Introducing The Theatre of the Siege Princess!
Howdy, pardners.
I’ve mentioned before that I’d like to start making regular posts here, and considering it’s been over six months since I added Demon Healer Naberius: Volume Four’s release article, it’s safe to say I failed spectacularly. However, from the ashes of that failure, I’ve found something much more fun to share with you.
It is my utmost pleasure to introduce my one-off spin-off, The Theatre of the Siege Princess!
Introduction
The Theatre of the Siege Princess tells the story of Sofia Saccharum, a young bounty hunter known and heir to the ancient Saccharum family of vampires, and her fiancé/assistant Marcel Roderescu, heir to the equally-ancient Roderescu clan of vampire hunters. Centuries ago, the Saccharums and Roderescus were enemies, but after putting aside their differences and cooperating in their mutual pursuit of justice, a bond has blossomed between them—to the point the families have decided to truly unify through an arranged marriage of their heirs.
However, the Saccharums have a legacy of upholding elegance and nobility as they apprehend criminals, and while the Roderescus have put their own hunting days behind them in favor of operating a business conglomerate, they have not forgotten the magnificence of Saccharum bounty hunters. As such, the elders of both families have decided that Sofia and Marcel must prove themselves worthy of their houses before they are wed, demanding that Sofia show she is just as distinguished as her ancestors and that Marcel demonstrate his ability to support her.
Naturally, the young couple has risen to the challenge. Together, they will transform Sofia’s hunts into bombastic displays of skill and drama—welcoming all to gaze upon the theatre of the Siege Princess.
The Theatre of the Siege Princess takes place in Rullia, the same world as Demon Healer Naberius. I definitely did this for very necessary story elements and not because I wanted to use a fantasy theme again but was too lazy to invent a new setting. However, the stories are otherwise unconnected; DHN takes place in Ambarino on the continent of Glanerica while Siege Princess is in the city of Saulingham on Eurola, across the ocean. As fun as it could have been, Nabby and Bosa won’t be making any appearances here.
If you are unfamiliar with the world of Demon Healer Naberius and would like to learn more, please check out the series’ introductory articles here. That said, The Theatre of the Siege Princess has been written to be self-contained, so the information there won’t be necessary to enjoy it.
Moving on, as stated in this article’s excerpt, The Theatre of the Siege Princess is a more action-focused take on my usual writing style. Although DHN occasionally includes action intensive sequences, it more often centers around dialogue, particularly comedy and emotional exposition. I very much enjoy writing in that manner, but as a challenge to myself, I wanted to write a story with movement and combat at its heart. As an insufferable dweeb, I grew up loving Eric Nylund’s Halo novels for his incredible descriptions of battles between massive spaceships, but as my brain is too small for writing sci-fi and especially anything involving hyper-technical space combat, I reduced the setting to the more personal level I’m comfortable with.
To be honest, I also just really wanted to write a story about a character who fights with a pile bunker. Writing only a chapter about a stake driver-wielding character in DHN wouldn’t have satisfied me, so I hope you don’t mind getting a whole novel instead.
Lastly, this novel functioned as an excuse to hire the magnificent Rezynsire as cover artist and character designer. I’ve commissioned her for personal drawings of Nabby and Bosa before, and her dazzling art was the first that came to mind when I was considering the presentation I’d like for a story about a dandy vampire. I’m incredibly grateful for her help with this project and the outstanding designs she created, so if the opportunity avails itself, please consider commissioning her yourself.
Speaking of character designs, it’s about time we met the young couple starring in The Theatre of the Siege Princess, no? Please allow me to introduce Sofia and Marcel, as well as another special inclusion.
Characters
Sofia Saccharum
Race: Vampire
Occupation: Bounty Hunter
Age: 30
Likes: Marcel, filet mignon, swimming, foreign dramas, warm nights
Dislikes: Quiet places, drinking blood, monologues, not having a reflection
Skills: Bounty hunting, acting
Sofia is the sole heir to the Saccharum bloodline, an ancient family of vampires that prides itself on upholding the law as bounty hunters, investigators, and other agents of justice. She is engaged to Marcel, and while their marriage was arranged by their families, she has fallen deeply in love with him. She has made a name for herself as the “Siege Princess”, a bounty hunter who wields the legendary pile bunker Confession and treats each hunt like a theatre show, with Marcel acting as her assistant.
Sofia is an earnest person. Despite her high-class upbringing, she is polite and down-to-earth, though she enjoys letting Marcel spoil her. She is devoted to her family and fiancé and has a strong sense of justice, though she is at times too gullible and forbearing.
