The Archon's Mark [Travel, Progression, Cultivation, Adventure]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Fate can be cruel, but our own mistakes are much crueler.

Meet Victor, a once-heroic adventurer now reduced to an overweight drunkard, haunted by relentless nightmares. Will he overcome his demons and mend the scars of his past? Or will he remain shackled by the shadows that haunt him?

Taiyo, the daughter of a high priest, grapples with the weight of expectations, striving to break free from her mother's looming legacy. Can she forge her own path in a world that has dictated her choices for far too long?

Then there's Yuuki, deemed talentless in a society where magic reigns supreme. Burdened by the expectations of his family, he seeks to prove his worth and escape being sent to live his life in a forgotten monastery. Can he defy his fate and carve a meaningful existence for himself?

Embark on a gripping journey into the World of Madrea, where these three lives intersect, weaving a tale of resilience, self-discovery, and the pursuit of a brighter tomorrow. Will they conquer their demons, or will destiny crush them under it's grip?

_____________________

Here's a quick summary of my book:-I dedicated over a year to designing this fantasy world, and it is planned to be a series that spans multiple volumes, locations, and characters. There is also going to be a spin off, which will continue a certain character's story down the line (No spoilers :P)-Character driven, intimate pacing-Yes, it has romance-A deep and intricate progression and magic system-Lots of cultural inclusions in the world-building-Large promises, even larger payoffs

I will be releasing chapters at a rate of 3 per week until all the written chapters are uploaded

I welcome all comments and feedback as long as it's constructive :) Let's enjoy the story together!

