Good day everyone, Alexander here. Of course, who else would I be if not me?
Anyways- cutting right to it, I’d like to talk about the Ravenlight ‘Reboot’ and answer the who/what/where/when/why, mostly the what and why because there is no who or where, and the when is who knows when.
The Why: Explanation of the Reboot
Reflection
Giving a BRIEF reflection of the ENTIRETY of Ravenlight- uh, ya know… lore started in like 2009-2011, I started writing actual web content 2011-2015, sat on that from 2015 to 2017, decided I hated it and in 2018 Ravenlight was born. Novel 1: Embers of the Past dropped in 2020 and got screwed due to covid (because the publishers were so damn slow and I couldn’t correct everything). I wrote filler from 2021-2023? AND in 2024 I was going to launch the next part but tragedy struck a month later and I just said screw it. And now it’s 2025.
As followers will note- rather than focus on individual novels, come 2021 I decided to make weekly chapters and go a manga-like route. I wrote filler while planning the next big arc. 2022-2024 is about the time I was able to settle in and really get at planning the next leg of the story… and as is to be noted during this time I decided I was going to add chapter-art in the style of manga panels, do a bit of a Light Novel thing.
That is the summary of everything that was, and I’ve technically been working on this since I became a teen (I’m 28 now so half my life). I’ll admit the 20s have been slow because of the roller coaster that’s been my life but I’ve been working on that. All the drama (family, friends, work, life in general, etc), that’s being settled at last.
The Change
So lets get into the meat of this- what changed?
Those 3 years I spent working on the next leg were on and off. I was determining the direction of this chapter art and what else I could build, I was determining what I could do for future arcs as the 2011-2017 predecessor was very limited, I was researching different stories to see what other writers were doing, and I was working on growing as a creator.
I had gathered a lot of insight during this period of Research and Development but all that did was change what I ‘could’ do going forward. I didn’t decide to take a total change in tone & direction until late 2024 going into early 2025, and part of that was thanks to all the work on Soul Fall.
Why is Soul Fall relevant?
It was to be the 3rd installment of (and still could be) a community project spanning 2007-2008 to present day. We were actively working to try and develop the story, to reinvent it and the lore; uncertain if we would retcon the story or start anew with some old lore remastered or do a straight up continuation. And the entire time I was working on that I was also working on Ravenlight’s future, so concepts did get crossed.
During SF’s development we were constantly reflecting on the 1st (Home) and 2nd (Mugen no Monogatari) installments. What had we done, what did we not like, what did we like, etc– and as I was working on Ravenlight I started questioning the same thing.
And to get at the point- that really is what led to the hit.
Western Style
From a young age I had been taught “Western Writing Style” which was to cut ANYTHING out considered as filler. Filler was anything not relevant to the plot. I hated my old work 2011-2015 because I focused HEAVILY on the plot (also it was my pre-18YO writing so, screw that). Novel 1, I could acknowledge that I rushed that because I was seeking Traditional Publishing at the time, I had to condense the story so it would FIT.
And to add: Novel 1 was a reinvisioning/remaster of that 2011-2015 work, meaning I kept it fairly similar to the predecessor rather than reinvent the wheel.
Over the years I’ve watched a lot of anime, read a lot of manga & Light Novels, I’ve read/watched a lot of indie projects because internet, AND of course I was growing as a writer & incorporating what I had been learning. Lets just say that I’ve grown to despise that ‘focus on plot and cut the fluff’ mindset. I firmly believe in letting your characters breathe, to let them drive the plot by their actions, to let them build themselves and take breaks from the main content. This would be considered “Eastern Style Writing”.
I’m sure I’d probably be laughed at for looking at it as West vs East because a lot of shows and books aren’t necessarily ‘West’ anymore but again- this is what I was taught.
So combine the fact that– Novel 1 was limited to a certain length, I wrote it Western-Style, I wrote it as a reworking of something OLD that I wrote when I was starting out (which was also Western) that I was now kinda embarrassed by (can tell I’m a creator lol). I was already looking to do the web series content with a Light Novel approach.
The Math maths out.
Limitations of My Own Design
I was limiting myself severely.
I didn’t change ‘enough’ in Novel 1. All of my plans and the filler I wrote were based on that lack of change. Western, focused on the old content, just NOPE. The 20s from a writing standpoint have been a time of learning and growth, and there was a LOT that I wanted to do now that I could.
It clicked like I said in that late 24 to early 25. I could do better. I could do IT better.
