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The End: Epilogue + Afterword (Patreon)

Published:
2020-02-10 22:56:57
Imported:
2022-02

Content

Fictionpress:
https://www.fictionpress.com/s/2961893/107/Mother-of-Learning
https://www.fictionpress.com/s/2961893/108/Mother-of-Learning

Royal Road:
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21220/mother-of-learning/chapter/455876/epilogue
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21220/mother-of-learning/chapter/455877/afterword

Here it is, people. Mother of Learning is now truly finished. Since the epilogue ended up rather long, I monetized this post. I'm not sure what I'll be writing next after this, but it may take some time before I start writing again.

I may end up making a few patreon posts in the near future to ask you all for opinions related to publishing and such, but it's not set in stone or anything. As I said in the afterword, I have to check what is even possible to begin with.

It's been great writing the story. I thank you all for staying with me till the very end.

Comments

The 49th Khan

Yay. First and last first

Sid_Cypher

Congratulations! It's been a long journey.

Anonymous

Thank you!

Anonymous

I've been following along for years, bittersweet that it's ending. Best of luck in your future endeavors!

Anonymous

Woooo! It's done! Thank you so much for the story and best of luck with what you do after this!

Anonymous

I almost cannot believe this is happening. Great work, incredible.

Citric Thoughts Games

Been quietly following and supporting you for years. Thanks for writing such a great story, I loved it the whole way through.

Anonymous

This is going to be painful to read. It feels so weird because I have been reading for years, must feel even stranger for you as the author. Seriously thanks for all the hard work even if you did have an issue with deadlines 😀

Anonymous

This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end...

Anonymous

Hi, I've been following since Chapter ~70. I never gave you money through patreon, but I will 100% support you if you publish the story in book form and definitely in audiobook format. Thank you for the great moments throughout the years!

Anonymous

Everything seems to have wrapped up fairly well. Thanks for writing. This story has a truly been a wonder to read.

Simon

I have to admit that when I found this story many years ago (I think it was around chapter 30) I assumed it wouldn't be finished like so many other stories. I so glad to be proven wrong. This has been one of the most enjoyably reads ever for me any whenever somebody is trying looking to read sth new this story is what I reccomand first. It's been said before, but please publish this! I'd love to have an actual copy I can hold in my hands. But whatever you do: Thank you for the ride!

Anonymous

I remember rolling me eyes at the beginning of the first chapter...and then getting drawn into it. That week, I skipped work and school because I was 'sick' and read the then 70 chapters with my every waking moment. This world is incredible and the scope unparalleled. Thank you for writing: what a wonderful journey and farewell. My memories of Zorian studying in the library, hijacking the airship, grappling with shaping exercises/Xvim, meeting Alanic, training with the Aranea, fighting with Taiven (and going on a date with her), impressing teachers and students, and journeying Cyoria, as well as my memories of the feelings of the blossom of time-loop possibility, Zorian's ocean of frenetic work as well as his frustration, the impending dangers of the invasion, Quatach Itch'l and Red Robe, and the melancholy of those special loops restarted are vivid, and will probably stay with me for the rest of my life. It makes me want to smile, all these experiences I somehow had. I'm grateful for what you've written. Now we've got to go out and learn for ourselves!

Azrael Winter

Thank you for writing such an amazing story :D

Bruno Salque

Awesome. I just want more, but how would it go ... And Taiven, the arenes being destroyed by the frog, the ghost serpent they kept their promise with, better way to get money ... I would love this second part, seeing everyone for a little bit longer

Anonymous

Zach, you sneaky... *Happy 'Aww' noises throughout the whole chapter* Typo: "He didn't want to spend most of his _people_ teaching people and managing groups." Nice slip up, Zorian. :P

Ungrave

Love this story so much. I'll probably be reading it quite a number of times more, perhaps I'll take another week in the wilderness with some friends binge reading it with some friends. Also, I really like all the modern phrases put in here since it really normalizes this magic society and gives me increased immersion. Thanks for everything!

