
by Grey Harbour
Sydney Harbour.2026. Urban designer Ethan Zhang is documenting rising sea levels during a record storm when the world suddenly changes around him. The city disappears. In its place: wilderness, firelit shores, and a fleet of wooden ships entering an untouched harbor. The First Fleet has arrived. Thrown into the brutal first days of the Australian colony, Ethan quickly realizes the settlers are building their future on land they do not understand. The rain falls wrong here. The rivers flood without warning. The fire moves like a living thing. And beyond the trees, the people who have known this land for thousands of years are already watching. As hunger, disease, and ambition begin shaping the colony that will one day become Australia, Ethan must decide whether he is helping build a nation— or helping destroy one.
No streak history
One state-enhanced oracle order, filtered by each list. Observed Royal Road ranks remain separate ground truth.
Rank updated 24 Oct 2026, 20:58 UTC
Entry forecast updated 24 Oct 2026, 20:58 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.
Not enough recent follower history to estimate a shadow rank yet.
beats 42% of similar stories
not enough data yet
needs about a week of observations
Benchmarks: 8,060 active Royal Road stories, percentiles within the 10–19 chapters band, cohort of 2026-07-02. Conversion is measured as followers gained per 1,000 views lifetime.