The Stratigos of Dark Magic

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The Remen Empire is at the precipice of destruction. Enemies surround it from all sides and erode it from within. Blood is spilled constantly by those who seek to destroy it. However, there are those who will not let it die. And among them is a practitioner of dark magic. Warning: The characters in this story live in accordance with a system of moral values that haven't been followed in the real world for hundreds of years. These values differences might make the heroes of the story come off as villains or at least anti-heroes to modern readers and the villains come off as truly monstrous.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: Skarabrae

Chapters(52 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

trichoplaxRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Story : The power system the author introduces is quite interesting and conflicts with the personality of the MC which is an additional captivating twist. As a story set in the medieval era, the characters act as such, and that can be very dark at times. The author accurately portrays the reality of that time period.Characters: the characters are very realistic. They all have distinct personalities but they way they speak and act fit the setting they are placed. The author skillfully shows that their common sense is not the same as ours and that, while they may sometimes act "normal", their actions are guided by the reality of their worlds. The main character is a good example of that.Style: The writing makes it easy to get through chapters without feeling overwhelmed. The author has made the story easy to read without overly simplifying their descriptions and action sequences.Grammar: No notable issues thereOverall this story has a lot of potential. Making use of historical terms and settings while adding their own creative twist, the author has written a great story which I believe will go very far. They have managed to naturally weave a unique power system to their world which leaves the reader wondering what else they have in store for the story
Parallax TalesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This fantasy short story offers an intriguing glimpse into a richly imagined world inspired by the Byzantine Empire and nomadic steppe cultures. The author demonstrates strong worldbuilding skills, weaving in details about magic, religion, politics and cultural practices to create a vivid setting.The prose style is clear and engaging, with a good balance of description, action and dialogue. The author effectively uses sensory details to bring scenes to life. The pacing is brisk, covering a lot of ground in a relatively short piece.The plot follows a classic fantasy structure of a battle and its aftermath, but adds interesting twists with the dark mage protagonist and his complex motivations. The story touches on weighty themes of duty, revenge, and the costs of power, giving it more depth than a typical action-adventure tale.Grammatically, the writing is very strong with only minor errors. The dialogue flows naturally and helps distinguish different characters' voices.The characters are intriguing, if not fully fleshed out in this short format. Demetrius in particular is a compelling anti-hero, struggling between his dark magic and his conscience. The dynamic between him and Ganzaya shows promise for further development.Areas for improvement could include tightening up some of the exposition and further developing the secondary characters. Overall though, this is a solid piece of fantasy writing that left me curious to read more stories set in this world. The author shows a lot of potential in the fantasy genre.
S.D. HussRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I went into this and immediately picked up on the (Eastern Roman Empire) vibes the author was putting down. I’m a bit of a sucker for history, and was immediately immersed in the story after the first chapter.Style: I’ve noticed that the author takes great care with his style. It’s straight forward, and pushes the story along at a brisk pace. This works out well, as most of the beginning of this book is a battle sequence. Which flowed nicely kept me on my toes.Story: The story puts us smack dab in the middle of a battle on the imperial frontier. Near the Steppe. (I kept imagining my campaign in banner lord 2 for some reason) There they fight with barbarians and end up capturing someone. I won’t spoil it, it’s worth the read. The story is pretty engaging so far and I can’t wait to continue it.Characters: The characters are fantastic. The main character, Demetrius, is a dark mage who needs people to have negative feelings of him to keep his powers strong. I thought that was a pretty interesting twist. He’s actually a nice guy, but has to be a huge D-bag in order to keep his powers up. Of the other cast, Ganzaya and Tabahn really were my favorite.Grammar: Nothing to say here, everything seemed fine.Overall I thoroughly enjoyed what I have read so far. I appreciate the attention to detail in the battle scenes, and the intriguing characters and how they’re written. I look forward to finishing this story.
UgarrsvenothRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style: Up to this point, everything has flowed very well. I haven't hit any snags in my reading that pulled me away from it. It's all very engaging. The system screen bits are also clearly marked out and distinct enough that it's not confusing, while also blending in well with the rest of the page.Story: I'm quite enjoying the story so far. The entire kingdom is at war, and the author does a good job of showing that at the beginning by focusing in on a smaller skirmish. The main character's power set and how it works is also quite interesting. I won't spoil what it is, but I don't think I've personally seen anything similar to it in terms of how it functions. The magic he casts, at least up to this point, seems to be fairly standard, albeit diverse, magic. The world itself is also realistically dark and the author doesn't shy away from touchy subjects.Grammar: I think I only noticed one extremely minor mistake throughout the few chapters I've read so far. A few other people made some suggestions in the comments, but as far as I could tell, the author had fixed all of them up fairly quickly, which is always good.Character: The characters we've met so far have been very well-written and believable. But I mostly want to focus on the main character. I feel really bad for him. He hates himself far too much. I'm curious to see if things change for the better for him. I also want to learn about his past a bit more and how everything came to be.
thegoodman99Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Starigos of Dark Magic is a dark and gritty story set in a time similar to the Byzantine Empire and the Khans. It mixes elements of fantasy with realism. Reading Skarabrae's story is like experiencing ancient times.Style: Grim dark is not my style of choice. I tend to avoid the genre because I can't handle the gritty details. I think the style lands well here because of the setting and the story being told. That being said, Skarabrae gives disclaimers in his gritty chapters, which I appreciate.Grammar: Didn't notice any problems.Story: I'm not into the thick of the story yet. So far, a battle has taken place, and there has been an interrogation. The MC is now heading out on his own mission and I find myself curious as to what he's going to do. All that I've read has been interesting and the pacing has been great.MC: I like the MC. He's complicated. He's a dark magic user, which means he must control others' perceptions of him to accumulate power. The balance between gaining power and being his natural self creates a fun character conflict. I'm very curious how the MC is going to grow in power and how he will handle his relations with others.This is a great grim dark historical/fantasy. Skarabrae has put in the research and time to create this fun story.
BoptodatopRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Okay, so... first things first... I had to look up like, three different words while reading this, and if that doesn't speak to the amount of care and research they've put into putting this together, man, what does? A for effort right off the bat!Anyways, the story opens up on a strong start giving you a full blast of what it's gonna be about. War, death, [CENSORED], but I'm not really sure if I'd consider it much of a LitRPG... but oh well close enough! The concept of a good natured main character who needs to force his associates into hating him in order to actually maintain his power is frankly astonishingly good. Like, holy moly that's fire. There's so much room for conflict there!Style. Uh, it's alright. Perfectly passable. Putting a characters internal dialogue into quotation marks instead of just italics and then SAYING that it's that characters internal dialogue when it's already pretty obvious who's it is feels kind of awkward to me, but that might just be my preference. Either way it doesn't detract from the story as a whole.Speaking of the story, I can't say too much, not being that far into it, but what we have so far at the point I'm at is super promising. The world building we've gotten in the span of a few chapters is frankly wonderful, and the only thing I'm left wanting on is the rather unexplained nature of the numbers that the main character sees. Is that like, normal for the wider world? That they see numbers quantifying their power? Is he the only one who sees that menu of people who don't like him? And also if he's part of the Kallergis family, how come nobody hates him from the start of the story if he's been travelling around before then? Surely this isn't his very first mission given he's had a gradually unveiling past through the story so far?Bit off putting, but it's not like it has too much of an effect on the story besides making the power scaling seem a little odd.Grammar is fine, no issues there as far as I saw.A for characters, like I
YoruTsubasaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Fans of classical Chinese Xianxia stories will understand what I mean when I speak ofcharacter. These are stories that, despite their often poor translations, captivate you and compel you to keep pressing the ‘next chapter’ button. I believe “The Stratigos of Dark Magic” is one such story.All without the poor translations part.Story:First, the writer has done their research. The story is set in a historical backdrop with Khans, tribes and empires that represent fictional versions of ancient real-world cities and Roman military forces.I’m no history buff, but I learned a great deal about the structures of earlier societies simply by reading this story. There are some trigger elements such as slavery and rape, but they are portrayed logically and are not glorified, making complete sense in the world which has been set up.Then there’s theactualstory—the plot, the meat and potatoes.It’s fascinating. From the beginning, the reader is thrown into the conflict and discovers more of the world through