ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

What, I wonder, could actually be a fitting opening line for my final author's note here? Perhaps we should divert from words for a moment. I have a gift for you to say thanks.

https://youtu.be/Jmz-jWo-fH0

I feel just as overwhelmed with emotion as I did the first time I ever finished posting a project on Wattpad: exhilarated, overjoyed, relieved, tired, and a little bit sad to let this story go.

Split Kingdoms has been a real light in the darkness for me, and I'd like to thank each and every one of you for putting a smile on my face time and time again. So thank you to the commenters, to the voters, to the silent readers, and even to the readers who are yet to come. I've made a little list of names -- I hope I haven't missed anyone.

Thank you to Kaiterai for making the cover, and to Cora-chan for making the banners and your support!

Thank you to i_am_a_fangirl_89, Valu-chan21, caity_the_cupcake, Aria-Fell-Lowell, oliviarainwrites, TheBestRobin1, rachel8cute, RoxieCupcake, AlphaExPrototype, LyrissaArtemick, SolarTheDaiyokai, XionTheBlackRose, ForestTemple, Sunfisch, Lyfeon, Object_Paradise, Emilyabcde1ara, ceilidh-fyre, Lunar_Dragon, cactuswrong22, MythicMira, Moonbunny_28, ImberLapis, sm2800, Fma_Kla_, ILovePJOandCats, CharaKatana, itzygh1098, bloggerat4am, whoopsmistake, Li_the_Panda, ElinaLunaStar, Odin_Dark, Inukamiju, LoriTheKiller1016, Zephyr707, valflame_, SymphonyCube, utterlystardust, kitty-kawaiime8247, jackie_stahl, 606-Matron, Julezcat, and EmblemOfWaves, in no particular order, for all of your support.

And thank you to AnnaBanana813 and xInSainex, as always, for having my back every day. Family isn't defined by blood -- and what would I do without my sisters?

Family isn't defined by blood for Kass or Nayoko either, but now their journey with all their different families has come to an end. If you want to know everything there is to know about Split Kingdoms -- and what's coming next -- read on.

***

INTERVIEW

M.M. Hunter Interviews Herself (Again)

Q: Why did you start writing Split Kingdoms?

A: One day, I looked at the complete cover art for the game. It was not the first time.

But on this occasion, inspiration hit. When I thought about having two Avatars who were twins, the rest of my ideas came bombarding into my brain.

Q: You took a lot of chapter titles from songs, right?

A: Yes, a lot of my chapter titles were inspired by songs, films, books and other things. You probably spotted a few of them, but here's the full list. See how many you noticed!

Chapter 1: Ride Free or Live Hard was inspired by the title of the film Live Free or Die Hard.

Chapter 19: Medicine and Spice and Everything Nice was a spin on the line, "Sugar and spice and all things/everything nice," from the nursery rhyme What Are Little Boys Made Of?

Chapter 23: Dark Confessions to the Deep Blue Sea was inspired by the idiom, "Between the devil and the deep blue sea."

Chapter 24: Paint it Red was inspired by the title of the Rolling Stones song Paint it Black.

Chapter 25: Ready, Aim, Fire was inspired by the Imagine Dragons song of the same name.

Chapter 28: The Art of Battle was inspired by the title of Sun Tzu's legendary tactical book, The Art of War.

Chapter 34: Welcome to the Family was inspired by the Avenged Sevenfold song of the same name.

Chapter 42: Resist and Bite was inspired by the Sabaton song of the same name.

Chapter 43: Lost in Thoughts, Chained Alone was inspired by the song Lost in Thoughts All Alone.

Chapter 47: A Game of Truths and Thrones was inspired by the title of George R.R. Martin's book A Game of Thrones.

Chapter 55: Beautiful, Broken Soldiers was inspired by the title of Sara Barnard's book Beautiful Broken Things.

Q: You included two main romances in this story, both of which are very different to the main romance seen in your novelisation of Fire Emblem Awakening. How do you feel about that?

A: I'm really pleased with the way the romances turned out. From the moment I decided on the main pairings, I wanted two very contrasting love stories. Not because I was desperate to write a contrast, but simply because of the characters involved. That's what they called for.

I actually love several of the Fates males, but I decided to ship Kass with Xander because there's something about their conflicts in the game that suggests sexual tension to me. No one else fights with the Avatar quite like Xander does. And thus, a very sensual, fiery, argumentative couple was born.

Semyaza, on the other hand, is my own creation, mostly because I didn't think any of the existing female characters quite clicked with Nayoko in a romantic way. From the moment she formed herself in my mind, I knew that she and Nayoko would have a sweeter kind of relationship: one born of friendship and support.

I really enjoyed writing these two contrasts, and I like the fact that both are different to the relationship of Chrom and Robin in Invisible Ties.

Q: Who have you married in your playthroughs of Fire Emblem Fates?

A: Here's a secret: I've only ever played Birthright!

I watched Conquest and (painfully) Revelations on YouTube. In Birthright, I married Kaze. Had I played Conquest, I would have married Xander or Leo, and the same goes for Revelations.

Q: What else do you have in store for us?

You can find loads more fanfiction on my profile, including a murder mystery starring Leo as a detective, a novelisation of Awakening, and plenty of Awakening short stories.

That's all for Split Kingdoms. Thank you again, my dear readers, from the bottom of my heart.

Love,

Morgan xxx