ORIGINS OF A STORY
When Fragmented Flies was already being written, I was contemplating what to do next. At this time, I was heavily into Bloodborne (Elden Ring had already served as the inspiration for the Flies setting), and I found myself wondering if these two games were set in the same universe or separate universes. I always admired the different themes in each title, and while I had imagined writing a direct sequel to Flies, I decided that this could become a series of its own, and each story would delve into its own theme of sorts.
Naturally, the thought of Victorian horror is so engrossing. Bloodborne captivated me with its lore and scenery, so I decided that the next Fragmented story would go the same route. Not wanting to copy the idea entirely, I opted to just utilize the theme of a Victorian city besieged by the supernatural and cut the ties there. I quickly began to shift through various plot ideas in my head, and when I figured that I had enough mapped out to go in a direction, I realized then that I just needed a main character for this story.
As she was already a prior pick to be the star of Flies, only to be replaced by Cassandra, Bela was the next in line, and so this story was born.
A CITY LOST IN THE DARK
When Bela and Ethan were stolen from their world and injected into this new one, they found themselves in a city that had already been subjected to catastrophic horror.
Serpenmoor is presented as a vast civilization of tall buildings and winding, cobblestone roads. It was way larger than the settings of Locwitary, but we were not fed all its information at once. Much like the village that Ethan enters in the game, we're here after the worst has happened, and it's up to us to pick up the pieces along the way.
Various notes found throughout the story tell of the lives of the citizens, establishing the kind of world that they lived in. Serpenmoor was a highly religious city that followed strict laws regarding the customs of their practice. It's more of a variation of what our world was like during this time, and as with Bloodborne, we don't really know how futuristic this place is. Its advancement is hampered by the destruction around it, and thus, Serpenmoor is left as a ghost of itself.
Various images of dark, gothic architecture were used to visualize this setting. Shops and dwellings are stacked against one another. The tallest skyscrapers line the distance, almost piercing the air. It is a dense city, and throughout their journey, Bela and Ethan only got to witness so much of it.
The story begins roughly three months after the plague has hit, so many of the corpses are skeletonized or otherwise dispersed. It was hard to be descriptive when, in my mind, everything appeared to be the same. Nevertheless, the confusing roads ended up becoming obstacles for our pair, as they were often forced to navigate them on a whim, pursued by the endless horrors around them. Serpenmoor's most notable landmark is the Onolask Clock Tower.
I figured that every Victorian city needs one. It isn't until the end that we realize that this is a coastal location, surrounded by a large ocean, split between a set of bridges. For the duration of the story, the city served as a looming presence, seemingly always watching our heroes.
The plague itself had a way of perverting and distorting shapes, which resulted in numerous spikes and pires along the tops of the buildings. One can guess that the city may have been blockier and less threatening in its better days. This was the first clue that Vikcia's dust had world-altering implications. While it was not directly shown in the end, a line during the arrival of Captain Webb and his men showed that as the rest of the world went through its normal cycle of day and night, Vikcia encased the city in a large black dome of shadows.
Those arriving on the ships only managed to catch the faintest glimpse of the rim of the dome fading away as the Sheer Orbs rose. An inspiration for this was a scene in 28 Days Later, where we are led to believe that the entire world is destroyed by the virus, only for a passing jet in the air to prove that the world is not all gone, only the city they are in.
THE FABLED ONES
With Serpenmoor being a religious city, I knew that I would have to create the religion that these people would follow. At first, I did not know exactly what to write for its lore, nor did I plan on the religion being that heavy of a presence. In fact, when we arrive at this world, it is nearly dead. There are no surviving cults or sects that would take up the mantle to keep it alive.
The Fabled Ones were envisioned as four deities with connections to the heavens. "Carriage riders of the stars," as some would call them. We do not know of this world's past, nor is it ever elaborated on, but from reading what was given, there are clues that this religion is not rooted in reality. Serpenmoor views the Fabled Ones as visions of people from a recent age, almost ignoring anything that could have possibly come before them.
The four deities were meant to parallel the four lords of the village, but with the religion taking a backseat, I did not elaborate on them as much. There are cathedrals and scripture that follow their teachings, and we see that the church holds a great deal of power here. The Peak Bishops are on the same level, or if not greater than, law enforcement.
The teachings of the Fabled Ones are all about punishment and salvation. Like many other demigods in our history, these are described as warriors with great power. There was no reason for the denizens of this city to believe they didn't exist until the day finally arrived where they were not saved, but by that time, most of the city was gone.
