The Talon Saga, Book 4: Dungeon of the Forgotten

Imprisoned in the Dungeon of the Forgotten, Talon has no memory of his past, or even of what heinous crime he committed to be cast into such an awful place.  After days of torture at the hands of a sadistic jailer, he makes a desperate escape with Leyli, the young girl who shares his cell.

Now he must fight his way through the catacombs, battling foul underground creatures and even those who have passed beyond the walls of death.  Yet the darkness around him cannot compare to that which lurks in his own soul.  The nature of that darkness is hidden even from him.

Should he accept the evil inside, milking its strength to help him survive in the subterranean realm?  Or is it something best left undisturbed?  How can he protect Leyli when he just might be the most dangerous monster around?

Book 4 of 8.

Expect the rest of the books to be posted over the next 2 months.

As usual, I love feedback, so please comment!

(posted from the Item Information Page)

Such a tease lol. why didn't talon put on the guards helmet? Wouldn't he have gotten his memory back then?

thehilz wrote:

Such a tease lol. why didn't talon put on the guards helmet? Wouldn't he have gotten his memory back then?

Good catch.  I had meant to add a paragraph during editing where he tried that and it didn't restore his memory (once it's gone, it's gone) but apparently I forgot.  (Quite appropriate, considering the topic)  Maybe I'll make the correction and re-upload the chapter.

So Talon can never get his memory back? Or did you mean the helmet just protects memories can't  restore them?

thehilz wrote:

So Talon can never get his memory back? Or did you mean the helmet just protects memories can't  restore them?

Both.  Sort of.

The magic of the Dungeon of the Forgotten strips people of their memories, as a one-time event.  The helmet negates the magic, but only in the sense that it prevents that event from happening.  Once the event happens, neutralizing the magic or leaving the dungeon will not restore the lost memories.

Does that mean he will never regain his memories?  I guess you'll just have to keep reading and find out.

The last chapters of Book 4 are now uploaded.  I also made some minor changes to Chapter 2, including adding the aforementioned paragraph about the helmet.  Hopefully this explains the magic of the dungeon a little better.

Look for the first few chapters of Book 5 on February 29.

(posted from the Item Information Page)

Whole time during reading this, I had two questions:

What year is it?

What color is her hair??

I paid special attention to your descriptions of her, and while she possibly could be Summer, Talon described her differently. This, of course, could be due to the lack of his memory, causing her to look different to him, as he lost all basis for comparison. But I noticed something special as well. You never, ever, EVER mention her hair or eye color. The closest we get is a small passage in chapter 10 (or 9) about how the sun makes a halo around her. From this I have to wonder, traditional angelic halos are presented as white, which could mean that her hair is blond, which would match that of Summers. Of course, while you are somewhat light on details of her appearance, I think two HORNS from her head would be a bit much to gloss over. However this leads to some interesting questions about.....

What year is it? How long has he been in the Dungeon of the Forgotten? I have thought through several versions of the story based on the answer to that question, wondering what connection this child has to him. If it has been long enough, is it a different child of Elindra or Summer or perhaps even Imiril who has heard about Talon and tried to help him?

I find this truly fascinating, but one different question remains. I wonder which part of this story (Book IV) you wrote first, and which parts were filled in later. I suspect that the sex scenes in 7 and onward were the first part of this to be written, as I remember in one of your musings you spoke about your writing process.

Once again you bring another dimension into the world of Nubilia, and once again I look forward to reading another book in this wild adventure. Fortunately for me, I don't have to wait!

(posted from the Item Information Page)

As I don't think that DC is still frequently checking this site...

You still have 4 books to read. Go on. Several loose ends will be tied up until the end and most of your questions will be answered at some point. Be patient. You need to read all 8 books to get the full picture.

Sniper wrote:

As I don't think that DC is still frequently checking this site...

You still have 4 books to read. Go on. Several loose ends will be tied up until the end and most of your questions will be answered at some point. Be patient. You need to read all 8 books to get the full picture.

I know he isn't, but I still want to comment anyway. DC once said that he really enjoys comments, and I feel it's the least I can do, regardless if he reads them or not. I have since finished the series, and of course absolutely loved it.

Pureleaf wrote:

Sniper wrote:

As I don't think that DC is still frequently checking this site...

You still have 4 books to read. Go on. Several loose ends will be tied up until the end and most of your questions will be answered at some point. Be patient. You need to read all 8 books to get the full picture.

I know he isn't, but I still want to comment anyway. DC once said that he really enjoys comments, and I feel it's the least I can do, regardless if he reads them or not. I have since finished the series, and of course absolutely loved it.

I'm almost ashamed that I haven't responded until now, because you've been so good about giving detailed comments.  But hey, better late than never.

By the way, Leyli's hair is blond.  I thought I had mentioned that early on, but maybe not.  I guess I just imagined her so clearly in my mind that I didn't realize I hadn't actually stated it explicitly.  As for her eye color, that's not usually a detail I notice about people, so that's sometimes less clear in the descriptions of my characters.  So officially (at least for now) her eyes are whatever color you imagine.  Maybe I'll change that when I do some more proofreading and put out the second edition of the Talon Saga.

As for the time frame, that's deliberately ambiguous.  In Book 4 you're supposed to feel a little confused, because it's told through the eyes of a couple of characters who know nothing about themselves or about the world around them.  Hopefully it helps you to empathize with them.  But don't worry.  Book 5 will answer most of your questions.

I actually don't remember much about the order in which I wrote this story.  I do know that I wrote the second to last chapter first.  I tend to write the resolutions to conflicts first, because it just feels wrong to leave my characters in a state of tension, sadness, or other negative emotions.  If I have the resolution already written, then I don't feel as guilty because I know that they're going to get out of it.

As for the sex scenes, I probably wrote them last.  I usually write my sex scenes last, because I have a bit of a mental block about them.  Sometimes I find them, well, tedious.  Yes, I know that's strange coming from an author of erotica.