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: V.K Shah

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 55
Views: 17,813

Chapters(35 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

theacornRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a really easy book to read, and I enjoyed reading it. It's simple, good worldbuilding, slow but you know it will pick up soon. Overall a great book even though it just has a few chapters out so far. I'm interested to see more of what the characters, especially Yuuki have to offer. Taiyo too. There's a lot to look forward too and I hope it only gets better from here.
Mike71414Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So far, I have found nothing to dislike about this story. Even though I started reading it to swap reviews, I've found myself getting invested in the characters and where their futures are headed.
Style: It's good! This story avoids a common pitfall of info dumps, which makes it way, way easier to read than some. The writing is nice and descriptive, and if you enjoy dialogue a lot I'm sure you will like this style.
Grammar: No issues that I noticed, so perfect score!
Story: So far, this story has developed in a nice mix of slow-burn unfolding and action-packed excitement. I appreciate that it opens on the action scene, which pulled me in pretty quickly and got me invested.
Character: This story feels like it's going to be strongly character driven, which I like. The relationship between the two MCs so far has been a focus of the narrative, and I think will continue to grow and develop. So far it really works for me, and feels well done. Though it may not be the most popular type of story on RR, so that may be something to consider if the author is looking to grow their audience!
Overall I would highly recommend this story. The cover is also really excellent, which never hurts!
Keep up the hard work!
Red_OceanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Man, where do i start. I recently started writing a novel myself so i understand how much better the balance between exposition and dialouges are done here, It's barely noticable.
Let's start with the style. It's a third person limited perspective and it's handled excellently here. The story feels easy to imagine and vivid enough without getting too wordy. Sometimes, italic thoughts could probably be used to express the character's thought better. But that's Just a personal preference and takes nothing away.
Story is quite good too. A man's downfall from grace is handled well here, and with depth. I really like how the story deals with insecurity and loneliness. It feels quite real. Worldbuilding is done pretty well too, you are given small bits of info here and there with dialouges and it never feels expository.
The magic system is very well thought and very vivid, you can completely imagine how the system works as well.
Characters are the real mascots of the story tbh. I really liked Kaiyo and Victor, as well as Bronx. They all have likeable qualities and pretty well developed personalities and to be frank, feels real.(something which i have been trying to emaluate myself)
However, i do believe that the romance could have been brewed a bit slower. But it works.
Grammer is pretty flawless for most part and there is nothing to complain about.
Overall, i will definitely be reading more of this once it has enough chapters.
V.J.DaranRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The book has a really strong and interesting start which is maintained with more mystery and intrigue over the following chapters. The writing really brings the world and character to life, with clear and vivid descriptions of their unique and rich culture, and the characters' individual personalities. It makes you get really immersed in the story, which is added by the various questions about the MC's past raised over the chapters that makes you curious to learn more about him, and the world he's in.
As the focus has been a lot on the characters, we don't know much about the world and the overall story yet so I can't comment too much on that. However so far, it does describe a unique and interesting cultivation system, religion, and culture. I'm looking forward to find out more about how everything works in the world and if the same style and theme is maintained, I'm sure it'll turn out great.
Grammar: I couldn't spot any errors so all good for me.
Style: I found the writing very clear, engaging, and easy and fun to read, so full points from me.
Story: So far so good, but the story hasn't yet been developed a lot so I can't comment too much on it.
Character: The character development of the central characters Victor and Taiyo has been great so far (especially Victor), and I'm really interested in finding out more about Victor's past, and what is going to happen between him and Taiyo. However apart from these two characters, the other character's aren't developed a lot, even though a lot of characters have been introduced. The book is still young so maybe they'll be developed more in the future, or maybe they'll become side characters and new ones will be introduced with more development. Either way, it's a bit too early to comment too much on this, but so long as the development of the central characters is maintained, and the other characters are developed in a similar way, it will be good for me!
Overall, I think the author is doing a great job and this is a stor
hasrithaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is such an easy read with a lot of great world-building and characters that have a lot of depth. It also has a lot of elements of diversity and history and overall it's an underrated book. You can tell that the author pays close attention to the nuances in conversation and the way the characters interact. The author is able to foreshadow as well as allude to things really well which adds an element of suspense to the story. This book does not spoon feed the reader, but it also isn't vague. I love it.
Moreover, even though the story pacing is slow for now, I can tell there will be a payoff soon. They're building the story up for now so it can get more interesting later. For a story thats so new, you can tell the author has a clear idea of where they want it to go and the world-building is great. Even the set up of the story and characters is great. I'm excited to see more tension and dive into the past of these characters, specifically victor. I also am curious about Taiyo's relationship with her parents. So far, I'm very invested in this story even though it isn't necessarily the genre I would be interested in.
This author deserves all the recognition ❤️ cant wait to read more.
BeezeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This story was a good and entertaining read for me. The characters in the story are the entertaining part of it and the Worldbuilding is great as we discover the world in a unique way. It's not bad at all , but I will need to address the story as there is not much conflict in the beginning.
