Charleston, South Carolina, in November. Magical. That’s all I can say. It’s not just the incredible history, or the ghost tours, or the food and drink, or the people – who are wonderful and happy to see you – it’s the atmosphere. There’s a palpable … something … here. Maybe it’s the fact that the city is over 300 years old (which might not impress our foreign readers, but for Americans … this place is ancient.) Maybe it’s because nearly ever foot of ground on which you walk probably had dead bodies underneath. Not kidding. But getting an understanding — even one as brief as I’ve had over the past 24 hours – for the creation of this city has also given me an understanding of the creation of port cities in general, and how Dargon itself might have been created, or at least how it might have transformed from its birth as a Fretheod outpost to the remote port town it is today.
And how does one justify the creation of a port town way to the north of all the good climate, easy living environments further to the south? Why create a town so far north, and more importantly to this Project, why write about it? What is it that Dargon has that brings people (the characters we write about, that is) and authors to its shores? That’s a good question. I can’t rightly answer it in whole. I can tell you that there has to be a palpable … something … to Dargon to make it worthwhile. And while I might not know what that something is, it’s been drawing me here for over 25 years. I hop[e it draws you here for just as long, if not longer. Go through the archives. Read the creation of this city, such as we’ve written it, from character standpoints. Get a feel for it. It’s worth it. I don’t necessarily know what the future holds for the town of Dargon, but I have a better understanding of its past just by visiting Charleston, SC.
This issue’s stories come to you from Joseph Carney and Liam Donahue. Joe’s story, A Tale of Dark Magic, continues the saga of the dead wizard Sandore in A Tale of Dark Revenge. Meanwhile, Liam continues the multi-author Doravin storyline with Seeking the Stone.
Here at the Dargon Project, we’d like to wish all our readers and everyone else around the world a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season. We’ll see you in 2018. Enjoy!
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