Firebrand

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Sing the story, bard, of the Firebrand. He, the youth who saved Morcaster from ruin. He, the warrior who defeated an empire. He, the archmage who crossed the Netherworld...

The tale of Martel the mage, from his humble beginnings as a hapless novice at a magic school. Slow, character-focused and light-hearted progression fantasy. Updates daily.

Book 1 available on Kindle, KU, and as audio:Firebrand the Novice

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2022
Author: Quill

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 2,015
Views: 170,241

What readers say about Firebrand

“A really good and simple story, with clear and precise characters' devolpement. Good english, and very readable too. There are signs of the bigger picture from the first chapter and the beauty of it is how organic to the story of Martel it is. I love how th…”
LolloRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Premise: This book is a really slow burner of a masterpiece. And while I don't bothered by the phase in the slightest, some people may be. In my opinion it is one of the best "magic university" kind of story, because I never saw such detail and emphasis on…”
Lucksinia GrimholdRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

LolloRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A really good and simple story, with clear and precise characters' devolpement.
Good english, and very readable too.
There are signs of the bigger picture from the first chapter and the beauty of it is how organic to the story of Martel it is.
I love how the narrator is absent from the narrative: too often there are comments in the narration of a story here on royal road that feel like you are reading the take of a very overly drammatic narrator, more then the narration of a story.(sorry for saying narrator too many times)
Overall, if the story keeps going as it has been it can reach a top spot in terms of quality on this platform.
Lucksinia GrimholdRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Premise:
This book is a really slow burner of a masterpiece. And while I don't bothered by the phase in the slightest, some people may be.
In my opinion it is one of the best "magic university" kind of story, because I never saw such detail and emphasis on Learning said magical powers.
You know how it goes: "X found a book/amulet/card/etc and/or/both combined with his/her prior knowledge to master it's power. And that's why in the next encounter, X uses Y, Z, S spells from that medium.
That's not how it works here. Right now The world of Firebrand have at least three magic systems, and that's only what we read about.
And they are different. And crafted with coming sence.
So, if you want to read about Learning Magic... Well, you're in the right place.
ChillyPepperRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Martel is a boy who enlists in a magic school, a bit later than he should have, with younger students and an frightening aptitude for fire.
A very simple premise. A main character in a magic school and hidden powers. A story like many others, a dime in a dozen. You can't throw a rock without hitting a story with a similar idea within it.
But not all stories are written equally, and the experience and talent of the author shows well in this one.
The thing with simple settings written well is when an author explores them in a manner that allows them to flesh out through the simplicity into complexity, and we see this happening here. The wide cast of characters interactions with one another, the simple plot that blooms out into multiple others, and the very likeable but similarly simple main character.
Everything from the increasing cast of characters to the lore and prose help carry such a simple story into a more interesting realm, in a slow paced relaxed manner -- in the time of this review, at least. The story carries itself through action and scenes well.
If you are looking for a powerful recommendation, you will never regret this being the one.
Lodf2222Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm personally very pleased with this story. his pace of improvement feels more keen to real life than the massive op jumps that happen in many stories. The story chapters are short and update regularly, which makes it a very pleasant little read to do on a regular basis. MC e is altruistic to the point that it causes him problems, but he's a teenager, a teenager from rural town now in the big city. his flaw with that is pointed out by his friend eleanor, so it's not as though people around him think his behavior is reasonable.reliable tiered magic system, interesting concept of people who get magic being random, rather than genetic. Some other cool features about magic and how to boost it or diminish it.
Grognard61Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a very well written story that has kept my interest throughout every chapter. The characters are all real, deeply imagined, and complex. They truly feel like real people, and that has made the story a delight. The interaction between the characters is very well thought out, and does not always go the way I expect, which is great! This story is definitely among the best that RR has to offer.
HolarcticRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Writing is superb so far, as authors previous works promised.
The hero is still at the start of his journey so its not clear what will happen, but the revealed information hints at a well thought out world and system of magic.
And for readers that like character sheets, author provides them in chapter notes.
INTismydumpstatRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Pretty well written comfort read, plot is slowly picking up but you can see threads of a larger one. My only issue being that the MC makes kinda naive decisions but beyond that there's not much issue with the plot. Cant wait for more :)
6 more words to hit the damn wordcount
JM5109Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Kind of a slow-ish start as a young teen gets his feet wet at the Magic Academy.
The quality of writing is solid however and promises a rousing tale as we progress further into the story!
Updates are frequent too. This review also needs fifty words so here are a few to pad that stat...
Alfred WilliamsonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I have been reading this story as a lurker since nearly day one, and I've loved every day of it.
To be clear, this story is VERY slow - and that's not something Quill has attempted to hide. Every chapter follows anywhere from 1-5 days of Martel living life as a Mage in training. Some chapters have nearly nothing happen, Martel might be socializing with friends or learning magical skills, but almost every chapter builds into a mini arc that climax's with a confrontation, whether it's with magical mercenaries, cut-throat thieves, or unscrupulous merchants. Martel constantly seeks to do the right thing, which frequently puts him at odds with every ne'er-do-well in the city.
It's been so enjoyable to watch Martel evolve from a goodie-two-shoes rube from the sticks, to a competent and capable MC. Every single skill that we watch Martel painstakingly learn becomes intensely relevant to the story. So far I don't think there has been a single thing Martel has learned, whether it's enchanting, alchemy, or elemental magic that didn't show up later to save the day. I can't think of a single instance of Chekov's gun being violated - and it's awesome.
With the school arc finally coming to a close, I can't think of a better time to start this series. If you're not a fan of things going slow, you can always skim ahead, it almost always only takes a few chapters for things to come back to a head. Really, I just can't recommend this enough - give it a try and stick with it. This is the ultimate progression fantasy. A well meaning kid with a special gift whose easily taken advantage of, who learns to be strong and turn the tables on those who would exploit the weak. Just so, so satisfying. Give it a read!
MangrooweRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Early review!
Right off the bat, the Author warns every potential reader what to expect: "Slow, character-focused progression fantasy."
There is no immediate jump into action or some epic scene. As promised, the story starts slow and the more I read the more I feel the patience is worth it. Up to chapter 12 nothing grand happened in the story, yet I click on the new chapters as soon as I notice them.
I'd advise you to give it a chance because even without all the bells and whistles that lots of stories start with to dazzle you, Firebrand can entertain you with the simple start it begins with. Mind you, even though it starts simple the promise of an exciting future is already there in the story. You just have to enjoy the ride along the way.
Style: It's enjoyable to read. The sentences roll into each other and I haven't noticed any immersion-breaking parts yet. There are no useless paragraphs you feel the need to skip either.
Grammar: I haven't noticed anything bad, but I'm not the person to judge someone's grammar.
Story: The story starts with humble beginnings and it marches forward with every chapter at a steady pace. There are seeds for future conflicts and potentials scattered tastefully to tickle your interest even further. I love the idea of a vanilla fire mage story after reading so many recent stories that try to out-exotic power each other. I don't want another Abyssal-Fate-Witch... Firebrand seems to be building up to be an excellent palate cleanser.
Character: Scarecrow aka Martel is a living character. You can already tell that you, as a reader will watch him change and grow. He's not a static being with a single, forced motivation. The side characters didn't have as much spotlight yet to reveal any serious depth, but even from a few moments, you can tell that they are not one-dimensional cardboard cutouts.
TL;DR: I recommend you give it a try. It's good stuff.