Extra scenes

In addition to the main trilogy books, there have been a number of alternate, deleted, or extra scenes involving the main characters that have been posted online by the author. Some were pre-order bonuses, fluff written during the Spring 2020 Covid-19 Quarantine, or old scenes that got cut from the final book script.

As a treat for readers in the lead-up to the publication of The Empire of Gold, S. A. Chakraborty compiled these scenes into a 181-page pdf and released it on her website in May 2020. It was available for download for several months.

On Sept. 21, 2020, Shannon announced on Instagram and Twitter that the Daevabad extra scenes would be "coming back better and bigger, with more characters and stories." During an Instagram livechat with Fairyloot on Oct. 29, 2020, Shannon confirmed that the previously written extra scenes were being edited to read more professionally, while being joined by new stories. The whole set would be released in audio and/or e-book versions, with a possible release date in Fall 2021.

As of Mar. 18, 2021, the short story collection officially has a title, with the hint being a river. Additionally, she mentions that the previously released short stories have been edited and expanded.

On July 13, 2021, The River of Silver was announced as the official title for the anthology, and it was revealed that it would be going on sale March 1, 2022 and that it would be audio exclusive.

A number of previews for these new extra scenes have been posted on her Instagram and Twitter accounts, and have been collected  in the section far below.

## Pre-City of Brass

### Manizheh (decades prior)

20 pages long, pdf pages: 1-20. First posted online with the May 2020 batch.

Follows  Manizheh shortly after Jamshid's birth, and her return to Daevabad.

### Muntadhir (7 years prior)

19 pages long, pdf pages: 21-39. First published in the paperback/updated ebook versions of The City of Brass.

Features  Muntadhir and his family relationships, and getting acquainted with Jamshid.

### Jamshid (6-7 years prior)

10 pages long, pdf pages: 40-49. First posted online with the May 2020 batch.

Follows  Jamshid during one of Muntadhir's political adventures.

## During The City of Brass

### Dara (shortly after Hierapolis)

8 pages long, pdf pages: 50-57. First posted online with the March 2020 batch.

Features  Dara and Nahri while she steals from a human town.

### Jamshid (during Ali's assassination and the next few days)

24 pages long, pdf pages: 58-81. First posted online with the May 2020 batch.

Jamshid's point of view during the events leading up to the night on the boat.

## Post City of Brass / Pre-Kingdom of Copper

### Ali (two years after City of Brass)

14 pages long, pdf pages: 82-95. First released as a pre-order gift for The Kingdom of Copper.

Follows  Prince Alizayd while in Am Gizira as he battles an ancient earth demon and rescues a beautiful girl in a satire of 1001 Nights tropes.

### The Scout (alternative prologue for Kingdom of Copper)

16 pages long, pdf pages: 96-111. First posted online as a Yuletide treat in December 2019.

Follows two Giziri soldiers as they unwittingly discover some legends in the depths of Daevastana. A bit of a homage to *A Song of Ice and Fire*.

### Nahri 1 (shortly before Kingdom of Copper)

17 pages long, pdf pages: 112-128. First posted online with the March 2020 batch.

Follows  Nahri as she frees an ifrit slave, visits the Daeva Temple, and witnesses a shafit slave murdered.

* This chapter is from "an old and very different version" of The Kingdom of Copper, but has been reworked so that it "feels like something that could have happened shortly before the book. [...] There is one rather glaring difference when it comes to the way we’re introduced to a side character, but otherwise I think it still holds up to canon."

### Nahri 2 (shortly before Kingdom of Copper)

21 pages long, pdf pages: 129-149. First posted online with the March 2020 batch.

Nahri dreams of a past event, discusses her marriage with Muntadhir, and faces a crisis with an out-of-control Elashia.

* This chapter is from "an old and very different version" of The Kingdom of Copper, but has been reworked so that it "feels like something that could have happened shortly before the book. [...] There is one rather glaring difference when it comes to the way we’re introduced to a side character, but otherwise I think it still holds up to canon."

## During The Kingdom of Copper

### Ali (a few days after the Grand Temple visit)

12 pages long, pdf pages: 150-161. First posted online with the May 2020 batch.

Ali and Nahri share a peaceful moment together in the Nahid hospital gazebo.

### Kaveh (from an older version of Kingdom of Copper)

12 pages long. First posted online as a Yuletide treat in December 2019.

