((It's November in Sacramento, California. The weather is finally deciding to cool off from the summer heat. You're sitting on a wooden rocker on the porch beside your neighbor and friend, Gabriel Darknyght. The sun glints off the white streak in his black hair, along with the rims of his glasses. He uncaps the tops of both of your bottles of cider, and a near imperceptible grimace shows on his lips. His bright red eyes narrow slightly as he sets the bottle opener down, clinks his bottle with yours, and smiles. His spare hand touches the book beside him, fingers drumming across the cover. You've known Gabriel for a few years now, and you know he's thinking of something. A door slams upstairs, followed by the heavy sound of footfalls. Gabriel takes another drink, this one a bit longer than the last.))

Gabriel takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. He blinks in time with his exhalation before looking over at you with a gaze that is tired and... something else you can't pick up on. "Sounds like my daughter and Steph are fighting again. I worry sometimes that one of them is going to kill the other... but this is just a part of growing up, right?" He chuckles quietly to himself. He looks off across the street, memories playing in his head of his own youth. Years flash in front of his eyes in the span it takes to draw breath before his eyes turn back towards you. He smiles warmly and pats the table, leaning in and dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I'm working on a new story—a trilogy, to be exact. It'll be a high fantasy setting with lots of magic, romance, dragons—you name it. I think I'll make the main character a woman; maybe make her a paladin or a sorceress. I need someone to bounce ideas off of, but I need this to be a secret. It's for my sweet daughter. She's been having a hard time in school with bullies and not feeling like she belongs. I'm hoping she grows out of it, but until then, I want to give her a story she can lose herself in. Can you help me, friend?"