The Ending to Daybreak: Volume 4 References and Future Plans

Foreword: I had originally written this back in February with the intention of posting it after Volume 4 finished all its edits. However, the last few months at work have been far more busy and stressful than expected. Nevertheless, my full revision-edit of Volume 4 has finished at this point. The only major change for those who are interested is an additional scene I added to Chapter 17 (the main battle). One of my beta-readers originally thought the portrayal of the battle went too smoothly for Sylviane’s forces which underplayed the strength of their opposition. See this if you’d like to see just the scene itself.

11 years have passed since I started the original Daybreak story back on Baka-Tsuki. And this year, I’ve finally finished the 4th volume — the volume that almost prematurely ended Daybreak, the volume that I paused on for 3 years before starting the rewrite in late 2020.

Volume 4 was written to be conclusive to many of the story arcs in Daybreak. It’s when Kaede finally comes to term with what Pascal did at the beginning of the story and offers him not just forgiveness, but also gratitude. It’s where Kaede firmly ascends to political power and becomes a member of both the royal family and the Empire’s ruling council. It shows how Kaede has discovered a new calling and came to embrace her new life in the brand new world that she woke up in.

It also spells out the conclusion of the Lotharin Civil War: where Sylviane emerges as the undisputed victor to be crowned. And it foreshadows the roles that each of the main characters will play in the reign of a new empress who will bring a new chapter to Rhin-Lotharingie.

It’s also where Daybreak really ends… at least before the continuation of it.

As many readers know, Daybreak first began as a satirical short story about gifted fantasy protagonists who abuse their privilege and power. It’s why the story is written mostly from Kaede’s point of view, despite the fact her role was purely reactive at the beginning. Much of the early story shows her being abused, looked down upon, or taken for granted, and many readers expressed frustration at Kaede’s seeming ‘passivity’. However, Kaede’s journey was neither an easy nor a short one. She had to patiently bid her time to earn the trust of many who were prejudiced against her — Princess Sylviane most of all — through no fault of her own.

However, by the end of Volume 4, the story of Kaede’s rise is at an end. She’s now recognized as a member of the Rhin-Lotharingie royal family and court, not only by her friends but also by political rivals. She has become the Grand Squire, one of the most influential positions in the Empire, with a stake in the grand geopolitical chess being played by the great powers of Hyperion. She’s come a long way from the Samaran girl who had nothing to her name and whom everyone else only interacted with as Pascal’s familiar.

Which is why I’m marking the ending of this Volume as the conclusion to Daybreak.

But the story will continue, albeit in a different form.

Daybreak has always been odd due to how it began. It took a rather extreme genre shift between the 1st and 2nd Volumes. Most people who began reading its start did not expect it to become the kind of story it is — one that focused on a geopolitical struggle involving rulers and institutions across multiple continents. By the same token, many readers who would have otherwise liked Daybreak dropped out of the story early due to its premise and early chapters.

However, as the story continues to progress, there is no longer any misinterpretation on what genre of story I’m writing.

That’s why Daybreak will be concluding into what I call a ‘soft reset’.

The next volume will be the 1st volume of a new story. It will still focus on our trio of protagonists: Kaede, Pascal, and Sylviane. It will pick up a month or two after the conclusion of the Rhin-Lotharingie Civil War. However, it will be written completely as a new ”starting point” — with the expectation that some of the readers will know nothing about our characters or the world they inhabit, its culture, its nations, its magic. Everything would need to be explained all over again.

I’ve already finished drafting the prologue for this new volume, which should be coming out of beta soon. However, I don’t expect my writing pace to pick up immediately when that’s released, as there’s still a lot more planning that I need to do before I can move full-steam ahead.

The tentative title for the new story will be: The Sunrise Chronicles

Thank you all for being a part of the journey thus far. And I hope you’ll continue to enjoy the story and support me =)

~ Aorii

 

Volume 4 References:

As always, here are the historical references from our history mentioned in Volume 4 which were not already explained in story.

