In Serial20 Chapters

On the Road to Elspar (Book 1)

The year is 1329. The Huntress' War has entered its tenth year, inflaming competing nationalisms and pitting the Confederacy of Caldrein against one of the continent's superpowers, the Tenereian Union. Desperately outnumbered, the Confederacy has relied on the prowess of its famed Caldran mercenaries, with highly-trained and experienced warbands returning from foreign conflicts to the defense of their homeland, and it is on their backs that Caldrein has successfully mounted a valiant defense for a decade. But they are losing, and day by day, with all the grace of a sledgehammer, the vast Tenereian armies take one more bit of Caldran territory, one footstep at a time. Sixteen-year-old Neianne from the village of Caelon has submitted herself to Faulkren Academy, one of the centuries-old institutions established to train the next generation of Caldrein's elite soldiers of fortune, to learn the ways of wars for three years before embarking upon the defense of her country. Her dryad family once hailed from reclusive woodland communes isolated from Caldrein's complicated mainstream society, and her upbringing leaves the shy village girl unprepared to suddenly train alongside other apprentices from backgrounds as low as the dirty slums of Caldrein's cities and as high as the halls of aristocratic power. Yet the war is eroding the norms and traditions that the Caldran people have long considered part of their national mythos, and the tensions within the confederacy that have long simmered under the surface - race, class, community, identity - are slowly but surely dividing its people, and Neianne must grow and discover who she really is, even as the war that she is steadfastly training for comes to its inexorable end... On the Road to Elspar is a fantasy quest - a work of interactive fiction wherein readers get to vote on what happens next at critical junctures - that is the first entry in a story that follows Neianne of Caelon, which first began on July 20, 2016. Originally a three-part in medias res prologue to a larger story titled On the Elsparian Road, it was eventually decided that this section - which covers Neianne's three years at Faulkren Academy - become its own independent story due to length, structural, and accessibility reasons. Despite this being a reader interactive work of fiction, due to logistical and verification concerns, voting will only be counted on its thread on the forum Sufficient Velocity, where this story originally began. As such, the content here on Royal Road serves as a story-only archive. You are, of course, entirely welcome to enjoy On the Road to Elspar as a conventional work of fiction, just as you are welcome to comment, discuss, and provide critique. But if you would like to participate in the voting, then I would be honored to welcome you on Sufficient Velocity. To facilitate accessibility and to ensure the best reading experience, this story-only version of On the Road to Elspar will be updated at a periodic pace, even though further content exists, so as to not overwhelm new readers on Royal Road. If you enjoy this story, wish to binge it, and/or want to participate in voting immediately, you may of course read all additional content via the link provided above. This paragraph will be removed once the content on Royal Road catches up with what has already been posted in its original thread. Cover artwork by DreamSyndd.

In Serial8 Chapters

Spirit King

After his sister and ninety-nine thousand random people around the world disappeared in one day three years ago, Niko’s life had always been revolved around finding her. He was facing dead end after dead end, until one day he was summoned to another world along with ninety-nine thousand other people. Putting two and two together, he came to the conclusion that his sister was also summoned to this world two years ago. This world is filled with danger, and evolving is key to surviving. The evolved lived while those unable to adapt perished. With the hope of finding his sister as motivation, he aimed to become strong in this world of magic, monsters, demons, and gods.

In Serial13 Chapters

The Rosy Betrayal

He had another family; more people to adore and cherish. He was my hero, but I wasn't his only damsel in distress. ___Mahira was the sweetest and most supportive wife. She was patient and protective...and knew how to forgive. Until she witnessed her husband with his second family. He was smiling, showing his white pearls and looking so relaxed without his first wife. That was the day, Mahira decided to finally give up. Iyaz was a dark and brooding man who deeply obsessed over the sole woman that had fully captured his sanity. The day, she, Mahira, left was the day he decided to listen to the cracks craved in her heart.(Disclaimer: the images belong to their rightful owners.)copyright @strangeoutcast

In Serial10 Chapters

Chapters of Pain [Anthology]

A collection of extremely short stories (and just ramblings sometimes) that focus on themes like emotional and mental pain. You can start with, or skip to whatever chapter you want.

In Serial80 Chapters

Unraveling Secrets

Left in the middle of the fields was a mangled body. The person lying on the ground and on death's door was Kan Lock. He lied down and awaited for the beasts and monsters to come and ravage his body. Feeling hopeless in this situation Kan thought to himself, "Why am I always so weak? Why was I betrayed? Why did it end like this? Will I never know the reason for my parents' disappearance? Why? Why!? WHY!? As his body turned cold, Kan was left with regrets and unaswered questions but he resisted. He didn't want to die with regrets so he fought against death. He stood up and faced off against the hungry predators. He laughed and laughed in the face of death but in the end it didn't matter how much he struggled. Kan Lock had died but his story had not ended.

In Serial21 Chapters

Living on 45th street