More than a year and a half ago, I listened to a Brandon Sanderson audiobook and had a crazy idea that writing a fantasy epic was just going to be something I will do. Well, writing was always something I was going to do. A book is a sneeze, as E.B. White puts it. This sneeze came through like a hurricane, ripped through my nasal passage and probably gave me a nosebleed on more than one occasion. It was definitely much longer than a “debut piece” should be and was most certainly waaaaay more than I can chew. I look back now and wonder what illicit substance made its way into my bloodstream back then or if some illicit substance would have given me a clearer mindset to… chill out just a little.

  As painful and disgustingly imperfect this has all been, I don’t regret it for a single second for having come this way. I’ll admit to having every single narcissistic, shallow and egotistical thought a person could have starting this project, just to have every single one of those thoughts struck down to reality. If that is the only thing that I get out of this project, I would happily admit it was worth the time and effort. At every step I realized it was a lesson on humility. It’s priceless.

  But just as importantly to me was that it was proof that I had it in me. I could count on one hand the accomplishments I've achieved out of self desire and not obligation. Those sparse accomplishments weighed down on me and told me that my life was only valuable when I did what other people told me to do. I was only a person if I acted and looked the way other people wanted me to act and look. It made me believe I was forever to be a follower and never an individual.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  And in an act that is very me, I went to an extreme to prove to myself none of that is true. Nobody wanted or expected me to write this book... As amateurish and haphazard as it was; even if nobody reads it or if nobody cares, I’ll know I did it. I’ll count it among my proudest achievements. For once I’ll let myself be proud of myself. I learned that the only accomplishments that matter are the ones where I hold myself accountable.

  For the longest time I’ve always had story ideas and wrote ‘tidbits’ left and right, leaving each and every one of them half assed and unfinished. I was frustrated at the lack of perfection in all of them. Now at the end of a very long journey I have found the ultimate satisfaction in an ending. Perhaps that is the third and final lesson for me is that everything, especially stories, deserve an ending. Projects have value in being finished even if they aren’t perfect. I have a responsibility for making a conclusion.

  Dear reader, if you have suffered through the long mess of the Endless Solvent, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for going through this journey with me. I hope you took something away from the story. If not, I hope you were at the very least entertained.

  I hope to return with an even better story next time.

  Yours truly,

  Hyde