Many readers wanted to know more about them, and I did have fun crafting some more of the lore, which went heavy in some of the middle chapters. Religion was just a part of this story, as it was in the game itself. Again, Serpenmoor is a place that we are just visiting. Bela and Ethan were never going to get the full scoop on what this place was completely like, and even its religion is still shrouded in mystery.
CHILDREN OF THE DUST
As soon as Bela and Ethan landed in this world, they were instantly greeted with their first monster—the crocodile woman. When I was writing the first chapter, I had no idea what would have been the standard enemy here. To be honest, my mind was just filled with a ton of different ideas, and I wanted to try them all. It was kind of a "throw it at the wall and see if it sticks" sort of method.
My first idea was to have a young woman facing away from them, banging her head on the wall, and then turning into some sort of creature or becoming a deranged, violent version of herself. It seemed too played out, and I wanted to up the suspense factor a bit. So, we only hear her, then see parts of her moving about within the rows of seats. It was only when she reared her elongated neck up that we realized this world was not going to be a pleasant one.
She was an example of the more transformed variations of the plagued folk. Bela and Ethan are already stripped of their abilities and are left to face her with the weapons they have at their disposal. When she was seemingly killed, I left it open that either she was still alive or that there may have been more of her lurking about. I was still uncertain what I was going to do with this story, and my approach is to not get too far ahead of myself. I leave it as a possibility and nothing more. If I come back to it, then so be it. Showing a whole cluster of these long-necked people would have written me into a corner.
However, she did return, so loose ends are tied, in my opinion.
The standard enemies ended up becoming those that we witnessed in the next chapter. Jerden was the first one to attack our couple; his body was ravaged by an army of maggots, which left his mind as a shell of its former self. His erratic speech was inspired by the quote from Alan Wake, as I always enjoyed hearing their little quips that related to whatever it was that they used to do in life.
I had it in my mind that the infected in this story would often repeat strange and odd remarks, but as I designed them in various ways, I noticed that sometimes those remarks were not all too possible. Many of the creatures had maggots pouring out of their mouths or were likely too far gone by this point.
I eventually returned to the idea of some of them being able to speak, most notably the infected constable and the crazed woman that attacked Bela within the holding cells.
Many fans remember when Jerden was killed, resulting in him momentarily regaining his humanity. I kind of wrote myself into a bit of a corner with that one, as we don't see any other infected individuals exhibit this change. However, I decided that he endured the perfect blend of damage to potentially knock the maggot's hold on him off. Most of the others that were killed were done so swiftly.
The idea was that the dust would bond to their cells, transforming their tissues into bundles of larvae, mirroring the natural rot of this infection. The maggots would cultivate in the brain, rewiring it to something that matched Vikcia's hunger. It was revealed later in the story that she only did this because she believed they were suffering from the pain of life and that a 'dead' being such as her was safe from those aliments. The influx of her world's qualities into their systems would obscure the scent of life, but in truth, these people were very much alive throughout.
Some of the infected would turn into more monstrous creations, and I experimented with various forms. The long-necked woman was fun, but Bela and Ethan also faced more nimble and hulking versions of these people, most notably the duo that Vikcia sent into Kyia's shelter. The larger infected creature managed to destroy Ethan's shotgun, while the smaller creature darted around the room with exceptional speed.
Animals were not immune from this virus, and we witnessed what can happen to birds, dogs, and even horses that were swept up in the inferno. I chose to make each animal encounter an escalating series of fights. The birds would chase our couple around but were largely evadable, if not cunning. The dog proved to be the most violent of the batch, nearly killing them both at the same time. However, the three horses were the largest and most grotesque of any mutated lifeform here.
I drew inspiration for the horses from The Thing, where we see the dogs all fused together inside the kennels. In similar fashion, the horses almost reached the ceiling of their stables and were bloated beyond all measure.
Other notable infected were the hive-head and two spider-headed folk that were found outside on the streets. These were inspired by the Shibito from Siren: Blood Curse, where we witness some of the most prominent infected's heads being those of giant insects, or having wings for eyes. Insects are always gross to many readers and are a staple of RE virus infections. I didn't want to do the same thing that RE did, but I grew comfortable with the idea that while this was a different world and city, it still felt relatable to fans of the franchise.
The infection could not be transmitted via bites, which drew a wall between the survivors and the infected. Many died in the event, and if they weren't hit with the dust, they were simply mauled to death. There was no in-between.
