Should the novel undergo any major revision, I will make it known on this page, with an outline of the most important changes in the new draft.
Note! If you're new to the world of the Sword Coast, the maps can be found here.
October 23, 2002: It is not clear at this moment if the sequel to Bethphel's Diary would ever materialize. It is tempting still, however many other projects are vying for my time, including some original (not fan-fiction) work.
September 2, 2001: One of Bethphel's Diary readers, Jay McIntyre, asked me for permission to write an alternate ending to the novel and a brief crossover with Doctor Who. You can read it here.
August 1, 2001: Great news! The entire novel is now complete, and available for your reading enjoyment. Looking back, I see it was started on July 2, 1999. Hence, it took me two years and a month to finish it. Including several long periods of interruption (the entire summer of 2000 and the winter of 2001 immediately come to mind), as well as shorter (but more numerous) bouts of procrastination. Should the novel undergo any major revision, I will make it known on this page, with an outline of the most important changes in the new draft.
Note that there is a link at the very end of the epilogue. If you click it, it will lead you to my thoughts and ideas for the sequel. But I wouldn't even advise you to read them (or the epilogue) until you have read the entire novel. Trust me, it's just gonna spoil too much.
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The Melting
Prologue 1. Unexpected Journey 2. The Art to Lead 3. The Mines of Nashkel 4. Parting of Ways 5. The Waters of Melting |
The Time of Flowers
6. The Share of Dead Gods 7. A Heart is Better Reached with Sword 8. Among the Bandits 9. Dark Sister 10. Trials of the Dead 11. The Heart of Cloakwood 12. A Wound in Mother Earth |
Summertide
13. The Song of Love 14. Bitter Farewells 15. Fly, Little Bird, Fly! 16. The Dreams of Solitude 17. Luck be the Lady! |
Highsun
18. Wolf on the Prowl 19. Durlag's Tower 20. Daughter of Murder 21. Of Wolves and Men 22. The Heart of Ice |
The Fading
23. Iron Throne 24. Homecoming 25. The Hunter or the Hunted? 26. Lifegiver Epilogue |
He started from the final page. It was caked with old blood. Turning it over was an effort, as if ripping himself away from the fabric of life. He knew it had to be done. He knew there were letters, words showing through the red haze of pain. He knew them by heart. He didn't know the rest...
The final page, he turned over. On the other side, someone was struggling with the opening. There were but pages of parchment between them. And so were years, of light and dark, of love and hate, of prophesy and destiny unfulfilled. He had to know them in order to know his own.
Far across the miles and mountains, a few hundred pages in the past, a young woman paused in thought, her quill suspended in the air. He tried to picture her, what did she look like? Freely flowing tresses of raven hair, framing a delicate face of emerald eyes? Or was she blond, with her eyes the color of the sea she used to watch silently from the tallest tower of the keep?
He decided she was dark, as was the time in which she lived. As was her life that was struggling ever in its tormented course. How many rivers like hers were destined to reach the sea in blood? It was the beginning of Mirtul, the month of melting. The Sword Coast was bracing itself against the deluge. Will swords be drawn, and lots be cast, and love redeemed? Will the Murder incarnate walk again amongst the living?
From atop the tallest tower, a pair of emerald eyes was watching over the green expanse of the forest in the distance, hugging the coastline. Down below, the surf was deafening. The salt was in the air, everywhere. Strong and intense. On the new parchment freshly purchased at the Great Library of Candlekeep. On the tongue licking it off the lips. On the half-closed lids of her eyes, listening... He could almost hear the screeching cries of seagulls from all around. Theirs was a sad song. A lonely lullaby without end. To the girl of twenty summers, yet forever a child who never knew her mother. Because she never knew her mother.
From over the half-closed lids, a minute sparkle brightly shone from somewhere within the green cloak of the forest. Like a ray of hope, or a hidden lake. Bethphel sighed and lowered her quill. She did not know the end. And he decided he'll help her out, reaching from the other side. From the first page or the last one, they will eventually meet.
The girl who never knew her mother committed her quill. It touched the parchment, and it started, "Why?..."
To continue reading, click here.
Welcome to the story of Bethphel! Now, if you really came to read it, lift your eyes and follow the prologue above. But if you'd like to take a break and learn how all of this started, by all means read on.
It started almost as a joke, albeit a "serious" one. The time was summer of 1999, and I was fresh from my experiencing playing the first ever computer roleplaying game (CRPG) I laid my hands on, Baldur's Gate. Since then, the number of similar looking carton boxes at my home multiplied to a whooping number of three (Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale), but this is not really about the games anymore. It's about writing and storytelling...
Although a novice in gaming, I was not new to roleplaying. At ElendorMUSH, I learned that it was all about "playing a role," where the online virtual world was sort of a theater, and you an actor. I was surprised at the significantly lower degree of roleplaying in CRPGs, attributing it to a general lack of interactivity (limited even in multiplayer sessions). Still, I persevered, resolving to show that even a "one-man theater" can be viable. Indeed, just how far is it from a writer working on the characters for his novel? I decided to take on the main character of Baldur's Gate, digging deep into her character to show how much can be added to what had been outlined by the game.
Now, I have never suspected any writing skills in myself. What I originally intended was to write a "roleplay walkthrough" in the form of the protagonist's diary, just to show how one's actual "playing a role" can enrich the gaming experience. Little did I know that it would soon outgrow the original plan and grow much closer to being a novel than I ever expected.
Another surprise was the generally positive feedback I've been getting. Which made me interested in writing in general. I have joined the online writers workshop, the Critters (as far as my meager time resources allow). And I'm getting ready to start writing something more... ahem, "serious." Still, I'm not abandoning Bethphel's Diary, fully intending to bring it to a great (and somewhat surprising, shall we say) conclusion in the near future. Just how near remains to be seen. I'm a single father with a rather demanding full-time job, while also managing a number of websites, including Sword Coast Party, Tormented Party, the Attic (formerly, Silvermoon's Attic, and later Attic of D'Jinni), and the Attic's companion fan fiction site. So if, for whatever reason, I'm having a dry spell with the Diary, you can guess just what that reason might be. Please, be patient...
Acknowledgements: For the main character's name, I have chosen Bethphel, paying tribute to a roleplayer extraordinaire from ElendorMUSH, with whom I have had many hours of the most enjoyable roleplaying experience. The custom portrait is courtesy of The Iron Works, who took it from one of the Dragonlance novels (as I was told later) and adopted to the game's requirements. Special thanks are due to Ben Ellington of Baldur's Gate at Cyberjag, Jay McIntyre, Nyx, Silvermoon, BLKCat, Underdog, Bloody, Michaelius, Christofer Trapp, Stalker, Keteion, as well as everyone who left their mark in my guestbook for their opinion, help, and encouragement. The entire gamut of Attic goers, for inspiration and support. The people from the Critters writers group, for their patience and thoughtful critiques. And, of course, the creators of the game of Baldur's Gate... To David Gaider of Bioware Corp. personally, for his attention and encouragement.
Enjoy! And if you like what you read here or have any suggestion, do not hesitate to make your voice heard. Leave it in my guestbook. Keep in mind that English is not my native language. So, if you see an error or a phrase hits you as odd, don't hesitate to tell me.
DISCLAIMER: My personal beliefs have nothing to do with the fantasy "religions" of the Sword Coast. The good thing about fantasy literature is that it doesn't pretend to portray the real world.
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Last modified on October 23, 2002
Copyright © 1999-2003 Leonid Korogodski All rights reserved.