It has been such a fun ride with this story, which was just supposed to be a character redemption piece. Now, it has become so much more, and I thank all my readers who have helped make it so.

I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have. Thank you again for everything. I will always remember this time of my life with much delight. A year and four months that I wouldn't trade if I could.

We made it to the end, together.

Thank you.