In the summer of 2011 a curious scene was conceived. A dark tale of a young ambitious woman and an old man who knew more about her and her world than he would ever let on. At first glance it was a simple caning, but it soon became apparent to the author that far from being just a conventional school setting, somehow directly or indirectly, the fate of a world hung in the balance. But just who were these players? The spell of Magic had begun to weave its way into the author’s mind.
Now almost two and half years later this story is nearly told and in due course the last chapter and epilogue will be published. Hopefully there will not be too many loose ends and perhaps at the last perhaps some questions will remained unanswered. Life is rarely tidy and nor is this tale.
Perhaps fittingly for such a perilous story, for a while it might not have been written at all. And even if it had been it may have gone the way of many such mercurial shorts and become a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ disposable curio on a page. However, the author had long entertained the idea of a romance between a sinister young mage and his beautiful apprentice, but had been unable to put any depth into the characters or find a convincing storyline.
Then the author saw how an ambitious and powerful man might be distracted by love and a power-seeking woman by an older mysterious man. Of course social conventions, stalking demons, stern instructors and war might intervene first. But could love triumph?
So armed with one scene and a romantic concept, the author began to research and develop a backstory for an extensive new world with its own rules of magic, cities and cultures. The result might be described as the Wizard of Earthsea meets 50 Shades of Grey, but more than that it encompasses not only demons and dragons, but a drawn out world with its own lore and customs where young apprentices wrestle with their newfound power and a hidden desire to surrender it.
Originally the story was intended to focus almost entirely upon the noble Katrin De Lacy and her master Arlon Fear, the young magus assigned to teach her on the path of knowledge and to becoming a mage herself. But it soon became apparent that the other characters would not easily roll over. So in addition to Katrin and Fear, personalities such as Tabitha with her love-hate-love relationships with anyone who would spank her; Amber Sage, the sexually ambiguous wise young student teacher and witch; and above all the mysterious and uncompromising wizard Dniester who had first inspired this tale, began to show that they would not be so easily vanquished.
It is an epic adventure amounting to over 200,000 words and set over several years. So for the reader it is quite an investment and for those looking for a routine spanking tale, then this plot and characterisation-heavy story may not be for you.
But along the way the adventure combines extensive and frequent spankings and other imaginative punishments with love and adventure, the domestic and the collegiate, and the hard core sinister with the tenderness of the willing submissive.
It also encompasses sex and spanking, love and betrayal as well as wars, quests and demonic possession. Of course not everything and everyone are what they seem in this exploration of power and transformation. So perhaps you should proceed with caution. Otherwise be ready to see the world and the nature of the world in a new light. You may find that it is Magic.
If you want to read it from the beginning then you will find it here. But there is also a useful guide to the characters and circumstances of their world to be found here.