Anonymous

I'll echo your words and tell you how we all feel: It's been great reading the story. We thank you for staying with us till the very end.

Anonymous
>>32333108

I first heard of this story sometime around 70th chapter as well. Can't recall now. Somebody mentioned it offhandedly in a forum thread dedicated to another Peggy Sue story, a Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire fanfiction about one of the most abhorrent and wicked people in this universe getting the most humbling time loop experience repeatedly, until they grow a conscience... and a spine. Reading "Mother of Learning" and "Purple Days" back to back ever since. Such different, such awesome stories. Two different takes on doing the impossible to prevent an apocalypse. ;)

Anonymous

Congratulations. You did it, you glorious bastard! I knew you could do it. Way to go :)

Armo

Thank you. This has been a monumental adventure. I know how hard large projects can get, and this one was of terrifying proportions. The fact that you took it all the way to the finish line speaks to a tremendous depth of commitment and strength of character. I’d love to see a less stressful, more slice of life sequel at some point in the future. That would be amazing. You have a large set of characters who I care for. You introduced new ones in the epilogue, like the investigator, who I’d want to see interact with the cast. Akoja sort of making a play for Zorian is also really exciting, I don’t know how he would react to someone actually courting him, now that he is free. I want to see more ZZ interaction. I want to see Zorian creating his own company and becoming filthy rich. I want to see what happens to Princess. I want to see Quatach Ichl coming around for a social visit. I want to know how Alanic and Xvim are doing. I want to see Zorian throw marbles at Kirielle to teach her shaping skills. I want to see him training a mind mage class after publishing his book. I want to see so many things. But I know that you need a long, long, long break, and probably want to work on a new project, a new idea. And you should do it. Besides, you said you’ll add world building stuff? I’ll have to settle for that. But beyond that, your own writing has improved significantly, too. I’m sure you’ll get better from here on. Especially on dialogue, and making characters sound distinct. You already write great dialogue, even with the similar speech patterns, and taking it the extra mile is not even close to impossible. I have full faith you’ll succeed. We’ll all be here if and when you decide to come back to add more mainline content to this world, and continue the story of these characters (or start new ones?). You seemed like you thought that there would be only ten people waiting for your last release? Even if you don’t post anything, there will be more than that ten years from now, waiting for a sequel. People have a long memory for good things. Thank you for the journey. I’m so very glad it happened.

Anonymous

Honestly a big congratulations and a thank you for your wonderful story. Shoutout to r/rational for point me your way. I'm both really impressed and happy to have read your work, so once again THANK YOU!

Anonymous

I have been following your story for the last 6 years IIRC and it has always been something to look forward to every few weeks (which was still agonizingly slow, but look at where you are now). It is still among the best web serial stories I have read. I would love it if you continued with that "extended epilogue". Too often I feel like epilogues are too abrupt for many stories given the scale that some of them have. Endings can have that sense of finality or perfect moment, but I always felt like epilogues should be there for the final bit of reader satisfaction. Whatever your decision, I would wholeheartedly be willing to support you if you ever decided to get published in some form.

iloverugs

Thank you so much for this epic adventure! I’m happy and sad at the same time. Unlike others perhaps, I hope to see you writing about something in a completely new, rather than an extended epilogue. I’m excited at the prospect of seeing new characters and lands from you.

Anonymous

Once I watched a video on YouTube about Groundhog Day and saw a comment with a quote from the MoL. It seemed funny to me, and I decided to check ... It was such a random event that I can’t even believe it. And here I am, enjoying the end of my favorite story. It really was amazing. Thanks.

Anonymous

I like to binge read, so after reading about half of your (wonderful) story, I signed on as an admittedly cheap-o patreon and then haven't kept up. I was hoping to download all of it as an ebook, any format really would work but Mobi or ePub in particular would be wonderful. You mention 'publishing' in your final post, please keep us informed! Would be great if it's on kindle unlimited or something, as the Kindle can be a fantastic reading device. Thanks again, and congratulations on finishing such a great story, and building such a following while doing so!