A WOMAN OF SHADOWS
Every story needs its antagonist, and unlike Flies, we are introduced to ours very early on. When I first wrote Vikcia into the story, I wasn't sure if she was going to be the big bad or just another variation of the infected. Her peaceful singing was meant to be a nod to how some of the infected retained their original qualities. But imagining her as being surrounded by shadows, I decided that she would hold greater significance.
I already had it in my mind that the antagonist of this story would be a woman with pale skin and jet-black hair (the opposite and original vision of what Narratha from Flies was). I originally wanted a more vocal and human villain, but keeping Vikcia as a mostly mute monster allowed me to draw suspense whenever she'd appear. Her initial design and comments to our couple were drawn from the Cenobites from Hellraiser, as I imagined Bela in particular now against a more evil and punishing force compared to what she was.
There was the thought of the story having multiple main antagonists, showing that the odds were stacked against our couple in all aspects. However, I settled on just one immediately after and stuck with it. Vikcia would not speak much, which caused most of her dialogue to hold a great deal of significance. Unlike the rest of the creatures, she established true sentience, showing how determined she was to pursue Bela and Ethan.
The notable animosity that she initially demonstrated towards Bela was not born out of affection for Ethan. In truth, Vikcia never loved him or desired to. It was when Bela first met Vikcia that she proved to be difficult to kill, evading the woman at every turn and fighting back with everything she had. You can say that Vikcia held a sort of grudge against her, but Ethan was no better. When she attempted to infect them and witnessed their immunity, that was when her curiosity grew. She would still try to kill them or hurl her clouds down their throats, but with repeated failures, she merely pursued them.
Ethan was the one who outsmarted her the most, using both his flashlight and fire to ward the woman off. So, when it came time to finally have them both cornered, Vikcia chose to grab the man.
Vikcia was a bait-and-switch, being presented as this massively evil foe who only sought to mutilate and destroy. We witnessed her killing several survivors in the first half of the story, going out of her way to seek out more food. Kyia truthfully describes how carnivorous she was, and watching Vikcia smile and giggle before taking a bite of her victims only made her look more like a monster.
However, later in the story, we no longer see her succeeding in finding food. Instead, she's simply walking around the city, marveling at the buildings around her. We knew that this wasn't her world, but now we see her beginning to worry about what the future holds. Her hunger is constant, and she fears that she may starve. Seeing the churches reminds her of something that she may have forgotten, but the story doesn't elaborate further.
By this point, Vikcia is beginning to question her own existence. Her raging hunger snaps her back to her mindset, which is the first clue as to what is really going on with her.
We begin to see the real Vikcia when she has Ethan inside her clock tower. She continues to embody the picture of a villain by further attempting to infect him, growing angry when her efforts fail. She is aggressive and threatening, but abstains from tearing him apart, now noting that he is 'dead' and thus already in an acceptable state, even if she is still perplexed by his living qualities. Yet, many fans were shocked when she tried to engage in sexual actions with the man, only to be pushed away. When Vikcia lashed out in violence, most expected another go-around of what Malcolm did, but this was when she stopped and saw the harm that she had done.
Vikcia's goals and ideals were never completely thought through until this point. I never want to introduce a villain that I am not 100% sure about and have them say, "This is my plan," without myself knowing the plan. Vikcia never had a plan, but a task. And her task was proof that her views were the opposite of where she was now. To her, the living were the dead, and the dead were the living. When she caused Ethan to break down the way he did, it connected with her on a personal level, which indicated that she honestly may have been a good-hearted person in her world, but her culture is vastly not in line with her environment, and thus, she did not fit in.
She began to converse more, acting more like a human than a monster. I originally did not intend for her to have this much dialogue toward the end, as I wanted all her words to have meaning. But the reader needed to be able to understand her, and so she spoke more. Honestly, I was happy with the end result. A lot of readers wanted to learn more about where she came from and what her past was like, but she only said so much.
Vikcia was a woman who struggled with something that she did not understand but that had been natural to her throughout her entire life. She clearly wasn't in control of her mental state and actively tried to resist it just so that she could talk and think straight. Her singing and eating were the only ways to keep her compulsions and mannerisms at bay. Bela was not the only one who went through a transformation in Serpenmoor, but Vikcia's began too late and ended too early.
The clues she left scattered throughout the story told of a woman who may have once lived a different life. Someone with the capacity to take care of others. Someone who sang. Someone who could be inside a church and feel at home.
A lot about her is purposefully left unanswered. This wasn't her story, but it was the end of it. Maybe someday we'll get those answers. This series isn't over.
