The Elf Who Would Become A Dragon [Vols 1–3 Complete]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Next chapter arrives Wednesday 1st April 2026! What this is about:The tale of a young elf named Saphienne. Hear how she grew up to discover that the woodland paradise she lived in wasn't all it seemed, and what she did to make her story infamous. What to expect:Character-driven writing; fun but believable characters who grow over time; slow burn, slice of life drama with highs and lows; conflict with meaningful stakes; twists with satisfying conclusions; thoughtful and detailed worldbuilding; and an accessible, compelling story that has many layers —ifyou want to look for them. * * * A heartbreaking and heartwarming fantasy about rejection and belonging, power and consequence, and the cost of being ourselves. Follow Saphienne through her elven childhood into adulthood, and witness the struggles that made her who she would become. See her rise and fall, lose what she cherishes and find what matters, and in the end? Decide who she was for yourself. * * * Written with accessible language for adult readers. New chapters on Wednesdays and Fridays.All chapters © L. J. Amber 2025–2026, All Rights Reserved. * * * Ratings distribution of TEWWBAD as of 23rd March 2026 at 12:22 GMT.Changes relative to25th November 2025 at 05:09 GMT.5-stars:916 (+424 — +322 ratings, +29 reviews, +73 advanced reviews)4.5-stars:55 (+24 — +19 ratings, +5 reviews)4-stars:33 (+11 — +9 ratings, +2 reviews)3.5-stars:19 (+7 ratings, +1 advanced review)3-stars:14 (+4 ratings, +2 reviews)2.5-stars:6 (+4 ratings)2-stars:9 (+5 ratings, +1 review)1.5-stars:4 (+2 ratings)1-star:00.5-star:5 (+3 ratings)Overall Change to Average Rating:-0.01 stars

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: ljamberfantasy

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 5,275
Views: 1,456,115

Chapters(140 total)

What readers say about The Elf Who Would Become A Dragon [Vols 1–3 Complete]

“Grammatically speaking, I see maybe two or three typos every 6 or 7 chapters. That said these typos are often mentioned in the comments and disputed as part of the prose. Due to the nature of the high fantasy this author is writing, it is only to be expecte…”
DunimonRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“I am not one to write reviews yet I the author has fascinated me so I must.There is very little to say about the grammar, there are (rarely) some mistakes or awkward faults but they are far less common than other stories with similar release schedules.Unlik…”
AtsuRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

DunimonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Grammatically speaking, I see maybe two or three typos every 6 or 7 chapters. That said these typos are often mentioned in the comments and disputed as part of the prose. Due to the nature of the high fantasy this author is writing, it is only to be expected that there would be such things here. They are such a minor issue(if you could even call it that) that it's not really bothersome.
As far as Style goes, it is great. The main character has a lot going for them and really plays into the style.
I especially love the way that they build up characters besides the main character. It feels organic. Real. It's a rare thing to get such amazing characters.
Story wise, the author knows what they're doing. They write so well. I won't go into detail, because this is something you will only ever get to read first once, but it amazes me. Have you ever read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss? This is on a similar level. But hold up! Is that fucking tragedy tag you see?! Is this torture porn?! Short answer: no. Long answer: nope. Never fear, on the scales of tragedy, tnotw would be nobledark and this story is noblebright (grim dark scales if you don't know).
Overall, it's a phenomenal work that is planned. Do not expect deus ex machina cop outs. If you enjoyed practical guide to evil, beneath the dragoneye moons, journey of red and black, most things from Brandon Sanderson, anything from Patrick Rothfuss, Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, Black prism, objects in motion, hot cocoa by the window on a rainy afternoon, steak, or living in general, give this a try. I think you'll rather like it.
AtsuRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I am not one to write reviews yet I the author has fascinated me so I must.There is very little to say about the grammar, there are (rarely) some mistakes or awkward faults but they are far less common than other stories with similar release schedules.Unlike some other works on RR in this genre, L. J. Amber actually has a very distinct style, and one I very much enjoy taking my time deciphering or otherwise digesting. It is not simple prose, and must be savoured by a keenly interested mind.I am intrigued by ''The Elf Who Would Become A Dragon'', and am ever-curious as to where the story will take us. While many a clue is given, I am still often surprised bytwist after twistin a way that feels grounded. The wonderfully wound world feels ancient and lived in by three-dimensional elves etc.I recommend this book wholeheartedly to my friends and whoever took the time to read my review. I might edit this as time goes by and the story evolves, but I hold high hopes. Any fans of traditional fantasy, but also philosophy and mystery novels might want to sit down in a cosy chair with a cup of hot tea, and be absorbed into TWWBAD and allow yourself to be fascinated by L.J Amber's spell of a book.
A_vap04Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. At first I thought it would be like “hey here’s yet ANOTHER bad thing that’s gonna happen to our main character!” Not even a chapter and a half later I was convinced of mistake. This book has made me both laugh and cry. My favorite part is simply the way that the author writes and the words they use. It’s is both incredibly complex and yet very easy to understand.
A_GethingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The book is stylistically unique in ways so many authors fail to capture. The voice the author writes with is distinctive and passionate, really bringing the other already individually impressive qualities of the book together into something really rare across all fantasy, not just RR
The story is very much a slow burn as of now, this is the perfect decision for this particular story, which I find weird to say as someone usually opposed to slower paced stories. The plot covers incredibly pertinent themes and due to the slow pace, every difficultly and moment of pain feels deeply relatable touching to the audience whilst the moments of triumph are equally as emotional. Basically I really love the story despite it being very atypical to what I understood my taste to be.
Grammar is perfect, not much else to say, the author really knows how to write.
Characters are the core of this story and they do that job perfectly. Every single character in this book has a real personality, it's hard to be as impressed by it as I am until you've read the book yourself. Even more impressive than this is that giving the characters real character didn't force the author to reduce her characters to stereotypes of themselves. Characters can make decisions that defy a first glance analysis of them, but the author is more than capable of making this 'rogue decisions ' feel realistic without just changing how characters present on the spot.
All and all this book is truly incredible and deserves for you to at least try read it.
Chestnut BlitherinRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a very, very slow burn, and it didn’t really feel like it? There’s a mesh of interpersonal drama, not so legal acts, and studying the arcane that all fit surprisingly well. I only read this story because the title is insanely interesting and the cover was beautiful, and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest.Normally queer representation is in your face and honestly quite annoying, but this story actually went through it quite well. The contrast between human and elf culture made me forget I was human for a minute, and then I remembered how dumb a lot of things in the world are. I’m just filling out the word count for the advanced review at this point. The main character was surprisingly relatable to me, as I was just as much of a smart ass in my youth, and seeing her work through struggles and find a place even as her world is rocked again and again was really satisfying to read. This is a tragedy, so that definitely won’t last, and the seeds for bad things to come have been sown. After binging the entire thing in three days, I can’t give anything but my most genuine recommendation for this wonderful story.
Critical BumRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A slow burn fantasy story that explores the culture of an Elf society and the way our childhood shapes us. The character writing and worldbuilding are superb.
Sapphiene is a complex protagonist that changes alot as she grows older and learns from more people. The side characters are also multilayered and feel like complex individuals.