Chapter 1

– ‘God should not suffer for the stupidity of the priest.’ – A line written by the French Enlightenment-era philosopher Voltaire in response to the poem “Les Trois Imposteurs” (“The Three Impostors”), in which Voltaire famously argued that ‘If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him’, as the belief in divine providence had a positive effect on humanity.

– Alexander Suvorov – famed Russian general (1729–1800) under Tsarina Catherine the Great. He is widely considered the greater Russian commander in history and is renowned for never losing a battle. Known for his military genius, strict discipline, and care for soldiers, Suvorov came close to facing Napoleon in battle but never had a chance (though he did ‘undo’ most of Napoleon’s gains for years in his 1799 Swiss Campaign).

Chapter 2

– Adam Smith – Scottish economist and author of the influential book ‘Wealth of Nations’ which laid down many of the core arguments for why capitalism is good for society (as well as warnings on how capitalism could go awry), Smith is widely considered the ‘Father of Capitalism’.

– North Sea Company – A reference to the South Sea Company bubble and its financial crash (1720). The South Sea Company was granted a monopoly on South American trade by the British crown and promised huge profits, despite the fact all those lands were owned by Spain which was Britain’s enemy at the time. Investors rushed to buy shares due to the lofty promises which sent prices skyrocketing. Yet when profits didn’t materialize, the bubble burst, leading to massive losses and financial ruin to many.

– 2003 Iraq Disinformation Campaign – referring to the media campaign launched by the United States and several allied governments to spread of false or misleading information to justify the subsequent invasion of Iraq, which was in violation of international law. Key claims, such as Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction and links to al-Qaeda, which were doubted even by intelligence directors, were purposefully pushed on mass media. Many of such claims were later disproven which led to widespread criticism, loss of trust in the US government.

– Japanese Asset Bubble – After signing the Plaza Accords (1985), the Japanese Yen saw a period of soaring evaluation and significantly overinflated real estate and stock prices, fueled by easy credit and speculation. When the bubble burst in the early 1990s, asset prices collapsed, triggering a prolonged economic stagnation known as the “Lost Decades”.

– George Soros and the Asian Financial Crisis – The Asian Financial Crisis (1997-1998) was a regional economic meltdown triggered by the collapse of Thailand’s currency, the Baht. It spread quickly to other Asian economies due to high debt, weak financial systems, and speculative attacks by foreign financiers — most famously by George Soros who came to short-sell many regional currencies. He most famously tried to take down the Hong Kong dollar, but was defeated by a monetary intervention by the HK and Chinese authorities, leading to billions lost in the process.

Chapter 3

– Mashmallow medicine – Marshmallow plants were first used to make herbal medicines that would sooth the throats and digestive systems of people too sick to consume other medicines.

– Tauheed views on Hyperion – With the Tauheed religion in Daybreak being a direct equivalency to Islam, Kaede’s comments about the dragonlord Hyperion refers to how, in our real world, Islam largely agrees with Christianity that Jesus was a prophet of God born to the Virgin Mary. The main differences are that Muslims believe Jesus is neither the Son of God nor the final prophet — the latter of which goes to Mohammad.

– Napoleon crossing the Berezina – Napoleon’s crossing of the Berezina river was a desperate retreat during his failed Russian campaign (1812). Facing encirclement by Russian forces, Napoleon’s army built makeshift bridges over the icy Berezina River to escape, but lost more than half the army in the process.

Chapter 5

– Albigese doctrines – The Albigese Heresy in Daybreak is based on the Cathar Heresy in Southern France during the 12-14th centuries. The Cathars believed in two gods: a good spiritual god and an evil material one. They rejected the Catholic Church’s authority, rituals, and wealth, and believed that the Old Testament was written by the evil god which made the entire physical world (which was created in the Old Testament) a sinful existence that our spirits sought to escape from. Labelled as heretics by the Church, the Cathars were largely purged by the Albigenisian Crusade, during which France commited genocide against the Occitans and brought them under French cultural dominance.

Chapter 6

– “Rather death than dishonor” – the traditional motto of the Dukes of Britanny, as the Kingdom of Avorica in Daybreak is largely based on the region of Britanny in France.

