Brighter Skies [Epic High Fantasy Action Adventure]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Centuries ago, there were five great Undercities.

Karzakaad was lost to time and memory.

Karzinkol fell to the shifting of the Deep.

Karzacath succumbed to war, greed, and hubris.

Karzurkul became the first victim of a darkness that has been long forgotten.

Now, Karzgorad is the last.

All two hundred thousand souls that call its caverns home rely on magic from the Ancients to survive, from the farms to the mines to the sewers. To the very arcano-sun itself.

But the Gift of magic always was a rare one, and when mages started going insane, the Magistratum called for all new Gifted to be shackled, their freedom taken from them to serve the greater good of civilization’s last bastion.

When Talia’s Gift awakens, the thin veneer of a predictable future is torn away. Suddenly, she has to contend with the fact that one day, she’ll lose her mind. And with the fact that if she doesn’t disappear, she’ll be hunted down and imprisoned well before then.

Low on options, she flees the safety of her home to join an expedition to explore the Deep Under, hoping against the odds that the cure to mage-madness lies hidden within the decaying husks of dead cities. Or, at least, that by the time she returns, the mage-hunters will have forgotten all about her.

Little does she know that the stakes of her journey are much higher than anyone could have predicted, with dangers to match. The Deep, after all, is not a forgiving place, even to those prepared for its pitfalls.

Volume 1 is done: Chap 1-77 (~700 pages)

Volume 2 is in progress.

Chapter Size: 2k-3k words

Any comments and critique are much appreciated, especially if you didn't like something, let me know in a comment or a PM.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: Synod

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 781
Views: 400,704

Chapters(117 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

Addicted_Reader720Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I couldn't put this one down, and neither should you!
Brighter Skies does everything right. Immediately letting you understand an overarching threat that is contextualized to the Main Character's situation.
It then continues by blending slice-of-life elements with a fast-paced plot. You aren't confronted with threat after epiphany after a surprise, which gives you time to understand the world, just based on the actions of Talia, the MC.
There are moments where worldbuilding happens through "telling" and not "showing", but Synod has done a great job making those thoughts or verbal explanations feel genuine, not forced. As a reader, I know what needs to be explained to me, and why.
The style of the narration makes me invested in much of what happens even outside of critical plot-advancing moments. The constant reminders that Mages need to eat, and might have some trouble when constantly hospitalized actually humanizes the story a lot. Is it repetitive? Maybe. But that's just how eating is.
For me at least, this style also makes death far more meaningful. If someone dies, even if they were an almost unmentioned side-character, you feel far more genuine empathy then the endless side-deaths that characterize some novels (though the deaths aren't so sad that they would make you, the reader, depressed. It's a nice balance.)
Grammar: 5 Stars. If I don't notice errors, they don't exist.
Character: Above. I will say that the Author is very Judicious with side PoV's. There are there to provide essential story context, so readers aren't blindsided, but overall we operate with only information Talia has.
Story: Good. No Spoilers, but it's actually relevant to the characters and you as the reader, while not needlessly incorporating arcane politics or grandiose conflicts.
KertyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I am very happy that I was able to find this book among many other unremarkable stories. I really think that this work deserves more attention. I like the atmosphere of the book, the characters don't seem flat at all, their actions are justified. I'm looking forward to the continuation of the story to find out the fate of Thalia and the history of this dying world!
TheHiddenPearlRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
One of my favourite book in this site. The characters feel real and have their own personalities unlike some other books I've read. I loved the idea behind the book , dead cities, people living underground and the author has also cleverly changed some idioms to better suit the life underground. The pacing is great and i find it an enjoyable read so far.
my-trash-tasteRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm very surprised I haven't stumbled across this title before. Only 7 chapters deep so far but the prose is better than most of the popular stories I've read so far on Royal Road. World building is excellent, writing style is impeccable and the MC has good characterization and a unique feel. Very excited to devour the rest of this story.
oaeadeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Brilliant character creation and psychological writing. Very cool to see the author get better and better at writing across the story.
Could easily see this story get published if the start is tightened up. Would have loved to see where the story went now that the author opened up on the world building.
steveblueprintRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It is not everyday you come across and original concept. But that is what we have here with "Brighter skies". The core concept is very original, which is not easy to come by these days. One can tell that a lot of thought has gone into the history, lore, and world building. It all has a tremendous amount of potential.
There is also the aspect of magic and how it works in the universe the writer has created. It puts an interesting spin on something so many of us are familiar with.
The story starts right in the action and grips us as of the very first page.
During and after the first chapter, the story does an excellent job at expanding on the setting. We can see, smell, hear, feel, and even taste the environment. The image of the world that has been created becomes clear in our minds.
As for character development. The personalities I have discovered so far are well rounded and fleshed out. It all develops very naturally. There is no unnecessary exposition. All backstory and information unfolds seamlessly.
The writing is clean. The grammer is on point. I've had the chance to work alongside the writer. Truly inspirational and I can't wait to see more of what Synod has to offer.
GomdzsabbarRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Our heroine is likable but clearly fallible. The sidecharacters are well-rounded and clearly defined with their own goals, personalities and belief systems and their interaction with the protegonist and the world makes for organic storytelling.
Speaking of the world, its supers interesting and as of chapter 45, we finally start to glimps at its origins. I will not mince my words, the world is bleak but we still get the feeling that our cast can survive.
The grammar has little to no mistakes and the story flow well (mostly). Overall I would defninitly recommend this to anyone who enjoys the grittier sode of fantasy.
Henry MorganRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
If you have ever enjoyed reading about a subterrannean civilization, the dangers, vicissitudes, claustrophobia and the degradation of knowledge. If you ever enjoyed playing Dragon Age Origins, the dwarven quests, and how there is a lost sense of grandeur and desperation in how there are so few people and civilisation is left. If you have ever enjoyed reading about gneration starships and the dystopias that can result (Yeah, I know this aint technically scifi, but there is flavours).
Give this fic a go, it has fired my jaded imagination among all the sameness on Royal Road, this is my favourite fiction so far (behind Mother of Learning, sorry) in 2023.
EmpireofTrustRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The tale starts as all good heroic tales should, action, adventure and derring do.
The world described is vibrant and has enough scuff marks that the place is lived in not just a set.
There is cultures, society and lore just hinted at then filled in as the story winds along with jerks crashes and battles to raise the surging of blood.
It's not my perfect story to read but it's very close, well worth a read if swashbuckling is your thing.
ForomarRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
It is well written, engaging and pretty much everything else you can want from a good story, but the first act of her getting to the city is just too heavy to read in one go.
Apart from the short lull with the matriarch, it jumps from one existential crisis to the next one and at some point you just don't care anymore and start to skip parts of the story.
That said, it is still one of the better stories on RR.