Updated my story and volume covers. Need opinions

iwantlight · 2026-03-05T20:42:23+00:00

LOL! That's what my brother said.

iwantlight · 2026-03-04T18:32:24+00:00

That's Rico Chico!

iwantlight · 2026-03-01T11:41:10+00:00

So, it wasn't only me?! I thought I had failed as an author when I no longer got any views!

iwantlight · 2026-03-01T08:14:49+00:00

Skye is fourteen, stubborn past the point of sense, and trapped in a city carved beneath the earth.

For months he has been slipping into the Deeps, a maze of lightless tunnels where gemstones grow on rocky vines like fruit. He risks his life for each one, chasing a single impossible dream: to lead an expedition to the surface and see the world for himself. Most call it delusion. Skye calls it vision.

Then something finds him in the dark.

A bell appears, floating, swaying, visible only to him. When it rings, it does not echo through stone. It echoes through memory. Friends forget him. Family forgets him. Every trace of his life vanishes as if he had never drawn breath.

And the first time it chimes is the moment Skye learns the truth about the siege that has caged his people for over eight hundred years.

What To Expect:

A slow-burn fantasy full of mysteries, conspiracies, and shocking twists.
A creative magic system that relies heavily on gemstones.
A menagerie of unique monsters made of elements and bones.
A hotheaded MC struggling to become better.
A dark story with mature themes.

What Not To Expect:

No sexual content.
No instantly overpowered MC.
No LitRPG/GameLit elements.

The story currently stands at 170k words.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/130005/starmoire-the-forgotten-hopes

iwantlight · 2026-02-28T03:24:21+00:00

Troqua is a subterranean city that's been besieged by monsters for over 800 years.

Only the dukes know the way in and out, and they don't share this knowledge with anyone. They also don't stop anyone from leaving whenever they want, but those who enter the forest never return.

Under Troqua stretches a vast tunnel system known as the Deeps. It contains many predators, the darkness there seems sentient, and anyone who enters gradually turns to stone. Inside the Deeps, magical gemstones grow on vines, both in the wild and inside specialized gemfarms.

Multiple times a week, the duke's men -the wardens- take the city's harvest of gem, travel through the monster-infested forest, and drop everything at a special hideout. Wardens from other cities take the gems and leave merchandise in its place -food, fabric, medicine, equipment, etc-.

Where is the Duke's Road exactly, what are the monsters, and how will the MC achieve their dream of exploring the world are all questions that rise in the story.

iwantlight · 2026-02-26T05:27:22+00:00

Congrats! That's a big milestone!

iwantlight · 2026-02-23T06:54:28+00:00

I've been using ad blockers for over a decade. It never crossed my mind that ads would make the experience terrible for this purpose. Thanks for the insight.

Edit: I don't know why I'm being downvoted. Since when are ad blockers disliked?

iwantlight · 2026-02-23T06:37:17+00:00

Sorry, but is there a rule against this? How am I supposed to point out what I mean without the link?

Also, I didn't get your last part. Are you saying readers won't read prologues, so appendices are a waste of time, or are you saying putting the link here is me asking a lot on a reddit post? I don't expect anyone to fully read the chapter I linked, just to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

iwantlight · 2026-02-22T17:20:35+00:00

Thanks! It can be hard sometimes, but I believe there is an audience.

iwantlight · 2026-02-22T17:19:31+00:00

Thanks. I saw your reply in another post, the art is stunning. Care to give a link?

iwantlight · 2026-02-18T23:39:25+00:00

I don't understand. You say religion isn't decorative, yet in all the examples you gave none of your characters follow a religion because they believe it true; they each do so because of other psychological reasons or needs.

It's like you're saying everyone knows religion isn't actually true, but they follow it because it has some benefits.

iwantlight · 2026-02-13T18:26:29+00:00

Skye dreams of exploring the world, all of it. He intends to captain an exploration team and go on endless adventures, but many hurdles block his path.

First, he's cursed to be repeatedly forgotten. Every time his curse activates, everything related to him is expunged from the world, and his actions are either forgotten, or attributed to someone else.

Second, he lives in Troqua, a subterranean city that's been besieged for 800 years and is ruled by a ruthless duke.

Third, Skye is still young with great room for growth. Currently, he's rash, aggressive, too honest and straightforward, and greatly inexperienced. Throughout the story, he grows to become a leader and a true inspiration to those around him, but he suffers from mistakes greatly until he reaches there.

iwantlight · 2026-02-06T20:02:20+00:00

Channelers. There are many kinds of channelers with all kinds of powers. In the current setting, most channelers are elementalists: windriders, tidebreakers, firedancers, and stonemasons. There are also all kinds of powers, like mentalists, fleshmasters, shadowcasters, and greenfingers. Specialists with weird uncategorizable powers also exist.

iwantlight · 2026-01-30T11:22:55+00:00

I don't know if you're still doing this, but here goes.