(Originally, Kaveh was going to be the third pov character instead of Dara.)

Kaveh returns to Daevabad after secretly conspiring with Manizheh and Dara. He is greeted by Jamshid and Muntadhir, is brusquely told to fetch Ali from the infirmary by Ghassan, catches up with Nisreen and Nahri, and later confronts Jamshid regarding his dealings with the Qahtani princes.

* This scene was not included in the mass pdf file released in May 2020.

## During The Empire of Gold

### Zaynab (that first morning)

20 pages long, pdf pages: 162-181. First posted online with the May 2020 batch.

Zaynab remembers Ali and struggles to find her strength as a leader as she, Aqisa, and Subha deal with the aftermath of the Daeva invasion.

### Alternative Epilogue (Zaynab and Dara pov)

24 pages long. Originally included in the Annotated Empire of Gold charity auction, then later printed in The Empire of Gold US paperback edition and posted on the author's website.

Dara secretly stalks a Babili tavern, looking for leads on Vizaresh. Zaynab and Aqisa meanwhile travel to Bir Nabat and then to Babili, where they run into Dara.

## New Extra Scenes

On Sept. 21, 2020, Shannon announced on Instagram and Twitter that the Daevabad extra scenes would be "coming back better and bigger, with more characters and stories." On Twitter, she also said that when she "wrote down my list of possible characters and scenes, I'm not gonna like....there were like thirty, and half were utter fluff, so I definitely have a lot of whittling down to do (Hatset and Muntadhir/Jamshid though, I'm definitely coming for you)"

During an Instagram livechat with Fairyloot on Oct. 29, 2020, Shannon confirmed that the previously written extra scenes were being edited to read more professionally, while being joined by new stories. The whole set would be released in audio and/or e-book versions, with a possible release date in Fall 2021.

In regards to the new extras, Shannon said in the livechat with Fairyloot rep Anissa around 34 minutes into the video:

"A set of additional stories for people who would like to return to the Daevabad universe and cry with me. A lot of them are emotional, or I swear like 90% involve romance. I'm like, whyyy, Shannon, you wrote these books that lightly touched on it, and then I'm like, my extra scenes, we're just going there! [laughs] So it was fun to do. It felt like, doing it this past month, felt like a far calmer goodbye to the universe, than I had done in the spring. This felt like a good way to wrap some things up. Any author who finishes a series, part of the sorrow is realizing there are so many scenes you wanted to write that you never will because the books are done. And those things didn't fit the plot. So I got to play with a few of them, and now I'll get to share them with readers, which is great."
On October 30, 2020, she announced on her Instagram Story that the extra scenes were finished and had been emailed. Over the summer and fall Shannon posted a number of previews for some of the new extra scenes. They have been collected below.

On Mar. 18, 2021, the short story collection officially has a title, with the hint being a river. Additionally, she mentions that the previously released short stories have been edited and expanded.

On July 13, 2021, The River of Silver was announced as the official title for the anthology, and it was revealed that it would be going on sale March 1, 2022 and that it would be audio exclusive. In addition, the alternate epilogue for The Empire of Gold featuring Zaynab and Dara's pov was published in the US paperback version, and posted on her website because the printed edition was an earlier version of the story.

### Hatset pov

#### Preview 1

Posted on her Instagram account on Sept. 27, 2020, this preview shows the beginning of the Hatset chapter.

    "On the eve of her marriage to King Ghassan, Hatset Shefali arrives in Daevabad and meets some of her future denizens. Spoilers for all three books.

    Seif Shefali seemed determined to end her marriage before it began.

    "He looks old," her father commented, loud enough to be overheard. "I bet he's lying about his age."

    "Baba," Hatset hissed. "Don't be so rude. And there is no way you can tell that from this far away." Their ship had yet to even dock upon the ghostly promarade outside Daevabad's walls, and her future husband was a small figure in a black robe and brilliantly colorful blur of a turban.

    "I have excellent eyes. A blessing wasted gazing upon this miserable den of fog. They might have at least spruced up the docks. It appears as though the only thing added after the invasion is dust."

#### Preview 2

Posted on her Instagram account on October 26, 2020, this preview shows the beginning of the Hatset chapter, with the next paragraph.

    "He looks old," her father commented, loud enough to be overheard. "I bet he's lying about his age."

