↝ WARNING! ↜  
Some major spoilers up ahead. Do not read unless you have finished Chapter 27.1

Thank you for all your questions. Some of you have asked questions about the world, which answers can be found in the Appendix (external link, or http://tinyurl.com/TK-appx), therefore I have not included them in this section.

Last Updated: 14-Sep-2018

If you have any questions you would like to ask, please feel free to do so!

★ ★ ★

Is this a standalone, or will there be a series? [Permaisoeri, and others]
The story was written to stand on its own. However, Isla's journey does not necessarily end here. I guess the answer is, there can be a sequel, if a significant number of people are curious enough to know what happens next.
[update 2018: Yes there will be a sequel. I am currently plotting it.]

How long did the story take for you to complete? [Permaisoeri]
Real life prevents me from writing as fast as I'd like. I actually got down and started writing this story on 11 August 2014, but had been playing around with the idea since 2 September 2012.
[update 2018: The second draft was completed on February 2018.]

What is your total word count and average page per chapter? [xxislaxx, kandyaq]
These are numbers for the first draft, rounded up to the nearest thousand.
Total word count: 138K
Word count per chapter: ranges from a minimum of 1.5K to a maximum of 9.4K, with an average of around 6K per chapter.
[update 2018: The second draft has a total word count of 128K.]  

Are you a planner, or a pantser? What does your writing process look like? Do you use any writing softwares? [kbnwell]
I am a plotter through and through. I have the basic outline down: the beginning, the middle, and the conclusion I'm working towards. I know the important twists that need to be foreshadowed, I know the information readers need to know in order for the conclusion to make sense. It's the details that constantly changes as I write; and the ending is up in the air until I get there.
However, I am a discovery-writer with characters. This means I have no idea what they're like until I actually write them into the story.

Softwares I use are Microsoft Word for the actual writing and Microsoft OneNote to keep all my, well, notes. I use Adobe Premier Pro CC for trailers, and Photoshop CS6 for my covers, maps, illustrations, etc.

What inspired you to write this story? Where did you get the idea for it? What was your kernel idea? [cinthya-reads, olliv-and-er, fanbow]
The actual plot / kernel idea came to me because I wanted something different besides the usual protagonist who inevitably has to "save the world" by defeating a "bad guy". I wanted a protagonist who was a threat to a fundamental idea and way of life. Hence Isla and her world was born.

How do you build your characters? [fanbow]
I'm a bit of a pedant, and my educational background (Bachelors and Masters in a branch of psychology) didn't help, either. In fact, most of the things I do for character-building are unnecessary and only caters to my obsession with psychology; so I'm not saying this will work for everyone else. 

But the basic gist is, I like to really get into my characters' heads. I use personality inventories such as the Myers-Briggs (INFP, ENTJ, etc.) to get a general view of my character. I determine their moral compass (neutral, lawful good, chaotic evil, etc.); what they would do in certain situations, and the motives behind their choices. I map out their growth -- how they need to change/improve in order to overcome their adversities, and what are the consequences of those changes.

I think about their past -- the culture, upbringing, and other such factors they grew up with -- and how that affects their choices, the way they speak, the way they view things, etc. The most important thing though, is to keep in mind that characters grow and change along with their experiences, and so we should not set anything in stone. I could go on and on, so I'll stop now; but I'll be happy to answer any further questions.

How do you build your world? [fanbow]
Oh, gosh! Another question I could write a whole essay about. I'm far from an expert, but I keep an organised folder of my different kingdoms. I take in a lot of influence from the real world, especially in regards to culture and mindsets. However, if not careful, this could border on stereotyping and boxing up your characters. I like to keep everything logical, so it's also important to think about how the physical conditions and history of the kingdom are going to affect its customs and people.

I make a map, but start with only the general shape. I add the different cities/villages/etc. as soon as they are mentioned in my story, in order to keep track of their names and location in relation to one another. I note down the key things about each kingdom (culture, general landscape/weather conditions, racial appearance, etc.) and add more details as the story continues. I do not make the comprehensive map and world-building details first because that's a slippery slope to worldbuilder's disease, and you'll never get started on the actual story!

What is Isla's personality type? [fanbow]
Well, since you asked ... prepare for a bit of a read. If anyone wants links to any of the personality inventories / tests below, just ask me in the comments.
Note: I did not determine Isla's personality type beforehand. I wrote her and as the story progressed, it became clear to me that these were her typologies. I then use these in my edits / 2nd draft as a guideline of sorts, to reinforce or make the character's personality more consistent and rounded.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The personality type that fits Isla most closely would be the ENTJ. These are often referred to as "The Commander", "The Field Marshal", "The Chief", etc. Some adjectives commonly used to describe them include analytical, efficient, confident, assertive, fair-minded, arrogant, insensitive, confrontational. Some famous (fictional and non-fictional) ENTJs you may know include Margaret Thatcher, Franklin D Roosevelt, Princess Leia (ExTJ), Tony Stark (ENTx), Rei Hino (Sailor Mars), Spencer Hastings.

Moral Alignment
Isla starts off a strong Neutral Good but gradually rocks back and forth between that and True Neutral. Some adjectives commonly used to describe these two include self-reliant, fair, judgemental, indifferent. Some characters you may know include Jaime Lannister (TN), Robin Hood (NG), Daenaerys Targaryen (NG), Jon Snow (NG).

