Arana - a love story

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

One person reading this said "you could post this somewhere, it's not completely awful". That person might have been wrong, but I'll just leave this link here. There's a presentation of it in the first two pages of the PDF.

https://dropbox.com/s/phxfo3gw0c533bo/arana.pdf?dl=0

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

All right, in response to the understandable objection "I won't click on a link without description", even though it's a PDF file with no potential for playing tricks on you:

The link above is a "long short story" (100+ pages) with an absolutely shamelessly happy ending and a lack of drama. With the current situation in the world around us, I wanted to write something happy. It's a romance involving Queen Ayrenn, taking her "Mary Sue" in-game personality and running with it. Peace, love and understanding galore, no smut. Silly pun warning, particularly in the final chapter.

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

In another moment of boredom, I wrote a chapter 11. Like chapters 9+10 before it, it can be considered optional.

https://dropbox.com/s/9jfuo351i60ho0v/arana-republicans.pdf?dl=0

TheImperfect

I did start reading it last week but it was really late. I enjoyed what I read but as you say there is a lot. I will read some more.

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

After suggestions from several actual readers (thank you, both of you, you know who you are), the file in the first link above has been updated to correct some typos, fix some mistakes typical for a non-native speaker as myself, and (drum roll) increase the number of silly puns from the title character even further. (No, nobody actually asked for that. No, I have no shame.)

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

By popular request (from one person, but her request was very popular with me), I wrote a concluding chapter 12, set fifteen years after chapter 11, to put a proper end to the story.

https://dropbox.com/s/ukdxv74lcokvydx/arana-handover.pdf?dl=0

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

Chapter 13 is a short episode set a good 100 years after chapter 12. In this, I might be skirting close to the forum rules about not engaging in political commentary, but chapters 11 and 12 stepped into that territory already, and the text is not really arguing anything controversial -- unless, of course, being in favor of democracy is considered controversial.

Like everything else after chapter 8, this chapter is optional.

https://dropbox.com/s/srqkbwc7sjmxiks/arana-centennial.pdf?dl=0

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

People have asked (in another forum where I posted this), and yes, chapters 9-10 can be read as thinly veiled criticism against the sad state of Cyrodiil in the game. They can also be regarded as an entirely lore-appropriate story set in the immediate aftermath of the in-game events. I did not write this as a debate piece. Well, not primarily. It's just a story, written to entertain, not to rub PvP players the wrong way.

BisDasBlutGefriert

Enjoying your novella so far! Keep up the great work!!! 😁👍🏻

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

Still in Covid-19 lockdown, I kept writing for fun. Here's some additional material to insert between chapters 8 and 9 if you want to prolong the agony. I mean, extend the reading experience. Ahem.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ww5pdob17m1kzhu/arana-extramaterial.pdf?dl=0

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

At the end of chapter 8.5 there is a mention of a "tastefully non-revealing" sketch of the title character. In addition to describing it in words, I decided to draw it as well.



The original image was considered inappropriate for this forum. I guess I should have seen that coming. My apologies, but fan fiction for grown-ups is usually a lot more raunchy than what I have posted here. This version is extremely prudent. Just pretend hat Lycra has been invented in Tamriel.

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

It didn't seem quite right to me that the only drawing the main character made of his love interest was a quick sketch made at the beach, so here's a proper portrait as well.


(Edit: tweaked the position of one eye. I had it set too high, giving her a slightly goofy look. Better now.)

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

The extra material three posts up was just updated with another chapter. A particularly silly chapter.