After finishing Vol. 1, I didn’t want to immediately escalate the scale.

Ashlands of the Quiet Dawn is about what happens after the world burns — when the noise fades, the dust settles, and people are left walking through what remains.

This volume was built around contrast:

• long stretches of silence and space, broken by sudden violence.
• Taverns feel warmer because the outside world is hostile.
• Battles hit harder because they interrupt stillness, not chaos.

While Vol. 1 shows the fall and destruction, Vol. 2 lives in the aftermath. It’s colder, slower, more reflective — but danger never fully leaves. Vol. 3 will complete the arc by focusing on rebuilding and returning life, using the same world and a very different emotional tone.

Thanks for listening, and I hope Ashlands finds a place in your world.