Enneagram
Isla fits mostly into Type One-wing-Nine, often referred to as "The Reformer" or "The Idealist". Some adjectives commonly used to describe the Type-One include capable, principled, self-controlled, self-righteous. With a Nine-Wing, they are commonly described as objective, civilised, moralists, intolerant, elitist. Examples of Type One individuals include Margaret Thatcher (again!) and Spock. With a Nine-Wing, examples include Plato, Ghandi, Al Gore.

How do you determine your characters' flaws? [fanbow]
Like I said, I discovery-write my characters, so a lot of the flaws come naturally as the story progresses and I get to know them a bit better. But if you're looking for a bit of a "cheat" or quick trick, what you can do is look at the MBTI or Enneagram or whatever other personality inventory of your choice, and mostly they will provide some general flaws (as you can see in some of the adjectives I've included in the previous answer). That way, at least your flaws will be consistent to the character's typology.

Is Pepper-bell Isla's bondmate? [lindenmayer]
No. Pepper-bell is a daemon, and as hinted out in the story, it is highly unlikely for daemons to bond with a human. Even then, they would usually only bond with an extremely skilled daemonologist. And quite frankly, Isla is not that special.

How does one know if a creature is his/her bondmate? [xxislaxx]
This is going to sound vague, but -- the same way you know you're in (reciprocal) love. For some it will be instantaneous attraction, for others it grows over time. A human and his bondmate will slowly develop instinctive awareness of each other -- sense the other's needs, feelings, thoughts, etc. when they are within close proximity. Once you have this connection, then you know for sure that you are bonded.
Over time and depending on the strength of the bond, this awareness might extend over farther distances, and over different senses. For example, a human and his bondmate might be able to share what they see, hear, and/or feel to their partner. The amount of senses they can share depends again on the strength of their bond.

Can we get a short backstory or something on Eshe/Ashe? [bookaddict2513]
Yes, you can. I'll write something, but I can't promise when it'll be ready!

Where did Noi come from, and how did she end up as a handmaid? [IndiraHapsari]
That's a whole story all in its own, and maybe there will be a short story one day. As mentioned throughout Twisted Kingdoms, really poor people in Kathai would often try their luck by searching for families who would take them in, in exchange for some sort of domestic work. So suffice to say, this is what happened to Noi. More details will have to wait for the short story ;-)

How did Prijsti and Sir Ecthar's relationship come to be, and why did they separate? [ezicat]
I'll try to answer this one without getting into the whole novella, so forgive me if it's brisk. The basic backstory is, Sir Ecthar is close friends (and an extremely distant relative) to Prijsti's employer (Sir Faralay -- Aldir's father). Sir Ecthar was often at their estate, which was where he first met and fell in love with Prijsti.
Long story short, Sir Faralay had an affair with Prijsti, who later gave birth to Aldir, and when his wife found out, she had Prijsti sent back to her country. Aldir was taken in and raised by Sir Ecthar ever since.
[update 2018: Sir Ecthar has been renamed to Sir Edric, and we get more background information regarding his and Prijsti's relationship in the the second draft of the book.]  

How did Sir Ecthar become involved in people-smuggling, and what was his court martial about? [grayhay]
This is another one of those short-stories type of question. The summarised answer is, he's in love with Prijsti. Although she wasn't a refugee, she was just as helpless as one, and since he couldn't help her, he transferred his guilt to helping actual refugees from her country. His court martial is because as a member of the Knights Protector, he was not supposed to be involved in politics, and he had been very vocal about his stance on refugees.

How do you become a silver-servant? [CocoNichole]
There isn't really a standardised way of becoming a silver-servant. It's a position that's appointed to you when and if a member of the royal family deems you trustworthy and talented enough to take on the position. Because of that, most of the time, silver-servants are appointed from close friends or people who closely work for a member of royalty (e.g. as a handmaid, a personal guard, etc.)

I want to know more about Isla's family. What really happened to Isla's parents? [fanbow, Permaisoeri]
Erm, they're dead.

But in case you wanted to know the background of her parents [major spoilers ahead], Isla's paternal grandmother, Rajini Chei, was a commoner when the Maha Rama married her. Therefore it was easy for Isla's father to assume a commoner's life when he escaped Kathedra with his wife, as he was an unimportant and relatively unknown prince.

Isla's mother was even more unimportant and unknown. She was a commoner and had no theurgy, although she did come from a line of theurgists. They still remained in discreet contact with Rajini Chei, and so was aware of all the mysterious murders of certain royally-descended children. Isla's father was able to put two and two together to know that Isla would soon be next. With the help of his mother, he arranged for a legal passage to Elingrad, and that is where the story begins.

What advantage does Isla's core give her? [Robb-not-Stark]
The story mentions briefly that the location of a theurgist's core gives certain advantages. For example, a core located around the legs makes summoning one's theurgy much faster.
The location of Isla's core is never explicitly stated, but I think everyone can pretty much guess that it's in her head (specifically, it's in the lower back region of her brain), and this plays a large part in how she -- a second-rank theurgist -- is (or should be) able to defeat her enemies -- theurgist(s) of first-rank.

Did the gods truly exist, and if so where did they go and why? [shin0bi]
They did. The world has seen three ages; the Age of Deities (xxx-0 per thei), the Age of Abandon (0-1000 pos parsus), and the Age of Men (0-xxx pos forma).

The story takes place late in the year 337 pf. The deities left the world somewhere leading up to the Age of Abandon. They departed one by one, and each for different reasons, so there is no straightforward answer to this question.