Athnan was never really its own world until well over two-thirds into Leon's Son. Originally the story was going to take place on earth somewhere in southern Europe. I made a small map of the lands mentioned in the early drafts of the book, but as to an entire world, that was out of the question. It was just assumed that Leon's Son was a short story with little explanation as to places, peoples, or landscapes. It was only going to be thirty pages, that was the thought at the time I started. After draft one, the book had grown to double its original intended size, and as the second rough version was started it became clear that I would have to make it clear where this land actually was and what it looked like. This story needed its own realms and could not be held by historical or geographic limitations. Not only that but the names of some characters needed to be changed. Some of the bigger changes include the actual name of the book. The name Unafraid came early in the second edit, but Leon's Son was a much later title that was added after I decided to write more books and make Unafraid a series. In the first draft, Leon was actually named Beithor, so Leon's Son only came after Beithor was changed to Leon, which ended up being a far better name for the father of the hero. As more and more edits came, people and places began to change drastically. I had to somehow keep the spirit of the original story that I started when I was fifteen in my journal, and combine it with a fast-improving writing style. Over the five years it took to make Leon's Son, and change it from a short story to a book, I made sure to keep in mind one thing: Never to make it something that in any way would take away from the original copy that I wrote while on trips to breathtaking national parks, and wilderness. Although some of the places and people have changed in many ways, the core will always remain the same.