The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow

The title of the project came 5 years ago from a then 4 year old Lightning King.

 "The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow". Such profound words from someone so young, I wrote them down.

Then came the announcement, with such conviction: "When I grow up I want to work for Mojang".

Reading held no interest, but Minecraft most definitely did. To try inspire him to read I gave him a Minecraft book for Xmas. At night I would read a section, then refuse to read the next, instead offering to help him read it. 

This rotation worked better than I could have imagined. His thirst to read didn't just spark, it burst into flames. He now devours books faster than I did at his age, and I read a lot!

His imagination and stories were constant, and this sparked an idea based on that success. All of these great stories, ideas, characters, and such success? And so many ideas,  gone! How else can this be used to teach?

I suggested we linked them all together into a single project. "The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow". His excitement was infectious. From that point no ideas were wasted, almost everything was thought of as part of that wider project. That character or idea he had, I asked how does that person interact with the wider story? Draw it, write it, code it, create it in Minecraft. Where do they live, and how does it look? Let's build it in Minecraft...

Again, the results were beyond anything I could imagine.

All that imagination was suddenly focused on a single project "The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow".

Books, Comics, Coding, Modding, Sounds, Astronomy, Websites, 3D Animation, Textures, PBR, Writing, Drawing, Website Design, Art, 3D Art and Modelling, Promotion, Music, Video Editing, Sound design, Acting...and more.

All titles are work in progress, and more books are expected. Book 1 draft is around 80% complete, and initial drafts of first 2-3 chapters will be available for proof reading hopefully Q2 2024.

• The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow Book 1 - Raz'Kul

• The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow Book 2 - Logan / Respites Calm (working title)

• The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow Book 3 - Edge / Plateau

• The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow Book 4 - Scar / The Nether

• The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow Book 5- Becka / The Torch Flower (may be later in sequence)

• The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow Book 6 - Molly / The Street

• The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow Book 7 - The Shadow Butterfly / The Deep Dark

• The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow Book 8 - The Void / The Final Battle

• The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow Book ? - The Aegis / The Bakers Dozen Minus 1 Gang / The 13th Mind - this will likely be split into shorter chapters with the story split through the entire series (given 13 was such a hit). 

Additional books/work in progress, some of which it seems will become full books and may end up in the fina

• Tales From The Historian - Short Stories Or Chapters including: Dauntilus, The Ideal, Malix, Snow Peak - The Final Battle, The Purge Of The Dragons, The Last Dragon, The Aegis, The Great War, Shadow Falls, Altimus Tierta (Hero or Mountain Goat), and more

• The Historians Time Line - Brief summary of key historic events (aka the student cheat sheet) and used as reference for keeping track of the project, characters, dates, etc. Will be put into database

• Shadow Falls (The Shadow Butterfly) - The Desert Tribes, The Shadoe Butterfly, and the  Creation of Shadow Falls 

• Raz'Kul vs The Not So Serene Monks - The Master Thief / Genie / Severance / Monks of Serenity / Raz'Kul & The Shadow Butterfly / The Assassins Guild / The Mixology Emporium - This is now being incorporated into book 1

• Altimus Tierta - A More Succint History - The Scribe / The "Truths" / On The Steps Of The Great Library / Escape From The Keep / The Cult Of The Glowing Quill

• Plateau - Edge (not for younger children). Now planned to cross over with the stories of Logan, Raz'Kul, The Joker, and The Shadow Butterfly.

• A Concise History - by Malix - This will not likely ever be written but is the basis for The Historians Time Line and A More Succint History. 

Respites Calms only point of interest is it lies in the shadow of "Sky Reach", one of the few remaining "Reaches" left by the Aegis. 

However, that novelty wore off years ago, and there is no way to even get to the Reach, and Logan is bored!

But when Logans mother goes missing, and fails to return by his birthday, he fears the worst. As his misery deepens, and Christmas approaches, the nightmares start.

Nightmares of his mother, trapped in darkness, whispered warnings he can't quite hear. Someone else, something else...something terrifying!

Logans father sets off in search of her,  and Logan promises to stay behind and watch over the farm.

But, given all the lies - Logan has no qualms breaking that promise!

His father had not told him his mother was at Snow Peak, or about the letter inviting the entire family, including Logan! A Christmas Festival with fireworks, games, sweets, train rides, and not only snow, but real snowmen!

His father had not told him about the secret basement, the portal to "Sky Reach", or the magic bow "Pierce" either. 

The other thing his father had not told him, is that Pierce is kept in Sky Reach for a reason, as it's the only weapon with the power to penetrate the scales of The Last Dragon. 

The Last Dragon - the sole guardian of the Malicante within Infinity Castle. An evil imprisoned there by the Aegis after almost wiping out the Old Empire 240 years ago..

240 years has fuelled its hatred, and given him time to concoct a plan for revenge. A plan to bring The Void to the New Empire. 

A darkness which not only consumes light, it consumes life itself. A darkness which would not stop at the the New Empire, but would continue across the entire planet.

If only his parents had told him the truth, he would have known all this, and Logan might not be rushing to Snow Peak to save his mother - with Pierce strapped to his back...

The Dark Is A Cold Lonely Shadow

Fight or summon the "Ghost Warden" and some insane combinations never seen before! Most deadly, some just hilarious. Wield the weapons from the book - including Pierce and Dauntilus Armour.

Co-op - Defend yourself and your friends in the Arena

PVP - Player vs Player - with some twists, and summoning of allies, traps, defences, buffs.

PVP God Mode - Creations vs Creations (this will be in a later phase as a lot more complex than initially anticipated)

God vs Player - You control the arena and what it unleashes against the other players...simply the most fun we've ever had!

Sunrise at Respites Calm

TODO: Link to packs and resources and lists

Link