The woodlands appear to be an elven sanctuary, but continues to unviel many flaws that reflect the few amoral values of the elves. The unique relationship the elves have with spirits is partcularily unique to this story.
The magic system is very unique and is tied to science, philosophy, and paradoxes. It has enough rules to feel structured, but is desinged to have unintuitive logic that makse it still feel magical.
The third person narration is used in clever ways as the narrator is an unnamed character telling you the story. They break the fourth wall to bring more attention to certain details and make you think more about the story. It also adds a unique style, like listening to a campfire story rather than reading a book.
The author corrects grammar errors pointed out by commenters and even argues against corrections that would make dialouge feel stiff.
Its not really an action story or progression fantasy, as it focuses more on the daily life in a fantasy world rather than adventure. Still deserves way more attention than it recieves.
For people tired of the constant influx of litrpgs and want a traditional fantasy with real moral lessons.
David Niemitz (M0rph3u5)Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
One of my readers recommended this to me, and I've thoroughly enjoyed catching up. It's probably one of the best trad fantasy / literary fantasy stories currently running on this site, and I binged it in a very short amount of time!My only concern - and it's a selfish one - is that I can't wait to see the MC grown up, and what she's like as she progresses along her journey, and now I have to wait for new chapters to come out :)
BergtideRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
By far some of the most complex story, style, and emotional construction I’ve read on Royal Road. Despite being tagged in ways that might attract progression-fantasy readers, this doesn’t read like a standard “power ladder” story at all. It’s much closer to a slow-burn, character-driven coming-of-age that keeps tightening the screws because the story is fundamentally about consequence, not victory laps. There are many power fantasies with rapid ascent on Royal Road and it is wonderful to meet something different every once in a while.
What makes it work is the author’s restraint and intentionality. The prose and pacing aren’t trying to brute-force hype; they’re building a person. Saphienne’s arc is written as identity under pressure: belonging, rejection, and the cost of becoming something you can’t easily come back from. The “would become a dragon” premise isn’t treated as a gimmick or a shortcut to catharsis. It’s a lens for alienation andd ambition, and the way being different can empower you even as it isolates you.
By around the early 70s chapters, the story is confident enough to pay off long-laid threads without simplifying them, and it rewards attention rather than speed-reading. If you want constant dopamine hits and clean wins, you may bounce. If you want layered character work, slow-burn dread, and earned emotional impact, this is an easy 5 stars.
BlueGlassRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I have been reading voraciously for most of my thirty-six years alive, and The Elf Who Would Become A Dragon is one of the most well-written works I have ever encountered, full stop. The amount of thought and care that has gone into each line pours from the text as the story weaves a compelling anf believable tale of growing up, self-discovery, and not fitting in with one's surroundings. It is rich and multilayered, full of wonder, joy, terror, hope, and despair. This is the kind of story I feel everyone should at least give a shot at reading. It is the kind of story that asks the reader to read with attention and consider themselves and their world in reflection to its own happenings.It is often slow in pacing, taking tens of chapters to construct a situation before things suddenly start happening at a breakneck pace, old details coming into focus and gaining new meaning, long-planted foreshadowing becoming clear, and the reader is left gasping at what has just occurred. The writing is full of nuance and imagery, every scene and interaction serving two or more purposes at once, some obvious some not. While all the other elements that went into it are excellent as well, I feel the style of writing is its greatest strength, the time and effort that has gone into crafting all the little intricacies is simply astounding.The story itself is amazing as well, full of intrigue, suspense, awe, grief, delight, wonder, whimsy, and so many other raw emotions that it draws forth as we watch our protagonist grow up and discover herself and the world around her, make friends and enemies, overcome challenges, and experience life to its fullest, both the highs and the lows. The setting is rich and thorough, classic elements of high fantasy fleshed out and explored in-depth, making a realistic world that takes into account what it would be like to, say, have a society whose members might live for millennia, or what it means for magic to exist within a culture.Naturally, the
ElaikasesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is different but gripping. It captures so expressively what it is like to be younger, socially isolated and seeing the world differently than everyone else.
It has a narrator who may or may not be different from the protagonist. Parts of it are ambiguous for a time, but things resolve. The narrator seems reliable but there is just enough play to make you wonder.
The parts of society that are binding or constrained are also logical and natural. The society is like a second main character.
I have really enjoyed it so far. It has some beats that are development oriented, but it has continuous solid plot development and it has interesting world building.
I have played around with what a society of immortals would look like and what the alternatives are and this world building is consistent with one of the paths that struck me as more or less stable.
There are things needed for such a society to sustain itself socially without disintegrating and the author has not sacrificed sustainability for possible plot development or short cuts
I am very glad I encountered this fiction and the chance to read it as it develops.
The pacing is steady, the cast of characters well considered, and the emotions true to my own lived experience (given I’m not an elf and have no magical element to my life).