The original design for Vikcia involved her having an exceptionally long braid of hair that traveled down to her rear. Beginning at the back of her skull, the rest of her head would have been bald, and the end of the braid would have held a long stinger, much like a scorpion. This idea was scrapped early on, as I wanted her to appear more believably human.
Other scrapped concepts for Vikcia involved her back being host to spines or horns. With the preexisting similarities to a succubus that she had, the presence of such things was not too unrealistic. I decided to go against that idea, favoring her skin, which had large black patches that housed openings for maggots to reside in.
With her being under a cloak for most of the story, I had the luxury of time to figure this all out. Inspired by the concept art of Lady Dimitrescu, I liked the idea of the bare chest and obscured eyes, which kept her shrouded in mystery but still terrifying to our couple at the same time. Her smile never signaled anything pleasant, and it was always the first thing they would see.
Her world is an extension of what was mentioned in Fragmented Flies, referencing a realm where there is a chain of worlds that are each known for their infectious qualities. We learned that the Megamycete itself is also a piece of one of those worlds, given its naturally otherworldly qualities. I pictured that as a world filled with mold, where each thing that exists is housed within its central system. Vikcia's world, on the other hand, is a world of infectious rot, whose population is seemingly animalistic and frolics across mountains of dead flesh.
It was only fitting that when she found herself in Serpenmoor, the world itself did not compute well; thus, she took it upon herself to correct what she thought was wrong.
In the end, she was a fitting character, both villain and victim alike.
A TRUE MONSTER
The true horror of this story doesn't take hold until Bela finds herself kidnapped by the infamous Malcolm. He made his first appearance in the earliest chapters when Bela was in the streets alone, but we don't see him again until the middle of the story. Following my method of taking things slow, I realized that I had written myself into a corner with the way he was first introduced, having him merely standing out in the streets without a care in the world.
The original concept for Malcolm was that he was going to be something more twisted, involving a man who was semi-infected but still relatively himself. His body would have been more elongated, but still within normal proportions. It was a creepy thought, especially imagining a woman confined under his watch. But I decided to go with the "humans are the real monsters route," as cliché as it could be. To keep Malcolm uninfected, I decided that I had to figure out a way to explain his patrols along the street without resulting in him getting killed or with Vikcia tracking him.
Making him a Peak Bishop helped me plot that he would have been given a fragment or have had access to one. With the fragments themselves retaining fawn magic, the light from the metal would be seen by the infected and Vikcia alike, thus blinding them to their presence. It worked well to get the rest of the story going, as well as showcasing that his inadvertent shield from the horrors around him only added to his egotistic sense of righteousness.
One notable scene with him is when he subjected Bela to a guessing-game of knowledge regarding the Fabled Ones. This scene was inspired by a similar scene in Wolf Creek 2, where Mick Taylor, the deranged Australian serial killer, tortures the protagonist with a game of "Australian history," where every wrong answer means one-less finger for the poor guy. Mick also being a rapist fit in with Malcolm's mindset, and he served as a partial inspiration.
Malcolm seems to be by far my most detested character in terms of fan reaction. There is no need to explain his actions, as he acted in his own interests, imprisoning, mutilating, and raping two very innocent women whom Bela meets when she is captured. He plays the roles of a teacher and a protector, only to be a vicious predator. I didn't want him to be a serial killer, as that is a safe role for a villain in my eyes. He breaks his victims psychologically and leaves it at that, denying them any freedom. Some readers guessed a cultist or mad scientist, which only made the truth hit harder in the end—that he was the worst of the worst.
Inspired by actual criminals such as Ariel Castro, Malcolm's greatest weapon was his own body. The idea of him being what some would consider a "religious nutjob" is also something that I wouldn't say is 100% accurate. There were times where I was thinking that he may not believe in the Fables completely, merely using them as a vessel to hold his power. A Peak Bishop held a lot of importance in Serpenmoor, and I believe he valued that the most.
Malcolm's past is left almost completely up to interpretation. It makes no sense for a passing character such as Ethan or Bela to ever get the full story about him. All we know is that he was married with some daughters, and one day he locked them in the house, likely subjecting his wife to the same kind of abuse as Edith and Mabel, with one of the daughters writing a note for help.
Ethan ends up finding their decomposed bodies in a bag outside, along with the letter itself, and nothing else is ever revealed.