I could reinvent the wheel, dumping most of the OLD lore and keeping a handful of the changes I made to it with Novel 1. I could capitalize on the fact that I was doing weekly uploads rather than solid novels. I could make great use of the new tools at my disposal (example: World Anvil for a huge wikia) and the new additions (ability to add art).
From there, yeah the rest is history.
Novel 1 became a Pilot Novel, a proof of concept. The filler that followed just that- filler to the pilot. And from here I could rewrite what I want, change some of the mistakes that lingered/carried over from the old stuff, and add a metric f#@$-ton of new content.
I could also change the tone and direction, cuz ngl while I love Dark Fantasy… might not’ve been the direction to take with everything post-novel_1. And of course, I could add a lot of new content. I could move away from what I had and, following all of that research I did over the years, spin things into a direction I haven’t necessarily seen. AKA I could make things more ‘original’ or ‘new’ and explore uncharted territories.
And oh boy have I…
The What: Reboot Rundown
So now that I’ve gone over the Why, what is the what?
What is this ‘Reboot’ and what’s happening? What content is persisting? What is getting the ax?
What’s Staying or Changed?
Well for one thing, I’m keeping my plans for the chapter art and character art. From about 2023 or so I set on this path. The reason- I thought it would be different to take a Light Novel approach. I thought it would help me stand out.
And while I haven’t necessarily been able to achieve any results, it’s been problem after problem so I can’t say it’s not working for me. People like visuals and I have confidence once the ball gets rolling proper that this’ll work to the series’ benefit. Budget hasn’t really been of concern; however as noted in the past, I’ve had issues establishing a permanent team.
I’ve had a handful of artists over the years and, as of current day, my team consists of one full-time artist and one part-timer. I’ve lost a couple along the way, not from disagreements but just life. And if anyone has been following me since 2023 you’ll have seen me from time to time try posting about seeking to hire/commission… and oh man, the bots & scammers lol.
I get flooded with those two things and suddenly I can’t tell who/what I’m engaging with so I back off.
NOW-
I am working on changing the Ravenlight Art Style with the Lead Artist. We’re thinking something more game-y/cartoony in the sense of… Paper Mario or Hollow Knight. Less of an anime-approach. This is still in the works and as I try to work with new artists, maybe we’ll hit our stride and find that Ravenlight style.
Speaking of style, I mentioned earlier that the tone & direction is changing. So I had intended to make Ravenlight more of a Darker Fantasy in the beginning. A depressed protag that self-harms, characters dying in f-ed up ways, yada yada. Well I realized that for a Young Adult story where I wanted to focus on a cartoon-ish art style and go kinda wacky with different concepts and such, that might not be the way to go.
Not to mention the fact that Soul Fall was going to be mature already and I didn’t want 2 mature projects. I realized awhile back that I wanted Ravenlight to be more… light hearted, something an advanced ‘kid’ could pick up and read. Less swears, less graphic content. I mean yes, I absolutely want Ravenlight to take itself seriously but I want it to be more of a PG-13 kind of mature than a……………. idk, R-Rated Mature?
Again- save that R Rating for Soul Fall my guy.
As far as what else is being changed… there’s a lot. The plot, its getting axed to pieces and rebuilt. Some stuff like the Lightonians and Dharkanians are staying, Elise is staying; but oh man, let me tell you, I am going to GREATLY expand on the capacity of the story.
Again I felt that I rushed Novel 1 because I needed it to be confined to a traditional-story length. That’s not a factor anymore. I’m free of limitations. And with some of these RPG-mechanics I want to try doing with the story (gonna get into that in a minute) I felt it was best to ax that novel 1 focus and redo things.
The Lightonian-Dharkanian plot won’t be the core of the series going forward. It’s going to instead be Elise going around doing what she does on a huge adventure with many MANY side quests as she finds new quests. Of course stuff like that Light-Dark War plot and the Arkaza Vampire stuff will remain but yeah, it’ll get transformed and not be the major focus.
Beyond this… I think that about covers it.
Story is getting majorly changed. Characters are getting majorly changed. Art style is getting majorly changed. Tone/vibes are getting majorly changed. The system is getting majorly changed.
What’s New?
Well, I mentioned the RPG mechanics so lets go there. Items, power ups, gear, stats, statuses, everything in your standard RPG. I want to find a way to add that into Ravenlight.
Take for example the stat of HP. Obviously in most stories if a character gets slashed across the face they’re probably dead unless they’ve got something ala Bleach where their skin is hard af; but then that’s just tanking the damage. In games with stats, it’s a back and forth wail-on match.
