A Game of Chi Book I: A Crown of Blood

Foreword, Maps, Guide and Prologue

FOREWORD

I have been writing stories for years now, but despite the hundreds of short stories and works of fanfiction I have started, only three have been completed. The first was written when I was twelve, and was self-published. It wasn't very good. The second one, written when I was thirteen, has been awaiting my revisions, and I fear I will never finish it. This book has the distinction of being the only completed story that I have written that I think is any good, but of course, it is largely due to the two works of fiction on which this story is based. George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and its television adaptation Game of Thrones provided me with many story beats and basic characterization, while the world of the Lego subtheme Legends of Chima gave me the basis for the world and the characters who inhabit it. This book, and the four which will hopefully follow it, are heavily based on these two themes, and I fully admit that they are the reason this book, in my eyes at least, is pretty decent.

There are two notes that I would like to make clear regarding the story contained within. The first is that the order in which the chapters are placed does not necessarily reflect the chronological order of events. Chapters on the opposite ends of the continent often span different amounts of time, and prologues and epilogues often play around with chronology. The second note is, for those unfamiliar with Legends of Chima, all of the characters are anthropomorphic animals; that is to say, they are humanoids with animal characteristics. This should be apparent upon reading the story that follows, but the clarification is here, just in case.

Lastly, I would like to thank my friends for reading this and providing criticism, comments and ideas. It would not be the way it is now without their input. This book is as much their work as it is mine. A special thanks is due for my friend Stephan, who took my poorly-designed sketches and transformed them into a beautiful and workable map. He also digitally recreated the animal sigils from Legends of Chima and sent them to me as well, even if it did take a long time... Also, my friend Teaghan deserves a big thank you as well, as without her advice, I wouldn't have had the motivation to go through and re-edit my books. Without the help of my friends, this book would be far more rushed, messy and lacking in detail, so I thank them all for their contributions. And finally, I'd like to thank you, dear reader, for taking the time to read my work. Without people willing to read it, I would have had no motivation to complete this book. I wish you happy reading as you begin your journey!