Sorrowverse

## General

The **Sorrowverse** is a generic term to encompass the events within Zachary E. Weaver's urban fantasy series, The Legacy of Sorrow. Each of the four entries, Sorrow, Affliction, Desolation, and Despair take place within the Sorrowverse, which includes allusions to presumed events that happen outside of the literature itself. The worldspace exists within a timeline following accurate world history up to 1663, when Valterius was born. Throughout the timeline of the four books and the expanded universe information, efforts were made to preserve the historical accuracy of events while implementing the characters within true historical accounts and moments in time. The overall timeline presumably stretches from as far back as known history to somewhere in the late 2090's (last recorded event in the Despair epilogues).

Although Sorrow is the first book in the series, Affliction is a prequel that takes place six months prior to Sorrow's events, and is chronologically the first novel to enter the timeline. Sorrow is presumed to take place in the year 2015, beginning somewhere in the middle of the spring season. Due to the author's geographical familiarity with the area, most events take place in the New England area of the United States, with frequent presence in Salem (MA), Boston (MA), New York City (NY), Jersey City (NJ), and various areas in Pennsylvania. While the cities of Aerael and Vanaheim are entirely fictional, they were inspired by the Underworld films, the popular RPG video game Cyberpunk 2077, and the Mass Effect franchise. The series focuses on the battle over two factions (each with their own ideology and known as the Vampyre War) and the use of the Vampyre Virus to shape the future of humanity.

## Phases

The *Sorrowverse* record of events is generally divided into seven distinct phases, and can be noted in the following order. All phases are continuous, with no lapse in time from one to another.

### Genesis

The "Genesis" phase of the *Sorrowverse* is the series of events that take place prior to Affliction, up to the moment of Kara and Sonya's departure for Afghanistan in 2015 (which leads to Sonya's major injury). Even events contained within flashbacks, such as the Dachau prison camp infiltration in *Affliction* or the story of Violet's origin (as told in *Desolation*) take place within the "Genesis" phase of the *Sorrowverse*, and are mainly covered in Expanded Universe topics within the Wiki or the possible fifth entry to the series, *The Legends of Sorrow*.

### Affliction

Although not the first entry to the series, the Affliction phase is the first chronological entry to the saga, and takes place at the moment that the "Genesis" phase ends.

### Sorrow

The first entry to the series, the Sorrow phase mates with the final moments of Affliction and continues until the end of the story told within Volume I.

### Outbreak

The "Outbreak" phase occurs in the nearly twenty-year gap between the events of Sorrow and the events of Desolation. While some of these details are discussed in flashbacks or conversations within *Desolation* and *Despair,* there are independent stories that take place within the timeline that are covered in the Expanded Universe or are expected to be stories of their own in the possible *Legends* entry.

### Desolation

The Desolation phase begins the moment that the first character in *Desolation* gains consciousness, and continues to the beginning of *Despair*. Although there is a week-long gap of time between *Desolation* and *Despair*, that timeframe is considered to be within the *Desolation* phase, as the Counsel is recovering, recuperating, and discussing the previous events during this time.

### Despair

The final entry to the core series, the Despair phase continues up to the moment of the final chapter of the story, **not** to include the epilogues that follow. The epilogues to Despair are a separate entry, and follow a timeframe separate from that of the story in Despair.

### Starlight

The "Starlight" phase covers the epilogues of *The Legacy of Sorrow* and beyond, and includes both material in the brief Despair epilogue section as well as Expanded Universe information contained within the Wiki and other potential sources of material that are not yet announced. This timeline runs from the moment the final chapter of *Despair* ends to the infinite future, with no formal date of termination. The last recorded event within the *Sorrowverse* is currently within the Expanded Universe category, in the epilogues, with a date of 2096. There has not yet been a formal announcement of the end of the "Starlight" phase. This information is mainly covered in Expanded Universe topics within the Wiki or the possible fifth entry to the series, *The Legends of Sorrow*.

## References to Historical Events

**(Special thanks to the Massachusetts Historical Society and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for providing remote research aid during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the following years. Please continue to support these societies through their linked websites).**

Sorrow contains several references to history in Kara's origins, to include the Oregon Trail, the Salem Witch Trials, and the Global War on Terror. Jalix's involvement with the military during the Global War on Terror in Afghanistan directly links Kara and Jalix's first encounter, as well as Sonya's amnesia-inducing injury and later implications of Kilkovf's involvement with terrorist organizations for financial gain. Few parallels are drawn between traditional vampire mythology and the Vampyre sociology of the Sorrowverse due to the series' unique take on the mythology.

Affliction has a direct flashback scene to the former Nazi prison camp Dachau, and was written after research and investigation into true historical accounts. The events within the chapter take place during World War II, and attempt to follow true history as much as reasonably possible. Out of respect for survivors and victims of the Holocaust, descriptions were as close as possible to the living conditions and layout of the camp itself, with Sonya directly referencing the disdain she had for the treatment of its prisoners and the impossibility of the camp's destruction during their mission. The layout of the camp and its descriptions were taken directly from archived photography, satellite images of the existing land, and academic texts.

Desolation and Despair lack significant divestment into historical accounts, primarily due to the establishment of events in the two previous novels. After the ending of Sorrow, the timeline tends toward a structure built on the events of the previous books and mentioned events.

## Pop Culture References

The Sorrowverse contains several references to popular culture, inferring heavily that most of humanity was unaffected by the conflict until the events in Desolation. Most pop culture within the Sorrowverse stems from the author's contribution as a nod to inspirational material or often-enjoyed media. As "Easter Eggs," they can be found across all four books and include quotes from certain characters. A few examples are below:

> "Never tell me the odds." - Jalix, referencing Han Solo from "Star Wars"
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> "Shenanigans? I don't see any shenanigans here." -Violet, referring to the Broken Lizard film "Super Troopers"
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> "Just a scratch? Your arm's off." -Valterius, referencing the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"
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## Spinoffs/Continuity

The Sorrowverse is considered to have an open timeline; while the epilogues of Despair are to be considered the end of known events for the series, the Starlight phase continues the timeline forward without an end date. In a 2022 interview, the author teased the possibility of adding to the series with a collection of short stories that cover gaps of time between books, and would add historical accounts of events prior to Affliction. His reference to a Legends of Sorrow entry are yet to be confirmed, and no plans exist to begin the project in 2022 or 2023. A trilogy continuing after the events of *Despair* has also been teased and was briefly referred to as "The Starlight Trilogy" in a 2023 interview that has since been unpublished.