Anonymous

I just wanna give you a hug. Congratulations on finishing this wonderful story and I look forward to more of your work. Your dedication is palpable, and I thank you whole heartedly for it. My friends say your book is something of a bible to me since I preach it non stop to anyone willing to listen to me ramble about my favorite book. Thanks for everything, from Chile.

Kilo181

Thank you for such a wonderful journey! I'm one of those hoping for the extended epilogue sequels but no rush, looking forward to your next piece of work!

nyt

Thank you for the adventure. Looking forward to the next!

Andrew

Thank you!

Anonymous
>>32332873

There is an audiobook version on YouTube. I think there are two actually. (:

Anonymous

I've been on this ride for six years. What a journey. I look forward to what comes next!

Kabir Kumar

This was awesome. Thank you

Anonymous

Congrats on completing this amazing adventure and thank you for your hard work. After reading the epilogue I am extremely interested in reading more about the aftermath of other people close to Zorian like Xvim, Alanic, and Zach. I am very much looking forward to some slice of life adventures with these characters you brought to life.

Anonymous

Thank you so much for the amazing gift you've brought to our mundane lives. The fun times spent reading your story and the restlessness of waiting for a new chapter... I'm going to miss it. Thank you.

Anonymous

Thank you so much for your work and this story!

Anonymous

Congrats on finishing your story! It was a great ride

Anonymous

I remember finding this on fictionpress back in 2012, and being absolutely floored by the quality and interesting story. I wish you the best in the future and will follow one of my favorite fantasy authors for a long time. Congrats mate for finishing such an epic tale with great characters and story.

Brent

I cannot describe how much I want a sequel series to show their day to day and flesh out the epilogue more. But regardless, congrats on finishing a great series.

basilevs

I have not been so attached to a story since childhood. It sets a new standard of entertainment literature and completely corrupts my standards. What am I supposed to read after this? Where to find anything comparable? The usual sense of loss after completing a book is aggravated now.

Anonymous
>>32361753

TV Tropes. That's where I look up for new fiction. It gets me mixed results, but it gets them.

J H

The end of an era. Congratulations on finishing an amazing story! I hope to read your future stories someday!

Anonymous

You’re awesome and reading your work was a genuine pleasure

Anonymous

Thank you. I'm hoping to be able to purchase the ebook on Amazon very soon!

Ground Control

Well done. I've read and reread this story many times over the years and I would recommend it to everybody who enjoys a good fantasy. It's a little sad now that we've reached the end but it also feels right. Good luck with further endeavours and I hope to some day hold a paperback copy within my grasp. Thank you for an epic story.

Janders

I wish this is not the last we heard of Zorian Kazinski, so much fun, and a well done world building, it has so much potential!

Anonymous

Congrats and thank you! Btw, always forgetting to ask one thing: in the novel stated that Zach didn't know how to get out from the loop and what the loop is because he hadn't stopped invasion. But he stopped! When Zach and Zorian attacked camp in the middle of month, invasion was canceled and Panaxeth stayed imprisoned. So, Zach should know everything about loop and other things angels left for him from the moment. Or I missed something?

nobody103
>>32452069

You're right that Zach stopped the invasion... in fact, he did it many times in the past, that one was just one of many... but did he do it without informing anyone about the time loop? Not really. Without that, Zach couldn't stop the invasion in the real world without killing himself in the process, and so the contract wouldn't give him the information until he satisfied both conditions.

Anonymous

I would love more stories set in this world, even if Zorian and Zach aren't in them (or only mentioned when talking about world events/news)

Anonymous

I may be forgetting some details, but is it the angels who triggered the Sovereign Gate and picked Zach? I wonder why they picked Zach. Also, is the Sovereign Gate a divine artifact?

nobody103
>>32549304

Yes, it's the angels who triggered it and picked Zach. As for their reasons for doing so, who knows? Well, okay, I do. But it's not that important, really. And yes, Sovereign Gate is a divine artifact. Or rather, a hybrid primodial-divine artifact.

