New Story Poll

Alright everyone, as I said before I'll be starting a new story. We can treat this post as the q&a too, so if you have questions, feel free to ask! I also have links to the first chapters of each of the stories in question embedded below.

This was something I've been thinking about doing ever since I decided to release BoC book 1 on Amazon - while I work on editing book 2 and pushing into book 4, I will release another free to read story on RRL.

The new story will, when it comes time to start releasing, begin with one or two chapters per week on patreon until I build up a proper backlog and can start posting to RoyalRoad and possibly Spacebattles, too.

All three options have a few chapters written and the story outline basically done. Some of you may remember the Starlit Soul, as I did start that one over a year ago, and I haven't given up on it! But I figured my patrons should get the opportunity to vote.

So without further ado: here are the blurbs and a few Author's Thoughts on each! (Please Note, all titles are subject to change if I can find or think of a better one.)

The Starlit Soul:

The world is young, still learning its own shape. Elven tribes roam beneath unscarred skies, and the Sacred Mountain stands untouched—a pillar of life, memory, and power at the heart of creation.

Lysander is a wanderer among his people, a hunter and guardian in an age that has never known battle. He is a warrior before history had a name for such a thing, guided by instinct, steel, and a sense that the world is changing faster than anyone realizes.

New races are appearing across the land—not discovered, but born into existence. Fire-breathing, thinking salamanders rise from molten stone. Bloodthirsty minotaurs carve paths of ruin through the plains. They have no legends, no ancestry, no past. Only intent.

As these newborn peoples spread, Lysander is forced to confront questions no one has ever asked before: Who can be reasoned with? Who must be stopped? And who—or what—is bringing them into the world?

When signs point to the Sacred Mountain as a target, Lysander must become more than a wanderer. He must stand at the turning point of history, where survival demands choice, and choice forges legend.

This is the story of a world at its dawn—and of the first heroes to rise within it.

Return of the Hero:

Lucas Ward left his mortal body behind when Heaven called for champions to turn the tide in the Celestial War. He trained under Archangel Michael, hunted horrors beside Houyi, sparred with Heracles, and stood in the courts of gods from Olympus to Takamagahara. To him, the war lasted thousands of years.

To Earth it was only five years, and he was just another coma patient.

Now he’s back—granted “leave” to finish his mortal life before ascending permanently. But the planet he returns to is nothing like the one he left. Gates have opened. Monsters pour through. Magic has awakened. Superheroes are real, hunters roam the streets, and humanity is scrambling to survive the fallout of a cosmic conflict they never knew existed.

And Lucas? He’s the only one who understands why it’s happening.

He carries the power of Heaven in his blood, the instincts of a near-immortal warrior… and the exhaustion of someone who has fought too long. But he also carries secrets—dangerous ones. If the world learns what he really is, they might fear him, worship him, try to claim him as a weapon, or, worse yet, he may attract powerful enemies from the other side.

Lucas just wants a life. A job. A girlfriend. Maybe a good cup of coffee that doesn’t taste like holy fire.

But when the Unspoken Ones extend their influence toward Earth, leaving him “retired” isn’t an option.

He served Heaven for a thousand years. Now he must defend a world that doesn’t believe in it.

Arcane Dawn:

When magic woke from its long slumber, civilization as we knew it died. Guns jammed. Engines failed. Circuits went dark. Planes fell from the sky. The laws of physics rewrote themselves, leaving skyscrapers hollow and highways littered with dead machines.

Stranded in Atlanta after a vacation gone wrong, brother's Marcus and Arthur find themselves trapped in a country that no longer understands itself. No planes. No cars. No power. Only rumor, fear, and a spreading truth that something far worse than collapse is underway.

Emerald-green stones have begun to surface across the land—unnatural, glowing, and alive with power. Those who touch them don’t simply gain abilities. They change. The rocks strip away pretense, reshaping people into what they always were beneath the surface—heroes, monsters, and everything in between.

As cities fall to chaos and new warlords rise from the ruins, the brothers must cross a continent on foot to get home, navigating a world where magic answers desire, violence has teeth, and humanity is being reforged in its own image.

****

TL/DR:

Starlit Soul: Following a fantasy world from the very beginning, pre "collapse of the old ones" sort of vibes. The most classic epic fantasy option. Kingdom building will be involved.

Return of the Hero: Isekai where the hero returns to earth and finds it changed completely. And the Hero knows legendary mythical figures personally. He will explore those myths in story. One of those stories where the MC has the power to solve a lot of problems, but intervening carelessly will cause even bigger ones.

Arcane Dawn: Magic Apocalypse. Will be Kingdom/Army builder-y. Probably the least fleshed out of the three, but still pretty solid. The two brothers will work together and build a troupe to help get them through the madness of a collapsing world. Darkest option.

Author's Thoughts:

Starlit: I love the idea of following a civilization from the stone age on up, especially a fantasy world where we never get to see that, but I'm not convinced it fits the web novel format. Might be better as a traditional novel, I am unsure. Either way, it's been stuck in my head for a while. Epic, battle focused, with romance and plenty of twists to (hopefully) keep the story fresh despite familiar ground.

Return: This story tickles me. Just a fun, slower story. The idea of this guy going around, finding relics of people once thought myth and helping the world figure out magic just seems fun. And I get to explore a ton of ancient myths! Add on to that the classic "gates?" It's got a lot going for it, imo.

Arcane: Probably the darkest of the three options. Still an interesting idea, even if I don't have much to say about it, personally. The brother dynamic is fun to write, and it will be battle oriented more than the other two most likely. I do need to learn how to write darker parts of stories better.

Side Notes: I didn't include a cultivation story set in the Four Realms simply because I want to let BoC play out fully first.

Here are links to the first chapters:
Arcane Dawn

Starlit Soul

Return of the Hero