Fourth Vector Ch. 50

One morning, he was due to start working in a field that had been fallow for far too long. Arnold had gotten up early to beat a storm that was moving in, hoping to have most of the work done before it arrived but it was as he was walking into the field that the skies finally opened up, letting down a torrential downpour.

Instead of getting angry, Arnold just looked up at the sky. He felt the drops on his face and started to laugh.

"The gods piss on me," he yelled, chuckling with laughter after he did it.

Somewhere out there, he knew that Brian was probably having a good laugh about it.

*****

The next few months in Galicia went by quickly. Winter weather arrived very shortly after their homecoming, blanketing the country with snow by the end of the year. Jack spent a good portion of that winter with his family, enjoying the relative peace that the ending of the war provided them. The winter months were dreary as they usually were, but spring arrived early the following year, providing Galicia with warm sunshine and the melting of the last snows.

Jack was grateful for the arrival of spring. It was now the fourth year since he'd first arrived in the West, and it was the first year without much of anything going on. He focused on playing with his son, holding his daughter, and spending as much quality time with his family as possible.

On this warm morning though, he had one other task he wanted to accomplish. For that, he brought with him John and Jocelyn--the little toddler trailing alongside him while he carried his daughter in his arms--while going to a small grove just outside the city walls.

It was this grove that contained the resting place of his sister and her family, and Jack had made regular pilgrimages to the site to honor their memory. However, today was a special day. It was the first time that he brought his daughter to see her namesake.

Jack crouched down and traced his sister's name as it was etched in stone. He looked over at his daughter.

"This was your Aunt Jocelyn," he whispered to her. "It's who you were named for, and there's not a day that goes by that we don't miss her."

Jocelyn looked at the grave and back at Jack. He could have sworn that a small smile formed on her lips for a brief moment as she looked at him but it could have just been his imagination.

Just behind him, Jack felt John wrap his arms around his back. "I miss Aunt Jocelyn," said the little boy.

Jack chuckled to himself and grabbed his son's hand. Though never knowing his aunt, the sentiment was sweet.

"I miss her too, John," said Jack wistfully.

It was a trying moment for him but one that needed to happen. He wanted to make sure his children knew all about their family and their heritage, having an upbringing that he did not. They would know about the Kincardine and the Easterbrook line, the two spheres of his soul that combined to make Jack who he was.

It was his desire that his children always knew who they were, and thus, always knew where they were going in life. For the prince and princess of Galicia, such items were of paramount importance.

Jack returned to the Castle a short while later, at which point his wives collected the children. The day was spent going about the mundane tasks of running a peaceful kingdom, and that afternoon, Jack sat down for his usual chat with Bill.

Although, the usual chat now involved a new person. Greg had started to join them for their chats, a change that both men had welcomed. For the last few weeks, the three of them had sat in Jack's study, having a drink of good Apulian wine and talking about anything and everything. Today's chat was earlier than usual, since Bill had to leave for a family dinner in a short while.

"Lindsay will give birth soon," informed Bill. "You should see her. I swear she doesn't walk as much as she rolls. She's greatly uncomfortable and I know Will will be happy once she does give birth."

"Sounds familiar," said Jack with a laugh. "Abigail was much the same way. She was so unhappy about being that pregnant that I thought it might be awhile until she wanted to try again. Even now, I think she's starting to come around with the idea."

"Lindsay might not waste any time once this one comes out," said Bill, chuckling. "She wants a boy and a girl, and no doubt they'll get cracking again once she's ready."

"No doubt," said Jack with a laugh before looking at Greg. "What about Vera? Has she ever said anything about starting a family?"

Greg shook his head tentatively. "Yes and no. When we first got married, she talked about it a lot but I brought it up to her a week ago and she seemed very anxious about the whole thing. She didn't want to talk about it so I don't know what's going through her mind."

