Hi Rhett - You Asked.
Trys gave you the bare bones outline for Wars of Light and Shadow - I can only add that, it will be a series like No Other, when completed. There's a careful staging plan for the whole thing - and a creative thrust in each arc. The focus of which shifts, as each arc is complete.
ROUGHLY (given the progression of ONE main thread, not all of them)
Arc I set the stage.
Arc II Showed the "shift" in Arithon's perspective - from "running from" response to the Curse, to what happened to those he had engaged with, while in this phase of avoidance - to his first effort to "engage" and mitigate the damage - which fails…and Lysaer's "defeat" which also shifts HIS perspective.
Arc III begins with Arithon's reassessment of that failure, shifts focus to another form of "engagement" (Peril's Gate) And TK begins the "play out" of that shift, with its culmination in Stormed Fortress…and shows Lysaer's next phase, also, playing itself out.
All the arcs gradually deepen your understanding of the other factions and the interaction/flow of the various forces inherent in Athera, coupled with those that live there.
Arc 4 and 5 each handle another phase.
Each book, as much as possible, answers or lays a complete set of groundwork for deepening the layers, and completing a cycle of understanding and comprehension.
This is, however, a project of very immense scope. It cannot POSSIBLY be done in short format. Nor is it possible to make each book "stand alone."
Hell's Chasm, Sorcerer's Legacy, Master of Whitestorm ARE and were designed to be stand alone stories.
War of Light and Shadow never was designed to be "stand alone" but all one overarching story that encompasses an intricate tapestry of concepts and events. While it is "risky" to create art of this scale in today's commercial world of "instant gratification" I have made my decision with regard to this project.
I will not shorten its scope for a reason that ONLY makes sense for the short term.
For people who desire instant gratification - for any who are frustrated by the fact I can't DO this story in a format that is quick or shallow - there are plenty of books available that are less demanding.
By all means, anyone is welcome to say whatever they FEEL, and frustration is a valid emotion.
My creative choices are mine, however. The vision that has inspired these books is not negotiable. The "pattern" driving these books is not "good vs evil" - and that departure alone demands the thorough exploration of an expanded outlook.
Five Arcs. No apologies. Thanks, instead, for the patience and support AND for the honesty of your reactions, if your drive and my goal don't seem to match.
Note: There is a sequel in outline for Cycle of Fire, it is titled Starhope, but it is not under contract. It will be Anskiere's story, though.