Book 01 — Of Alaya. A Note from the Author: Where the Journey Truly Begins

Dear Readers! We are excited to start this series of blogs written directly from the desk of the Author himself! Shaheer J. Syed. Hear the thoughts and design behind the books! Happy reading!

The Harmonya Team together with Shaheer J. Syed

1/1/20264 min read

A Note from the Author: Where the Journey Truly Begins

When I began writing Book 01 – Of Alaya, I knew one thing with absolute clarity: this story could not begin with war. It could not begin with dragons, gods, or spectacle, no matter how tempting that was. If The Harmonya Chronicles was going to grow into something vast, something enduring, it needed to begin somewhere quieter, more human. It needed to begin with weight, not fire.

Book 01 exists for a simple reason. Before the world fractures, before alliances form, before power reveals itself, someone has to learn what it means to carry responsibility without knowing the cost. That someone is Alaya.

Why Alaya Comes First

Alaya was never written as the loudest character in the room. She was written as the one who notices when something is wrong long before others are ready to name it. In Book 01, she does not chase destiny. She resists it. She questions it. She feels the pressure of it settling on her shoulders before anyone crowns it as purpose.

That resistance matters.

I wanted leadership in this saga to feel earned through presence, not through dominance. Alaya listens more than she commands. She carries concern before she carries authority. Her strength is not certainty, but the ability to stand inside uncertainty without turning away. This is the foundation everything else rests upon.

A Deliberately Quiet Beginning

Book 01 is intentionally restrained. There are no immediate revelations designed to shock, no dramatic declarations meant to impress. Instead, the story allows space for observation, conversation, and reflection. Silence is allowed to exist. Doubt is not rushed away.

This was a conscious choice.

Harmonya is introduced as a world that already exists beyond the page. It has history, tension, and unresolved weight. I did not want the reader to feel like they were being shown a stage set for conflict. I wanted them to feel like they were stepping into a place that remembers things, even if it hasn’t yet explained them. The unease in Book 01 is subtle, but it is intentional. It signals that what is coming will not arrive cleanly.

Destiny Without Romance

One of the ideas I wanted to explore early was the difference between destiny as myth and destiny as burden. In Book 01, destiny is not framed as privilege. It does not arrive with clarity or reward. It arrives as expectation, as pressure, as something that feels premature and unfair. Alaya does not wake up powerful. She wakes up aware.

That awareness becomes heavier with each step forward. She understands, instinctively, that choosing not to act would also be a choice, and that avoidance carries its own consequences. This tension is the true engine of the book. Readers often ask whether Book 01 is “slower” than what comes later. My answer is always the same: it is slower because it is listening.

Why This Book Matters Long After It Ends

As the saga expands across kingdoms, dimensions, and divine intervention, Book 01 continues to matter because it establishes the emotional logic of the world. Without it, later escalation would feel hollow. With it, every shift carries memory. Alaya’s early choices, hesitations, and silences echo forward. They inform how leadership is exercised later. They shape how unity is built, how power is restrained, and how responsibility is understood across the saga. Book 01 teaches the story how to breathe before it learns how to roar.

An Invitation, Not a Promise

I did not write Book 01 to convince readers that Harmonya would become epic. I wrote it to invite them to walk alongside someone before the scale reveals itself. If you finish this book curious rather than certain, reflective rather than overwhelmed, then it has done exactly what it was meant to do.

This is not the beginning of a war. It is the beginning of someone choosing not to step aside when weight arrives.

And from that choice, everything else follows.

Continue the journey at: www.harmonyachronicles.com
Listen to the music of Harmonya: https://www.youtube.com/@OBSIDIANHEART_SE

Some stories begin with prophecy.
This one begins the moment responsibility is accepted without applause.