You may be wondering why, since returning, I have yet to so much as mention the characters I would formerly prattle on and on about (OK, so maybe it hadn't occurred to you, but I feel like mentioning it anyways). I refer of course to Alek, Ikuna, Sij, Ryo, Maria, etc. etc.
The reason that these characters of mine are no longer recieving my full attention of late is because they have, for the most part, retired.
Now, I don't mean that I'm never going to use them again, but as far as their story goes, their time has come and gone, and they lead more simple, stable lives now. At least, most of them do.

Naturally, in the final battle against Addemisc and his Clan, a few brave souls lost their lives, most notably Sij Alai and his sister Tara, Roanoke, Marcus Grey, and of course Addemisc, Remille, Dairn, and Gueh, the key members of Clan Black Gale.
Alas, such is the nature of heroes.
Other than that the others are well (15 years after the final confrontation). Alek and Ikuna are married with three children, a boy and two girls. Alek is of course a blacksmith and Icuna mostly lectures at the Academy of Magic in Cathe. Ryo and Maria work for the city guard as rangers.

This is all part of the ongoing plot, which started 33 years before with original Black Gale, continued with a sort of revival in the form of Clan Black Gale, and will culminate in the destruction of the source of the real Black Gale phenomena after its mysterious reappearance.
When will I actually write any of this? Probably never, or at least not for a long time, so if anyone was waiting for it for some reason, I guess you're SOL, dude.