Style of the Writing is Okay, at some point the style could be made just slightly better as it does sometimes needs clarification on the speaker. This goes hand in hand with Grammar here. While there are no mistakes that take away from the story, some parts would do well with some adjustments to make it clear on the speaker . It does not happen too often so there is not much loss there.
As for the Story, this is where I found the flow following a lack of a real conflict in the beginning. I know you are starting from the person trying to figure out themselves, and the world building would have to be set for the world, but it does feel like the conflict comes in rather slow and there was not much to foreshadow it in my opinion.
Characters, very likable characters in this world. They are the best part of it as the author made them to be quite the set. I found some hilarious moments as well as some serious moments. Good job in making a set that held a great time.
Overall, I would say this was a good introduction to your world in these first set of chapters you presented. With a few improvements, it would be Excellent, but despite the small flaws it has, it still makes you able to visualize the world and characters within it, and that to me is a Story which is worth the read. For ones thinking about it, give it a chance.
David Niemitz (M0rph3u5)Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I really like the setup we have here, and the dynamic between the two central characters, Victor and Taiyo.
On the one hand, Victor is clearly someone who has suffered a great loss recently, and who is at a low point in his life. His dreams slowly reveal more and more of that, and the teases have me wanting to know more - especially about a particular character (I'll avoid spoilers) who I suspect died quite brutally.
On the other, Taiyo is young, with a great deal of potential, and clearly something of an interest in the man whose life she saved, and who saved her in return. She's sheltered and has that rebellious spark against her father's authority. I also really like her power set - or at least what we've seen so far. Light magic is visually cool and I think a great thematic fit for her character; it really brings home the contrast with Victor.
The two of them - and the burgeoning relationship between them - is a really exciting base to build a great story from! We have multiple elements foreshadowing trouble coming, and I'm curious to see the nature of that trouble when it hits.
There's a few grammar fixes to be made here or there, but feedback from readers will catch them, and its nothing that makes the story difficult to read.
I'm very curious to see where the story goes from here, and a good relationship is the kind of hook that can keep me coming back!
AncientDreamZzRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I found this story to be very interesting, the characters seem unique and I find myself on the edge of my seat wanting to know more. The beginning appeared a little slow in my opinion, but since I’ve only read up to 6 Chapters I’m sure the pace would pick itself up once more chapters roll in. Overall, a very easy-to-understand and intriguing story.
Style
Writing style is very interesting to me, it flows well yet is very minimalistic, not too much description but also gives enough to the readers so I can understand the general idea of what’s going on. However, I feel like it could use some more tweaking and descriptions, as I think some part seem a little bland, especially during the dialogue.
Grammar
I see nothing wrong with this at all, it’s easy to follow.
Story
So far from the 6 Chapters I’ve read, the pacing appears slow, and there’s not much going on but character introduction and getting the reader to know how the world works. I can’t really say much for this, but I have high hopes for the future chapters. Picking up the pace would be nice, or add some sort of conflict to keep the reader’s interest.
Character
I feel like this is the author’s strongest point. Every character I meet throughout these 6 Chapters feels refreshing and well-thought out. I keep wanting to know more about their past and personalities as I read. Victor is my favorite so far.
PlatypushoverRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The story up to chapter 0.6-Alone is a very good introduction. We meet the main characters and learn something about them. The one thing I didn't like about it in particular, is that Victor and Taiyo overshadow Yuuki, I had to check the synopsis to know that he is one of the main characters, unlike with Victor and Taiya.
Style- Enjoyable and understandable storytelling. I hadn't had any problem understanding the story, apart from a few instances where the author doesn't specify if the character thinks, or speaks.
Grammar- No major problems, some repetitions.
Story- It's a very good introduction. I would give full marks if there was more information about how the story will proceed. As of now, the chapters didn't give any insight above what the synopsis says, about the storyline.
Characters- Characters are vivid and easy to imagine. I am already somewhat familiar with them and can predict how they will react to an extent. Also, despite reading this story for less than 30 minutes, I have a vague understanding of who is who, without the author reminding me that at every corner (I'm talking about the side characters, which makes it impressive).
Overall, I can definitely recommend this story, especially when the chapter count grows.
Wistful_WillowRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Disclaimer: The author has stated that the chapters up to chapter 0.6 are slower than the rest of the story so this review might not be indicative of future chapters. I only read up to chapter 0.6.
The characters are decent and the world was still developing where I stopped. There are two povs. There is the pov of the pair with the fox and the priestess with the adventurer.
It sets up a magical world with a god that requires sacrifices for cultivation and magical beasts fighting for their lives. The fact that the hunter and the hunted both get pov stories was interesting.
The writing method does not utilize paragraphs. This sort of style doesn't appeal to me. I know some people are bothered by paragraphs and just want to move onto the next dialogue line, if that's what you're looking for, you're in luck.
I think the story was a bit meandering. This confused me because the synopsis seems to imply a pretty serious and plot focused story.
The story starts off by diving straight into event scenes. However, it was not clear what the significance of these events was without a better introduction to the world and characters.
Fortunately, it did avoid the pitfall a lot of stories have of info dumping; and I assume the world and characters get fleshed out more later on.
I can not rate the story further than this since it did not pick up yet at the point where I stopped.