Fans were thrilled to see the moment Vikcia entered the home and set her sights on him, ending his reign of terror once and for all. Malcolm's presence in the story was to bring Bela not only down to Earth but straight down to Hell. Resident Evil seems to ride along the path of visual horror, but nothing realistic. I wanted Malcolm to be what made the reader realize that this is something different and to be prepared for anything that could possibly happen.
I think the worst thing of all is that while he was just a fictional character, there will always be men in this world who are just like him.
THE GIRL ON THE TABLE
In my opinion, the most tragic character in this entire story is none other than Edith herself. We're introduced to her when Bela wakes up in Malcolm's home. Paralyzed from the neck down, with tubes inserted into her urinary tract and a makeshift colostomy bag in place, Edith is clammy and weak, but still herself.
"Are there really monsters out there?" she asked, indicating that she had been captive for quite some time.
When I devised her, I didn't want her presence in the story to be dark for the sake of it being dark. In flashbacks, we saw how Bela treated her staff, most notably Luana and Sorina. I'm sure you all recall when Sorina was forced to watch Luana be beaten in the kitchen. So, it wasn't enough to have Bela subjected to Malcolm's abuse. She needed to learn to connect with others, and in a way, Edith and Mabel were the Luana and Sorina of Serpenmoor.
Despite everything that has happened to her, Edith has never given up hope that she could be saved. She was a religious woman, contrasting with how someone like Malcolm could use faith as a toll of power while another could use it as a beacon of fulfillment for one's spirit. She exuded kindness, doing her best to keep Bela calm and informed, even going as far as asking her to join her in prayer.
Bela was too beaten down at first, rebuking Edith's efforts to help her, but finding herself whittled down to her rawest of emotions, she relents, finally calling out for help when she needed it. Edith's story was a sad one, telling of a young lady who was ready to begin her life, only to be abducted by someone she once trusted.
Nevertheless, she is ecstatic at the thought of finally making a friend, a sentiment that Bela also shared. Throughout her short time in Malcolm's home, Bela was introduced to the pain of seeing someone she cares for be harmed, coming to regret her past actions in full. She confessed her sins to Edith, only for the girl to still hold faith that she could do better.
I believe the most powerful scene of all before her arc ended was the moment Malcolm turned his sights on Edith, realizing that he had inadvertently injured her. Deciding to assault her, he prepares her body for what is to happen, forcing Bela to finally break as she screamed and pulled at the bars of her cage.
When this happened, she was no longer connected to what she had been back in her world. Her willingness to trade places with Edith proved that she now valued the lives of others and felt repulsed at the evil in the hearts of those who sought to do them harm. It is an emotional ride, culminating in a display of fierce determination. She was at her weakest and at her strongest at the same time.
Edith's words, "Let me be the one to suffer," echoed the motionless woman's willingness to pay the ultimate price for others. Bela has spent her life allowing others to suffer, and now suffering is something different. Suffering is a display of commitment to her friend.
Edith's life ended at the hands of the woman she helped. An act of mercy in the face of a futile existence. We all knew that she was never going to make it out of that house, but what she did for Bela was what truly saved her. She showed her the cost of violence. Edith shut her eyelids and closed the darkest arc that this series would ever see, smiling as Bela ended her life and allowed her to finally dream.
"It will get worse before it gets better," Edith said in that dream, foreshadowing what was to come.
NO BETTER FRIEND/NO WORSE ENEMY
The most prevalent OC in this story, enjoyed and then hated terribly by many, is none other than Kyia herself. Compared to Flies, she served as the Lia of this story, acting as an ally and guide to what was going on. I wanted to create a character based on the Victorian aesthetic of the story. In contrast to Lia, I intended to have someone who was older, mirroring Ethan's position in life. A full-fledged adult, Kyia embodied a refined appearance, elegant by the standards of the time.
She went through some minor redesigns throughout the course of the story, switching her original dress for a more librarian-esque outfit. The dress was inspired by an image of Rose from the Titanic, alongside other random images of period-correct clothing. One of Kyia's most prominent characteristics were her locks of curly hair that dangled out from the massive bun on her head. Her slender physique and sharper features were meant to be the opposite of Bela's, injecting a sense of competition as to what Ethan may prefer.
Throughout the beginning, her interactions with Ethan were friendly and mildly flirtatious. Writing Kyia as the quirky, awkward science nerd she is was a fun time, and with Bela being the hot-headed killer she arrived in this world as, it birthed the idea that Kyia and Ethan would have been the better couple. However, when Kyia demonstrated that she was hesitant to go into the unknown, she remained on the sidelines, allowing Bela the chance to grow and interact with the man she previously hated.
