Wide, cinematic digital painting depicting the origin of the Renegades Epic. Foreground: five elemental heroes—Brock Patrick, Braden Hawk, Tarja Titan, Liza Fury, and Tony Gotham—standing in a loose semicircle on a rugged plateau overlooking a vast, storm-lit landscape. Each subtly embodies their element: Brock wields a silver-hilted Sword of Earth, cracks of stone rising beneath his feet. Braden channels gusts of wind swirling around his arms. Tarja radiates a faint spirit aura, ethereal and luminous. Liza summons rippling water in one hand. Tony’s other hand glows with embers and flame. In the distance, faint silhouettes of modern small-town rooftops and a university skyline (Morgantown) blend into mountains and mist—symbolizing where it all began. Color palette: storm gray, soft gold, sapphire blue, emerald green, and ember red. Lighting: dramatic, dawn breaking through clouds, representing evolution and rebirth of the saga. No text overlay. Wide cinematic composition, painterly realism, emotional and mythic atmosphere.

Origin Story: Unveiling the original Renegades Epic concept

ByTC Marti

The Renegades Epic was supposed to be a hell of a lot simpler than what it ultimately evolved into. But it evolved for the better.

I can argue that the Renegades Epic can trace its roots to 2014, when I was just 23. That year, a character named Brock Patrick walked into my mind. Brock was a 35-year-old loser who was pissed at life.

He lived at home with his parents, worked a pedestrian job as a grocery store clerk, and stayed up half the night drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, and playing video games. He was prematurely aging, with thinning hair that was starting to go gray, and skin that was growing leathery thanks to his lifestyle choices.

One incident after another led to Brock getting fired from his job and starting a fight at an extended family member’s Christmas Eve party. It wasn’t until he walked the streets of Toronto, Ohio, waiting for his parents to leave that party so he could hitch a ride home, did he discover he could control the earth element.

In that scene, an entity named Obie immediately gifted Brock with a silver-hilted Sword of Earth, and it gave him the confidence for his life to improve. But that was just Book I in the series featuring five standalone books and one finale.

Enter Braden Hawk, Tarja Titan, Liza Fury, and Tony Gotham

Braden Hawk

Braden Hawk was an independent journalist who could control wind. He had spats with some local bullies who were hell-bent on kidnapping a girl he cared about. When they indeed kidnapped her, Hawk went after those boys and introduced the wind element to their faces, rescuing his girl, Kira, but becoming a fugitive in the process.

On the run with Kira, Braden meets up with a girl who could control spirit, Tarja Titan, at West Virginia University in Morgantown. Together, the three of them fend off their attackers along with help from Braden’s best friend and confidant, Rome Sokol.

Tarja Titan

Not long after, Braden interviews Tarja, who recounts her experience of when she first discovered she could control spirit. It was at a family get-together, when Tarja and her best friend, Floor Jetta, left the party to explore this abandoned grade school.

They got caught in a time warp that depicted a Satanic blood ritual and Tarja, somehow, got them out. Later that night, a break-in at the mansion they were staying in and subsequent killing of Tarja’s older sister’s boyfriend set the story into motion.

Liza Fury

Called Serena in early drafts, Liza was initially a problem child from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s outskirts, sent to live with the father of a man named Lenny Cyclone, Brock Patrick’s cousin. During the story, Liza finds out she could control water, and ends up fighting off numerous burglars and criminals during her stay with Mr. Cyclone.

While she clashed with everyone at first and hated her situation, Liza grew fond of the small-town life she was initially forced to endure. She also struck up a friendship with Brock, and started seeing both him and Lenny as guides, developing brother-sister relationships with them.

Tony Gotham

Tony was originally one of Braden Hawk’s pursuers and used his fire control ability as a way to continually engage in duels with Braden. The two fought to stalemates multiple times before Braden ultimately got the upper hand in Morgantown.

Not long after, Tony realized his mistake and ultimately allied with Braden, forging the fifth member of the group that also consisted of Brock, Liza, and Tarja.

The original Renegades Epic laid the foundation for Terrian Chronicles

Liza Fury by TC MartiTerrian Chronicles ultimately stemmed from this proposed series. In fact, the cover of Tarja Titan was chosen to be the cover for the original, before I retooled the work. I also bought a cover featuring a pissed off-looking girl wielding two swords that conjured fire, and it’s the reason Liza became a Fire Master instead of the girl who controlled water.

I changed Tony Gotham’s name to Chase, and he appears in Liza Fury: The Discovery. Chase also briefly appears in Catch: 22. Meanwhile, I retooled Braden to be a Sentinel, sort of like a private cop, while Kira became his love interest.

Tarja Titan ended up getting strong Harry Potter vibes, because I wanted to market it as a work that people were familiar with. As for Brock Patrick, I fused him with Braden Hawk, and many of Brock’s resentful characteristics, including his short temper, reside in Braden.

So, what do you think? Should I ultimately recreate this work anyway, using the same names and market it as the “original” Renegades Epic? Might be a fun project, and I’ll let you decide. But in the meantime, make sure you check out the prequel novella to the actual Terrian Chronicles, Liza Fury. It’ll give you a nice, little lead-in to the Renegades Epic as a whole.

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