    "Baba," Hatset hissed. "Don't be so rude. And there is no way you can tell that from this far away." Their ship had yet to even dock upon the ghostly promarade outside Daevabad's walls, and her future husband was a small figure in a black robe and brilliantly colorful blur of a turban.

    "I have excellent eyes. A blessing wasted gazing upon this miserable den of fog. They might have at least spruced up the docks. It appears as though the only thing added after the invasion is dust."

    Hatset wished she could have disagreed, but the city to which she had tied her fate had not put on a very welcoming face for its future queen this morning. She had been in Daevabad once as a girl and still recalled sailing through the veil that hid the island. How its brass walls gleamed in the bright sunshine, the -? a backdrop -? cityscapes of a thousand towers and temples(?). It had been the very definition of magic, a sight that had stayed in her memory amid the days(?) decades later when the -? of merchant families"

#### Preview 3

Posted on her Twitter account on October 26, 2020, this preview shows a snippet from page 42.

"Seif's gaze had settled on Muntadhir with a mixture of parental worry, sadness, and the sort of brash judgement that Hatset knew all too well meant her father was about to say something regrettable."

#### Preview 4

Posted on her Twitter account on October 25, 2020, this preview shows a snippet from page 35.

"I'm not trying to put you at ease. I'm trying to make you turn back from the ridiculous scheme." Her father turned to face her, the mischief in his golden eyes replaced by sorrow. "You do not belong in this place, daughter, and it is going to kill me to leave you here."

### Muntadhir pov

#### Preview 1

Posted on her Instagram account on October 14, 2020, this preview shows Muntadhir talking with Nahri.

"specifically burn(?) him down-- finally moved away from his face and back to her teacup -? staying with the two of you?"

    "I haven't seen or heard from Zaydi since he left the hospital, nor do I expect to -? civil chaos in which he can drive himself to exhaustion rewriting the tax code or replace -? judiciary with a bunch of woe-begotten orphans in my brother's Paradise."

    "Mmm." Nahri made a sound that was very carefully neither pleasure nor displeasure. -?

    Muntadhir's lips quirked into what might have been a grin if he felt like he could -? smile again. "Zaynab says the two of you were holding hands in your hospital room."

    Ah, there. The murderous glare was back on him again. But teasing the scariest person he'd ever slept with was preferable to discussing more dangerous topic like Muntadhir's b-? health, sanity, and a future he couldn't see. "She says it was sweet. That it was the first thing -? did when you woke up."

    "Muntadhir." Nahri's voice was ice. "As you've said...I move mountains now. Don't -? on my bad side."

    "Nahri, don't be ridiculous. You don't have a bad side. All your sides are equally hostile."

#### Preview 2

Posted on her Twitter account on September 29, 2020, Shannon mentions that she wrote a 3500 word Muntadhir/Jamshid fic, and that it is a Post-EOG scene where they discuss some of the things that have happened. In another tweet, she mentions that "there is so much crying and barely touching."

Whether this is included with the scene above with Nahri, or it's own extra scene, is not certain.

### Zaynab pov

#### Preview 1

Originally an alternative epilogue for The Empire of Gold, this story was lost and then later rewritten. These are the early previews for what would be later released in The Empire of Gold US paperback and The River of Silver as the Alternative Epilogue for The Empire of Gold. This story can also be read on S.A. Chakraborty's website.

Posted on her Instagram Story on July 19, 2020, this preview shows Zaynab and Aqisa sharing a meal with a mystery Daeva. (Updated note: This scene is not included in the Alternative Epilogue for The Empire of Gold featuring Zaynab's pov)

    "Zaynab stared at the man, now growling in Divasti at the extremely abused pot. The campfire roared in response beneath it, and she fought the urge to jump as he attacked it with a long-handled spoon that popped into existence with a hiss of steamy, butter-scented air.

    "What if he poisons us?" she asked in Djinnistani under her breath.

    Aqisa was already eating the bread, trailing it through the herb-flecked yogurt and popping it into her mouth with open relish. Perhaps nothing but dwindling shreds of "abominable" dried meat for two weeks had driven away her companion's caution.

    "I thought you wanted to have some adventures."

    Aqisa gave a shrug and a wink as she replied, and a bit of uncharacteristic, definitely unrelated heat filled Zaynab's cheeks, before a explosion of broth from the pot made her finally jump. She swallowed nervously. This was not quite the adventure she had imagined."

