What Little Remains Of Terpsichore Ironheart
Self-Published
Community Rating
Description
Three centuries ago, the High Elves were conquered, their heroes cut down like lambs by an army of conscripts with mass-produced battlestaves. Now, Joseph Ironheart grows up in the ghetto of a major city with the rest of its remaining elves, building strange new things in his garage workshop.
He almost manages to secure a position in the exclusive and prestigious Mage's Guild, buta last minute complication scuttles the whole plan: Magister Brown has the funerary effigy of his grandmother, Terpsichore Ironheart, which was stolen from his family during the war that orphaned his father. Joseph will stop atnothingto get it back, and his newly-invented motorcycle just might give him the edge he needs.
What Little Remains Of Terpsichore Ironheartis a pulpy adventure story about a fruity elf girlbossing his way through life, in an early 1900s-esque magitech fantasy setting where elven wizards send their kids to public high school and read comic books. Joseph Ironheart is an egg- a closeted transgender woman who hasn't realized it yet- and that egg takes a while to crack, even with his girlfriend taking a sledgehammer to it. Updates Thursday and Sunday, 12 PM CST. Cover art done by me, in Krita.
Information
- Status
- Hiatus
- Year
- 2024
- Author
- HorizonTheTransient
Tags
Royal Road Stats
- Rating
- 4.7/ 5.0
- Followers
- 221
- Views
- 117,309
Chapters(110 total)
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!
Community Reviews(5)
- BobtheturtlescRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0This is a really fun story that I enjoyed reading. It's fast paced but you just enjoy the ride. I liked the relationships between the characters and the worldbuilding was also interesting. The world itself is quite similar to "The Gods are Bastards" in that they both take place in an industrializing fantasy world, but they feel very different tonally. The main character is
trans
and it's pretty clear from early on, but it takes a while to really get going and the scene where it was revealed was well done. - NightbulbRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0I'll probably come back to edit this when I'm more caught up, I'm only in book 1 of 5. I just wanted to write these thoughts down while they're fresh.
Thoroughly enjoying this story so far. It's scratching my long-held itch for a good non-litRPG magic crafting story, is polyamory propaganda, has some excellent competence porn- even if it sometimes feels like to protagonist is good at just a couple things too many. Where did an 18-year-old from a culture of ageless immortals find time to learn good economics and business negotiations, after nailing wizardry and being such an accomplished machinist...?
Ah, well. It's fun enough that I can suspend my disbelief. And, to be fair, he can't gut a deer to save his life.
Grammar: Flawless, no notes.
Style: Delightfully charming. The narrative voice is very fun, with a first-person subjectivity that the protagonist occasionally likes to subvert, doing the opposite of what his narration led us to expect him to do.
The early-story exposition style can be a bit blunt, though- It tends to be pretty obvious when Horizon is having characters explain their thought processes in more detail than should be canonically necessary, just so the reader can understand the relevant worldbuilding for a scene. I'm not sure if some of that exposition would have been best handled in direct narration, left for the audience to infer from context clues, or just presented during dialogue more subtly somehow, but it definitely feels a bit on the clumsy side.
Character: The dialogue in exchanges between what appears to be the main trio is phenomenal. I love the constant snarking. Very funny that that chronically trying to correct each other is apparently an elven cultural trait, that explained a lot of how all the romantically involved characters interact with each other.
Story:
BOOK 1 REVIEW IN SPOILER:
Unfortunately, I think the story is the weakest part so far- the trio is currently bouncing between plot points chasing a ✨mystery✨ that feels more li - Origami NarwhalRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0Joseph Ironheart is, quite possibly, the densest egg that ever lived.
Fortunately, his growing polycule is here to support him until he becomes her (and what a moment that is! Love it.)
This story is a story of a race oppressed, of a world with incredible depth, and of the fucked-up things us mortals do to one another. It's also funny, dark, and more than a little horny. There's a definite power fantasy to it, of an incredibly competent protagonist surrounded by women that suit their tastes.
But it's balanced by Ironheart being, well, aware of this, and incredibly self-absorbed at times. It's an opportunity for growth.
The banter is excellent, but sometimes takes me out of the moment, just a bit. Horizon always pulls me right back in, though, hitting me right at the core when she needs to do so. The defining moments of books 1 and 2 were enough to make me shake, with nerves or anger as appropriate, with book 2 especially nailing it with the
Resurrection of the Demon King Paimon. It's so well set up for, both why it happens and why Joseph manages to win. Having the girls arm-lock Paimon is legendary.
All in all, I highly recommend this story. - SecretJoyRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0I found out about this fic two days ago and binged it all over the course of that day. Suffice it to say it's the most fun I've had reading a fic since the first time I read Stray Cat Strut.
On to the Drive-In Totals...
Approximately 30 dead bodies. Three swaggering high school bullies. Two car chases. Three horny on main women. Three near-death experiences. One hallucinatory future life vision. One taken ear. One taken head. One rope decapitation. One sandstorm. One demon lord punched out. One LitRPG System user.
One egg with the densest, most spike-encrusted shell I've ever seen, so if you're expecting something along the lines of a fic in which the egg cracks within the first 20-30 chapters, be ready to be disappointed.
Cursing the gods. Knights Templar. Magic College. Metahumans of color. Mounted combat. Narrative-mancy. Price gouging. Traumatic brain injury. Gratuitous cleavage storage. Gratuitous extradimensional pocket use. Gratuitous multiclassing. Gratuitous off-camera carnal knowledge (thankfully for the protagonist, ponos-in-vagoo free). Gratuitous tea sipping. Gun Fu. Bear Fu. Chuunibyo Fu. Hypnosis Fu.
Million billion stars.
SecretJoy says check it out! - WintydunnoRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0What Little Remains of Terpsichore Ironheart is a story that exceptionally executes specific story beats, quickly and effectively doing what it sets out to do. The plot isn't simple, but is easy to follow, despite the number of off-screen characters brought up and depth of in-world rules. A well-crafted story that provides these details without boring the reader with them, keeping a fast pace and hitting strong notes in every chapter. The style of writing is easy and fun to read, drawing readers in.
The story jumps quickly from one plot point to the next, but each and every jump makes sense. The steps aren't sudden leaps of logic, put instead swiftly picking up on a previously placed plot thread and following that to a conclusion, before doing it again, all the while steadily moving in one specific direction.
The vast majority of the focus is on the main character, but the supporting cast is well defined and identifiable in both their own ways and how they interact with the protagonist. The protagonist himself is an interesting character, a young, ignorant and extremely powerful character that has plenty of room for growing his mindset and his powers.
please read funny elf story