Learning to Fall

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Dragons and dragonettes ride the winds, making their home in the sky islands that float high above a world spanning ocean. Some live in the safety of cities, working in a medieval society with tens or hundreds of thousands of their fellows. But many choose to leave for a life among frontier keeps, supplying the cities and securing the kingdom's territory against outside threats.

Aytin Luffin was born in one of these keeps. The fourth child of a minor noble, he's never been in line to inherit the family title. But he still has responsibilities to his family. That's how he found himself as a passenger on a dragon, bound for the capital city of the kingdom.

No journey is safe. Corrupted darklings stalk the night. Dangerous beasts roam the wilds. Storms can blow an unwary dragon out of the sky. And brigands prey on anyone unlucky enough to run across them.

This crew has made the trip countless times. They're faced all of these dangers and more. And there's no reason to believe that this trip will be any different.

Learning to Fall is an action-adventure fantasy through and through. Expect excitement, complex characters, self-discovery, heroics, painful lows, incredible highs, and maybe even some romance. Chapters average around 3k words.

This is a cannon story in theHunter or Huntress universe. However, reading the source material is not required and Learning to Fall is a self-contained, standalone story.

Cover art by the extremely talentedHarmaa.

If you're interested in hanging out or discussing the story, head on over to the mainHunter or Huntress discord!

Narration ongoingby NetNarrator/Spartawolf

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2024
Author: radius55

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 323
Views: 63,712

Chapters(65 total)

What readers say about Learning to Fall

“Learning to Fall does a great job at showing its main protagonist's growth through the extremely rough things he goes through. I also appreciate that the differences in the world and the its inhabitants compared to our own are actually important instead of…”
AlmonihahRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Full disclosure before I begin my review, I am a beta reader. I've known Radius for a while and am his friend. With that in mind, I will try and be as unbiased as possible. To start, Learning to Fall is a story about discovery. Specifically, about discoveri…”
Evil-EmperorRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

AlmonihahRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Learning to Fall does a great job at showing its main protagonist's growth through the extremely rough things he goes through. I also appreciate that the differences in the world and the its inhabitants compared to our own are actually important instead of just half-forgotten background noise. It doesn't *quite* qualify as xenofiction in my book since the dragonettes are still fairly humanoid but it's pleasingly close.
Evil-EmperorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Full disclosure before I begin my review, I am a beta reader. I've known Radius for a while and am his friend. With that in mind, I will try and be as unbiased as possible.
To start, Learning to Fall is a story about discovery. Specifically, about discovering oneself. We are introduced to Aytin, a young dragonette (draconic humanoid) who finds himself unsure where he fits in within his home.
Due to this, along with other factors, he is forced to go with a group of traders. His plan is to reach the capital, where he will meet his uncle and study under him.
It does not go to plan…
Told from Aytin’s perspective, we get to see him at his weakest moment. We see him struggle, we see him scared and desperate. We see him fall.
But if that was all it were, this story would be nothing but a tragedy. From rock bottom, Aytin pulls himself up. From rock bottom, he learns and grows.
We see him rise.
Learning to Fall is a great story, one everyone can learn from. It does not require any foreknowledge from the Hunter or Huntress series and acts as a self-contained story merely taking place within the universe. You are doing yourself a disservice by not reading it.
Specific_OceanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
First thing's first, I may only be 8 chapters in so far but I can tell you that this story is worth reading with full confidence. No spoilers of course. And before we get into things please don't stop at only a few chapters in, it picks up soon I promise.
And it's got commissioned art c'mon how could you not like it?
As you can infer by the title this isn't a lighthearted story, but it is realistic with ups and downs. That is why I appreciate it so. The protagonist, Aytin, feels like a real person with his own ambitions, regrets, insecurities, and that's wonderful. It gives you a chance to understand and empathize with him. Not to mention the other characters in the story.
Everybody interacts with each other on a level that feels natural and storied, making them come to life in a way that immerses the reader. Another point in the story's favor is the pacing.
While it may seem to drag on a tad in the beginning, it is not wasted time. Like every story, it's important to pull the reader into another world and hold their rapt attention. The point of fantasy is to glance into another living world, to grasp what cannot be had. The story gives itself enough time to pull you - the reader - in while slipping in unknowns to keep you hooked. I'd argue that not a scene is wasted in furthering that goal in mind, each one gives the reader something new to chew on.
The quality itself is excellent and is consistent. Don't expect long and winding descriptions though, that's a good thing let me explain. Learning to Fall gives you enough to fill in the scenes with your imagination and is mindful of the reader's time. In fact it's my preferred way narration, it doesn't have to pause to give you a lengthy description or a castle or what have you; all in order to keep the story chugging along smoothly.
As for spelling and grammar I haven't noticed anything besides maybe one mistake. The story is clearly well cared for and carefully edited.
And of course this story is set in the world of
Tigra21Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So, as a full disclosure, this story is written in my world, Oka, from the series Hunter or Huntress.
That being said, I love this story. I think it is a fresh take on a fantasy tale in a way not often done. weather you are familiar with Oka or not doesn't matter as the story more than manages to stand on it's own two feet, with interesting and in-depth characters and a far better imersion into the wilds of Oka than I myself has ever managed.
dafaqdafakovichRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Excellent story with good pacing, interesting twists and great characters. It's definately going somewhere good without wasting time.
do i actually need to pad out this review to be 50 words long, c'mon guys, let me be succinct for once... extra words extra words extra words extra words extra words extra words extra words extra words extra words extra words extra words
NetNarratorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I was very impressed by this story, being very familiar with the 'Hunter or Huntress' universe this story is set in, which is viewable or . The story is well written through the eyes of Aytin, the dragonette son of a minor noble, who leaves his home keep for the first time, creating a tale with a rich blend of adventure, personal growth, and the harsh realities of the world outside a sheltered upbringing. 'Learning To Fall' is more than simply a title and is very much a theme of the story throughout as Aytin grows as a character throughout each well-crafted chapter.
This series really paces itself well with excellent plot hooks, themes and symbolism throughout that really captivates the reader, and invests them in Autin's journey, eager to see how things will unfold, and aided by well-written characters and story developments that will lead you to want more!
I haven't noticed any glaring spelling mistakes or gramatical errors throughout what I've read so far, and the story does a good job at setting the scene, with an effective balance of scenes, allowing readers to connect with Aytin on a relatable level despite not being a human. Give it a read!
Simpleman123302Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Wonder when this will be nop I heard that’s I pretty good. But I heard the author of this fanfic is kinda weird but the story looks pretty cool so I am excited for the future. I do wonder if their next story will be in someone else universe or if they will make a whole new one to themselves.
RoBOticRebelRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The story is great, however i feel like it is slightly diminished in places where a character tells a story and then that event is then the next chapter. I feel like it would be better if those two things were combined into one.
But I also enjoy multiple perspectives from different characters and wish there was more.
Namel909Royal Road
★★★★ 4.0
The story is good.
Not perfect, but good.
The Characters all have debt too them. It is its own story that will entertain with or without having read the original story. The story premis is executed well and does not miander on or just jump over too much details.
The whole thing works nicely in having small arcs of „this is the situation“, „this is a problem“, „this is how the problem grows / changes as Aytin tryes to overcomme them.“ and last „finaly of how problem is squashed“ (often times with a price payed).
The interlueds where nice for flavore of adding some more background to the whole thing, sadly many of them killed the flow of the story for me. As they where inserted at the end of a cliff hanger and then my excuse to go and do something else. sss
smartiesbabRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
The shining points of the book is the realism and characters. This story is great in every way that a story like Pale Lights isn't, and middling in every way Pale Lights is great.
Where I see these differences is in environment, prose and characters.
Environment and prose go hand in hand. The same way that a slight breeze on a warm summer day or a cold, clear winter day evoke a subtle feel, written images can make one feel something. The more flowery prose of something like Pale Lights lends itself more to this, and often creates a more complete mental image of the action. This book is written in a more methodical way, where the environment is often lost. The heaven oak clearing is a good example of very vivid environment, which I didn't feel much of must of the time.
The prose also feels different. The more to-the-point style of this book fit well with the best point of this book, it's characters. This isn't mutually exclusive of course, just how I felt reading.
Aytin seems real. He makes mistakes. He has subtle insecurities. He's exploitable. He improves with practice, he has nervous tells. He's a much more complete character than most in Pale Lights. The lack of constant mental presence really sells it the most. In Pale Lights, when following a character, there's always a thought process in the back of their mind, even when occupied or stressed. People are thoughtless sometimes, and this story depicts that very well.
Pale Lights was just an appropriate example, I have nothing against it.