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Godsfall Chronicles - Final Words

Translator: Xiao Lai

From Tipsy Wanderer,

Here ends the Godsfall Chronicles, at least for the time being.

If you have read this far I (Tipsy Wanderer) sincerely appreciate your support. The ending was left open both to give space to the reader to follow their own imagination, and so that there’s space for any future film adaptations or online series. If later more of the story needs to be told, then this ending will be an appropriate starting place.

In all there are many regrets that come with the end of this book. I’ve never relied on gimmicks or stunts and call things as I see them, so I’d like to talk about how I feel.

First are some confessions and reflections. As my first commissioned work I must say that I lacked experience. When I started writing the book my mind went to deep and profound places, there was a lot to expect. A lot to look forward to. My intention was to follow Cloudhawk’s growth and perspective as he clawed his way out of the wastelands, from the lowest of the low to the highest peak; to chronicle his experience from the wastes to the Elysian lands and how that expanded and enriched his world view.

Had I followed this road map, Cloudhawk wouldn’t have reached Skycloud until the middle of the story. Unfortunately the story’s directors (Translator: publishers?, unclear) put a lot of restrictions on me. Since it was a commissioned work to begin with, I was not firm enough in my vision and accepted these limitations (T: ‘baggage’ as he puts it).

As a result Cloudhawk reached Skycloud by book two and this threw my whole outline into chaos. A lot of extra requirements were imposed so that while the first few volumes were manageable, the mid- and later books felt like I was a shackled dancer. It was one reason why the updates came slower.

Among the requirements were to avoid anything politically or religiously sensitive, otherwise I would have taken more risks. But since the plot of the story already involved a great deal of politics and religion, I didn’t have the freedom to explore it more completely. So it didn’t match my expectations... in the end the work didn’t reach the ideal I was reaching for.

Nevertheless, there was much I learned upon completing the novel. I really wanted to express my thanks to all my readers for their continued tolerance and support!

It was my first directed novel and may not be my last, but if I do take on another contract like this I’ll make sure to stick to my creative vision and make sure I create the best product I can.

Right now the story’s online series is progressing smoothly (T: currently marked as ‘in production’ on their website, link below). The company responsible for making it, Original Force, is one of the country’s top animation studios with many years of technical and production experience. It will be rendered in motion capture and I hope you all support it when it’s finally released.

Both the director and screenwriter are very skilled, and I believe they will work together to create a great and faithful adaptation of the novel. I think they’ll make an even better and more perfect story, since I was unable to make it complete. I encourage everyone to keep their eyes out for it.

And so Godsfall Chronicles is done. However the legend of Cloudhawk may not be. Perhaps it’s only the beginning. Perhaps one day I may write more about his life, making up for my regrets in the story and making a more complete tale for Cloudhawk and his cast of supporting characters.

Finally, I would like to end with a bow and say once more, emphatically – thank you all!

Tipsy Wanderer.

From Xiao Lai:

There it is, my second fully translated work. Like Tipsy said it has certainly been a journey.

Godsfall Chronicles has experienced a somewhat volatile life on Wuxiaworld. Ren started it long ago, but the demands of running a website and overseeing dozens of novels took him away. I am greatly appreciative of his decision to let me pick it up. Those familiar may know that my previous novel was Skyfire Avenue – another sci-fi fantasy epic – which meant I had some experience with this sort of novel, certainly not typical Wuxiaworld fare.

Our style of translating it was also a little different. Ren had read the novel and had an overarching idea of what was to come. On the other hand, I never read further than the chapter I was working on. The theory was that in experiencing the story as I translated it, the surprise and wonder and joy would filter through into the writing. I honestly feel we can say that is the case.

The drawback to this system was that Ren had to take time from his already inundated schedule to look it over for consistency, and to make changes in accordance with revelations we run into later in the story. Releases stuttered, giving the unintended impression that the tale was unreliable and so readership suffered.

But really I feel that it was I that did this novel its greatest disservice. Not necessarily in the quality of my translation, I take the quality of my work very seriously. Because of the unique style of this work and our release hiccups, people either did not know or did not commit to Godsfall Chronicles the way it deserved. I am not wise in the ways of marketing and advertising, but this story absolutely deserved someone who was. I wholeheartedly believe that this tale is a work of art that deserves to be shouted from the mountain tops. More eyes would have been drawn to share this journey and ultimately more revenue would have been provided for Wuxiaworld, which had this story produced for all of you at a significant financial loss since the very beginning all through its end. But that’s how committed Ren is to getting this story told, how much faith he has in the belief that this was something his readers really want.

So in the end I ask a favor from all of you. Please tell everyone you know about Godsfall Chronicles. Do what I couldn’t and make sure that Tipsy’s masterpiece gets the exposure it deserves among a western audience because it merits nothing less – and if you’ve read up to this point, you know that’s true.

Thank you to everyone who read my translation, commented on it, critiqued it, put up with my errors and misspellings and participated. I am overjoyed to have been able to share this with you. When at last the Godsfall Chronicles is released on paperback (here’s hoping!) and when the online series is unleashed on the world I’m going to be first in line to buy copies.

Much love,

Xiao Lai