Amatara

Though I Walk Through the Valley (46544 words) by Amatara
Chapters: 15/15
Fandom: Babylon 5
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Londo Mollari/Timov, Vir Cotto & Londo Mollari, G'Kar & Londo Mollari, Vir & Lennier
Characters: Londo Mollari, Vir Cotto, G'Kar, Timov, Lennier, Delenn, David Sheridan
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Not A Fix-It, Canonical Character Death, Canon Compliant
Summary: What really happened during those sixteen long years in which Londo waited for the prophecies to come true? A multi-chapter story, indended to bridge the gap between Londo's ascension to the throne and Centauri Prime's eventual liberation from the Drakh.

So, this is it! I just posted the last chapter of the fic that consumed my life for the past four months, ever since I gave in to that crazy impulse to write the one B5 story I've always wanted to see written. Well, 'consumed my life' is probably still an understatement. If there's anything that I learned throughout this, it's that I'm probably not cut out to be a writer - that is to say, writing is my passion and my joy but it's also my addiction, and the way I've been living these past few months to get this thing written... let's just say it wasn't very healthy, not for me and not for the people living with me and who were so kind to put up with me throughout this. It's still an experience I wouldn't have missed for the world, though. And I think I can say that, of all the stories I have written and may yet write in the future, this is the one story I hope I can be remembered by. Because every emotion that's in there is real, in some way, and mine, and because I am so fond of the story in itself and so proud of it too. So (I'm getting emotional now, dammit) if there ever comes a time that I need to leave fandom, and I hope that time won't come for many years yet... this is the story that I hope people will associate with me. It's by no means perfect, partly because I didn't get a beta while writing it (which I still think was a good call, or I would never have finished it) and partly because of the deadlines I had to keep setting myself to just get through it... But I think it still manages to do what I wanted it to, and even plot-wise, the puzzle pieces fit together pretty well with only a few ragged edges, so... yeah. I think I can safely feel proud of this thing.

And I really hope this won't sound presumptuous, but thank you so much to everyone who cheered me on through any part of this, whether it was with a few words or a thousand, and whether you actually read the story or were just passing through. It made all the difference in the world, believe me. And to everyone who was waiting to read this until you were sure I'd actually be able to finish it (which I don't blame you for, for a while I wasn't all that sure I would either :) )... Here you go, I hope it was worth the wait!

Aaannd we're here with a new installment of our Centauri Prime saga.

This chapter got away from me a little - at first, I had a hard time getting into the flow of writing it, and then once I did I couldn't make myself stop. But anyway, this is where the plot slowly starts to thicken, and for the first time while writing this story I really felt that storyteller's thrill of seeing some of the pieces begin to come together. I have everything plotted out pretty tightly, in the sense that I have a decent idea of what should happen in each chapter, who will be the narrator, when certain characters will have to do certain things to serve the plot and how to get them into a position where they can do it. I've never written longfic before so this is a whole new experience for me, but I'm amazed at how satisfying I'm finding it. Exhausting too - I'm going to sleep and waking up with this story - but so far it's been very much worth it. I also think I've passed the halfway mark where the number of chapters, and I'm loving that nervous thrill of hoping I can get it all tied together. *crosses fingers it will stay that way*

Anyway, hope you all enjoy this! By the way, the chapter after this one will be Londo again, for anyone who wonders. :)

Title: Though I Walk Through the Valley (8/?)
Fandom: Babylon 5
Category/Rating: gen-ish (with some background pairings), PG-13
Story summary: What really happened during those sixteen long years in which Londo waited for the prophecies to come true? A multi-chapter story, intended to bridge the gap between Londo's ascension to the throne and Centauri Prime's eventual liberation from the Drakh.

(In which Earth is in shock, and so is Vir, though not quite for the same reasons.)

Aaaannnnd we have liftoff! :)

I just finished and posted the first chapter of the B5 post-series story I was brainstorming about earlier this week. I honestly have no idea how quickly I'm going to be able to make progress on this, but I'll be trying to have the next chapter ready for you in a week or so. *knocks on wood* In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this first effort!

Title: Though I Walk Through the Valley
Fandom: Babylon 5
Summary: So what happened during those sixteen long years in which Londo waited for the prophecies to come true? An attempt to bridge the gap between Londo's ascension to the throne and Centauri Prime's eventual liberation from the Drakh.
Characters: Londo Mollari, Vir Cotto. Expected to appear in later chapters: Timov, G'Kar, Delenn, Lennier, possibly others.
Category/Rating: gen-ish (with some background pairings), PG-13
Author's Notes: This is basically an alternate version of the events post-Fall of Centauri Prime; alternate, that is, to Peter David's Legions of Fire trilogy. I do not presume to match Mr. David in terms of writing skill, but I did miss a number of things in his novels, which led me to try to write my own take on events. I am not considering the trilogy to be canon, and no knowledge of the novels is required to read this. The story takes off during the season-five episode The Fall of Centauri Prime and covers the sixteen-year period until Londo's eventual death (so yes, it will have - canon - character death eventually).
Thanks to: All of you who were so enthusiastic at the prospect of this story that I couldn't *not* take the plunge and give it a try!

As always, any feedback or discussion is welcome! Even more so because this is a work in progress, meaning I can actually try to incorporate suggestions and requests.

(It was clear from the set of Vir's shoulders that he was afraid, and that Londo was the cause of it. Not simply because he was about to become Emperor, but for what it might change between them. What it had already changed.)

For those of you wondering if there would come a time where I'm writing B5 fic again: yes, there would, and I have! Hope you enjoy. :)

Written for crossing_hades, for her generous donation in the help_pakistan auction.

Title: The Eyes that Saw
Summary: Vir Cotto's path from ambassador to emperor, as seen through five different sets of eyes.
Word Count: ~ 5000
Author's Note: While I read Peter David's Legions of Fire trilogy, I don't generally consider it as canon, so I only borrowed very loosely from it. There's a reference to The Lost Tales in there as well, but nothing that makes knowledge of the movie essential.
Disclaimer: JMS owns them, I'm just showing my love for them.


( Fic: 'The Eyes that Saw' )

Title: Of Wine and Virtue
Summary: Years after the events of "The Fall of Centauri Prime", Londo and G'Kar meet again on Earth, thanks to Vir.
Not, in the end, a fix-it story - though some things do get mended that were long overdue.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Owned by JMS and Babylonian Productions, not me, alas.
Author's notes:
1. Written for mithen, for her very generous donation to UNICEF for the help_haiti comm. Her request basically being "At an unspecified time in the future, emperor Mollari gets a rare chance to visit Earth and meet G'Kar again." I had a wonderful time writing a story that's neither pure angst, or pure fluff, or pure drama, but somewhere in between. Thank you so much for the lovely prompt!
2. The title refers to a line in a poem by Charles Baudelaire, called "Enivrez-vous!" or "Get drunk!". The line in question is Get drunk on wine, poetry or virtue, whatever (or in the original language, Enivrez-vous de vin, de poésie ou de vertu, à votre guise), which is so close to Londo's "Wine, women and song" it gave me chills when I first made the connection. As for the rest of the poem - *sighs*. Oh, Londo.
3. For those who read the Legions of Fire trilogy, I made no attempt to match the events from the novels. This is just a different take on what might have happened.

( Fic: Of Wine and Virtue )