![Old Dark Things [dark folklore fantasy] [standalone, complete]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.royalroadcdn.com%2Fpublic%2Fcovers-large%2Fold-dark-things-aaaanuk8ehk.jpg%3Ftime%3D1782360916&w=640&q=75)
by Hob Goodfellowe
Come walk in the woods at nighttime. Come wander the windswept wilds. But tread carefully, for here dwells the wolf with the golden eyes and honeyed voice; here rules the cruel Faer prince; here lurk old shadows, watchful and mocking. Old Dark Things is a folkloric fantasy set in a world of eldritch magic. Follow Kveldulf, hunter of monsters, into the dark and forested land of the Veld, where plots and schemes gather in the darkling air. There is murder here, foul sorcery too, and secrets hidden deep in the mist-choked vales. Can Kveldulf win through fell dangers, and root out the darkness at the heart of the Veld? It will not be easy, for even as he hunts, he is hunted. Ever, he must keep ahead of his own relentless shadow, lethal and remorseless. For there are some things that even the famed hunter of monsters has found himself unable to kill… and the worst of them has set herself upon his trail: a creature beautiful, and terrible, and desiring of vengeance. NOTE: Reader discretion advised. Contains mature themes. STATUS: Manuscript complete at ~183,000 words. UPDATES: Three per week (Mon, Wed, Fri) WHAT TO EXPECT - Dark, folkloric fantasy - Intrigue and a few mysteries to unravel - Monsters, fairies, witches and ghosts in the old and uncanny tradition of folktales - Traditional fantasy: no LitRPG or system elements
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, 06:58 UTC
Entry forecast updated 2 Oct 2026, 06:58 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.
Coupled 14-day outlook
rs-joint-entry-copula-v1
Any eligible RS entry
2%
Two or more lists
0%
Likely threshold order: Mystery → Fantasy → Main.
Leading bundle: Mystery (1%).
Estimated from one fitted shared story path; category probabilities are not multiplied as if lists were independent.
Separate entry forecast; this probability does not enter the ranking score.
Overall Rising Stars Shadow RS rank
#6291 of 12,161 · 6241 below RS #50
By genre
beats 54% of similar stories
not enough data yet
beats 18% 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.
Benchmarks: 8,060 active Royal Road stories, percentiles within the 20–49 chapters band, cohort of 2026-07-02. Conversion is measured as followers gained per 1,000 views over the recent window.
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