Medicine and Poison [Epic Fantasy - Vol I & II]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The gods did not create the world. They re-moulded it in their own image. But as the newly arrived deities empowered Kings and Prophets, the shadows of human nature affected heaven, too. That's how the wars began. Volume 1 – Complete Oli is always getting lost in the forest. He's the only Sevener who can't see the paths, no matter how hard his parents try to teach him. But this time it's serious. He goes missing on the brink of a war between the devout Western Kingdom and the anti-theist Republic, with the Sevener's homeland – Saltleaf Forest – caught in the middle. As he travels with an unexpected companion – a medicine man gifted with magic that's inseparable from his madness – he unearths the hidden histories of his tribe, his own family and the life-cycle of a forgotten god. When he learns about his own place in it, he realises he must find the courage to enter a terrifying new world or face losing everyone he loves. Volume 2 – Ongoing Prince Tancred has been cast aside as heir to the Western throne in favour of his adopted brother, Cadra. Still smarting from the injury and struggling to adjust to his new place in court, he nevertheless champions the cause of the Sevener refugees flooding the capital. But their charismatic and talented leader, Adalina, is viewed with suspicion by many of his peers and helping her could lose him what status he has left. Meanwhile, Demetos licks his wounds following a shocking defeat at the forest border. The Sevener clans that remained in the forest are resisting his invasion more capably than anticipated, even though he is now armed with his fearsome new weapon – the firearm. But Advocate Demetos already has new plans. He’s on the verge of an alliance that will secure him a place of glory in Republican history – and infamy in the rest of the world. Gods, science and ancient monsters clash in a struggle that could earn its victors eternal glory or tip the world into chaos and ruin. Join thenewsletter. Join thediscord!

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: CSSalmon

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 239
Views: 40,336

Chapters(73 total)

What readers say about Medicine and Poison [Epic Fantasy - Vol I & II]

“This short story is a stunning example of how brevity can amplify emotional resonance. From its very first line, it pulls the reader into a decaying world where memory and identity are slipping away, not only from the characters but from time itself. The pr…”
jfgouldingRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“I started reading this novel after I noticed we’d held top spots on each other’s “others have also liked” lists for several consecutive weeks. Having finally completed the first volume, I couldn’t ask for a better neighbor. I recommend. Style: I loved the p…”
Criminal GingersnapRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(8)

jfgouldingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This short story is a stunning example of how brevity can amplify emotional resonance. From its very first line, it pulls the reader into a decaying world where memory and identity are slipping away, not only from the characters but from time itself. The prose is graceful and immersive, painting vivid images without ever becoming indulgent. The woman’s struggle through the mud, her reflections on a body once powerful and a life once full of promise, evoke a sense of irreversible passage that is both personal and mythic.
What makes this piece exceptional is how much it accomplishes in such a small space. The dialogue is sparse but loaded with history and weight. The ghostly encounter with the old man is haunting, not in a horror sense, but in the quiet, reflective way that loss haunts the living. Their shared failure is universal, yet deeply intimate—it's about lost time, abandoned hopes, and the frightening honesty that only death can bring.
The story masterfully weaves themes of decay, legacy, and forgiveness into a final scene that is both heartbreaking and serene. It leaves the reader with that rare feeling only the best stories provide: that you’ve witnessed something sacred. A quiet triumph of tone, depth, and restraint.
Criminal GingersnapRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I started reading this novel after I noticed we’d held top spots on each other’s “others have also liked” lists for several consecutive weeks. Having finally completed the first volume, I couldn’t ask for a better neighbor.
I recommend.
Style: I loved the prose in this book. I had clear images in mind for every important element, setting, and person. It was fun to get lost in the writing.
Story: A touching and thrilling narrative told with methodical pacing and ever-heightening stakes. Foreshadowing consistently leads to satisfying payoffs, and the open questions still pique my interest.
I’ll note that the author tends to answer people’s questions about the story in the comments under each chapter. I chose to skip over most of those conversations to enjoy the pure, planned experience. I never felt like I was missing necessary context.
Character: We’ve got good boys for days, but an unfortunately equal quantity of bad men. The women luckily round us out on the good side, at least for book one.
I liked everyone I was meant to like, hated everyone I was supposed to hate, and found the whole lot of them interesting.
Quite a lot of character development happens over the course of the novel; all of it felt natural and earned.
Grammar: I doubt I’ll ever award a full five stars in this category considering that no one hires a copy editor before publishing on this site.
Mistakes were infrequent, minor, and swiftly corrected.
Dormouse PieRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
After an intriguing prologue (I don't know yet how it fits in with the rest of the story, but I'm thrilled to find out), this story sucked me in immediately. It's apparent from the start that the author knows what they are doing, and imho they are doing it masterfully.
Style: Beautifully written text, rich vocabulary. The author depicts the forest and the life of its isolated inhabitants in a vivid and immersive way, without lengthy descriptions.
Story: Lots of mystery and suspense, leaving the reader eager to learn more about the secrets and taboos the adults of the tribe are so eager to keep hidden, even from themselves. Details of worldbuilding are carefully and gradually introduced, without infodumping. Introducing the pantheon via a board game the children play is a brilliant idea!
Grammar: The text is carefully edited, typos are few and far between, apart from minor issues around dialogue tags. The use of tenses is consistent (one of my pet peeves).
Character: Relatable, consistently depicted, well fleshed out characters. Even the side characters have distinctive personalities. I'm finding that Oli is particularly easy to identify with. The situation he is in (how to tell the truth so that the adults take you seriously and get away with it) is a familiar one, and it's thrilling to see how he tries to handle it.
All in all, give this story a go, chances are you won't be able to put it down!
AyydotCRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Started this story a few days ago and I just finished the latest chapter. I really like this story man. There’s pros and cons to it so I’ll definitely address them here. The pros are that the story is very well written. I like the flow of the story and the sentence structure is well done as well. I like the idea and the mysteries of the story that I don’t know yet, making me want to keep reading. I’m very curious about the sleepers and the other clans. It makes me look forward to seeing more backstory and information being presented. The cons: for an epic fantasy, the world building is slightly underwhelming. Epic fantasies or known for their very vivid world building and even though you did a pretty decent job, I wish you brought the world to life more. Give us vivid descriptions of these villages, monuments, landmarks etc. Really bring the world to life with the details. The only thing I would say is the “main issue” is the characters. They lack complexity and depth to me. They’re not bad by any means, but it feels like none of them really have distinct or stand out personalities other than Pasha. I really want to know their motivations and why they are the way they are. I want them to be more relatable, and flawed, you know? You can definitely capture that with more backstory as the story goes on, but right now it’s lacking a bit. I do wish you were a bit more descriptive with their appearances as well, other than eye and hair color. All in all, it’s still a good read man. As someone who loves fantasies, I’m really enjoying this. The story is unique, and it does capture that “feel good” fantasy feeling for me. If the characters were more complex and the world building was a bit better, 100% I would’ve given this 5 stars. I’m still looking forward to seeing how the story progresses and I will be tuning in when each chapter releases.
