The Red Squire ; Book one in the Knights of Mist and Shadow series

On an ordinary day in Texas, the sky opens and the world doesn't end — it changes. Magic returns. Monsters walk. And the System, an ancient and indifferent force, hands ordinary people classes, levels, and the terrible choice of what to become with them. Christopher is a college student with a passion for medieval reenactment and nothing resembling real combat experience — until the invasion turns his hobby into the only framework he has left to survive. As chivalry becomes literal currency and a broken world starts sorting itself into knights, monsters, and everyone caught between, Christopher has to decide whether the ideals he only ever play-acted at are ones he's actually willing to live — and die — by. This is a story about the found family forged in the wreckage of the old world, about the true cost of becoming a hero when nobody handed you a script, and about what it means to fight for a world worth rebuilding — one act of hard-won honor at a time. Updates multiple times a week. LitRPG elements (classes, levels, stat progression) alongside epic fantasy and real character-driven stakes. Thanks for reading! Quick aside for anyone curious — the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) mentioned above is a real organization: full-contact combat with rattan weapons, real armor, real earned rank. Not a LARP group, not make-believe — closer to historical martial arts with a community built around it. If you want to see what it actually looks like, it's worth a YouTube search. More to come soon!