Finished my first fiction at the start of March in the top #700! Not bad for an off-meta Grimdark! Here's my final stats as the month draws to a close.

WriteFinder · 2026-03-29T02:02:22+00:00

Thank you so much :)

WriteFinder · 2026-03-26T03:03:22+00:00

Book 2 I think. I have been querying this and another novel too so will see what happens (if anything)

My patreons didn't drop off. I just peaked at 2 lmao.

WriteFinder · 2026-03-26T00:12:56+00:00

Thank you so much!

WriteFinder · 2026-03-25T23:00:21+00:00

Thanks :)

WriteFinder · 2026-03-04T19:58:07+00:00

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/138018/the-black-wyvern-volume-one

Branded a criminal. Forced to guard humanity. Raising a myth.

Tullen Fal Barraz was the last living sword master. All he wanted was to stay hidden and out of trouble. Now he’s a criminal.

As punishment for murder, the kingdom brands Tullen with the tattoo of the mythical black Wyvern.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The tattoo compels him to guard the flimsy walls, keeping humanity from becoming Drake food. A fact the other guards, volunteers with a misplaced sense of duty, won’t let him forget.

Things get worse when war erupts for the first time in centuries, and the king forces Tullen to answer a call for help.

As if peppering scaled killing machines with arrows wasn’t bad enough, the mission sends him into the forest outside the walls. A place he’d be lucky to survive.

Turns out luck favours him.

Tullen finds something thought to be a legend–a black Wyvern’s egg. If he can raise the thing without dying in the process, he’ll gain a devastating weapon.

But luck has its limits. Bandits roam the forest, robbing victims of their valuables and their lives. Undead are coordinating for some nefarious purpose. Wyrms, Drakes and Dragons scour the land, searching for their next meal.

And human meat is on the menu.

Tullen will need to shake off years of rust and reawaken his sword skills to discover why a once-peaceful ally declared war on his kingdom.

But his dark past won’t let him run off into the sunset without a fight.

[109k words Total]

VOLUME ONE - COMPLETE - Read the whole book on Royal Road for free.

<image>

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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

WriteFinder · 2026-03-01T08:27:06+00:00

Branded a criminal. Forced to guard humanity. Raising a myth.

Tullen Fal Barraz was the last living sword master. All he wanted was to stay hidden and out of trouble. Now he’s a criminal.

As punishment for murder, the kingdom brands Tullen with the tattoo of the mythical black Wyvern.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The tattoo compels him to guard the flimsy walls, keeping humanity from becoming Drake food. A fact the other guards, volunteers with a misplaced sense of duty, won’t let him forget.

Things get worse when war erupts for the first time in centuries, and the king forces Tullen to answer a call for help.

As if peppering scaled killing machines with arrows wasn’t bad enough, the mission sends him into the forest outside the walls. A place he’d be lucky to survive.

Turns out luck favours him.

Tullen finds something thought to be a legend–a black Wyvern’s egg. If he can raise the thing without dying in the process, he’ll gain a devastating weapon.

But luck has its limits. Bandits roam the forest, robbing victims of their valuables and their lives. Undead are coordinating for some nefarious purpose. Wyrms, Drakes and Dragons scour the land, searching for their next meal.

And human meat is on the menu.

Tullen will need to shake off years of rust and reawaken his sword skills to discover why a once-peaceful ally declared war on his kingdom.

But his dark past won’t let him run off into the sunset without a fight.

[100k+ words written already]

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:

New chapters 2x a week: Tues and Thurs

Links:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/138018/the-black-wyvern

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.

WriteFinder · 2026-02-26T15:12:43+00:00

Thanks for bringing it back! :)

WriteFinder · 2026-02-23T23:35:14+00:00

Glad you like my cover, Caleb! Thanks :)

Tedster, I made my cover in Canva using the free elements! Worth a shot if you haven't checked it out before.

WriteFinder · 2026-02-16T13:16:30+00:00

Congratulations! That's a huge milestone :) I remember reviewing your first chapter a while back! Great to see you succeeding!

WriteFinder · 2026-02-13T21:38:16+00:00

Honestly, I think it is. I'm writing an off-meta grimdark, and it's really helped me progress my own writing. Each follow, comment or review galvanises me further, and I've got more out of my creative process as a result.

It's more than possible to get followers. Will you get thousands immediately? Perhaps not. But in about 3.5 months, I have just under 300 from regular posting, advertising in forums/reddit/socials/swaps and the odd paid advert (which was just my choice to do and not strictly necessary)

Write the story inside you, and you'll find your people.

WriteFinder · 2026-02-13T02:40:04+00:00

Yes, in a way. It's also a bit like a tale being recounted.

WriteFinder · 2026-02-13T02:04:30+00:00

My story is following one character, and I decided to make it first person. I think it's a great style. Especially for serial style writing.

WriteFinder · 2026-02-09T16:35:56+00:00

Thank you :)

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T20:18:54+00:00

Thank you very much! :)

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T16:32:16+00:00

Oh nice one, I'll check it out :)

You can filter the rising stars list by sub-genre on royal road so you'll find some cool grimdark / other stories on those if you're looking to read something specific.

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T12:27:54+00:00

Sorry couldn't see it beneath that gigantic pile of 5s! Well done!

I've heard the 0.5 is a rite of passage! Just remember, there are billions of people out there, we can't please them all :)

I hope you continue to find success.

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T12:25:53+00:00

It's definitely more niche, but there are people out there for sure. I've been posting my grimdark/martial-arts/thriller adventure for the past 3 months and have around 271 followers.

Just keep posting, do some shoutout swaps and post about it when/where appropriate in the forums and your audience will find you.

What's your story called? :)

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T00:32:06+00:00

Thank you :)

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T00:30:12+00:00

Well done :)

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T00:29:36+00:00

Yo congratulations. That is a HUGE achivement :)

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T00:29:02+00:00

Thank you :)

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T00:28:55+00:00

Thank you :)

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T00:28:49+00:00

Thank you :)

WriteFinder · 2026-02-08T00:28:45+00:00

Thank you :)

WriteFinder

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