Elegy for the Winged

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

"I was meant to die.

I had died—I could feel it. In the warmth lost of his hands. In the silence that should have followed. Silence deep enough to darken sorrow. Silence that never arrived.

The time for choice has passed. The hunt has already begun.

To endure the grudge of life, fettered to the heels of a will that never tires. Racing toward an end that never comes."

This world bears a wound.The Bruise.

A cycle of decay and regrowth that touches all life, though few recognize its presence. Humanity has endured its quiet rhythms since time immemorial, blind to the rot blooming beneath them until the cost of ignorance comes due—and the world remembers what they will not.Wund. Bloom. Weep. Fester.Always on the verge of healing, always failing.

Maline and Midra are one soul divided across timelines, each drawn from opposing ends of the cycle’s drift. Their meeting was never meant to be—merely a series of events cobbled together for the Bruise's own wayward ends. Now, their fusion threatens to fracture a world long tainted by the rot of neglected wounds.

As one, they must navigate dying lands while discovering themselves, as old cycles of sorrow and renewal collapse into something neither death nor rebirth. In a rotting world, to heal may be sin itself.

What to Expect:

• A slow-burn dark fantasy story with heavy themes of death, futility, and endurance.

• Limited exposition; much is revealed through tone and event.

• Character-driven tension instead of action-focused pacing.

Updates Saturdays!

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2025
Author: sincie

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 5.0/ 5.0
Followers: 9
Views: 11,847

What readers say about Elegy for the Winged

“Elsewhere by sincie This novel continues to impress with its eerie, immersive tone and poetic yet clear storytelling. The writing maintains an almost dreamlike grip, weaving through moments of dread, tenderness, and emotional fatigue with surgical control.…”
EdenCRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Elsewhere is a hauntingly atmospheric dark fantasy that immerses readers in a world affected by a cyclical affliction known as "the Bruise." The narrative follows Maline and Midra, as they navigate a realm teetering between decay and rebirth. The story unfo…”
CapwallcroftRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(7)

EdenCRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Elsewhere by sincie
This novel continues to impress with its eerie, immersive tone and poetic yet clear storytelling. The writing maintains an almost dreamlike grip, weaving through moments of dread, tenderness, and emotional fatigue with surgical control. Its ability to shift from creeping horror to quiet introspection is masterful. The prose feels heavy in the best way, like each word is bearing weight for the scene around it.
The visuals linger long after reading. Maline’s confrontation with the sky wound is delivered with subtle terror, never yelling its threat but whispering it just loudly enough to chill. Her reaction is grounded and human, which makes it land even harder. The imagery of floating blood, a black bruise in the sky, and Gabe’s concerned footsteps catching up to her only enhance that surreal collapse of safety. There is no easy relief, just a momentary breath before the cold presses in again.
Eron’s transformation is pure dread. Not gory, not monstrous in a cliché sense, but in something spiritual and broken. The way the frost overtakes him, the way the lattice folds in around his body, and the creature that emerges is tragic, unspoken, and visually unforgettable. It reads like grief wearing the mask of a god.
What holds this novel so firmly together is its characters. Maline and Gabe feel real. Their banter, silences, small acts of care, and shared exhaustion make them more than survivors. They are siblings grasping for a world they barely understand. Even in strange moments, the emotional beats always stay true.
The story is deliberately paced and not afraid to confuse the reader just enough to build mystery. It asks for patience and rewards it. If there’s any critique, it might be that the world’s greater mythology is still too abstract to fully grasp, but the writing never feels lost. It’s focused on the people first.
This is a novel that speaks in quiet certainty, never loud but impossible to ignore. It hums quietly in the bones. Disturbing,
CapwallcroftRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Elsewhere is a hauntingly atmospheric dark fantasy that immerses readers in a world affected by a cyclical affliction known as "the Bruise." The narrative follows Maline and Midra, as they navigate a realm teetering between decay and rebirth. The story unfolds through rich, evocative and very poetic language that emphasizes tone and event over exposition, inviting readers to piece together the world's mysteries organically.
Character-driven and introspective, the novel delves deep into themes of death, futility, and endurance. The relationship between Maline and her brother Gabe, for instance, is portrayed with emotional depth, highlighting the human connections that persist amidst desolation. The pacing is deliberate, allowing the weight of the narrative to settle and resonate.
For those who appreciate slow-burn storytelling that prioritizes atmosphere and character over action, Elsewhere offers a compelling journey through a world both alien and familiar.
Overall great story! Not something I would normally read but I like where it's going and it's definitely worth checking out!!! The high quality writing and poetic nature of the book shows the authors refined skills! It's exciting to see such an adventurous and original story on Royal road and this deserves as much appreciation as possible! Great dialogue too!! Grammar is perfect with little to no errors! Also love the cover!!
Chris_MiauRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'd give 6 stars if that was possible. While at times, the writing can be a bit complex is just soaked in everything in one large session. I am a quick reader to be fair but I felt like my gaze was glued onto my screen. I will definitely keep up with the story.
Style: It's superb. While it can be really complex at times, this is exactly what I expect from a novel of the dark-fantasy genre. Maybe it's just me but it hit a spot for me.
Story: The story seems to work with a lot of motives but you never feel as if they overwhelm you because most of them are really subtle and approached quite fitting. As I said, this is one carefully crafted story by a mind that not only puts thought into it but also skills.
Grammar: I didn't notice anything bad. The syntax was great too.
Character: Maline and Gabe work really well as characters in the beginning and characters here are generally fleshed out.
I hope you will keep writing and I will definitely follow the story from the sidelines. If you are looking for a story that can hit like a truck, this is exactly what you should read.
Brian HemingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is dark. Steampunky. Mysterious. Fantastic. Dystopian. Deep.
I will spoil nothing, because half the fun of this is the journey. Figuring things out, figuring out the world, understanding what is going on, why it is going on, and... where.
If you're not up for trying to figure out a mystery with a sense of creeping horror at your back the whole time, this book is not for you. If you ARE up for it, though... you are in for quite the ride.
The characters are full of personality and mystery. The world is full of backstory but to figure out this backstory is half the fun--the author has not made it easy. The writing is well-constructed, with excellent grammar and interesting use of fonts and spacing in a way which somehow accentuates the feeling of horror and darkness. The style is all it's own, not Lovecraftian, but somehow speaking dark fantasy horror in its own creeping voice, keeping a character-centric point of view while dropping the reader headfirst into icy waters.
The first chapters largely follow Maline and her brother Gabe, with a focus on Maline. Their relationship with each other, and the world, is the vehicle by which we are immersed. We quickly experience the horror of the world, and only very slowly learn its rules.
Eternal_WinterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall Elswhere is intrigung, it draws you into a broken world with broken people. It is dark and unforgiving. We have no idea where we are and what goes on at first only to slowly learn what happens. It's worth a read if you're into mysterious novels.
Style The style of the novel feels old, like a dusty book written hundreds of years before. It has a charm to it that drew me in. I flowed well while reading and was solid in it's execution
Story The story so far is layered with the different perspectives, the struggle of the MC and the visions she has. It makes you curious about what is actually going on in this world. While showing the pain of the people that inhabit it. You just want to know what happens next
Grammar While reading I encountered no mistakes so far, the text is well formatted and makes it easy to read. When mistakes are spotted the author corrects them quickly
Characters The characters are lovely. You can really feel the love the siblings, Gabe and Maline, have for each other. Nothing feels out of places and the side characters help the story along nicely so far.
Quiet_CicadaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Review swap, review swap~!
Okay. So, I finally got around to reading Elsewhere. Let it be known that this review's title is my straightforward interpretation of this work: eloquent and emotional. It feels like I could connect to these characters, to understand them and visualize them vividly in my mind. The author's description is single handedly the best part of Elsewhere, as everything they write feels so... pronounced. So beautifully put.
Every paragraph alone feels like it comes from the tongue of a wordsmith, one that understands everything about the author's vision. The author delivers what the synopsis suggests: the themes it addresses are quite heavy and well-thought, the characters are substantial in flavor and dialogue, and the words project this pronounced tone that carries me through each chapter an immersed and captivated audience. I could read any chapter in this story and feel the relevance, the depth of it all.
That said, my vision isn't 20/20. I will admit that this story is exceptional, but this is not for the faint of heart or mind. There will be points where you feel a massive roadblock in reading, where this profound and beautiful tongue makes you have to read back to understand Elsewhere's full glory. Every chapter alone is full and glorious, but I find myself having to go back to Chapter 1 and read the story again numerous times to feel fulfilled by Elsewhere. To no fault of the author, mind you, this is mostly just my own amateur mind.
Elsewhere makes me NOT want to go elsewhere. This here's a pretty fine work, one that other people more professional than I am are better suited to comment on. There's something promising and wonderful about what's being done here.
With this said, here are my specific thoughts as follows:
Style: 5/5. The strongest part of this story, by far. The story reads like the author has full confidence in their vision. I feel like the strongest chapter (to me) to demonstrate this is "IV. Candlelight", which is one of the
Night ScholarRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This was incredibly immersive, with a palpable emotional weight and vivid atmosphere that pulls the reader straight in. It feels rich, layered, and meaningful without ever becoming heavy-handed.
It’s very slow-paced early on and readers who prefer faster-moving plots might struggle to get hooked immediately.
The story is beautifully constructed, filled with emotion, subtle tension, and strong thematic exploration of pain, survival, and quiet resilience.
Some transitions between major scenes (like dream sequences versus reality) are a little blurry and could benefit from clearer markers.
The prose is stunning, lyrical, textured, and evocative, with natural imagery and emotional resonance woven into every line.
Occasionally, the rich description slightly overwhelms clarity, especially in action-heavy sequences.
The grammar is extremely clean. Sentences flow well, with perfect command of tone, mood, and voice throughout.
Maline and Gabe feel real. Their relationship is heart-wrenchingly authentic, and even side characters have life breathed into them with small details.
Some characters in the background (like Daoca or Eron) could be a little more fleshed out if they’re meant to play larger roles later.
This is a hauntingly beautiful piece that is full of heart, hardship, and lyrical strength. It captures the ache of survival and the tenderness of connection with rare precision. Though the pace is patient and the descriptions dense, the emotional payoff is more than worth the journey. A remarkable and moving read.