NaNoWriMo 2014

As November is approaching far more quickly than I had anticipated, I've yet to decide what I want to write for this year's entry into National Novel Writing Month. For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Its a far more daunting task than it sounds, but I've "won" twice out of the three years that I've done it, and I hope to succeed once again.

However, I'm having a rough time of deciding what story I wish to explore. There's simply so much I want to write, but unfortunately, I only have time for one (I'm skeptical I could ever achieve 100,000 words in 30 days but it would be a fun and interesting challenge, now wouldn't it?)

Right now I have a handful of stories I want to explore, all of them set in my Galria universe as side stories or companions to the Legends of Galria. Here's a brief look at what I'm hoping to pick from:

Rite of Passage
A story focused on a minotaur named Veshal as he works to follow in his mother and father's footsteps to become a shaman in the Snowhoof tribe. The story follows his growth as a young child into a well-respected member of his community as a darkness seeps out from beneath the city of Valar, capital of the Snowhoof nation.

Ascendance
This story follows the aftermath of Xellik Fleshgorger's attack on the Temple of Earth from SHADOWS OF WAR. Arngrin, a druid from the Woodcaller tribe of minotaur, discovers that the temple has been raided. In an attempt to redeem his people for failing in their duty to protect the Emerald of Deep Earth, a task assigned to them by the Green Dragonflight, he  sets out to locate Thomadis, Patron of the Greens, to obtain the power necessary to retrieve the artifact from Xellik.

Nightpaw
Titar is the disowned son of a dwarven noble. He joins the Blackguard, a mercenary guild, seeking to make a difference in his world. However, he finds that those around him are greedy, close-minded, and not willing to accept someone different from themselves. Withdrawing into himself, Titar becomes a recluse and takes on only the most dangerous and difficult jobs he can manage. His life turns around when, on a mission, he comes into contact with the Nightpaw pack of werewolves, a species that everyone believed to be nothing more than a fairy tale. He is presented with a choice: to accept the gift of lycanthropy from the Nightpaw's alpha, or the life of a mercenary in the town of Albrand.

Thrill of the Hunt
In a follow up to my NaNoWriMo 2013 entry, SERVANT OF DARKNESS, this tale continues to follow the adventures of Dougal McMannus, wizard-thief extrodinaire. After leaving Altair behind, Dougal begins his next job in the human city of Lokivar to the south as he tries to rebuild his guild and obtain an artifact of power from the Eldritch Research Institute of Lokivar (ERIL). However, an enemy from the past has appeared once again and is seeking revenge for a crime that Dougal doesn't even remember committing. Once again, the shadows that serve as the thief's greatest strength also come to harbor a great evil.

Tainted Waters
Far in the forgotten land of the ursar's Bushido Empire, on the island of Kyoko, peace has finally been realized as the various clans have been united under a single banner. Yet as soldiers return to the fields, mysterious beings begin to skirt the outside of the Emperor's Palace. On the eve of a starless sky, Emperor Torakuma is kidnapped and stolen away. Agent of Eyes, Ryumaru, is tasked with finding him and chases his master's captors to an ancient temple that once sat submerged beneath the waters. There resides a relic that could bring eternal peace to the Bushido ursar, or crush the island nation beneath the waves.

Those are the five I'm currently fiddling with. They're all stories that I want to one day write, but I'm not sure which one to pick and focus on yet. I have a poll up for those wishing to help me decide!