well-chosen and developed scenes. The plot also follows naturally from previous events, keeping the reader invested in what’s going to happen next.One warning: it can be quitedark. The main character takes part in a brutally violent scene around chapter five, for example. But that is a part of the world and story. If you get past that, there’s something beautiful waiting for you.Style:Simple and non-intrusive. The environmental descriptions can be a bit basic in places, but the author makes up for it with the overall storytelling.My one gripe is with certain terms used in the story, such as 'Tourmarchēs' and 'despotēs', which are not explained. However, you get used to them quickly.Grammar:I don’t have much to comment on regarding the author’s grammar. It’s clean in most places. The author is also quick to fix mistakes and accept reader suggestions.Characters:I found the characters the most interesting part of the world. Not just their magic, but also the effect of their magic
longwindedone1Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style:The first five chapters of "The Stratigos of Dark Magic" are marked by a vibrant and detailed narrative style that vividly brings to life the dark and tumultuous world of the story. The author uses a rich palette of descriptive language that effectively sets the mood and scene, plunging the reader into the heart of a besieged village. This detailed crafting extends to the magic system and combat sequences, which are both complex and intriguingly presented. The infusion of historical and cultural elements, blended with fantastical aspects, gives the prose a unique flavor that is both traditional and innovative.Story:The story opens with an immediate sense of urgency and danger that hooks the reader from the first page. We are introduced to a village on the brink of destruction, facing threats from formidable foes, which sets the stage for a high-stakes narrative. The plot is driven by the character of Demetrius, a young but powerful dark magician, whose cold and calculating mind contrasts sharply with his youthful appearance. The political and personal conflicts interwoven with magical warfare and the survival of the village create a compelling tapestry of intrigue and suspense, ensuring the reader's constant engagement.Grammar:The grammar throughout the first five chapters of the book is polished, with careful attention to sentence structure and word choice that supports clear and effective communication of the story. The author skillfully balances complex sentences with action-driven dialogue, maintaining a steady pace and enhancing readability. The use of technical terms related to the story's setting and context is consistent and accurate.Character:Character development is a standout feature, particularly the portrayal of the MC, Demetrius. He is intricately crafted with layers that unfold gradually. The supporting characters are also well-defined, from the fearful villagers to the stoic warriors, each adding depth to the narrative. The interactions between
W.D.RoseRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The Stratigos of Dark Magicis written well with a blend of fantasy, magic, politics, and drama. The story builds on its initial premise, introducing new plot elements and developing its characters.Style:The writing style is consistent throught with a lot of formal language and dialogue heavy scenes. The use of titles such as "Basileus," "Caesar," and "Stratigos" adds an authentic touch to the medieval or ancient Roman-inspired setting. The style successfully builds the atmosphere of political and social dynamic/tension to that of the story's world.Story: Great progression to the story.... and definitely has a dark theme which I won't get into here! You'll just have to read the story. Starts from an inital mission which eventually explores deeper into the political aspects within the Remen Empire. There are lots of power dynamics and cultural clashes built into the story. I think the author did a great job creating a balance between action and dialogue driven scenes.Grammer: Overall, I think the grammer is strong. There were a few comma and puctuation mistakes here and there and some sentence structure issues, but they didn't cause much of a distraction.Character:Character development is nuanced, with a particular focus on Demetrius. The author did a great job growing his character, both in the political scenes and his personal relationships, especially for someone who was thrust into a role despite his reluctance. His powerful magic sets him apart, yet it also isolates him with the number of people who hate or fear him.
cniss_knightRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Right out of the gate, the first chapter does an excellent job of stirring up interest in the story’s world. Doubly so if you’re a person who really likes history (early medieval). The connections and parallels one can make between the factions in the story and real life states are plentiful and come with a hit of dopamine each.Style: There is not much to say of the style, as it gets the job done. The descriptions are not overly fancy or flowery and instead focus entirely on getting the message across, which is both a boon and a bane. Good so as to not drag on, but a little bad given that some descriptions are not as harrowing as they can be.Story: Electrifying. As I mentioned before, doubly so for history nerds. If you like history and want to try living in the shoes of a medieval commander/ magician in a low fantasy setting, this story is for you!Grammar: I could find no issues glaring enough to ruin the immersion.Characters: While the primary antagonist for the start was a bit underwhelming (likely due to insufficient description of his heinous deeds), I really enjoyed the MC and his constant internal battle between who he is and who he needs to be.Overall: I recommend it. Especially if you like history. Looking forward to exploring more of the world!