Anonymous

Why he hates the dad so much is still unknown also loved the book just decided to become a patreon in the hopes of more fantastic content

Anonymous

What books would you recommend

nobody103
>>32585486

I don't like giving recommendations. My tastes are pretty weird, and I often like absolute trash just because there is a one aspect or two that I like about it. Plus, I haven't read much in the past year or so. So I'm going to have to refrain from doing this.

Tom

Also Legend of the Arch Magus

Tom

Supreme Magus by Legion 20 at Webnovel.com Sovereign of the Seven Isles Lusam the Dragon Mage Wars The Zdrell Trilogy Arinthian Line by Sever Bronny

Anonymous

Stories like yours are what make me want to wake up on the mornings every single day. i don't have words to describe how much i will miss the world you made and i hope future novels you make are inside it. Little by little over the past years your characters have been snatching positions on my top 10 favorites and i doubt they are getting down from there any time soon. i hope i will see the day that your work gets more recognized, i would love to watch animated or live action series of mother of learning. Im really glad i found this hidden gem many years ago and was able to follow you through this journey.

Anonymous

So grateful for your work. Thank you so much for writing and sharing it <3

NonuvfOorbiz

Thank you for the journey. Although MoL is one my all time favorite reads (if not the favorite one), I do agree with your statements about where it could have been improved. I think you should consider re-writing those parts if/when you decide to publish. Cheers for this great accomplishment and I am looking forward to your future stories.

Anonymous

Thank you for finishing this great work. After all this time I still have one question remaining. What is the intended pronunciation of Xvim?

Anonymous

Hi everyone! Stay safe amidst all this coronavirus stuff. ❤

nobody103
>>33592022

The age of man is over. Soon, the planet will be taken over by the <strike>apes</strike> bats.

Tom

How come you never introduced any of the immortal eleven in the book?

Tom

Also are you still editing the book or taking a much needed break?

Tom

Oh never mind you answered that question in the comments.

nobody103
>>34162216

I'm not sure whether you mean you found answers to both of your questions or just one of them, and if it's just one... which one? So here you go: I am still editing the book. Just slowly. I never introduced any of the immortal eleven (even though it was planned) because they were basically all dead ends. The search for them was never meant to produce anything useful for the story, and it was just another example of a path Zach and Zorian tried that didn't go anywhere. It looked nice in theory, but in practice such dead end arcs were mostly ejected from the story to save time and mental effort.

Anonymous

Say Have you read the Dresden Files? I remember you saying that you like higher tech settings, and I think you would like DF because of that.

nobody103
>>34282385

I did read one of the books (I forget which one) and I remember liking it, which is kind of an achievement because that kind of fast-paced action story rarely holds my attention. The writer is really good. I never did feel the need to read the other books, though I did read up on the series as a whole.

Anonymous

Regarding the concept of Immortals, how difficult would it be for Zorian or Zach to become so with their given skill sets and contacts, if they chose to pursue that as a goal?

nobody103
>>34761414

Difficult. Neither of them is especially great with potions. And it's not like people who can both make an immortality potion and are willing to try and do so for somebody else are growing on trees...

Anonymous
>>34761414

Easy. Zorian's pretty good with enhancement rituals, isn't he? Those are basically a way to graft an ability from a magical animal onto yourself, aren't they? And wasn't Silverlake going to use a very weak magical creature that was immortal because of it's regenrative abilities to make her "become young again" potion? The other main ingredient being the eggs of the gray hunter, but I think that was basically to supercharge the regeneration to make ageing go backwards, probably unneeded if all you're after is immortality.

