As I am tinkering with LL II, I wonder how much readers would prefer more interwoven plots with more characters in different places, whith the original main characters (in this case, Jad and Kalen) becoming just one thread, and they interact with 3-4 other groups peripherally outside of their own thread.
C.J. Cherryh did this masterfully in her Merovingen Nights series, though after the first book she served as mostly editor, and had others each writing a 'thread' and they were all centered around the same city. In this case they would travel more widely, but certain key characters (e.g., Randae, or another Loremaster, or a Navigator) would tie them together in some way.