A grimdark fantasy novel about a flawed, dangerous man escorted across a war-torn realm by a small mercenary warband — while an ancient power inside him slowly consumes everything it touches.
Status: First draft complete — 20 chapters, ~35,000 words Next pass: Expansion to novel length (~90k–100k words)
Or read chapter by chapter:
| Ch | Title | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnt Iron | ~2,300 |
| 2 | The Black Scar | ~4,000 |
| 3 | The First Vision | ~2,000 |
| 4 | Iron Dominion Patrol | ~1,400 |
| 5 | Lira's Gambit | ~2,200 |
| Ch | Title | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | The Choir's Shadow | ~2,100 |
| 7 | The Weight of Secrets | ~2,100 |
| 8 | Rook's Stand | ~2,100 |
| 9 | Internal Fracture | ~2,200 |
| 10 | The Ember's Price | ~1,800 |
| Ch | Title | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | The Sunken Road | ~2,900 |
| 12 | Field Hospital | ~1,300 |
| 13 | The Turning Point | ~1,600 |
| 14 | The Broken Temple | ~1,700 |
| 15 | Dawn and Glass | ~1,300 |
| Ch | Title | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | The Bridge | ~1,200 |
| 17 | The Chant | ~1,600 |
| 18 | The Crossing | ~1,400 |
| 19 | The Watchtower | ~1,200 |
| 20 | The Small Fire | ~700 |
Fifteen years after the Cataclysm shattered the ancient seals binding raw magic, the continent of Vorynth is a patchwork of three warring factions locked in brutal stalemate. Into this, a small morally grey warband takes a contract: escort a man named Xander Vale across the dying realm.
Xander is charismatic, quick-witted, and deeply self-sabotaging. He also carries the Ember — a living fragment of alien magic that is slowly rewiring him, erasing his memories, flattening his emotions, and making him complicit in its hunger.
What begins as a simple escort job becomes a desperate struggle for survival as the Ember's true nature reveals itself and all three factions close in.
Quick edit in browser: Open any chapter file and press . (the period key) to launch GitHub's web editor. Make changes, commit, done.
Full table of contents: Every chapter has ← prev | 📖 contents | → next links at top and bottom for easy navigation.
All rights owned by @0xatd. This is original creative IP. No adaptation, commercial use, or redistribution without express written permission. Adaptation rights (film, television, game, audio) are available for licensing — contact via X.
This manuscript was drafted through an automated writing pipeline (AUTOWORK) with human-directed outlines, voice guides, and batch review passes. Production artifacts are in docs/review/ and notes/.