The Quest for the Legends

Chapter 65: Three Dragons

Oh, look, it's a chapter.

You can read all about the sordid tale of why this chapter took so long on my Tumblr, which, uh, may be a better place to hear about QftL progress these days than the Quest Blog. I'm not going to try to convince you it's worth the wait - I don't think it is - but at least now I can write some other chapters! That won't take as long!

I'm still planning to finish chapters 66-69 in one batch and then post them on a schedule after they're all done, so don't expect 66 too soon, but still definitely sooner than these past two. There is no excuse for the past two.

Chapter 66: Doubts is finally up.

Chapters 67, 68 and 69 have also been completed; they will be posted on the following three Thursdays. Thus, chapter 67 will be posted on February 25th, chapter 68 will be posted on March 3rd, and chapter 69 will be posted on March 10th.

I also updated Alan's character bio (contains spoilers for chapter 66), because did you know Alan has all of the issues.

Chapter 67: Friends is up, as promised. This is probably the most A-to-B-ish of these chapters - an awful lot of it just feels like setup for 68 - but hey, it's not long to wait.

Chapter 68: Truths is up. Just one more left of this set.

Chapter 70's going pretty well, although I've also been making some last-minute edits to 68/69 because of course I am. I'm at the part where it stops being a battle now.

Chapter 69: Lies

I ended up making a bunch more edits to this chapter over the past couple of weeks. I still vaguely feel like I should spend more time on it, but I committed to a schedule, and for a May-heavy chapter, that's probably a good thing.

Chapter 70: Waraider

The next installment will in all likelihood be an extra connected to this chapter. I did quite a bit of work on chapter 71 in preparation for this one, so that's coming along, too.

Not Alone, the previously mentioned Waraider extra, is up. In the vein of the previous extras, it's not a necessary part of the story, but if you liked Waraider, it gives a bit more insight into him and his issues (also, bonus young Chaletwo).

Chapter 71 is here!

Chapter 72 is also ready and will go up next Saturday. Editing chapter 73 is also underway.

Chapter 71 is here!

Chapter 72 is also ready and will go up next Saturday. Editing chapter 73 is also underway.

And, as promised, Chapter 72: Rick is up. It's pretty short but I love it a lot, for reasons.

Chapter 73: Recuperation is up. We're slowly closing in on the end.

I'm still hoping to be able to get 75 and 76 up for the fic's fifteenth anniversary in June, but three months is a bit tight given I need to make major changes to both 74 and 75, so I can't promise I'll make that.

Chapter 74: Unraveling is out. It is also TQftL's fifteenth anniversary.

I wanted to be able to finish the fic today, or else post the climax (chapters 75 and 76) - alas, it wasn't to be. But in a way, this is a pretty appropriate chapter to post today. It's not the most exciting or action-packed chapter, but it's a very nostalgic one, including, referencing or calling back to several events, characters and places from very early in the fic (don't worry, I don't expect you to still remember any of that), and one of the scenes here I literally first thought up when I was twelve or thirteen, making it by far the oldest scene this late in the fic - it has evolved over the years, of course, but my thirteen-year-old self would still recognize it. That feels pretty amazing, and looking back on all that history and the little thoughtless, childish writing decisions from the early days that this chapter lovingly embraces and recontextualizes a bit is a nice way to celebrate the fic's fifteenth anniversary.

I confess I'd probably be spending more time on this chapter if it weren't the anniversary, but I think it more or less does what it's supposed to do, and I'm content with that.

Thanks to everyone who's been here for this journey, whether you started reading this year or a decade ago. I know I have readers my age who've been following this story since they were kids, and it's amazing to think something I wrote has been a part of their lives for so long. Thanks to everyone who's been cheering me on over the years, poking me about my progress until I got here. And of course, a very special thanks to elyvorg and opaltiger, who've been my beta-readers for the past several years.

It's finally time.

The Final Stretch - Chapter 75: Mewtwo²
Chapter 76: Chalenor

I don't know if this is going to live up to whatever you may have been imagining or expecting or hoping for, but it's how this story goes.

Chapter 77: Home

Well, that's it. That's the end of The Quest for the Legends. Today it has been sixteen years since I started this story, and now it's done.

(Well, it's technically the twentieth over here by now. But I've always counted days by when I go to bed.)

Thanks to everyone who's been reading this over the years. I'm so grateful to have had people sharing this weird, stubborn journey with me. It really means a lot.

The chapter's mostly character wrap-up; not too much to say about it. I hope it gives you most of the closure you were hoping for.

I guess this is also where I officially announce the author's commentary. Because apparently just writing this thing for sixteen years isn't enough for me, I'm going to set out rereading the ILCOE from the beginning, writing commentary on each chapter, and making the commented versions viewable here for your reading pleasure. The idea would be that for anyone interested, you can read along with me and we can all laugh at how ridiculous it is together. It would make sense to do this on some kind of schedule (weekly?), so I'll probably attempt that. Knowing me I'll probably be impatient and start it this weekend or something.