– Soviet losses in WW2 – The Soviet Union suffered the highest casualties of WW2 — over 27 million people died as a direct consequence, including at least 8.7 million personnel. Due to the disproportionately high male losses in the war, this had a significant impact of Russia gender relations (where women had to compete for the few men available), not to mention the demographics scar which could be seen in Russian population statistics to this day.

– Grand Squire – The ‘Six Great Officers’ of Rhin-Lotharingie was based on the Great Officers of the Crown of France, which was established in 1582 and later replaced by the Secretaries of State. They included the Grand Chancellor, Grand Master, Grand Chamberlain, Grand Squire, Constable of France, Marshal of France, and Admiral of France.

– Peter Principle – Managerial Science theory stating that in a hierarchy, employees tend to be promoted until they reach their level of incompetence: meaning they’re good at their current job but eventually promoted to a role they can’t perform well. This can lead to inefficiency as people get stuck in positions beyond their skills.

Chapter 7

– Gunther-Hans Rudel – inspired by Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the famous Stuka Ace of the German Luftwaffe during WW2. Creditted with the destruction of more than 500 tanks and 2 capital ships, Rudel remained an unrepentent and diehard supporter of Nazism until his last day.

– Hiroshima Cover-up – after the bombing of Hiroshima, the US government tried to suppress and downplay the long-term consequences of radiation exposure, in an attempt to justify the use of atomic weapons as indifferent from conventional weapons. The cover-up was later exposed by US journalist John Hersy, which brought global attention to the devastating effects of radiation and laid the groundwork for the ‘nuclear taboo’ — which treated any use of atomics as an escalation beyond that of conventional weapons.

Chapter 9

– Jan Hus – 14th-century Czech religious reformer and early critic of the Catholic Church’s corruption and abuses. Influenced by John Wycliffe, he preached against church practices and called for reforms. Declared a heretic, he was tried and burned at the stake, and thus became the pivotal figure in the Bohemian Reformation (a precursor to Protestantism) and a martyr to his followers which sparked the Hussite Wars.

– Battle of Tannenberg – A major battle at the start of WWI (1914) where the Germans, using superior tactics and exploiting the discord between the two Russia field commanders in the front, encircled and destroyed the Russian Second Army in East Prussia. This stopped the Russian offensive into Prussia and bought valuable time for the completion of the Schlieffen Plan in knocking out France in the West (which failed).

Chapter 11

– Academic Skepticism – a school of ancient Greek philosophy, centered in Plato’s Academy around the 3rd century BCE. Skeptics argued that certain knowledge is impossible. Instead, they promoted suspending judgment (epoché) to avoid error. Skeptics also challenged any claim to absolute truth, and emphasized the importance of inquiry, learning, and doubt at all times.

– Cicero – Roman statesman, lawyer, and philosopher during the time of Julius Caesar. Renowned for his speeches and writings on politics, law, and rhetoric, he championed the Republic, promoted Stoic and Skeptic philosophy, and left countless literature which later influenced Renaissance humanism and Western thought on justice.

Chapter 12

– Huginn and Muninn – roughly translated as ‘mind and will’, Huginn and Muninn are the two ravens of the Allfather Odin in Norse mythology. It’s said that they fly all over the world to attain and bring information to Odin, and are the personification of the God of Wisdom’s intellect and his capacity for constant learning.

– “Never needed rescuing” – Inspired by the US 101st Airborne, who declared after the Siege of Bastogne (WW2) that they never needed “rescuing” by Patton’s 3rd Army.

– “You kick the foreign invaders in the teeth. You cannot kick foreign investors in the teeth. you got to smile and be nice to them. Very painful.” – Quote by the Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbuhani about the Vietnamese coming to the realization that they were never going to make their country great by fighting wars (even victorious ones), but rather by “getting foreign investers to replace foreign invaders”.

Chapter 13

– Permaculture – modern name for ecological and self-sustaining agricultural management based on traditional wisdom and environment understanding. There’s been a lot of push for this given climate change, here’s an intro for those interested. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxknbKXx_CE

– Fengshui – an ancient Chinese practice of arranging spaces and objects to harmonize with natural energy (qi). It aims to improve health, wealth, and fortune by ‘balancing elements’ in the arrangement of homes, offices, and landscapes.