Anonymous
>>34761414

It's been pointed out to me that I'm disagreeing with the author, which is a silly thing to do. I am curious as to why my proposed solution isn't viable though. Even if there's some aspect missing (doesn't regenerate completely, missing vitamins, doesn't regenerate brain, etc.) there's probably some other magical creature/plant that has an ability that would fill that gap. Main difference is you're using an enhancement ritual to apply the effects permanently rather than a potion to apply them temporarily. That is, after all, what Lukav said about transformation shells vs. alteration rituals. Though an immortality potion may not be directly comparable to a transformation/enhancement potion.

nobody103
>>34761414

I have noticed that my opinion on how difficult it is to make biological/metabolic changes on people through magic is far *far* more skewed towards the 'difficult' end of the scale than that of some other people. To be honest, even the ability to regenerate limbs and heads of trolls and hydra kind of feel wrong to me, but they're very iconic and so I included them anyway. I also find it kind of amusing that you say there might be some aspects missing, but then you kind of dismiss it by saying there are probably some other creatures that could patch up these gaps. Not that I'm mocking you, mind you, it's just that I don't see these kind of patches as helping at all. Trying to combine elements from a multitude of different creatures would, in my view, make everything exponentially more complex and difficult to execute for each creature added to the mix. I actually think it's smarter to pick a good 'base creature' and try to make it work with minimal additions from other sources. It's interesting to note how people's perceptions of difficulty differ sometimes. My opinion is that copying a specific ability like troll's regeneration is possible through enhancement rituals, but trying to directly copy creature's longevity is impossible because it's not an actual magical bloodline in the same way that, say, firebreathing is. It's something integrated into the creature's whole being, and matched specifically to it. If you want to gain their longevity, you need to isolate what makes that creature live in perpetuity and then adapt it to your own body. Both of which are extremely difficult.

Anonymous
>>34761414

Yeah, I can see that raising the difficulty. I don't see that as inherently more difficult than brewing an immortality potion in the first place. Well, except for the difference in the difficulty of experimentation. ;)

ElasticMemories
>>34761414

What's stopping Zorian from rehousing his soul? Have Zorian rip his own soul out, engage in soul combat, take over new body. Zorian will have moral issues, but he could find a bad guy he doesn't mind killing. Or, even better, find a dying bad guy, disable his mind, heal his body, then take over. Alternatively, Zorian's soul magic and simulacrum creation is half the procedure to becoming a lich, right? Zorian can become a lich but he won't have the issues most liches in other lore have: unstable bodies and deprivation of comfortable physical sensations such as taste (which requires the lich to develop strong spiritual anchors, like emotionally, or develop some sadistic desires to stay sane). Zorian can enjoy food, saunas, and sex vicariously using mind magic through a surrogate. And he has plenty of golem bodies.

ElasticMemories
>>34761414

Also, iirc Silverlake expected Zach and Zorian to trade for her age-stopping secrets eventually, so there's that open path

ElasticMemories

What's stopping Zorian from rehousing his soul and gaining immortality that way? (Reposting reply for visibility and discussion) Have Zorian rip his own soul out, engage in soul combat, take over new body. Zorian will have moral issues, but he could find a bad guy he doesn't mind killing. Or, even better, find a dying bad guy, disable his mind, heal his body, then take over. Alternatively, Zorian's soul magic and simulacrum creation is half the procedure to becoming a lich, right? Zorian can become a lich but he won't have the issues most liches in other lore have: unstable bodies and deprivation of comfortable physical sensations such as taste (which requires the lich to develop strong spiritual anchors, like emotionally, or develop some sadistic desires to stay sane). Zorian can enjoy food, saunas, and sex vicariously using mind magic through a surrogate.

nobody103
>>68814412

Some issues (aside from ethical ones) with possession idea: -Souls are specifically adapted to the bodies they are born into. Zorian could possess the body of his younger self without issues because it was, for all intents and purposes, his own body. When a soul entity possesses a body of someone else, the body starts to slowly fail and die. If the possessor entity chose a body very similar to their birth one and is very skilled, it might take years for it to fully fail, but it will eventually happen. -Finding a dying man and healing his body is not a trivial thing. Healing magic is slow and somewhat underwhelming in Ersetu, compared to many other settings. There is no guarantee Zorian will be able to heal dying people, especially since healing magic is not something he's currently good at. Though this not a complete show stopper, admittedly - just a complication. Zorian could indeed become a lich. I'm not sure I would regard the solution you outline as a complete negation of the issues that come with such an existence, but it does side-step them to be sure. I still think that Zorian, as he is, would never go for this.