"She watched the whole affair with Abigail if I had to guess," joked Jack. "She probably saw what giving birth does to you. I doubt she'll want to do that anytime soon."

Greg chuckled. "You might have a point about that. It would be better if I knew where we stood though!"

"Does anyone really know where they stand with their woman?" asked Bill, finishing his drink. "I thought I knew Lisa well but in rebuilding the Hemswell manor, she's surprised me with how many things she's wanted to change. Some of them she's told me she's hated all along. I had no idea! You would think I just married the woman!"

"They have a way of surprising us, I'll give them that," said Jack, laughing along at that.

"Speaking of which, I should probably get going," said Bill, looking at the time. "I don't want to be late for dinner."

Bill shook hands with both of them before leaving, stopping at the door for a brief moment.

"By the way, Jack, you're invited to the next family dinner next weekend," said Bill, a twinkle in his eyes. "Lisa is insisting, and we'd love to have you."

"Consider me there," replied Jack. "I always enjoy my time spent with the Calland family."

Bill gave him a thumbs-up. "See you both tomorrow!"

Once Bill was gone, Greg turned to look at Jack. "Perhaps it's time we had our family dinner as well. We don't want to be late."

"No, we don't," confirmed Jack, pushing up from his chair.

Their family dinner consisted of Abigail, Kat, Evelyn, and Vera sitting around a large table. The children were there too, and it seemed like everyone was truly in good spirits. After dinner, they all retired to a family room in the Castle where Abigail was content to hold onto Jocelyn while John ran around the room.

Throughout dinner though, it became apparent to Jack that something was up with both Kat and Vera. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something wasn't right.

Evidently, Greg noticed it as well.

"Are our wives acting weird to you as well?" whispered Greg. "Or is it just me?"

"I'm picking up on it as well," replied Jack. He stopped to look at Kat, grabbing her hand. "Are you okay? You seem a little... off tonight."

Kat gave him an apprehensive look before breaking her stare. She looked across the room at Vera. "I'm fine. I just need to talk to Vera about something."

She slipped away, leaving Jack more confused. Both he and Greg watched Kat whisper something in Vera's ear. Vera started to nod, and the two women approached the head of the room.

"I think we're about to find out," said Greg quietly. "What are they doing?"

Jack would have been more worried had Kat not given him a reassuring smile once she stopped moving. He waited patiently for both women to start speaking.

"Vera and I have some news that we'd like to share," said Kat, getting the attention of the rest of the room.

"What kind of news?" asked Evelyn.

"Something important," said Vera, shooting a conspiratorial gaze at Kat. "And something we wanted to share with family first."

There was a noticeable hush as everyone waited to find out what it was about. Jack found that he was holding his breath until the faithful words came out.

"I'm pregnant," said Vera finally, a smile appearing on her face.

The effect was momentous. The entire family started to cheer with happiness and Greg bounded out of his seat to hug his wife. "You're sure? You really are?"

Vera nodded. "It's for sure. We really did it, Greg. We're having a baby."

Greg hugged her again, holding her close. When he pulled away, an odd look appeared on his face as he looked at Kat. "Wait a second. You said you both have news, didn't you? What's Kat's news?"

Kat grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "As it turns out, I'm pregnant as well."

That second announcement caused everyone a moment's pause before once more a round of heavy excitement broke out. Jack was astounded and approached his blonde wife, his hand going to her stomach.

"We're having another baby?"

Kat nodded. "I guess watching Jocelyn these last few months have really made me anxious for another. You're not mad, are you?"

Jack answered her by kissing her soundly. "That's the best news I've heard in a long time."

Suddenly, both couples were surrounded by their family, all of them ecstatic about the news. John was the second to put his hand on his mother's stomach, wondering whether the new baby would be a girl or a boy.

"Maybe hope for another boy, sweetheart," said Kat to her son. "You really could use a playmate."

"It doesn't matter what we have as long as he or she is healthy," said Jack, ruffling the boy's hair.