 

Chapter 14

Gorbachev and NATO – Near the end of the Cold War, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev gave acceptance to German reunification in return for nonbinding verbal assurances from various NATO leaders that NATO “will not move one centimeter further east.” As NATO did continue to expand eastward, this has been seen by Russian leaders ever since as a betrayal of promises. For those interested in the details, I recommend the following article from Der Spiegel: https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nato-s-eastward-expansion-is-vladimir-putin-right-a-bf318d2c-7aeb-4b59-8d5f-1d8c94e1964d

Xi’an Incident – Between 1931-1935, the Japanese Army has invaded and annexed multiple Chinese provinces. But Chiang Kai-shek, the KMT Generalissimo and de-facto leader of China at the time, refused to retaliate and instead focused the majority of his armies on fighting his civil war against the Communists. Humiliated by the loss of his homeland, General Zhang Xueliang launched a coup in 1936 and captured Chiang, forcing him to stop the civil war and redirect all military efforts against the Japanese. This resulted in the Second United Front between the KMT and CCP in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Chapter 15 Interlude

Menno van Britsum – named after the renowned Dutch military engineer Menno van Coehoorn, who was born in Britsum.

Chapter 16

Abu Zayd ar-Raḥman – from the full name of Ibn Khaldun, arguably the most famous Islamic jurist philosopher who is widely considered a father figure to modern historiography, sociology, and economics. He pioneered the use of demographic studies in researching societies, and wrote extensively on how laws form the bedrock of society for which all others revolved around.

Chapter 19

Dysphoric Mania – a mental state suffered by individual with mood disorders where symptoms of mania (i.e. high energy, impulsivity) are mixed with intense irritability, anxiety, or depression. It’s a type of mixed episode often seen in bipolar disorder and can increase the risk of impulsive behavior, including self-harm.

Chapter 20

Caesaropapism – often translated as ‘Caesar-above-Pope’, it’s the idea of combining secular and religious power in one ruler, where the head of state also reigns supreme over the church. It was commonly practiced in the late Roman/Byzantine Empire, where emperors influenced church doctrine and appointments, blending political and spiritual authority.

Chapter 21

Ivan IV – known as Ivan ‘the Terrible’, one of the last rulers of the Russian Rurikid dynasty whose lineage traces back to the Norse Varangian Prince Rurik. His reign transformed Moscovite Russia from a feudal state to an empire through many legal reforms, most famously the ”Sudebnik of 1550” which liquidated the aristocracy’s priviledges, strengthened the courts, and codified protection for peasants. This however earned him the ire of the aristocracy who poisoned many of his family members, including his first wife Anastasia Romanovna – the first tsaritsa of the Romanov dynasty and widely believed to be Ivan’s true love. As a result of this and other events, Ivan’s hatred for his subjects grew and he became increasingly distrustful, violent, and destructive over the course of his reign.

Mao Zedong – Founder the People’s Republic of China. A fervant anarcho-communist revolutionary, Mao was known for being deeply empathetic towards the suffering of the lower classes during his youth. However, he lost most of his family during the decades of revolutionary struggle and civil war that followed (including his firstborn and favorite son to the Americans in Korea). Believing he could build a society without social hierarchy, Mao launched one movement after another to purge Chinese society of its ‘elites’ (including its Communist ruling elite during the Cultural Revolution), leading to over a decade of suffering for the common peasant whose lives he originally sought to improve.

Epilogue

Stone of Destiny – also known as the Stone of Scone, it is a historic symbol of Scottish monarchy used in the coronation of kings for centuries. It was taken by England in 1296 and placed under the British coronation throne. In 1996, it was returned to Scotland but is still used in UK coronations.

Jan – Jan refers to Jan Hus (see earlier description). And by his ‘military genius of a disciple’, he’s talking about Jan Zizka, commander of the Taborite army during the Hussite Wars.

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