Age Old Battle: Good Versus Evil

 Good versus evil is the most basic but most powerful battle in the real and imaginary world. Sometimes it is an obvious battle, like in the Harry Potter series or in Brian Jacques' Redwall series. In this novel, it is much more blurry.

 The biggest dilemma I faced with this story was creating the climax, the high point. It was actually the last piece of the plot puzzle written. I had the beginning, the rising action, the point of no return, the ending, and no climax. There was no climax because I had no obvious battle. It took quite some time to identify the one thing that could defeat William and Thomas. I knew that Elizabeth was not a direct threat (yet), and no one was trying to kill them (yet). So what could make up this epic climatic battle?

 The twins themselves.

 Anyone who knows a set of twins knows that they seem to either really love or really hate each other, often doing both at the same time. They are not living examples of good and evil as much as they are living examples of the human condition itself; a constant tug and pull of wills, desires, hopes, and wishes. That is what the main battle of this story is: the battle of the human condition. It is one of the most complex battles to write about because there is no clear winner or loser, only achievement of a certain level of existence and acceptance. 

 The series will eventually lean more toward the traditional good versus evil fight, but even that is compromised and open to debate. No one side is completely right or wrong, just as the twins' two sides (humanistic and animal) are not right or wrong. 

 I say all of that to say this: there aren't any true villains, in my opinion, to boo in this series. There are only different viewpoints that can easily be regarded as good or evil, depending on who is looking at them. Be mindful of every character in this series outside of the viewpoint characters, William and Thomas.