Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.
For this interview I spoke to fantasy author Dale Lucas about his new Age of Sigmar novel Realm-Lords, which is his debut Black Library novel and the first ever story to feature the Lumineth Realm-lords! It’s available to pre-order as of Saturday 5th September, so if you’re interested in finding out a bit more about this aelven debut ahead of its release then read on…
Track of Words: How would you describe your new novel Realm-Lords?
Dale Lucas: The elevator pitch is “The story of a young Lumineth forced to undertake a Realm-saving quest before he’s even been initiated into the mysteries of his people”, but that barely scratches the surface of what’s unfolding or the awesome cast of characters you’ll meet.
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
DL: At the heart of the story is Ferendir, a youngish Alarith stone mage whose world is torn apart on the very day he’s supposed to be undergoing his final trial of initiation. Thanks to the machinations of Ezarhad Fatesbane, an ambitious and deliciously self-important pretender to the throne of Slaanesh, our young hero and his two mentors – the austere, laconic Serath and the encouraging, cheerfully-detached Desriel – are forced to undertake a quest for the tomb of a sleeping magical entity whose awakening could have Realm-shattering consequences. There are a host of other fantastic supporting characters, but those four – Ferendir, his diametrically opposed teachers and the titanically arrogant Ezarhad – are the primary drivers of the story.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
DL: We’re pretty much in the present age of the Mortal Realms, in Hysh, on the continent of Ymetrica.
ToW: What appeals to you about the Lumineth Realm-lords as characters to write about?
DL: First and foremost, I loved the inherent challenge. At first glance, the Lumineth seem pretty stiff and impenetrable, almost angelic. They’re dedicated to order and light, to climbing the ladder of personal enlightenment while simultaneously serving the collective good, and many of them – even the most ordinary – are phenomenally powerful in magical terms. So, how do you tell a ripping good yarn about such singular, seemingly-remote beings and make it engaging and moving and exciting? What kind of trials could overwhelm even the Lumineth, and what kind of individual and communal sins and oversights could endanger their personal and collective existence?
Some of the new Lumineth artwork from Games Workshops is amazing!
ToW: How did you go about deciding upon which story to tell, once you knew you were going to be writing about the Lumineth?
DL: It was really just a matter of finding what part of their collective story spoke to me on a personal level, and then working out the clearest, most dramatic expression of that connection. Who are these people? What do they fight for? What troubles and frustrates them? What are they afraid of and how do they face and overcome that fear? Fairly early on, I hit upon the notion of a main character who was right on the cusp of adulthood – right at the point where it was time to take their place in the adult community. The notion of a character at that point in their journey then led me to the concept of dueling mentors – father figures who represented the warring aspects of the hero’s personality (as well as the Tyrionic and Teclian aspects of Lumineth society collectively) – and from there, everything else just fell into place. I also had a lot of help from my editor, Jacob Youngs, who was a phenomenal creative partner in this endeavor. Without his guidance and insight, there’s no way I could’ve found my way through the writing woods to the other side.
ToW: How does it feel to be writing about a brand new faction for Warhammer Age of Sigmar, and in your debut Black Library novel too?
DL: First: terrifying. Second: exhilarating. Getting to put my stamp on a faction right out of the gate and basically be part of creating something wholly new was an incredible thrill and an amazing privilege…but I also know how passionate and knowledgeable Warhammer fandom is, even about factions they’ve never met before. I definitely felt the pressure – totally self-applied – to do these characters and their world justice, to give them a really kick-ass first appearance in the Age of Sigmar and tell a thrilling, moving, powerful story.
Dale’s first short story for BL
ToW: There’s presumably not a lot of background to this faction, compared to most other Warhammer races, so did you look outside of Warhammer for influences and inspiration when writing this?
DL: The closest I came to that was a half-joking exchange with my editor regarding the emotional lives of the Lumineth. Key to the Lumineth ethos is stoicism and a dutiful detachment from emotion. I needed to know whether the Lumineth were simply champs as suppressing emotions which they still keenly felt, or if they simply did not feel emotion at all. When Jacob explained that it was the former and not the latter, my response was, “Oh, ok, so they’re like Vulcans.” I also did a little research into how Tibetan monasteries are organized and run, but very little of what I discovered made it into the final book.
Beyond that one pop culture touchstone and a little side research, I think most of what I needed was already in the battletome – which I got to see at several stages in its creation. Even the elements of Lumineth psychology and culture that weren’t readily apparent, on the page, could be extrapolated from what was there. Honestly, the folks at Games Workshop who create these battletomes are some of the most incredible, imaginative world-builders I’ve ever encountered. It’s really no wonder that Warhammer fandom is so passionate about these worlds and characters – they’re so richly textured!
ToW: Fantasy fans might already be familiar with your writing from the Fifth Ward novels (published by Orbit); how have you found writing Warhammer stories compared to the rest of your work?
DL: It’s easier in some ways and much harder in others. Easier because you don’t have to do the world-building part: the world is already there, as are many of the characters you’ll need (or, at least, handy archetypes to start from). The difficulty arises when you realize that you’ll be writing for readers who might know more about the world you’re writing in than you do, and likewise that you’re a visitor in that world, not a resident (whereas with the Fifth Ward books, that’s my world – I’m both a resident and its creator). The pressure to tell a great story on your own terms that still engages and amazes the hardcore readers who move in this world regularly is very high. But, I like a challenge, so that terror was also part of the fun of doing it.
First Watch – the first book in Dale’s Fifth Ward series
I will say that I enjoyed being able to simply ask my editor (and, by extension, the wise lore-keepers at Games Workshop) direct questions that would yield direct answers. I frequently spend a lot of time developing the worlds of my original fiction precisely because I want to treat the things I’ll encounter not as things I thought up in-the-moment, but as givens – things that already exist before I ever tell the story, that are just sort of sitting there waiting for my characters to discover them. Working in a world where that is, literally, true – the lore is already there, I just have to navigate it – and where I’ve got experts to help me navigate it, is a tremendous boon.
ToW: What do you hope Age of Sigmar fans will get out of this by the time they’ve finished it?
DL: First and foremost, I just want them thrilled and engaged, to feel the adventure I’ve provided is time well-spent, and maybe to connect with the characters – to think of them as a living part of the enormous tapestry that is the Mortal Realms. Beyond that, I just hope they feel that the book I’ve written sits proudly alongside the incredible work done on the battletome. There are still a great many stories to be told about the Lumineth, I’m sure – there were a lot of elements I never managed to touch on in this single book – but, hopefully, I’ve whetted their appetites.
ToW: Finally, if you were an aelf in the Mortal Realms would you want to be a Lumineth, or would you choose to be part of one of the other aelven factions?
DL: You know, I’ve come to admire the Lumineth immensely – their stoicism, their dedication to personal perfection and unswerving duty – but that’s definitely not me. I’m more of a Darkling Covens kind of guy.
***
Huge thanks to Dale for taking the time to answer these questions – and congratulations on the imminent publishing of his first Black Library novel. Hopefully the first of many! I’m sure I’m not the only Age of Sigmar fan looking forward to finding out more about the Lumineth…
See also: my quick review of Blessed Oblivion, Dale’s first BL short story.
Realm-Lords is available to pre-order as of the 5th September.
Click here if you fancy taking a look at some other Rapid Fire interviews. If you have any questions, comments or other thoughts please do let me know in the comments below, or find me on Twitter.