Abigail came in close and hugged both Kat and Vera. "I'm so happy for you both. Maybe I should think about having another again soon?"

Jack started to chuckle. "Maybe one pregnancy per family is enough for now," he joked.

Abigail gave him a wicked grin. "You know, this is the second occasion that both you and Greg found out you were going to be fathers at the same time, isn't that ironic?"

Jack turned red as Evelyn gave him a questioning stare.

"True, but this isn't exactly Lishkerra," replied Jack, earning a round of laughter.

Abigail leaned in to kiss him. "True. This is our life. And what a wonderful one it is."

Jack couldn't help but agree with her. Throughout the last four years, there were many points when none of this might have happened. He'd fought and bled over the course of that time, suffering in two violent struggles where things could have just as easily gone wrong.

And yet, here they were. They survived and now peace had blossomed. It was as Jack was looking around at his family that he found a profound sense of gratitude. He had a loving family, two incredible wives, and two thriving children with a third on the way.

Life didn't have to turn out this way but he was certainly glad that it did.

Though in a way, his time spent in the Fourth Vector was just beginning, he couldn't help but look back on the last four years with a degree of fondness.

This was the future he'd fought so hard to create.

And he was going to live it to the absolute fullest.

*****

Postscript:

Well, Fourth Vector is now over.....

Hard to believe I just wrote those words. For two and a half years, I thought I'd never see the day when Vector was finally wrapped up. It's been a long journey and one that was incredibly challenging at times.

I still remember when I came up with the idea. Like most ideas, I had to stop what I was doing and run to write it all down before I forgot about it. I told one of my friends at the time what I was doing and his excitement about the premise spurred me forward.

I had the briefest of outlines but that's about it. I knew that I was going to have Jack as some kind of long-lost heir that was eventually going to square off against Bancroft but had no idea what I was going to do in the middle. All I knew at the time was that I wanted a story that was going to be epic length (1 million + words) that would hopefully get my name out there as a good storyteller.

But writing Vector was a struggle. I really struggled. Long chapters took a lot out of me, and I think it took a while to figure out exactly where the story was going. The group of chapters from 11-20 were the hardest that I'd ever written. I almost abandoned the story right around Chapter 18 because the readership was falling and I didn't feel like it was getting me any closer to the goals I'd set for myself.

Thankfully, my wife convinced me that it was worth finishing. I started this behemoth of a story and damnit, I was going to finish it. From there, it got a little easier although there were times when I still thought about quitting it. Ultimately though, I wasn't going to do that. I just couldn't do that to you guys, not after so much time investment. I felt it was my duty to keep the story going, and I will always promise you that anything that gets started by me will always have an ending. I won't ever leave you hanging.

Vector continued on. You can say that because of what happened during those early chapter, I decided to really launch into the story line and quit being ambiguous about where it was going. This was probably my biggest mistake with Vector in hindsight. For far too long, there was a sense of "where is this story going?" I only realized it once it was too late, and I think it's one of the reasons why Chapter 16 is still one of the more popular chapters of the story because it outlines everything, Jack's heritage and all. You finally get rewarded with enough background information to give you a sense of the true story at the heart of the epic.

However, that means I had fifteen chapters beforehand where it wasn't as clear. It was Jack's adventure but you didn't know ultimately where he was going to end up. I take full responsibility for that screw-up and won't let that happen in my newer works. I think at the time I delayed it so much because I was afraid of turning people away from the story if it went down a direction they didn't like. I've realized since then that you can't please everyone, and it's better off to state what direction you're going in from the beginning, so that your readers know what to expect. It's a mistake that I won't repeat again.

Another thing that I'm critical about when it comes to Vector is that I tried to do too many tropes at once. I had aspects of WW2 naval warships coupled with sword & sorcery fantasy coupled with war and harem themes (kind of). It had lines of prophecy and a magical sword all the while being set against a more modern backdrop. In terms of established tropes, Vector is all over the place, and I can't blame anyone for not getting hooked on it. I made mistakes, many rookie mistakes, and it was too late to correct it once I realized it.