But when she goes out on a hunt, Sofia becomes the Siege Princess—an arrogant, condescending dandy. She openly mocks her opponents for falling for her tricks, and her only goal is to transform the hunt into an enthralling show. Sofia greatly enjoys acting out the role, but she admits to sometimes feeling guilty over acting so rude.
Sofia and Marcel’s families were once enemies, but after setting aside their differences, they have decided to unite through the wedlock of their heirs. The Saccharum family’s elders have challenged Sofia to prove her worth by hunting criminals with skill and bombast, so with Marcel’s support, she aspires to become a legendary bounty hunter like her uncle, Lynus Saccharum.
Marcel Roderescu
Race: Human
Occupation: Engineer and Assistant
Age: 21
Likes: Sofia, puzzles, chocolate, organization, comic books
Dislikes: Pets, fast food, anyone who doesn’t like Sofia, his own shortcomings
Skills: Predictive psychology, directing, weapons maintenance
Marcel is the heir to the Roderescu conglomerate, a large, family-owned weapons and armor manufacturer that rose from an ancestral clan of vampire hunters. He is engaged to Sofia as part of an arranged marriage between the Roderescus and Saccharums, though he had already fallen in love with Sofia when he first saw her fifteen years ago. He acts as the Siege Princess’ assistant; he prepares the “stages” where each hunt will take place and plans out scenes to make them more exciting.
Marcel is a very sarcastic man who claims—and appears—to know everything. He is always smiling, though it is only genuine when directed at Sofia, and his intelligence allows him to predict how people will behave days in advance with disturbing accuracy. However, because he expects perfection out of himself, he has a hard time forgiving his own mistakes, and his brusque nature to all but a select few has not won him many friends.
While he personally couldn’t care less about the history between the Saccharums and Roderescus, Marcel proudly does everything he can to support Sofia’s dream of bringing their families together. He works behind the scenes to make Sofia’s bounty hunting go as smoothly as possible, handling everything from scouting locations to cleanup. He is also in charge of Confession’s maintenance, a task passed down to him from his forefathers.
Confession
An ancient stake-driving weapon that was created by the Roderescu clan of vampire hunters 500 years ago for the express purpose of killing members of the Saccharum family. Colloquially known as a “pile bunker”, it is able to pierce through armor and magic using a variety of ammunitions, including non-lethal stun rounds and blessed silver stakes.
Confession was given to the Saccharum family when they became allies with the Roderescus 200 years ago, as a gesture of faith and brotherhood. It was meant to be wielded by the Saccharums’ patriarch, but it ultimately wound up in the hands of Lynus Saccharum, the patriarch’s brother and Sofia’s uncle. It has since been passed down to Sofia in accordance with her role as future matriarch of the family.
Confession has been rebuilt and modified many times over the centuries. Thanks to a combination of engineering and dark rituals, it has gained the ability to transform when infused with a vampire’s blood and can turn into a cannon, a rifle, a lance, and more. Sofia adores Confession as a precious heirloom, and Marcel performs maintenance on the weapon to keep it in peak condition.
Where can I find
The Theatre of the Siege Princess?
Like my prior books, The Theatre of the Siege Princess will be released in both ebook and paperback on Amazon for $2.99 and $9.99 respectively. I’m aiming for a release in early June to try and line up with the second anniversary of Demon Healer Naberius: Volume One, but at the time of this writing, I’m midway through the editing process and Rezynsire is busy finalizing the covers, so I’ll apologize in advance if I fail to meet that goal.
When the book has been approved and posted for purchase on Amazon, I’ll post a new article on this website. You can also follow my Twitter, @varnicrast, if you would like more immediate updates.
Where the fuck is
Demon Healer Naberius: Volume Five?
DHN: Vol. 5 is still on the way! The first manuscript was finished earlier this month, and Tostantan has been making steady progress on the artwork. I fully intend to begin the editing and formatting process right after The Theatre of the Siege Princess is released, and if everything goes according to plan, we can expect to see Vol. 5 in early July. Please stay tuned!
In Closing
Thank you very much for your interest in The Theatre of the Siege Princess! It has been (and currently is) a very fun book to work on, and I’m looking forward to hearing readers’ thoughts on it. I’ll admit I’m also a little nervous, given how I’m intentionally deviating from my usual style, but I promise I’ll have done everything I can to deliver the fun tale I envisioned.
Creating this spinoff required that I step outside my comfort zone, and I feel it has been a wonderful, enlightening experience. Likewise, writing for Sofia and Marcel has been a treat, and I hope you will enjoy meeting them as well.
Cheers, dear reader.
(Also, don’t hold me to it, but I do have something I’d like to post here on the second anniversary of DHN—beyond an announcement for Siege Princess. I’ll do my best to make it happen.)