It didn't take me long to decide to make Kyia the romantic rival. Bela in canon came off as naturally competitive, and this was a contest she could have very well lost. Kyia's knowledge of the other realms immediately answered some burning questions as to what was going on. The book that she always carried around was her prized possession in this world, but without us knowing the truth about her yet, one would have thought she had grown up with it.
In truth, Kyia knew absolutely nothing about the city or the world. With the shelter being close to the constable station, it was just a place that she retreated to as soon as she discovered it. With enough commodities to keep her going, she donned the appearance of a normal citizen, wearing whatever garments she could acquire. The book was just something she found along the way, only to be thrilled that it delved into the very same teachings that she had learned as a young fawn.
Kyia buried her face in that book because she wanted to know what this world knew and what she didn't know. I'm not going to be overly positive about her in this section, because we all know what she did. While I had originally conceived of her as just an ally, I began to think about what I could do to make this story richer. There needed to be a cause for this destruction, and Vikcia never struck me as someone who could travel across the realms on her own.
Vikcia did not have a grand plan, so if she couldn't cause this, then who? That was when I looked at Kyia and saw the wolf in sheep's clothing.
Not long after her introduction, I began to write her with the intent of revealing her as the sole cause of this nightmare. Kyia would lie to them left and right, dodging every question that would have narrowed in on her past circumstances. I then began to drop little hints that she may be a fawn, some more obvious than others, but then I would double back and give her moments where her stories were so realistic and possible that she very well could have been born on some farm outside of the city.
Bela being the rageful queen that she was in the beginning shadowed Kyia's questionable remarks, which allowed her to blend in better and assume the position of innocence. We see later how she is when she reacts to Ethan rejecting her, showing repressed anger and a controlling attitude.
That was the first glimpse of her not being everything that she seemed to be.
Her reveal as a fawn and the one behind the destruction is what brought Fragmented Flies and Fragmented Fears together, linking her to the fabled story told multiple times throughout the first installment. Fans of the series then got a better idea as to how erratic the time differences between realms could be, given how, by all standards, Kyia is from roughly 500 years in the past.
Ending the story with her ultimately taking Ethan's life was in the plan for a very long time, and the reveal of her being a fawn had changed throughout the course of writing this story. At first, I envisioned that after Vikcia's death, Bela and Ethan would have exited the area, only to return and find Kyia eating parts of the woman's corpse in an effort to jumpstart her powers. However, I soon decided that this made no sense and decided that the fragments would play a role.
Fragmented Flies had already detailed the potential of fawn blood and how magic could be contained in fawn-made metal, so the fragments acting as a sort of housing for what would reawaken her natural abilities was the way to go. For most of the story, Kyia was powerless but had regained her ability to teleport when she first used the fragments that Bela and Ethan had brought back, lying that she expected visions but got nothing.
Kyia's backstory is one that was only glossed over, but one that I intend to cover in greater depth throughout Fragmented Fawns. Rest assured, she will be the main antagonist of the final installment, and as vulnerable as she may appear, she is a force to be reckoned with.
SCRAPPED IDEAS
There were a bunch of different ideas that I played around with when writing this story. I intended to take Bela and Ethan to a dreary, infected countryside, which would have been a gloomy departure from the dark Victorian streets of Serpenmoor, taking place during an overcast daytime setting. I imagined a group of emaciated children tarnished by this virus wandering around and planned to showcase more infected animals there, too. But that all fell apart when I decided that it was just not possible to fit any of that in with the narrative. This was in the earliest stages of the story and did not last long.
Another planned scene was for Bela, Kyia, and Webb to engage infected at the park that was mentioned in the later stages of the story, where they would have finally been placed in a vast, grassy environment, encountering classic Victorian-dressed people who were more monstrous in appearance. There was also a planned scene for them to fight infected on the bridge that they intended to cross, resulting in a climactic battle.
In hindsight, I wish that I had written the carriage chase occurring on that bridge, as it would have made for quite a show, involving Vikcia causing the carriage to fall over the side and hit the water. Instead, we got it happening along the edge of the river, but I had drawn the carriage too far off course for them to reasonably get back on. Sometimes these stories just go where they go, but the bridge scene would have been fun. Sorry guys.
The first sets of chapters mentioned the presence of "larger" creatures that prowled the streets. I originally wanted to have scenes with some exceptionally large infected animals. Creatures like horses or (a bear?) would have grown so massive that they could have stood half as tall as the buildings. Big monsters are nothing new to the world of Resident Evil, but I felt that there was no way Bela or Ethan could have defeated such a thing. Even if they just ran, having something so gigantic would have thrown the balance of these threats off. I wanted them to be something slightly more realistic, and while the infected horses in the story were very large, those were the closest we got to this concept. I never gave much thought to what I originally wanted, and so the idea just faded out.
