Grittyfantasy Stories

In a world that fears the dark, an Unlit man dares to build a fragile family out of its monsters. When the realm's fires failed him as a child, Caelen grew into a man untouched by flame - an Unlit, shunned and whispered about, forever cold. He has lived by the edge of his sword, hunted beasts and nightmares alike, content to keep his own heart locked behind iron walls. But that changes the day he finds a half-starved girl in the ruins of a slaughtered village. Hollow-eyed, silent, marked by strange power, she clings to life by sheer instinct. Against every instinct, Caelen cannot walk away. Soon after, they are joined by a feral creature - thin as bone, claws dulled by hunger, eyes gleaming with a hurt so deep it seems almost human. Together, they form a fragile trio that stumbles through shadowed forests and frostbitten paths, hunted by men who would see them burned for what they are. Yet in this cold world, small miracles blossom: a name given, a first laugh, the rough warmth of hands clasped together in the dark. But the tighter Caelen draws these children to his chest, the closer old threats creep - hunters, nobles, and ancient powers that see a Hollowborn and a creature walking with an Unlit man as a sign of ruin. And when betrayal finally comes, it will not strike where he expects. --- A slow-burn dark fantasy of chosen family, fragile hope, and the terrible beauty of loving something the world wants destroyed.

In a world scarred by the bones of dead gods, the Kharod Concord's iron fist tightens around the Wilderheart, a jungle that refuses to be tamed. Their weapons are forged from Aetherglass and cold science; the resistance fights back with the unpredictable, living magic of Deimite. *** Intended release schedule is the 1st of each month. *** Four lives, scattered by the war, are about to collide: A street-smart thief, whose loyalty belongs to the highest bidder until a simple job goes horribly wrong. A brilliant noble, whose quest for knowledge is twisted to create a world-ending weapon. A sheltered warrior, who dreams of glory but will soon learn the brutal cost of war. A cynical soldier, marked for death by his own commanders and fighting only for the brother he left behind. Forced together by betrayal and circumstance, this unlikely crew of enemies must first survive a perilous journey through war-torn lands. Only then can they attempt an impossible infiltration into the heart of the empire to stop a weapon that corrupts the land itself. But in a war between machine and magic, the most dangerous weapon might be trust. Perfect for fans of John Gwynne's The Shadow of the Gods and R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War, AETHER AND BONE is a tale of found family, clashing magics, and consequences of a world left godless.

In a world rotting under lust, greed, and demons in human skin, seventeen-year-old Arjun hides the mind of a prodigy and the will of a warrior. When he summons Hanuman and gains a power that grows with every breath of Ram, he becomes the nightmare evil never saw coming - and the storm that will drag the Kaliyug to its knees.

A cursed warrior. A forgotten god. A realm ruled by shadows. Kaelen Varros was once a noble knight - until betrayal and execution ended his life. Now, resurrected by Vorrak, a silent god of fire and judgment, he walks again in a world torn by corruption and decay. The land of Kael'Thorne is fractured, ruled by five Dreadmarked overlords who feast on souls and twist the Echoes of the dead to fuel their dominion. Bound to Vorrak and fueled by vengeance, Kaelen discovers the power to command the souls of fallen warriors - but each one takes a toll. As he hunts the monsters who shattered the realm (and his life), he must ask: Is he the world's savior... or its next tyrant? An epic dark fantasy tale of vengeance, corrupted magic, and the rise of an army born from death. Perfect for fans of Shadow of War, The Witcher, and Dark Souls.

Alba... a child shaped by the cruelty of the North before she ever learned its name. Viking blood ran in her veins - cold seas, iron bones, a hardness not easily broken. Yet fate tore her from her roots before they could grow deep. She was raised a stranger to her own people, on the ragged edge of a northern village so small the maps scarcely bothered to remember it. She did not know what she truly was. She did not know why a weight lingered in her chest like an old wound that had never been given a scar. Her steps - not mercy - led her at last to the Black Keep, the stone heart of the North, where only the unyielding endured. There, she was not welcomed as a servant. She was received as an insult given flesh. Viking. Outsider. Less than a bastard. They sent her to the stables. Not as a girl, but as a boy would be sent - to muck and frost and labor that numbed the hands before dawn. Her boots sank into mud and frozen straw. Her breath smoked in the dim light while horses stamped and snorted around her. Each morning ground her smaller. Each dawn pressed her dreams into the earth with the weight of hooves. In that place, no one judged her by what she did. They judged her for what she was.

Broken Stone He wasn't chosen. He was discarded. And he's done kneeling. Born into chains and raised to serve, William was never meant to matter. He has no magic. No status. Just brute strength, a shattered past, and years of scars from a cruel empire that used him, broke him, and threw him away. But when a failed mission and a spark of rebellion force him to flee the only home he's ever known, Will finds himself hunted by the Empire's elite, haunted by his past, and surrounded by outcasts, runaways, and heretics - all just as lost as he is. In a world ruled by Veilcraft magic, twisted religion, and monstrous creatures called Secends, Will is the last person anyone expects to lead anything. Especially not a revolution. But maybe broken things don't need fixing. Maybe they need to break the world back.

A decade ago, Feijing Xu suffered from a brutal guild war in his home country. It is now 2022, Feijing had left the country only to find himself in the worst city, to send an artifact for his guild, which was stolen on the way in the city. This forced him to wander around this forsaken city only to find more secrets he wasn't supposed to know about.

They told her the world was healed. They forgot to mention the cost. Vespora has grown up in the heart of Caelorth, surrounded by order, prosperity, and lies. When a chance encounter with an exiled girl unravels everything she thought she knew, Vespora begins to see the cracks beneath the surface of her perfect kingdom-and the darkness behind the crown. Branded as unstable and subjected to cruel experiments meant to "fix" her, Vespora realizes she's not the only one the kingdom has broken. As revolution simmers and buried truths claw their way to light, she's forced to choose between the comfort of ignorance or the chaos of truth. In a world ruled by silence and fear, rebellion starts not with a sword, but with a question. The cover picture is not mine.

Short story When a villain steals another villain's hero, possessiveness takes over. No one takes their hero.

This school isn't a regular school. It's a school where people learn magic. There's humans, vampires, werewolves, and werebears. In the shadows, there's a group dedicated to erasing the students whom they consider 'impure'. Every student is in danger but they're blissfully unaware until something happens.

www.pigironbooks.com An Ironclad Yarn of Mythic Fantasy The Great Northern Forest has known peace for a spell, but far beyond the brambles, something stirs. In The Pale Citadel, the dread sorceress known only as The Gray is sharpening her claws. Big Hat Bill was just a humble Raccoon magicker until he crossed paths with Pigiron, the towering, iron-armored Hog of Floretian legend, and his companion Opaline, Queen of Corvids. Now Bill, along with his best friend Willowstitch, a sharp-eyed Fox archer, is bound for the Sunflower Isle, fabled home of Faelumin, god of magic. I reckon it won't be easy. Across the beautiful and perilous Great Northern Forest, our unlikely heroes will face monsters, marvels, and the slow unraveling of everything they thought was true. Their mettle and their metal will be tested as they forge new bonds and reckon with the true cost of adventure: triumph, sorrow, and the reopening of old wounds. Pigiron is a whimsical and dark fantasy epic, perfect for fans of Redwall, The Dark Crystal, and Conan the Barbarian. www.pigironbooks.com