Take Final Fantasy VII, the OG and the Remaster. Two different combat systems (turn based and uh… whatever the term is for the remake’s system). Back and forth wailing to lower the HP. It isn’t that Sephiroth is taking no damage when you drop-kick him in the stones, his HP would definitely tank. It’s a grudge match to stay alive and stuff, not just who can land the first major blow and that’s GGs.
The idea of HP is something fun (again, wailing on someone).
Of course that’s also kinda like, kinda hard to pull off in a story without an in-verse explanation unless I go Sword Art Online or Overlord or whatever. And also of course, I don’t want hits to mean nothing or they mean something cuz the fit man who took a sword has 9 bajillion HP and can take hundreds dozens of slashes but this one random hit takes him down cuz plot.
So the idea for the power of ‘Aura Guard’ where you infuse your body with mana or energy or whatever, effectively giving you an HP bar that can hold strong or tank depending on the damage. An HP bar with an off switch.
Sounds like it could be fun, right? Not at all like Power Rangers when it comes to attacks lol (no I’m not ripping PR off, I was making a joke, this is going to be way different from that).
And that’s just one of those things that I mentioned. Imagine having Items like in Paper Mario that can heal or attack or inflict said statuses. Or maybe badges which grant special effects of some nature. And of course gear.
What else? Well there’s the World Anvil which is basically a wiki for Ravenlight. Articles on just about everything. I know I’ve explained it in previous articles (Penana, Youtube, Discord, etc) so I’ll just say here’s the link, have a look as I continue to build it: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/ravenlight-frostedsapphire
What else x2?
I am exploring other things. Mini-comics, maps, animations. I’m looking into adding OSTs in the style of old 16 & 32 bit music from video games. I’m looking at building some sort of monster/mob library.
Now I know what you’re thinking… am I writing a story or building a damn video game?! The answer is yes.
I’ve gotten big into the idea of doing ‘extra credit’ to push the series. More meat, more things to attract readers. Plus as I always say, extra content is fun.
So that about clears that up. I won’t get into too much more but uh, lets just leave it as “there’s going to be a lot changed compared to the pilot novel and its filler follow-ups.”
The When: Closing the Deal
Well, there really isn’t much more to add that hasn’t been stated before.
Overall I wanted to give a run down of why I’m doing this Reboot and I think I’ve got that done. I also explained a couple of the things being worked on. So what’s left? The when I suppose.
When is Ravenlight set to launch…. well, I’m hoping later this year. I know last year I tried to launch but then July happened and uh… wow did I lose motivation after all those blows. I will say that things haven’t exactly slowed down, my schedule is kinda trash due to family drama PLUS I’ve been looking to finally move out on my own… so there’s that.
I’m hoping though that since I have a whole half a year left I can get something put together for that 2025 launch. If not then early 2026 but for now I’m sticking to the 2025.
The Where: Uploading To??
Easy enough.
Penana, Tapas, World Anvil. Maybe Inkitt and Neovel’s new successor. Probably going to do some Volume releases when I have enough content and throw those on the Lulu.com and Amazon and Barnes-And-Noble.
Also likely to provide a google doc version or something on this site because… formatting. I can’t replicate the format proper with the above mentioned Penana through to Neovel. I can try but I won’t be able to 100% match whatever is in my word document. Sooooooooooo… I will be putting that together at some point, a drive with all of the chapters.
Also early access on my Discord Server (go join for that fun). Dunno about a Patreon for early access, maybe down the line? Idk we’ll see. Gonna keep it free for now.
The Who: What Even?
No comment. Check the credits page under Ravenlight lol.
Closing
Well I’ve rambled on this enough.
My brain is actively drowning as I’m writing this conclusion so I’ll keep it brief. And no, I won’t just write this later cuz I’m already a few days late.
TLDR: Novel 1 is now the pilot and I’m rebooting because I based Novel 1 off some old stuff I wrote as a teen, I wrote with a page count limitation and rushed the plot, my writing was limited, and a lot has changed. Lot of new elements being added. Hoping for a 2025 release.
Thank you guys for sticking by me. I’m so looking forward to bringing Ravenlight out into the spotlight whilst throwing as much at it as I can to make it blossom. This is going to be an experience unlike anything experienced before, and I hope it makes a huge splash.
With that said… thanks for reading. We will meet again eventually. Until then though-
~Have a Good One.