by T J Mothwood
If you are reading this anywhere other than Royal Road or my Patreon. It is an unauthorised redistribution most likely behind a paywall you do not need! Read it on Royal Road to be free of predatory money making practices or consider supporting my Patreon so I can keep writing cool stories for you. Tullen Fal Barraz bears the tattoo of the Black Wyvern, the punishment for killing another human. His sentence? A lifetime on the walls of Avandun, guarding against the Dragons, Wyrms and Drakes that threaten the people within. Then war is declared for the first time in centuries, and an old ally calls on Avandun for aid. A call Tullen is ordered to answer. When he stumbles upon a Black Wyvern's egg, thought to be nothing more than a myth, he finds himself holding the one thing that could save humanity from a hidden threat. Or scorch every kingdom to ash in the attempt. [109k words Total] VOLUME ONE - COMPLETE ------------------------------------------------- What to expect: Pet Wyvern Rational MC Friendly wizards Strong female companion Realistic combat with consequences Ecosystem of different Dragon, Wyrm and Drake types ------------------------------------------------- This story is for people who like: The Blacktongue Thief Five Broken Blades The First Law ------------------------------------------------- And: Fast pacing A planned trilogy Grimdark fantasy world ------------------------------------------------- Schedule: Volume 1 is complete. When Volume 2 starts publishing, the cadence will be Tuesdays and Thursdays. Follow me to stay tuned! ------------------------------------------------- Links: Hang out in the Discord! https://discord.gg/N9xXs9Z5Fa Follow me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586584083710%C2%A0 If you're in a position to, please support this story on Patreon! - https://www.patreon.com/14980872/join ------------------------------------------------- Originally part of the November '25 Writathon, expect some "draft-isms" in there. I've done my best to catch them while working at a rapid pace.
No streak history
One state-enhanced oracle order, filtered by each list. Observed Royal Road ranks remain separate ground truth.
Rank updated 2 Oct 2026, 04:49 UTC
Entry forecast updated 2 Oct 2026, 04:49 UTC
Ranking model: rs-public-oracle-state-v1
Forecast model: rs-model-entry-v1
Chart history contains only this ranking model's runs; legacy points are not spliced in.
A confirmed Rising Stars eligibility removal excludes this story from the Shadow queue.
beats 1% of similar stories
beats 69% of similar stories
beats 94% of similar stories
Readers arrive, few stick
Traffic is strong, but conversion trails comparable stories. The usual suspects are the blurb, the cover and the opening chapters — fixing the hook multiplies everything the existing traffic brings.
Benchmarks: 8,060 active Royal Road stories, percentiles within the 5–9 chapters band, cohort of 2026-07-02. Conversion is measured as followers gained per 1,000 views over the recent window.