Earlier thoughts in my head when I was first devising this story would have seen Bela and Ethan playing dress-up with some Victorian outfits, as Serpenmoor would have been a more lively city, even with the disaster. I pictured Bela in a vest and dress garments, and maybe Ethan in some common suit (I didn't think much of him). Sadly, they stay in their original outfits for the entire story, while Bela gradually loses pieces of hers along the way (can't run forever in heels, I guess).
The scene where Vikcia attacked Webb and his soldiers would have shown the use of automated vehicles that had been docked at the shores. Similar to early jeeps or turn-of-the century cars, Webb and some of his closest men would have been aboard a large version of one of these, and Vikcia would have leapt onto it, killing the men one by one until she made her way to Webb and slaughtered him.
The concept was abandoned when I thought about the cluttered streets and realized that those vehicles would not have gone very far.
While Webb was presented as this world's Chris Redfield, of sorts, I originally intended for him to perish during his first chapter, but I grew to enjoy his character and saw how much potential he had. Fans loved his backstory, establishing him as a noble person with a good heart but with a broken past, bound with the people he could not save and the family he wasn't there for.
While Webb did eventually meet his fate at the hands of Vikcia, I gave him a hero's death.
Another scrapped idea would have been a short cut-away to a second ship that was heading to Serpenmoor to deliver additional troops, only for Vikcia's dome of darkness to overtake the vessel and unleash a horde of infected birds down on the crewmen, decimating their numbers. I eventually opted to not include this, as Vikcia wasn't aware of the soldiers until they got closer to the clock tower. The use of the infected birds was just a placeholder, as no other infected would have been able to cross the ocean. I was more focused on the idea of a total military defeat. In the end, the slaughter was limited to the city itself, but I did have another plan for this scene, still wanting to include it in some way.
I considered including it at the end, after Kyia had already opened additional portals to Vikcia's realm, thus dooming the world to infection. Another ship would have already been on its way to the city, where the dust clouds and additional members of Vikcia's species would have landed on them and destroyed the occupants.
But because this scene would have interrupted the pace of the final act, in my eyes, I cut it entirely. But if you are curious, the ships that were en route did fall to the portals. The whole world is screwed.
Lastly, the biggest scrapped concept by far was the original ending, or at least, what would have happened to Bela after Kyia departed. For a while, I pictured Kyia unleashing a portal to Vikcia's realm close to the clock tower, where Bela would have been surrounded by a group of Vikcia's species, including males. They would have worn the same kind of cloak and retained the basic features of what Vikcia had.
Before I decided to write Vikcia with more displayed intellect, these would have revealed that her race was truly more human than they let on. I imagined the lead male approaching Vikcia's corpse, peering down at it and then at Bela, calling Vikcia out by name, and asking Bela if she did this. Bela would have been surrounded by the group, who would snarl and get so close to her that any movement on her part would be too risky. Bela would then admit that she killed Vikcia, but told the group that she did not bring her here and that Kyia was the one who caused all of this.
The group would have made the decision that this new world was now theirs, but they held a vendetta against Kyia for causing one of theirs to get killed. They would have told Bela to settle things, allowing her a way out to pursue Kyia via a portal to Bela's world. I know this doesn't fit in with what was established as possible in the story, and it was a rough concept for a while before I got rid of it completely. In the lore of this series, only fawns are capable of opening portals to other worlds, and only three (Kyia, Narratha, and Lia) have ever been able to do it, to varying degrees of success.
While the world that Serpenmoor is found in is set to be besieged by more of Vikcia's kind, we never see them in the story in the end. I feel like this was for the best, as the original ending was just so far off from the tone that I wanted to display. Bela would have also been shown a window to Locwitary by Kyia prior, showing Cassandra's fight with Narratha, and after Kyia left, Bela somehow (maybe with the help of Vikcia's kind giving her the tools to get back home) witnessed the visions she saw through a realm window rather than her mind.
It all gets convoluted, and when it does, I just set it aside and start anew.
FRAGMENTED FAWNS
Moving onto the final installment of this series, the future holds some very big implications. Kyia has escaped into the world of Resident Evil, and not only that, but the antagonist of Fragmented Flies, Narratha, has also been granted a second chance to continue her destructive path via the occurrence of a flicker in the timelines.
