Scarred by a supernatural war, a disgraced paladin must redeem himself through bloodshed in the first installment of this thrilling fantasy series.

Alken was once a Knight of the Alder Table. But when the ravages of war tore apart the world he once knew, he was stripped of his title and cast into shame. Now, as an uneasy peace reigns, he moves through the shadows of a realm haunted by demons and the restless dead -- an outcast in his own homeland.

Seeking atonement, Alken accepts the burden of a cursed axe and becomes the chosen executioner of the immortal Choir. Known throughout the realm as the "Headsman of Seydis," he's soon tasked with a much darker quest: rid the land of treacherous foes and nightmarish monsters. As he faces off against these horrors, his lonely struggles bring him to a haunted backcountry where evils old and new gather at the castle of a mad lord.

To defeat this growing cabal of adversaries, Alken will need more than just brawn and the lingering remnants of a magic that burns him as readily as his opponents. Forging unlikely alliances, he finds himself surrounded by danger and conspiratorial plots at every turn. And with each traitor he vanquishes, he's met with choices that blur the line between the knight he once was and the warrior he's become.

The first volume of the hit dark fantasy adventure -- with more than a million views on Royal Road -- now available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook!

Tropes include: reluctant hero, redemption quest, and good versus evil.

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• Literature & FictionHorrorDark Fantasy
• Science Fiction & FantasyFantasyAction & Adventure

• Publication Date: January 27, 2026
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 293 Pages
• File Size: 50 KB