For some reason I can't find this info anywhere. My wife and I are playing and she hasn't received a druid recruitment offer in like 30 turns. But she did lose her starting hut citadel to the enemy.
Is the Hut the ONLY citadel that gives druid recruitment, or will libraries also increase rhe odds of getting an offer?
Hello, everyone. I've been lurking here for about a year, knowing I would have to do a query letter at some point. Well, I've finally finished the second draft of my novel, and I figure it's time to get cracking on this as well. I'd like to acknowledge upfront that this first query letter attempt is primarily focused on the story hook and pitch. I haven't settled on the books I want to use as comps yet, or what to put in my bio (I've had a somewhat interesting life as a military kid, but it's got nothing to do with my writing). I figure those things are secondary to the hook and story pitch being good.
Unfortunately, I feel like what I have so far is not, in fact, good. Maybe it's the novice nerves talking, but I'm just not happy with it, and I can't place what exactly I should prioritize improving with the limited word count I have. So please, have at it: I'm no stranger to harsh feedback. Feel free to give me your honest opinion of the first 300 words of the manuscript as well.
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Dear [Agent],
The only sky Prince Rudolf of Solfrieksil has ever known is made of stone. All his life, he’s shared a single ambition with his father: return to the surface world, the paradise that was taken from his people in ancient times. His father is old and ill, but the recent invention of steam-powered aircraft gives Rudolf the chance to ascend and fulfill their shared dream. At least, until an unprovoked attack from the kingdom’s neighbors, the Ertseleute, spurs his father to punitive war.
Arrogant and impatient, Rudolf eagerly joins the conflict, eager to claim both glory and the wall-climbing reptilian mounts of his foes to facilitate his ascension to paradise. But when his reckless bravado puts him at the mercy of Friedelinde, an Ersteleute cartographer, and her scaly companion, Skrymir, Rudolf quickly becomes a VIP prisoner headed for the heart of enemy territory.
Opportunities to escape in the dark and deadly subterranean are rare. Friedelinde is kind and curious, but vigilant and committed to her people. Though they reach a cordial understanding of each other and their nations, Rudolf still receives an ultimatum: convince his father to end the hostilities, or remain a prisoner of the Ersteleute indefinitely.
Rudolf refuses to even consider this until Friedelinde offers to show him the truth of the world he'd sacrifice her people for. Now, Rudolf must decide between convincing his father to discard his greatest dream and die in misery, or join the man who raised him in clearing all obstacles from the path of their lifelong ambition.
Set in an alien subterranean world hidden from the glory of a bygone civilization claimed by a mysterious catastrophe, The Path to Paradise is an adult fantasy manuscript complete at 123,000 words, similar to [Comps here].
[Bio here]
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First 300 Words:
Through the water-dappled lens of his goggles, the only thing Rudolf could see beyond the nose of his wooden aircraft was a field of endless gray. Mist thicker than a bowl of cold porridge, whipped into Rudolf’s goggles by the spinning propeller cutting through it. It was almost impossible to tell that he was even moving forward.
Until the soft, clinging gray in front of him suddenly gave way to solid, unyielding brown: a stalactite, an earthen spike reaching down from the ceiling to smash Rudolf’s transport into a cloud of shattered fungalwood and metal scraps.
Rudolf’s asshole puckered as he yanked on the steering column, swiftly rolling his nimble Airwing out of the way, passing by the stone sentinel by a hair’s breadth, leaving both it and the cloud of fog behind him as he loosed a nervous, elated chuckle.
“Fuckin’ batshite! That was close!”
A voice with far less enthusiasm replied. “That is exactly why we aren’t supposed to fly through clouds, Prince! Do you even pay attention during the training lectures?”
Rudolf pulled a soaked, crimson scarf down from his nose, wiping at the droplets gathered on his black mustache. “Watch your tone, Stephan. And quit your bellyaching! We’re here, aren’t we?”
Now free of any fog, Rudolf’s jade-green eyes took in the sight before him. Stretching to every corner of the sky was the unforgiving stone ceiling of his world, the upper limit of his subterranean home. Devoid of warmth or anything more notable than oddly-shaped stalactites, disturbed only by a singular anomaly far in the distance.
There, the stone sky surrendered to a colossal fracture, the source of a shining curtain of gold, piercing through the gloom and illuminating a cascading waterfall in amber as it splayed out into a bottomless abyss far below.
The sacred light of the surface world.
I've been building Zoids for a few years now, but usually just straight out of the box. But I really want to start customizing, and this is my first time doing that, even if it's only some minor alterations. The addition of color to the missiles, wing tips, weapons, pylons really help the model pop more! The only thing I haven't done to this model yet is topcoat it.
In other news, if anyone is curious about the HMM Pteras Bomber, I can't recommend it enough. It's affordable, easy to build, and fairly sturdy!