
In SerialPalus Somni Mystery Tragedy Supernatural Slice of Life Psychological Horror
It is the final days after the end of the world and you only have one month left before the last sanctuary erupts into chaos. There's a dead body hanging from a tree and cadaverous giants watch you sleep at night. The end is already here, you just don't know it yet.
Now rated in the top 3% of all novels on Royal Road!
Palus Somni (‘Marsh of Sleep’) is a worldbuilding webnovel about what happens when your God forsakes you.
Inspired by gothic horror and mingled with British myth and folklore, join the Alucinari nuns as they struggle with day-to-day life after the world has ended.
Every night when the sun sets the monstrous Gol, colossal beings with too many teeth, awaken and roam the marshlands. Only those with a faithful heart will be spared. Young acolyte Wille has never seen the walls fail, but when a fellow nun is murdered within their sanctum the very safety of the monastery is thrown into question. Did the Gol find a way to breach their defences, or is there a human traitor amongst them? The answer lies both far in the past and deep beneath the earth, through the maze of ancient catacombs.
With a cast of over thirty different characters, watch as your friends and enemies spiral into inevitable madness at the hands of a callous and unforgiving world. Discover the secrets of Palus Somni through letters, diary entries and notes found scattered across the monastery. Uncover the mystery of the grotesque giants that stalk the night and bring your challenge to the Gods themselves.
Each character has their own handmade pixel art, and every update includes a music recommendation for a dark atmospheric dungeon synth album that you can listen to while you read.
Slice of life meets cosmic abomination: Palus Somni is a collection of intertwining stories, some chapters are stand-alone tales while others feed into the overarching narrative. It is an exploration into a community, and rather than focusing on any one character the story meanders through the convent, exposing the hopes and fears of its inhabitants.
Story updates every full moon.
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Chapter Selections
1. Canto I - A Visitor in the Night
2. Canto II - The Tatter Tree
3. Canto III - Death Comes
4. Canto IV - Letters by Lamplight
5. Canto V - Into the Larder
6. Interlude - Inka's Tale
7. Canto VI - The Rookery
8. Canto VII - A Kiss for Claudia
9. Canto VIII - Echoes in the Dark
10. Canto IX - No More Silence
11. Canto X - Funerals and Fading Fears
12. Canto XI - The Willow-Woven Basket
13. Canto XII - The Quiet Space Between
14. Canto XIII - The Margins
15. Canto XIV - Primordial Pilgrims
16. Canto XV - The Dream Eater
17. Canto XVI - Hide and Seek
18. Canto XVII - Saint Francesca of the Inquisition
19. Canto XVIII - Here Comes the Arm
20. Canto XIX - The Road
21. Canto XX - Chrysalis
22. Canto XXI - The Lord of Everything Under
23. Canto XXII – Conventional Habits
24. Canto XXIII - Fall From Grace
25. Canto XXIV – This Too Will Burn
26. Canto XXV - The Wille and the Wisp
27. Epilogue
- In Serial47 Chapters
Aeterna Saga, Volume 1: Walking With Giants
A man in his twenties gets "reborn" in a fantasy world, seemingly with no special abilities. Read on as he and his family go through events that will change the world they live in, for better or worse. Also found in Fantasy-Books, and NovelUpdates.
8 434 - In Serial28 Chapters
Beyond Floating
Muse thought her life had ended twenty years ago because, well, it had. Existing aimlessly for two decades as a ghost, she finds herself yanked along in a rip-tide of strange events. Thrust unwittingly into the midst of a group of paranormal hitmen-for-hire led by a man named Isaac. Michael, a normally rational and righteous holy soldier of God, succumbs to revenge and hatred, sacrificing everything in the fight to destroy Isaac and everyone who associates with him. Muse, by virtue of her inadvertent association with Isaac, is on that list. This is actually my first 'finished' fiction that I've ever written, which I completed about 8 years ago. I dug it up recently and I'm posting it as I thought people here might get a kick out of it. So, take that for what you will. Chapters will be released daily at 6:00pm EST.
