One of the most exciting offerings from Skull Island eXpeditions in the coming months is the epic novel The Blood of Kings, written by the sage of the Iron Kingdoms himself, Douglas Seacat. This massive novel (over 500 pages!) wraps up the primary WARMACHINE narrative told in the various anthology books released over the last ten years. We spoke to Doug about this massive undertaking in a two-part interview, the first of which you can read below.

1) While we’ve all read hints about your upcoming book The Blood of Kings, there’s no doubt there’s still much to tell. You and author Aeryn Rudel (Acts of War: Flashpoint, prereleasing in June at Lock & Load GameFest 2016) have both dropped a few hints in the forums about your books. So, just give us a little insight into the events of the book and how it affects the overall narrative of the Iron Kingdoms.

The backdrop for the novel is the Second Cygnaran Civil War, so the book has a significant impact on Cygnar in particular. We’ve already given away that Leto (the current king) is losing his crown, though we’ve been cagey about exactly how it goes down. We kick things off in The Blood of Kings when Vinter Raelthorne, the former king of Cygnar, makes his big move to reclaim his throne from his usurper brother. Vinter chooses his timing carefully, waiting for his brother’s armies to be tied up so Leto is at his most vulnerable. The event that gives Vinter his chance is when Khador breaks its alliance with Cygnar after a combined victory versus the Nightmare Empire of Cryx.

There are three sides to this civil war, each represented by a different Raelthorne. There’s King Leto Raelthorne, who’s presently on the Cygnaran throne and trying to put up the good fight despite many recent setbacks. Next, we have Vinter Raelthorne IV, Leto’s older brother who was deposed in the Lion’s Coup and who has returned to rectify that. Then there’s the wild card—Julius Raelthorne, Vinter’s bastard son who was secreted away as a child and who falls under the mentorship of the exiled mercenary Asheth Magnus.

As you can imagine, the outcome of the book will have a significant impact on each of these individuals, as well as the leadership of Cygnar. Being one of the major military powers in our setting, what happens to Cygnar has ripples with the other factions as well. Both Khador and the Protectorate of Menoth play a part in the civil war, and each of these nations is directly affected by its outcome.

2) Does this book have long-term ramifications for the individuals involved as well?

There are some big changes that go down in the aftermath of this novel for several major characters, especially Asheth Magnus and Allister Caine, whose conflict takes center stage. The status of both of these characters changes significantly. This will be explored in subsequent books, including the Acts of War series by Aeryn Rudel, starting with Flashpoint, and a new series featuring Caine currently being written by Miles Holmes, due this fall.

3) What should readers know in advance before diving into The Blood of Kings?

We worked hard to make The Blood of Kings self-contained, so readers should just dive right in!

That said, it is set after many recent events in the fiction, and those who have been keeping up with the ongoing story through our WARMACHINE (and HORDES) books will have a head start. I’d consider this sort of exposure entirely optional.

One way I approached this was to start with an extensive prologue, one I think is an entertaining and fun read in its own right. This prologue includes many brand new scenes that will provide new info even to long-time readers but which also help bring new readers up to speed. The prologue is centered on the background of Julius Raelthorne, especially the conspiracies around his birth and upbringing. This is all new material for everyone, but it let me also introduce the longstanding plot between Scout General Rebald and Allister Caine to assassinate Julius, featured in WARMACHINE books going all the way back to Apotheosis in Mk I. My hope is the novel will be enriched for those who have read previous material while still being fun and accessible to newcomers.

4) How does The Blood of Kings fit with Flashpoint and the recently released novella “Wrath of the Dragonfather”?

As far as this novel’s relationship to Flashpoint, I’d say The Blood of Kings serves as a great prequel to Aeryn’s book. There’d be nothing wrong with picking up that novel and starting there instead. It’s kicking off a new trilogy set two years after The Blood of Kings. However, Flashpoint shares many of the same characters, and reading Flashpoint will reveal to you many of the outcomes of my novel. In Flashpoint, we get to see how Cygnar looks a couple of years after the civil war, including the new challenges faced by several major characters.

“Wrath of the Dragonfather” takes place essentially at the same time as the ending of The Blood of Kings, but there isn’t really much crossover. I allude to a few of the events in the setup of “Wrath” in my novel, but my characters are in different places and largely unaware of what’s going on with the dragons. Leto is isolated in this novel, and his clash with his elder brother and nephew take place in a different corner of the kingdom from where Major Haley and Constance Blaize are dealing with their problems. That said, we can imagine the aftermath of the civil war is complicated by the terror and carnage depicted in “Wrath of the Dragonfather.” Needless to say, while it’s an exciting time for our readers, this is a bad time to be an ordinary person living nearly anywhere in Cygnar! Also, both books prove that riding the train is done at your own peril in our setting. Frankly, I’d just walk or take a boat.

Actually, now that I think about it, those are dangerous, too.

5) Okay, let’s talk heroes and villains. Who are we rooting for and against in The Blood of Kings?

The Blood of Kings is an epic novel, and there’s a lot going on with a sizable cast of characters. Captain Allister Caine is the protagonist of the novel (although that’s debatable!), representing Leto’s side. He is forced to confront many difficult choices while seeking the best outcome for Cygnar. He’s put in a position where he’s being ordered to do the wrong things for the right reasons, and he’s keenly aware of that fact. The primary story of this novel is less about the civil war than about Caine’s covert operations taking place in the midst of it. Through the course of the novel, we spend time with a number of other prominent Cygnaran characters, including Markus “Siege” Brisbane, Coleman Stryker, Jeremiah Kraye, King Leto, and Scout General Rebald. There are new characters here as well, most prominently Clay Vernor, a young CRS private who assists Caine.

Vinter IV is absolutely the “big bad” of this novel, at least from a certain perspective. (Naturally, his loyalists would disagree.) He’s one of the most formidable characters in our setting, a living legend who has earned the right to be spoken of in the same company as our mightiest warcasters and warlocks. Vinter is supported by a number of major Cygnaran nobles and loyalist officers. The most prominent of these is a new warcaster character, Colonel Lynn Hawkins, a dishonored officer serving with the equally discredited Fourth Army. I’m not willing to call Hawkins a “villain,” but certainly some would say she’s working for the wrong side. From another perspective, both Vinter and Hawkins are just trying to restore themselves to positions they rightfully deserve.

6) The Blood of Kings also features a number of characters who don’t fall into clearly defined roles of “hero” and “villain.” Tells us about those characters.

These are our wild card characters. Many of these characters fall into the “third option” represented by Julius Raelthorne, who is arguably the secondary protagonist of the novel (or deuteragonist, for those with a fondness for Greek). Asheth Magnus is our most prominent character in this camp, a man who has staked everything on the unlikely gamble of putting Julius on the throne, even if it requires killing both Vinter and Leto in the process. This puts him directly in the path of Allister Caine, and their conflict forms the core of the novel. In the process, we get to spend time with many mercenaries and criminals, including Drake MacBain, Oren Midwinter, Jarok Croe, and a few new characters. My favorite new character on this side is former Senior Inquisitor Wilkes Quinn, a peer of Midwinter’s who played a role in raising Julius…

Stay tuned for the second half of Doug’s interview about the epic novel The Blood of Kings, and watch for the book’s release May 25, 2016, on skullislandx.com, Amazon.com, iTunes, barneandnoble.com, DriveThruRPG.com, and your local game store!