The Dark Knights - Part 1 of Pain and Redemption

Work in progress - first book in a three part series, each book having 60-80 chapters, excepting for edits and improvements which will come before its full publication.

The story centers around the primary protagonist, Iliatha the Dark Knight, although there are several central characters who we also see develop and grow throughout the series. Some will find redemption. Most of them will not.

The story is a mix of high and low fantasy, with varying perspectives.

The perspectives shift and vary but the intent is to make certain things implicit while others are more sublime, as this is a story laced with elements of myth and religion that coincide rather than conflict in a sort of uneasy concord, with the discordant forces being revealed as the story progresses.

The Dark Knights accept damnation willingly as they are the outcasts and dregs of the world, despised for bastardy, orphanage, and sometimes of their own volition. It is the same for their holy counterparts, who rarely appear and act as flawed guardians of the helpless. The purposes behind both sides in this hidden conflict are shown as the story progresses, with both acting as forces of punishment but occasionally to provide a sense of justice in a world that lacks it due to misrule or manipulation.

The story is violent, horrific, psychologically revealing, and shamelessly erotic in parts - you have been warned. The purpose behind all of this is to show the characters' true nature rather than for the sake of salaciousness alone, but the content is strong. The moral nuance is deliberate but there are forces in the world that are portrayed as pure evil, and these are done without nuance and without apology. Witchcraft and abuse are put on full display and revealed for what they are. If you know, you know.

The purpose is not to dazzle with plot turns but to progress the story meaningfully yet maintaining a persistent world.

My world is harsh and unrelenting, but it is guided by providence.