#### Preview 2

Posted on her Instagram on October 2, 2020, Shannon wrote:

"An absurdly large cup of tea to help me deal with the realization that the alternative epilogue I wrote for The Empire of Gold is nowhere to be found and now needs to be entirely rewritten. 😭😫

EDIT: shortly after posting this I went "what if they were attacked by a violent, invisible wind wraith!?" because there is no chill scene I can't inject random magical chaos into"

(Note: this violent wind wraith also does not appear in the Alternative Epilogue for The Empire of Gold)

#### Preview 3

Posted on her Twitter account on October 25, 2020, this preview is from page 223.

"Swathed in a storm of dust, her body moving gracefully on the oryx, her companion looked every part the mysterious supernatural warrior of human nightmares. Her scavenged robes rippled in the wind, her braids whipping against the swords strapped to her back."

### Dara pov

#### Preview 1

Posted on her Twitter on October 25, 2020, this preview shows Dara speaking to his new companions. This is also a part of the Alternative Epilogue for The Empire of Gold featuring Zaynab's pov.

"If we are to spend nearly every waking moment in each other's company hunting for monsters and then very likely being killed by them, I don't wish to be reminded of that title every time either of you open your mouths. You will call me Dara."

#### Preview 2

Posted on her Instagram Story on October 29, 2020, this preview is of Dara's pov in the Alternative Epilogue for The Empire of Gold.

"reaches of Daevastana, helping one village by chasing out a rukh nesting in their cabbage fields (for which he'd been paid handsomely and unfortunately in their home-brewed cabbage liquor) and killed a wolf-faced giant who been devouring shepherds in an isolated mountain town.

    There were no monsters here-- well, maybe one depending on who you asked. But Babili wasn't a tiny Daeva village on the edge of the world that might not have ever known there was a war. This tavern was a proper trading post that hosted djinn and Daevas from all over the magical world. It was a place people came to trade news and opinions as much as they did good.

    Dara would know-- he'd been spying on the tavern and stalking its inhabitants for five days. By now, he knew the Daeva bartender's name was Rudabeh and she deserved to spend her"

#### Preview 3

Posted on her Twitter account on Nov. 10, 2020, Shannon wrote that she "just sent my editor an extra scene for The Empire of Gold paperback that fully embodies this gif and I hope you all enjoy it 😂"

The gif is of a scene from the tv show 30 Rock where Steve Buscemi pretends to be a student in school and greets a group with "How you do, fellow kids?"

#### Rustam Preview

Posted on her Instagram account on Sept. 27, 2020, this preview shows the beginning of the Hatset chapter, along with the last sentence of a scene that includes Rustam. Whether this is a new sentence added onto the original Manizheh extra scene, or a brand-new story, is uncertain.

"Rustam smiled again. "If I may confess? I was hoping you would offer."

**Update:** During the Wine, Women and Words interview posted on Nov. 17, 2020, Shannon reveals that one of the extra scenes will show a much younger Manizheh as well as Nahri's mother, Duriya.

#### Duriya Preview

Posted to her Instagram story on September 3, 2021, Shannon showed this preview of Duriya's story as well as the top line for the final page of the script. The Duriya section reads:

"This scene takes place a year or so after the previous one and contains spoilers for all three books.

The djinn woman picked up one of the freshly washed bandages by its very edge, as if dangling a spider. She sneered. "Is this a joke?"
Duriya glanced at the bandage. It looked perfectly respectable to her."

#### Ali and Nahri Preview

Posted on Twitter on March 18, 2021, this out-of-context preview was in response to a fan's AliNahri request:

"His eyes were very wide, and he was clearly struggling to steady his expression. "I...did you have someone in mind who would wear it?""

After fan reactions, Shannon followed up with:

"you're all yelling so I'm happy to have invented swimming trunks a century early"

This scene may or may not be related to a mention last year regarding a possible River Lord story.

### Unsorted/Unsure

#### Shedu Hint

Posted on her Instagram Story on October 23, 2020, this preview gave the following update:

"In writing updates... I have spent an embarrassing amount of time this morning trying to decide whether or not a shedu could be considered an appropriate chaperone"

#### Geziri Preview

Posted on her Twitter account on October 25, 2020, this preview of page 214 says:

"I knew what this city had done to her because it had done the same to me. It did the same to my father. The Geziris left alive in the city would always be a threat. My sister, free on the other side was a threat. You don't leave threats to fester."

