We're all very lucky you stuck to your gunz, Joe. Now we all have the chance to give back through patreon and through these nifty new forums and developing comment sections!
I don't expect to be posting here much, but I'm glad I came and nabbed my username at least.
To Umbral: I don't think it's at all silly to attach feelings to a character. I take it to mean you personally identify with Zandra and her struggles? This is a lot why we humans love stories, especially well written ones. We often look for and find ourselves in the stories we read. This is no accident, because more often than not the writer is also putting part of themselves in the story and characters they write, and we home in on that. Even when it's a fantastical story like this, we can find something or someone we can really relate to.
Me? I related most closely with Jack, I think... the younger one, at least. Total slacker. I only hope I find my own source of magical powers, some day...