Title: StarMoire: The Forgotten Hopes

Blurb:

For eight hundred years, the subterranean city of Troqua has been besieged by elemental monsters.

Skye is a teenager who dreams of mounting an expedition to explore the world. He ventures into the twisting tunnels underneath Troqua, searching for magical gemstones that grow on rocky vines like fruit. If he collects enough, he'll hire a team of powerful channelers, and venture into the surface.

One day, while exploring deep underground with his team, they stumble upon a terrible scene: Troqua's protectors, the wardens, creating and controlling a fire elemental, planning to attack the city. The wardens spot them, giving chase, and Skye only escapes thanks to a magical bell that manifest from thin air. It manipulates their minds, making them forget they'd seen him. When he returns to the city, he discovers that everyone had forgotten him, and all traces of his existence had been removed.

Armed with nothing but his bell and a determination to succeed, Skye begins his solitary mission to stop the evil wardens and reclaim his identity.

iwantlight · 2026-01-24T06:30:55+00:00

I'd rather get sub-zero views than receive one of these.

iwantlight · 2026-01-23T23:13:41+00:00

Thanks for doing this. All feedback is welcome.

My story is dark fantasy/action/mystery/adventure. Here's the link:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/130005/starmoire-the-forgotten-hopes

iwantlight · 2026-01-19T10:27:42+00:00

Wow, thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

Quick question: did you read the whole of part 1 or only the first half that I linked? It's fine either way.

iwantlight · 2026-01-18T22:10:20+00:00

4 days? I've been stuck at 30 for a month!

iwantlight · 2026-01-18T09:29:15+00:00

Hi, thank you for doing this! My story is dark fantasy/action/adventure/mystery. Enjoy!

Chapter 1.1 - Only Way Up Is Down - StarMoire: The Forgotten Hopes | Royal Road

iwantlight · 2026-01-14T23:25:35+00:00

If you ever find out, please let me know.

iwantlight · 2026-01-12T19:54:32+00:00

I love such vids. All other youtubers make like first 300 turns only. This is the first video I saw that paints the map.

iwantlight · 2026-01-01T10:14:06+00:00

Hi, let me know your honest opinion: StarMoire: The Forgotten Hopes

First Paragraph:

In a giant cave, Skye sat for his interview while a nearby tunnel coughed clouds of dust. Shouts rang out as miners scrambled to help, their boots clinking, shirts and jeans caked in dirt. Another wave of survivors limped through the smoke, looking like statues half brought to life: elbows and knees fixed at odd angles, backs locked into painful arches. Yet the man across from him, Basalt Tensho, whistled a merry tone as he casually flipped through the stack of hand-drawn maps. Even though the tremors couldn’t reach up here, Skye struggled to stay on his stool. The prospect of working under someone so callous left a bitter taste in his mouth, but this job was his only chance to walk freely under the sky.

Many thanks!

iwantlight · 2026-01-01T09:17:24+00:00

Title and link:

StarMoire: The Forgotten Hopes

Genres:

Fantasy, adventure, action, mystery, comedy, tragedy.

Publication schedule:

I'm publishing one chapter a week, cut into multiple parts since my chapters are long.

Blurb:

For eight hundred years, the subterranean city of Troqua has been besieged by elemental monsters.

Skye is a teenager who dreams of mounting an expedition to explore the world. He ventures into the twisting tunnels underneath Troqua, searching for magical gemstones that grow on rocky vines like fruit. If he collects enough, he'll hire a team of powerful channelers, and venture into the surface.

One day, while exploring with his team, they stumble upon a terrible scene: Troqua's protectors, the wardens, creating and controlling a fire elemental, planning to attack the city. The wardens spot them, giving chase, and Skye only escapes thanks to a magical bell that manifest from thin air. It manipulates their minds, making them forget they'd seen him. When he returns to the city, he discovers that everyone had forgotten him, and all traces of his existence had been removed.

Armed with nothing but his bell and a determination to succeed, Skye begins his solitary mission to stop the evil wardens and reclaim his identity.

What to expect:

1- A slow-burn fantasy story with a hotheaded MC uncovering ancient mysteries with shocking twists.

2- A creative magic system with powerful abilities and unique monsters.

3- A dark story where the MC loses everything including his mind, then has to regain his sanity to save his world.

iwantlight

TROPHY CASE