8 101 - In Serial11 Chapters
Rings of Gods
Leading a normal life, Sam is suddenly thrust into an unbelievable game called "Game of Gods" when he wakes up from a realistic dream. He must now complete the mysterious death game and uncover the truth behind it.
8 178 - In Serial351 Chapters
The Paths of Magick
Credits: Story by Xcaliburnt. Cover Art by @Bervolart. Magick, the power to bend the laws of reality. All because of a mystical substance known as mana. Mages follow the Paths to achieve power, for there is no more addictive chase. Each Path winds and twists, forcing mages through the flames of adversity and challenge. Though the operative word is "path", the reality is far less straightforward. Instead of a road, Paths are like the branches of world trees, erupting into the heavens, intertwining, and ending in sharp snaps. Only the strongest reach the sky. There are several Paths, and many Ways to walk them—variations of the same Path, and like the stars, they are endless. Magick is the sacred flame that scours the fat, rendering the truest self. Superfluous flesh melting away to show the skeleton of one's being. A chance for ascension—apotheosis. Though not every mage works to godhood, if they survive long enough, It is inescapable. Witness the lives of those that tread the knife's edge of self-destruction. Each one intertwined in their search for answers, revenge, and, most of all: power. These individuals have all lost something precious—irreplaceable—and In search of filling the void left behind, they have taken up the mantle of a mage. Per aspera ad astra. Ad mortem vel divinitatis. (Through adversity to the stars. To death or divinity.) There is no consistent release schedule except my consistent inconsistency. Besides, there’s like a thousand pages worth of content, how can—you already read it? Goddamn. Oh, and there is a very long hiatus between volumes as I intend to edit and rewrite a lot. What to Expect: This story is progression fantasy, so expect a healthy dose of training. It's also heavy on slice of life, and it isn't entirely overarching-plot-driven. Expect characters to live their lives, and not always be on some quest to save the world. There's a lot of magic theory and discussion about it in the story. So, if you don't like impromptu lessons on sorcerous theory by traveling monster slayers, this might not be for you. But if you do like it, rejoice! For there is a lot of it. This is also heavy on prose, purple as a bruised eye. I use outdated, uneccesarily collegiate-level terms and play around with the writing style just for the heck of it. I find it fun to wax and wane poetic, and that might grate on you—I don’t plan to change this aspect of the Paths much if at all. Onto the viewer discretion is advised parts: This is grim-dark/ grim-heart. Take the tags seriously. There will be combat scenes that are brutal and horrifying. Fights to the death tend to be. This is a tale about medieval mercenaries (quite literal killers for hire), man-eating monsters, and eldritch gods beyond the material plane. Beside that, there will be traumatic events that are best left unread. I do not detail certain acts I find heinous enough, instead leaving some parts unwritten but still alludded to if not outright stated; there is simply no graphic narration thereof. This is not for the faint of heart.
8 282 - In Serial47 Chapters
The Endless War
New chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays and Saturdays. ---------------------------------------------------- Seers are the only defense that Terra has against the monsters that lurk about in the world. Terra is a city fighting for its own survival in a fantasy world with finite resources. One of the main ways to survive is to fight. War is a common practice and more often than not the leaders of the world cannot get along with each other. In the end, however, all of this fighting does more harm than good. A young boy wishes to put an end to the wars, this boy's name is Isaac. He holds a strong belief that everyone can be saved in this world and that no one should be given up on. Peace is something that he truly believes will help the world and allow civilians to see another day. In order to reach such an impossible goal, he will have to fight in the name of his Region. Does he have what it takes to finally bring peace to the world with the help of his friends, or will he fail before he can even scratch the surface?
8 313 - In Serial17 Chapters
Dungeon World
So I’m a dungeon, I’m supposed to save the world somehow but first I need to be strong enough to protect myself. Time to level up!
8 125

