Kyle, a 7th grader is in the fight for his life when he once again encounters his worst nemesis: Henry.
Now more powerful than ever, Henry seizes Kyle, leaving him within an inch of his life.
When Kyle pleas for his life, he finds himself further t...
A Long Quest is the much awaited sequel to The Brick Building. But for anyone to benefit the most from reading this, I believe that it is only fair to share with you the full story behind the history of A Long Quest, how it has changed over the years, and how it has gotten into the form that exists today.
To begin this history, it starts with the foundation. The Brick Building is the first story to begin it all. If you have not read The Brick Building yet, I invite you to do so. Refer to the image below and give it a read. If you have already read The Brick Building, I invite you to continue past the image.
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So you have read The Brick Building then? Good. We can continue where I left off. To summarize, I wrote The Brick Building in 1994 as a writing assignment in Mrs. Porter's Fourth Grade class at Meridian Elementary. Because there was a brick building outside the elementary school, our assignment was to write a story describing what was inside the building. Some students wrote about the superintendent living in there, or the principal. But I knew differently. From my experience in the Brick Building, there was an evil goblin named Henry, disguised as a small man. A small man that offered delicious pizza and as many arcade games as you want to play. This, of course, created a false sense of security for a 10 year old (or six year old, considering that I aged all my characters six prior to Dylan's Revenge) If the former were true, than Henry managed to find an arcade cabinet from the Future (Turtles in Time released in 1991 and I was six in 1990). Who knows how many other futuristic arcade titles were in that long 10 mile corridor? Whatever the case, Henry has constructed the perfect trap for any unsuspecting child who wonders into the mysterious Brick Building at Meridian Elementary...
When I finished writing The Brick Building, I went beyond the original assignment and wrote a second and third part. With all of these parts complete, I read them all to the class. From what I can remember, they were well received.
From the success of The Brick Building, I wrote Henry's Revenge. Having killed Henry in the first story, he got his revenge by kidnapping my best friend, Dylan. What better trap can he have now than holding my best friend captive? Henry was after the magic crystal. It could make any toy real and more powerful. I managed to steal the crystal and create a laser gun to set my friend free.
Since my friend wanted revenge on Henry, I gave him an opportunity to do this. In Dylan's Revenge, it is four years since the events of Henry's Revenge. He managed to kill Henry again so we thought that Henry was gone, right?
In 1995, I wrote Henry's Return. Henry was back, only this time, he found both pieces of the power orb, allowing him to get his complete revenge on me. The Brick Building is gone as he transforms it into an invisible castle. He captures both me, and my brother Ryan, leaving it up to my friend Dylan to rescue us. Thanks to a convenient dam lock near the invisible castle, it makes the castle visible. Dylan sets the orb on fire and rescues my brother and I.
After that, I write The Time Machine in 1996. In this short story, I stop Henry from stealing the time machine from the time traveler.
Now for the moment that you have been waiting for. How did A Long Quest come about?
In 1997, when I was in 7th Grade, I decided to write a story that was a sequel to my Brick Building stories. This story would be longer than any of my other stories that I ever wrote in the past. This would be a big adventure. An epic quest like no one that I have ever written. It would be A Long Quest.
23 chapters and 16,512 words later, I wrote a story that was long by my standards. For seventh grade, this was a good start. But fortunately, that is not where the story ends...
14 years later, I looked back at A Long Quest...again. In rereading it, this was not as long of a journey as I thought it was. Like any good story, I thought like it could be told better. Much better. This began the reconstructing the world of A Long Quest. I wanted to provide a background behind Henry's existence. Where did he come from? Where did his magic come from? These questions were not addressed in the earlier stories, and I feel like A Long Quest gave me the best opportunity to address all of this. And just like that in 2011, the A Long Quest rewrite began.
For all of the different planets in A Long Quest, I started to write different languages. There is the tough and guttural Zendian language, along with the mysterious and magical Zorpozian language (a lexicon that has more than 400 words and counting and a full alphabet with different runes for each letter). There are certain planets that have their own languages as well, and I take that into account, even if it's a short scene (I even have a few words for the Tikrezian language!) For the important languages, there is translation. If you need any lexicon for the languages, I will include that later in the lexicon in one of the appendices.
In designing this story, I wanted to take close care to the detail of all of the different environments. The universe that we live in is quite vast, and with the many planets that we have, there are many environments. Anything from a lush green, rolling plain to an endless dry dusty desert, with not a drop of water to be found. Even a hot, fiery furnace with volcanoes as far as the eye can see. Each planet has its own atmosphere, with different governments, buildings, and the various races that fill it. There are histories woven into the fabric of every one, with some on display and the rest being ignored. There are galaxies and star systems, each with their own unique name. Different starships and different galactic armies. Some starships are for strictly fighting. Some are for leisure. Some mix the two together, with luxury starships fit for the richest ones in the galaxy.
So with that, the languages and the environments are well taken care of in the story. I also throw in another element to the story. Each world has its own view on the origin of all things. And based on the race that you talk to, they may either agree with you or take offense to what you tell them. These moments are definitely visited in this story and I find them as important to think about in our daily lives.
From 1997, I have greatly expanded the romance within the story. Due to elements that I have integrated into the story, Kyle will not be able to get too intimate with the girl of his dreams. This will be addressed later, as this character is a crucial part to how Kyle grows and develops over the course of the story.
A Long Quest is a journey through space in a set span of time. Based on those spans, different "books" will denote each span. For now, all you need to know is that "Book 1" will cover "Year 1". To fully realize the goal of A Long Quest, I envision it as a journey spanning at least 300,000 words or more. When you pick up a book that contains more than 1,000 pages, you expect an epic story with unforgettable characters. The impression that I attempt to achieve with the characters that you will find in this story manages to be more than up to that challenge. With different races and different worlds, there will be no shortage of culture and lore contained within the mythos of A Long Quest. This is a world of more than 28 years in the making. A world that is being continuously refined and defined by its various characters, cultures, languages, history, and lore.
As you read this story, take in the scenery. Smell those lush plains. Walk through those royal corridors. Get lost in a world that has had its humble beginnings from a simple writing assignment. A world that has greatly changed over the past 28 years.