I think the reason it came out like that was because it was my first epic story and I never knew if I would be able to write another one, so I tried to do everything that I liked. I included a little bit of everything, hoping that it would resonate with a larger body of readers. I think the opposite happened, as several of the tropes conflicted with each other and gave the story a chaotic sense that it never quite lost. Now that I know I can plan, write, and finish an epic length story, I know to not try too many things at one time.

It probably sounds like I'm being too critical with Vector, and don't get me wrong, it's still my baby and I love the story that it is. It's just that I had to do some honest reflection about the story and there were many things that fell short, creating a lesson that had to be learned. It's these lessons that I'm taking into the creation of my new stories so that I can make something even better. Ultimately, I'm responsible for these stories and it's my job to keep you entertained (something I take very seriously).

With all of that being said, I'm going to miss the characters of the Vector. Jack, my loveable hero, who could be seriously stupid in the beginning chapters. I always meant to have him show incredible personal growth throughout the story but another mistake I made was that he comes off as a little too thick in the early parts. I know that turned some people off but I do like what he eventually became. More experienced, wiser, etc.

I will miss Abigail who was my favorite female character and the sassy seductress that forced her way into the main story, when she was only meant to be a minor character at first. I'll miss Kat, the beautiful and dedicated regent. Even the other main cast like Greg, Luke, and Vera. Fun fact, Vera was originally supposed to be the third member of Jack's harem. At the time, I had a wild idea about Vera being Jack's sister and I decided to run with it. If I hadn't had that idea, things would be very different but I liked her being his sister more than just his third woman. It added an interesting dynamic to the whole story having another Kincardine running around.

I'm also going to miss some of the villains of the story. Adalbert has been dead for nearly twenty chapters but he was a hapless dolt who got lucky once by capturing Jack. His fate is probably the funniest of all the deaths in the series but he was certainly memorable. Reynolds got what he deserved in the end, as did Avila, who went the longest stretch as the main enemy.

But like I said earlier, Bancroft was always meant to be the main enemy and from day one, it was meant to be Jack vs Bancroft. I tried to not make that nearly as obvious and I hoped I succeeded in that measure. After all, some readers would send me predictions of what would happen, and it wasn't until very late in the story that someone got it right, correctly predicting the ending. My hope was that the ending was memorable and satisfying, and it seemed like everyone got the ending they deserved.

But with all that being said, it's time to say goodbye to Jack, Kat, and Abigail. I'm going to miss them not only as characters but as people. Many have asked me about a sequel for Vector and at this point, I'm not going to commit to anything. I don't even know how I would follow it up. I've thought about a story that features John & Jocelyn once they grow up, adding in a potential Fifth Vector of an empire further to the west but the idea doesn't excite me at all. And if I don't have enthusiasm for it, I can't make a good book of it.

So that means there are no plans for a sequel. I won't shut the door on it forever, but I have to say it will take a lot for me to reopen the Vector saga once more. At this point in time, I'm worn out from Vector. I've given two and a half years of my life creating this story and now that it's told, I need a break from it. I want to move on, and I want to make stories that you'll love even more than Vector.

And so with that, I'm going to say goodbye to Jack Kincardine. It's been a fun ride, and I thank you for letting me tell your story. You've taught me quite a lot about myself, and I'll never forget you.

It's time to move onward. It's time for the next stories to be born. And I'll never forget the role that Jack played in bringing that future to light.

Thank you all for getting to this point and I really hope you enjoyed the story. Stay tuned for two new series that will be dropping here very soon. In one of them, I'll be stepping back in time to look at the life of an ancient Greek warrior. In the other, I'll be going on an epic space adventure. It's my goal to take the lessons that I learned from writing Vector to these new stories, and hopefully, make them unforgettable.

-CJ