#### Smile Preview

Posted on her Twitter account on October 25, 2020, this preview of page 254 is:

"She wanted to wrap herself in the sweetness of that smile and stay in this moment forever."

Posted to her Instagram story on September 3, 2021, a sentence from the final page could be seen, reading:

"Are you sure? If you don't want to wait, I would understand."

#### As Kids Hint

Posted on her Instagram Story on October 13, 2020, this preview mentions the following in reply to this fanart by Munazza.\_makes of a young Muntadhir and Ali:

"Me ten minutes ago: alright, all done with the extra Daevabad scenes!

Me now: wait! WHAT IF YOU HAVE THEM AS KIDS"

#### River Lord Hint

Posted on her Instagram on October 18, 2020, Shannon wrote,

"When you're supposed to be taking a vacation from writing but there is water EVERYWHERE and maybe you could just work on \*one\* scene about a new river lord..."

#### Marriage Proposal?

Posted on her Instagram Story on August 19, 2020, this pre-extra scenes message reads:

"Me: finally finding some peace and mental distance from Daevabad, ready to work on the new series

Me to me: what if you wasted two weeks writing a marriage proposal and wedding scene you could never show anyone?"

There was an additional message the following day with words written over this image, saying:

"I'm still thinking about this ngl 🥺

Maybe it can be a reward if I work on my actual work?"

May or may not be related to the extra scenes release.

## External Links

* The River of Silver - The official publication of the Daevabad extra stories
* https://twitter.com/SAChakrabooks/
* https://www.instagram.com/sachakrabooks/

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 S.A. Chakraborty on Twitter - May 21, 2020 second extra scenes batch announcement
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shannon Chakraborty on Instagram - September 21, 2020 New extra scenes announcement
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - September 21, 2020 New extra scenes announcement
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Shannon Chakraborty on Instagram - October 29, 2020 IGTV livechat with Fairyloot
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - March 18, 2021 "The Daevabad short story collection has an official title now..."
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - March 18, 2021 "Also, since I've been asked, some of it is material I shared in the spring (but y'know actually edited and expanded and not using ENTIRELY WRONG CHARACTER NAMES, SHANNON). But much of it is new since I got to include a bunch of stories that would have spoiled The Empire of Gold."
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 S.A. Chakraborty on Twitter - July 13, 2021 - The River of Silver announcement
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 S.A. Chakraborty on Twitter - Mar. 24 2020 first extra scenes batch announcement
9. ↑ S.A. Chakraborty on Twitter - November 14, 2018 - Pre-order bonus story for The Kingdom of Copper
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 S.A. Chakraborty on Twitter - Dec. 26, 2019 Yuletide treat announcement
11. ↑ SAChakraborty.com/deleted-scenes.html
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 SAChakraborty.com/extra-scenes.html
13. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - September 21, 2020 Extra scenes character hint
14. ↑ Instagram Story celebrating the extra scenes being done
15. ↑ S.A. Chakraborty on Twitter - July 13, 2021 - alt-epilogue for Empire of Gold posted
16. ↑ S.A. Chakraborty Extras! - Alternative Epilogue to The Empire of Gold
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Shannon Chakraborty on Instagram - Sept 27, 2020 Hatset 1 preview
18. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Instagram - Oct 26, 2020 Hatset 2 preview
19. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - Oct 26, 2020 Seif 1 preview
20. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - Oct 25, 2020 Seif 2 preview
21. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Instagram - Oct 14, 2020 Muntadhir and Nahri preview
22. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - Sept 29, 2020 Muntadhir and Jamshid preview
23. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - Sept 29, 2020 Muntadhir and Jamshid preview 2
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Shannon Chakraborty on Instagram - Oct 2, 2020 Zaynab alternate epilogue update
25. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - Oct 25 2020 Zaynab pov preview
26. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - Oct 25, 2020 Dara preview
27. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - Nov 10. 2020 Empire of Gold paperback hint
28. ↑ Wine, Women and Words - Nov 17, 2020 Another Trip to Daevabad with SA Chakraborty
29. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - March 18, 2021 Ali preview
30. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - March 18, 2021 Ali got swimming trunks
31. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - Oct 25, 2020 Geziri preview
32. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Twitter - Oct 25, 2020 Smile preview
33. ↑ Shannon Chakraborty on Instagram - Oct 18, 2020 River lord hint