The Healer's Shadow

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

In the magical realm of Teleria, Nyara Darkwhisper survives by keeping her distance—from people, from attachments, and from the past she refuses to name. She’s built her life on control: over her blade, her magic, and most importantly, her own mind. But when a sharp-tongued mercenary steps into her path and a ghost from her past refuses to stay buried, that control begins to crack—and Nyara is forced to confront the one truth she’s long avoided: some wounds never truly heal.

Glossary of important terms. (Will be updated with the story)

Monsters:

Twilight Hounds: Fierce car sized wolves wreathed in shadows. They feed off of the fear and pain of their victims and leach life from the land around them.

Goblins: Small green humanoid monsters. Though weak on their own, the crafty monsters often form bands, scavenging or raiding to survive.

Orcs: Large grey skinned monsters. Orcs are not as smart as goblins but have considerably more physical strength. They often form groups of up to five making for formidable foes.

Guilds: There are three major guilds in Teleria. The Explorers, who take on quests involving monster slaying and capturing various criminals; the Merchants, who purchase monster parts and other items from the Explorers to sell; and the Shadows, an elusive society of assassins, thieves, and other criminals. Though unofficial, the Shadows are the go-to place for illegal or contraband goods.

Races: Elves, dragonkin, humans.

Deities (subject to frequent additions and/or change).

Temisa - Goddess of the moon and favored patron of healers.

Dark Spire: A notorious slaving company primary dealing in elven slaves.

Currency: 50 copper to a silver, 25 silver to a gold

January: Newyear

February: Snowmelt

March: Thawing

April: Springtide

May: Flowering

June: Blossomtide

July: Midyear

August: Harvestmoon

September: Leafturn

October: Leafwithering

November: Frosting

December: Winterveil

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: Nyx_Sage

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 32
Views: 6,356

Reviews

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Community Reviews(2)

TLWestWritesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall
I really enjoyed this! It's a strong start and has a great "D&D Campain" feel. The protagonist is relatable and immediately engaging. The plot moves forward with a sense of purpose and you have done an excellent job creating a world that feels familiar and dangerous.
Style
Your writing style is really cool, and I enjoy the chronicle type feel. To help out with immersion, I would just consider sticking strictly to Nyara's third-person limited POV. It switches sometimes to first person. These shifts are minor, but a little confusing. Overall, Nyara's voice is strong and could really shine with a little extra polish!
Story
The story has a really strong clip and continuously moves forward without wasting time. The Elven Dream Bloom is a fantastic piece of world-building and a great twist. I like the way you end every scene with something compelling that makes me want to read the next one.
Grammar
The grammar and spelling are very clean throughout. I didn't notice any significant errors that pulled me out of the story. Just a few places with very minor mistakes: "then/than" or "women/woman" types. The text is overall well edited and presented professionally.
Character
The dynamic between Nyara and Riona is the absolute heart of the story, and it's fantastic. Nyara is a great protagonist, her mix of power and internal struggles makes her very relatable. Riona is the perfect foil, and I especially love the moments when her mask cracks and we see her a bit more vulnerable. These two are gold!
EldritchPotatoRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Preamble: I've only read the first few chapters so far, so my thoughts are not the totality of this story. I recogmend it you check it out for yourselves and come to your own conclusions.
The grammar is excellent, I'm giving big brownie points for being written well and easily digestible. At no point did I stumble on weird spelling or sentence structure. 5/5, well done!
The style is smooth, dialogue is punchy and smart. My only critique is that the story glosses over description and action somewhat. From one sentence to another, characters might suddenly be in a different location or setting, which can be a little jarring. 4/5, Good!
I found the story the weakest. It is set in yet another generic psudo-Eurpoean fantasy world. I'm sure it will really click with some people, but personally, I would have preferred some more unique world-building. But if you're looking for a Dungeons & Dragons inspired world, you'll certainly find it here, and as the story continues, you'll begin to see more unuque aspect sprinkled in. 3/5, Nice.
Finally character. I like both the characters, but to some degree, Nyara feels as though she is new to the world. She is incredibly reckless, which, for an adventurer, seems like a death sentence. Additionally, her reactions to sexual assault and slavery feel somewhat naive. I would expect her to be more disillusioned by the horrible things going on than furious. The characters have great banter, the dialogue is excellent, but something about the characterization just strikes me as a tad odd. 3.5/5. Yay!
Total rating: 4 stars.
You've got a great premise going. Keep up the great work, author!