📚 The damage is done

photo credit: Mike Tan

C. L. Polk is the author of Even Though I Knew the End and The Midnight Bargain, among many others. Their newest book is The Feywild Job, out June 30th from Random House Worlds. Below, they discuss what it was like to write a romantasy set in the world of Dungeons and Dragons.

Sometimes you have wishes that you don’t really talk about because they are too outlandish. Writing a D&D story was mine. When I read the email asking me if I wanted to write a romantasy set in the Feywild, I learned what it was like to have a wish come true. I also had to figure out how to make game rules into the story I wanted to tell.

I knew I wanted a warlock with an Archfey patron. On paper, these warlocks can change how they look at will. They can make instant friends with a smile, so long as they exit the acquaintance within ten minutes. They can cast convenient little illusions all day long, but they can call down incredible power when the need strikes.

I thought, “How glamorous.” And then, “What’s the catch?”

And that’s when Saeldian showed up. They came to me as this stunning, mercurial them fatale who enjoys the power their Archfey patron gives them. Not only can they charm anyone they meet and change how they look to suit the moment, they can look right when it’s time to relax off the job. But Saeldian bargained for this power: in exchange, they could never lose themself to love. When they made that promise as a child, it was easy. So how could I test that, now that they can do so much?

And that’s when Kell showed up. The urchin they teamed up with, helped become a bard, and then betrayed. Kell never wanted to see Saeldian again. But to get back home to his adopted family in the Feywild, he has to work with the person he once trusted more than anyone else in Faerûn. He hates Saeldian. But he wants to understand one thing: Why did they leave him to die in Baldur’s Gate? Saeldian can’t tell him. But he’s determined to find out.

Inside the adventure of ex-friends and ex-partners getting back together for one last job is a story about loyalty, trust, and what happens when we hold on to something that hurts us.