The Flame Darkly

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The war was won. But for the dark arts used to gain their desperate victory, the sigil-knights of Saint Celund were branded outcasts, their order disbanded.

Stripped of his rank and sundered from his sigil-magic, Ehrban lives as a hermit with nothing but regrets and dark dreams of a dead goddess. It's the only way to protect his loved ones from the curse he’s carried since the final battle at Ungberg.

But when a devastating plague breaks out, the former knights of Saint Celund are offered a holy pardon to help stop it. Ehrban is unwilling: he can no longer do magic and has sworn never to fight again. To make matters worse, leading the expedition is Pinadarya, a skilled alchemist-physician and Ehrban’s soulbonded whom he abandoned when he returned from the war a broken man.

For the sake of old comrades, however, he has no choice but to pick up his sword again. To face bandits, demons, a changed world — and the darkness he thought he left behind with the war.

The same darkness that is leading him back to Ungberg.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: Henry Lucke

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 5.0/ 5.0
Followers: 22
Views: 18,846

Chapters(100 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(2)

LubjubRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style
The Flame Darkly is loaded with ideas that blend high fantasy/epic with magic and adventure. Told through prose that really captivates with it’s descriptions of locales and the cast of the story. From the exiled abode of the main character Ehrban to the inner thinking's that express the way characters are thinking. There is the odd bit of world building that is gradually introduced, and some chapters feature a little more, but it doesn’t detract from the pacing.
Story
The story begins with a prologue that really sets the tone for the story. Victory at any cost, yet the cost was it worth it? We see the world through one of the former knights Ehrban. His burdens weigh heavy on his heart and mind. The magic system uses a sort of ritual like process that allows the merging of souls for powers called Ensoul. We read about his struggles as he is disconnected from the ability to use that. the mystery of what happened isn’t quite revealed just yet, but the introduction of character called Xiun kick starts a quest/mission for Ehrban to possibly have a chance at redemption. I really liked the introduction of Xiun, he is something of a contrast against Ehrbans internal struggle with his directness.
Grammar
A strong well written story that varies in long paragraphs and short sentences that don’t feel out of place.
Character
Ehrban leads the story. From an honorable knight to something akin to a peasant living in a back water part of the kingdom. He is full of depth, mystery whilst suffering from grief and loss.
We also have a second PoV that comes from Pinadarya/ Pia. A doctor conflicted by something from their past. We explore little so far of her side of things, but she is mentioned by Ehrban as the story continues suggesting there is going to be more of her side of the story. If I could nit pick, not sure if the plan is to have both characters become a duo of sorts, but try not to leave a second PoV out for too long, they have a nice contrast against each other. Pia is
neetcrayonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is dripping in meticulous worldbuilding of a level rarely encountered in a web serial. That is the reason why started reading and why I would continue. This feels like a world that is lived in, the worldbuilding is deep with purpose, centered around religion, history and politics. All the facets reflect the expected complexity of these topics. It perfectly lives up to it's 'high fantasy' tag. A+ for worldbuilding.
Style
Written in a distinct style that fits high fantasy themes of this story. It works seamlessly and delivers the story smoothly. The author never steers from the style they establish at the beginning. It is very consistent.
Story
Besides worldbuilding that I already praised, the story is equally spectacular. It is dark, dealing with dark themes but it does that tastefully and with purpose. There was nothing that ever made me question 'why is this here'. Everything here flows, and everything about the story consistently hits.
Grammar
Other than some small errors here and there I haven't encountered anything that broke immersion. This is very competently written prose.
Characters
The second best thing about this story. Ehrban is a broken man with mental and physical problems. He has a distinct personality and a traumatic history that drives his present actions and choices. He makes for a character that you want to see succeed in something after all his failures. Pindarya is another character that has an important story arc as an academic in this world. The way these two are woven together is highly impactful. While they draw special attention, the side characters actually have similar levels of character building behind them. They don't have that 'this is the main character' and 'this is a side character' gap that I expect to see in a lot of fiction. The characters in this story don't have a hard line that artificially separates them, such is the level of thought and effort the author put into them. Meshing that into this amount of worldbuildin