Hello!

  First off, in case you have missed it: This version of the story is now considered a rough draft. I have re-written the first arc, expanding it from 30k words to a book-length 180k words, and you can read it here:

  https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/98391/wander-west-in-shadow-slow-burn-dark-fantasy

  Quite a lot changes and is added into the story, and I really think if you enjoyed this one you'll really like the rewritten version - so much in the first arc really is totally brand new, and people seem to really love it. A lot of it is brand new story.

  Second, I'm making this brief post because I do plan on taking down this version of the draft. I'm not going to do it right away, and I figured I would give you plenty of warning ahead of time.

  The reason I'm doing this isn't because I don't want people reading this version, necessarily. It's because I want traffic to be directed to my new version, and even with the announcements and links I put in the blurb, and the title specifically saying that this is a rough draft, having duplicate stories online of the same title and on the same website leads to some confusion for potential readers. You might also have missed out on the fact- if you haven't noticed the new version yet - that I am talking a lot there about looking for publishers. Being picked up by a publisher would mean that this version would have to be taken down at some point, anyway.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  And, to a certain degree, I do kind of want people to not read this version. If you're a new reader that read my updated version, I think this version could really spoil some plot beats for you, delivered in a manner and quality of writing I now find unsatisfactory.

  At the same time, I definitely don't want to upset my earliest readers, so I figured I'd give you guys as much notice as possible. My statistics also tell me that there are quite a few of you who follow this story, but don't follow the new version. It could be for lots of reasons - maybe some of you just aren't on the site anymore, or you haven't noticed the new one yet, or you just haven't had time to read. Hopefully, this announcement will pick up some of you if you're in the camp of people who like this work but haven't noticed the updated version.

  If you really want this version to stay up for as long as possible, please let me know in the comments. I would prefer to take it down sooner rather than later, but I will listen if enough people really dislike the idea. Just be warned: It will have to come down eventually.