by Ashenfire
They gave him a name forged in fire: Stormbreaker. They gave him two legions and a crown of spears. They gave him the South to break. Alric Vaelgard did not refuse. For three years he bore the Empire's wrath like a yoke, silent and unyielding, bound by chains older than his birth. As the court demanded, he answered. Then came Khal-Drathir, the final city, the final command. And in its ruin, he made the choice that would unravel him. Now the ghost he denied death walks beside him to Valekyr, where the throne waits and the Seneschals have already begun circling. In an empire built on ash and gilded lies, one act of defiance may cost him everything. But carrying the weight of what he has done may cost him more. A dark epic of obedience, ruin, and hope. What to expect:- An epic dark fantasy with poetic prose and biblical influences- Atmospheric worldbuilding and supernatural dread- Slow-burn character dynamics built on guilt, hatred, and moral tension - Political intrigue and courtly scheming- A weekly chapter posted every Thursday at 2:00 A.M. UTC+1 **If you enjoy the story, please leave a review and follow for updates.** © 2024 Ashenfire. All Rights Reserved.This story is published exclusively on Royal Road. If you are reading this elsewhere, it is a stolen copy.Read the official version at: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/118830/storm-and-mountain
No streak history
Rank updated 14 Aug 2026, 04:15 UTC
Entry forecast updated 14 Aug 2026, 04:15 UTC
Overall Rising Stars shadow rank
deep field · ~#4305 of 6,880 · 4255 below #50
By genre
beats 62% of similar stories
not enough data yet
beats 1% of similar stories
Mid-pack, room on both levers
Traffic and conversion both sit mid-field for a story this size. Growth here compounds from consistency: steady cadence feeds traffic, and a sharper hook lifts what each view is worth.
At this conversion, the Psychological Rising Stars bar (≈2 new followers/day) costs about 1.0k views/day — the story currently gets ~17.
Benchmarks: 8,060 active Royal Road stories, percentiles within the 50–149 chapters band, cohort of 2026-07-02. Conversion is measured as followers gained per 1,000 views over the recent window.