Update: finished the book and I like where it’s left off. I’m looking forward to seeing how book 2 plays out, as well.
L.J.P. GuoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Medicine and poison is the kind of fantasy story you dream about reading, the kind that pulls you in, wraps you up, and fills you with wonder.
Writing like Salmon’s is hard to come by. There’s an artfulness in the execution here, not only in the multiple POVs that offer us glimpses into the many facets of this new world, but also a thoughtfulness in how language is used and what it conveys. The prose is smooth, elegant, flowing, and disappears when you need it to; the manuscript, to my eye, is flawless.
Characters are given their turn with patience and measure, a method that works to weave a strong narrative in a vast universe new to the reader, never overwhelming, never over promising, always shifting some piece of the puzzle closer to the rest without leaving us out in the cold, grasping for a connection. Everything here ties together without being forced.
The key to a good fantasy is to keep the novelty (read: world building efforts) from overwhelming the story, and similarly, to prevent the plot from overwhelming the characters. Salmon needs no lesson in this; they have already mastered it. Medicine and Poison is rich with lore, a world that feels discovered rather than constructed. The characters take up space, acting as people rather than paper dolls. But in no instance are the greater elements at play neglected.
In short, Salmon has a story to tell, and you should listen.
Saturn Gei GeiRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Found this book through social media group. Here we go:
If you care about medieval fantasy stories set in a world where the author has actually done deep worldbuilding instead of just lazily borrowing from great mister Tolkien, JUST READ THIS BOOK
Not so sure? Then I hope my review convinces you to read
The world comes straight out of box as unique. Instead of elves, dwarves, orcs, you get the Hallin, the Sullin and the Republic. The story starts out a bit slow, doesnt spell out the central conflict early, but it does get around to it by the middle book, and from there, the "factions" and what they each do consistently feed into advancing that. There were times where it isn't clear to me if a specific characters background is relevant to the plot at all, but I understand. Not all lore needs to exist for the plot
I appreciate that there isn't a "LOL evil" faction. Even the Republic, Demetos and various "bad guys" have their reasonable moments, and on a high level the factions are consistent about what they do. So as an epic-scale series, it has me as a reader, despite the fact that I dont read western medieval things often
That said, I deduct a tiny score off characters. Mostly, the flaws boil down to: (1) Oli being too passive for how important he actually is to the main plot; (2) Side characters feel like they exist for the story, when I'd prefer the opposite
I like both Kastor and Ingo a lot. Adalina feels like she'll be important in future volumes. The rest of the cast could stand out more, either through some real depiction of their looks (which, is somehow minimal across the board)
Prose, style, grammar wise, I can only say this book has formal writing quality, it really should just go onto bigger platforms like Kindle at this point. Here on Royal Road, where RPG-like Isekai things are the norm, this story definitely deserves a bigger audience, and star ratings should show you that those who do read the book, like it a lot
Volume 1 appears to have done a lot of
Vel WovenRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
In my time learning English, I've read quite a few large series, from A Song of Ice & Fire to Harry Potter, and Colin's work reminds me of both: the multi-POV political intrigue of Martin and the coming-of-age wonder of Rowling.
Early on, you meet Oli, a young Sevener lost in the forest, paired with Kastor, a "Medicine Man" whose magic is tangled up with his madness (but preference for "doing the right thing"). Their dynamic initially feels like a familiar apprentice-and-mentor setup, but Colin isn't afraid to take the story in...directions you don't expect! Volume 1's ending carries real emotional weight because of that willingness.
The mythos elements are woven throughout, and what stands out is how nuanced they feel. This is a world where a devout kingdom — the Hallin — clashes with a Republic that literally built a city called "The Godless City".
Rather than picking a side, the story lets both worldviews breathe, and the tension between them drives much of the conflict.
While it does start slow and requires more patience than your average web novel, many subplots pay off in satisfying ways, and the POV characters either have clear intentions or serve a unique role in the overarching narrative.
Volume 2 shifts the landscape a bit, now from forest and tribe to court politics, refugee crises, and military strategy. The cast opens up with more new faces than returning ones, which signals Colin has much bigger plans for this series ahead! It's a different taste of the world, and it makes the scope of the series feel genuinely epic.
And I'm staying for the ride.
Frank CheongRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Wow, 2nd complete, man, congrats!
Your writing keeps leveling up, and I think this new story proves it.
The way you weave gods, spirits, and personal stakes into a world teetering on conflict is captivating.
Those Saltleaf clans and their secrets? Pure intrigue!
Looking forward to read and learn from decorated writer on RR like you, mate.
All the best the 2nd venture,
Frank Cheong
The Jade Chakra Dragon's Grimoire
Do follow me and more...cheers,