This is the third volume of the Sacred Mask. The cast has been swelling up, from the first book. I have been thinking about a bunch of new fun set pieces. The book has evolved a lot from when I first came up with the idea. It eventually became the creature that is the Sacred Mask. In my first mental draft, I planned for the mask to do something. Now, it has become a bit of a joke. The joke is whether the mask actually does something or not. Even the in-book characters at times speculate on the "power" of the Sacred Mask. According to the Mad Elf Eric, his mask amplifies his magic and protects him from Evil. Each time they ask him about its powers, he usually says something different about it. In the second book, Eric created a second mask to gift to the next Arch Magus. The mask eventually passed through hands and it led Eric to Tori's brother Yuri. Eric saw this happy coincidence or providence, and so he decided to create a third mask. The purpose of his third mask is to bring into Eric's fold anyone having to do with his savior Tori. Eric even went as far as to recreate the same scenario in the form of a new Arch Magus tournament. Aside from the Sacred Mask, my book at its core is romance based. The mystery of the mask is just there to spice things up a bit. I have a preference for writing in fantasy worlds. As it is pretty obvious by now, elves and dragons are my favorite. The relics of the old world, and past technologies overtime are rediscovered. Though not everything that is futuristic comes from human hands. The more advance toys were the handyworks of Citrine, Terror of the Seven Seas. Through her daughter Sunshine, the reader learns more about Citrine's maritime empire. As well as her rivalry with the Elf Magus Zuberus. While she went full steam ahead with science, her rival focused on magic. Their epic battle that occurred 4000 years ago left scars on the world. In the end, all that fighting was pointless, and even Citrine was defeated by bad luck, and not by magic. A hurricane sunk her fleet, and then a meteor fell on her main lab. Even Zuberus' magical wonders too fell into obscurity, with the last of his Tower going up in smoke as a result of a curse. This book adds a lot more world building elements. We visit the decaying ruins of the Tower of Zuberus, Wodanaz's Magical Castle, and the Castle Muldred that was converted into a museum. This book also fleshes out the character of Sister Rosa and her mysterious connection to her son bodyguard Joshua. The main budding Yaoi relationship is between the lighthearted Joshua and the melancholic Cimarron. Cimarron has a lot of baggage. He doesn't want to suffer, and he doesn't want Joshua to suffer because of him. Cimarron feels that he is better off alone. Due to this baggage, Cimarron keeps shying away from the prospect of falling in love again. Technology wise, the biggest breakthrough comes in the rediscovery of the camera technology. This technology fuels the rise of yellow journalism in the Continent, and the decline of traditional painting. Without a Civil War or any nearby conflict, the reporters now harass nobles, celebrities and war veterans like Cimarron in search of the latest "news". In the background of these mundane problems, someone is stalking the members of the Sacred Mask Guild. It wants something from them, and when the time comes it will take it. The fact that they are constantly being stalked by reporters as of lately, serves as the perfect cover. Without any more preambles, I give you my faithful readers The Sacred Mask 3. Enjoy.