This series canon has been made possible through the use of timelines, remaining the same until it's not. Since Fawns will be going three weeks into the past before Ethan's arrival, Narratha and Kyia have ample time to run around before Miranda finds Rose. Everything we've seen in flashbacks in both stories up until Cassandra and Bela went to their respective worlds will be canon and a major focus of what happens to Daniela, exploring her broken relationship with her siblings while the village contends with the arrival of these two nefarious fawns.
It feels like a breath of fresh air (hehe) writing this final installment, as I believe readers will love the character development. Fans have been waiting for so long for Daniela's time to shine, and the story that awaits will bring this series together and give it its well-deserved climatic conclusion.
It's time to come home.
And on that note... I still have one last thing for you all. Think of this as an after-credits scene, if you will. Thanks for sticking through with me to the very end. I am so grateful to have you all with me, and you have been the best readers that I could have ever asked for. I look forward to seeing you in the next installment. You won't want to miss it, I promise.
But until then, enjoy the true ending to Fragmented Fears.
SERPENMOOR
Bela slumped against the table, her left knee planted on the ground as she sought to maintain her stance. The influx of energy that had been introduced to her body had worn her out. The expansive visions left a wake of terror that rattled her mind. She struggled to stand, desperate to act on them.
Kyia had departed for her world, and now it appeared that another dangerous fawn had just done the same.
I must stop them.
She could still hear the chaos unfolding from outside the walls of the clock tower. The city was likely being engulfed in an unending sea of clouds. It would not be long before an impassable darkness overtook this building. Her amber eyes glanced at her bloodied arms through those blurred lenses. With a low groan, she pushed herself up just a little bit more.
I need… I need to get out of here. I have to find a way home.
"Ugh!" A wave of warmth shot through her arms, stinging her muscles and causing her to lose strength and slip. She crashed to the ground, taking the box of fragments with her in the process. The shards cluttered against the floor, bouncing around as the lights flickered. Gazing up at the ceiling, Bela watched as the room fell to black.
She was surprised that the power had lasted this long. Was it still the fragments, or did the darkness outside finally overtake them? She didn't care anymore. Everything was so out of her control. This world was dying, and at the rate she was going, she was going to die with it.
Rolling onto her stomach, Bela slowly crawled a couple of feet ahead, but she could not see where she was going. "Ethan," she said. "I'm going to die with you."
She felt the fragments under her body as she dragged herself forward. Bela was exhausted beyond all measure, her head wracked with strain. It was like an unseen energy pummeled her without mercy, beating her down every time she tried to advance. Her strength gave way. She needed to rest, but there was no time to do so.
She knew she would perish when the other creatures finally entered the room. If she couldn't get back up, she at least wanted to die holding the hand of the man she loved.
The room was so dark. Whether her eyes were open or closed, it made no difference.
However, just as she was about to try and move closer in Ethan's direction, Bela picked up on the faintest image of blue particles that trickled into the room. At first, she thought it was nothing more than a mere hallucination, but as the lights brightened, she realized that they were anything but. She steadily craned her neck over her shoulder, where she beheld the sight of a large, ovular gate of light that had now formed several feet away from her.
The once-dark room had become illuminated by the mass. She shuddered as she recognized the flames that emanated from its borders.
Kyia! She's coming back!
Bela reached down and grabbed one of the fragments that she felt underneath her. It was her last-ditch effort to put an end to this evil. If she could get close enough to Kyia to deliver the blow, then she would give her life to do so.
But as the figure in the light formed before her, Bela discovered that this was not the fawn who had murdered Ethan and damned this world to an eternal hell. No.
It was someone else.
A soft, but urgent, voice called out to her. "Bela?"
Breathing heavily, the blonde squinted her eyelids as the woman stepped closer, her body still sparkling with the blue energy. "Please help me," Bela begged. And in that moment, her prayers were answered.
The fawn extended her open palm. A source of salvation.
She's not going to hurt me.
The healing touch took hold of Bela's hand. She could feel her strength gaining new life. Before she could say anything else, the woman cast her a dire glance, another bright field of light forming behind her as she waved her other hand.
"And I need you to help me," she said.
"Who… who are you?" Bela asked.
"We'll talk when we get you home," the brunette said, her green eyes shining.
"Kyia." Bela tried to catch her breath as she felt the energy repair her injuries. "I need to stop her."
With a stern glance, the fawn nodded as she inhaled a sharp breath. "I know, and we will."