Starsail Nightmare | horror | Complete
Alexandra Bedford is a weapon, a young woman with telekinetic powers capable of leveling entire cities, born to fight in the desolate remains of post-apocalyptic North America. There is only one problem: she may be losing control of her abilities. Sixteen years after a global pandemic devastated the earth's population, the lines in the old United States have been drawn between the Cheyenne Directorate in Colorado and the New England Alliance on the East Coast. The Directorate, of which Alexandra is a part, is a small but powerful organization dedicated to returning the country to its former glory. However, when a diplomatic mission to the New England Alliance goes wrong, Alexandra finds herself at the center of a bloody civil war. Battles are fought on the old highways and in dilapidated towns and once-great cities. And as the conflict escalates, all of North America faces the threat of being burnt away by nuclear fire. Against this backdrop of war, Alexandra tries to uncover the long-hidden secrets behind the plague, her abilities, and the two men fighting to decide the fate of the United States - Henry Bedford, Alexandra's father and leader of the Directorate, and John Martin, the mysterious figure at the heart of the New England Alliance who may hold the key to everything she seeks. None of this will matter, however, unless Alexandra can prevent the power growing inside her from taking over and consuming the very world she is fighting to save. Author's Notes: I appreciate you taking a look at my novel, The Girl from the Mountain. If you're a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, military thrillers, and/or cosmic horror, I think you'll enjoy this story. I completed the novel's first draft back in 2011 and made significant changes in 2016. Since then, I've more-or-less sat on the manuscript while working on other projects. Thanks to a bit of prodding, I've decided to send this story out into the wild with some touch-ups and additional revisions. I welcome any comments or criticisms, and I hope you enjoy The Girl from the Mountain!
137.87 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-04-19 15:30
DrBlackJack21 | drama | On going
Book 1 is now available on Kindle, or in paperback/hardcover! You can buy it here! Jack crash-landed on a planet where the natives are seven-foot-tall carnivorous cat-lizards currently somewhere between stone and bronze age. The good news is the natives think the ship that crashed into their mountain is a dragon and are steering clear of it. The bad news is they just left one of their own as a sacrifice to appease the beast. No matter what Jack and his AI co-pilot decide, his life just got a lot more complicated... ATTENTION: This is soft sci-fi rather than hard sci-fi, hence why I chose that tag. For those of you unfamiliar with the distinction, here's what Wikipedia had to say. 1. It explores the"soft" sciences, and especially the social sciences (for example, anthropology, sociology, or psychology), rather than engineering or the "hard" sciences (for example, physics, astronomy, or chemistry). 2. It is not scientifically accurate or plausible; the opposite ofhard science fiction. Soft science fiction of either type is often more concerned with character and speculative societies, rather than speculative science or engineering.The term first appeared in the late 1970s and is attributed to Australian literary scholarPeter Nicholls.
100.77 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-04-02 15:00
The Red desert. It was their home now. There was not many of them left. There would be even less in a month from now. Especially if they did not manage to chase down the thief. With lives hanging on a thread Noah and three others have no choice but to head out in the desert. Based on a dream I had. - Klingeris
2.70 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 14:41
J P Koenig | action | Complete
When Karson and Ax learn of their father's murder, they are out for blood. But of all the places they expected to wind up in their quest for vengeance, hunting cultists in the Age of Mythology of ancient Greece wasn't one of them. The brothers are in a world of might and magic, and must build up their own strengths if they want to have any chance at survival and revenge. But revenge is a two-edged sword. Will the brothers lose everything? Volume I: Fury (COMPLETE) Karson and Ax are out of their depth. They wanted vengeance for their father's murder. What they got instead was to be thrown into the world the cultists came from. Now they must figure out how to navigate this new world, find allies, and grow strong enough to resume their hunt. But they are in dangerous times, where the Titan's hunt mankind with few gods on their side. Karson and Ax are prepared to vent their fury, but will it cost them their lives?
46.33 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:33
DizzyDwarf20 | psychological | Complete
Waking up with no memory in an abandoned institute is not a great start to anyone's day. So, like any other person, you set off to find your way out, get your bearings, and find answers to why you were locked in a stasis pod in the first place. However, this place is not as abandoned as it may first seem. Like any high-level science project gone wrong, artificial latex-like creatures are on the loose and the lone survivor (you) will undoubtedly see many of them along the way. Changed - Awakening is a fanfic based on the game Changed. Although it's not necessary to know the game, I personally recommend familiarizing yourself with it before reading this story. Transformations will occur. Author - DizzyDwarf20 Mentor/Beta-reader - TranquilClaws Cover art - Delta-Soldier Editors - Lil_proto, Kranfoel, Delta-Soldier and McHanz
78.63 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-21 16:11
Ralts Bloodthorne | satire | Complete
Fraker the Axe is many things: The Herald of Carnage, the Favored Son, He Who Cannot Be Bound. But those are the names he is called in prophecy, legend, and heroic epics. The reality is somewhat different.
26.31 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-13 17:03
NolanConrey | drama | Complete
Deep in space, a relic temple of an ancient, seemingly lost civilization has been discovered. 25,000 kilometers in width, the station dwarfs even the Earth itself. Captain Brooks must join up with adventurer and explorer Nadian Farland to take the first steps into a place where man was not meant to tread. A place where reality twists and warps, and the echoes of the past still rebound. Into the heart of madness and death.
41.40 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 14:45
Radiant Summer moon (TravisW) | comedy | Complete
Like most love stories this one takes place in the not so distant future.
2.57 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 12:11
tenkouken | mystery | Complete
At the train station, amid the rumbling of the last night train, their once shrouded paths met. One was looking for love, the other was seeking freedom.At the train station,one uncovers a web of lies, deceit, and heartbreak. Everything that binds and looses them will lead back to the train station where they met.
1.64 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 14:37
The dread visage of the lord necromancer, sending forth a sea of rotting flesh to mould the world in his image. This wonderful picture flickers and dies as Lucien's undead construct stumbles and promptly melts into an unmentionable slurry. As Lucien struggles to become the dread necromancer he knows he should be, he gets dragged into a nationwide conflict by a hapless priest and a girl from another world. An evil cult, an equally evil empire and a general lack of relevant skills are the only things standing between them and bodily cohesion. Can they survive the chaos around them? Will they accidently save the world? Will Lucien ever get over himself? Find out here in Darke Mag'yx!
84.48 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-04-19 15:29
The anarchist rioters and flaky deadbeats thought their juvenile rebellion had succeeded...until the grownups arrived. Then they sullenly realized playtime was over. I first released this novel in September 2021. Unsettlingly, it's only become more true since then. Available on Amazon. Master fiction list here.
43.97 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:18
LynaForge | historical | Complete
At twenty-four, Mason Chamberlain had it all. When scandal leaves him with a broken heart, not much could make him believe in love again...until the new governess for his eight-year-old sister arrives. He's drawn to her. Despite Mason's good lucks and coveted status, he can't break through her chilly facade. She wants nothing to do with a duke's son. It slowly becomes clear to him that she's running from her past. Her secret puts his family in jeopardy, but is this love worth the risk?
28.68 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:39
ArDeeBurger | historical | On going
This story is a tale classic in its tragedy, about the foibles of Man and how he destroys the things he loves, all to prove himself superior over the Universe. In a quest to defeat Hilter during Wold War II, Winston Churchill and Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt barter with a race of serpents who come from outer space. There are a few inconveniences for the leaders of the West when dealing with these creatures. For one, they can't even talk to them, for the aliens 'speak' by manipulating light. But in exchange for the knowledge of how to build an atomic bomb, all the monsters want from us is to live in peace at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. What could go wrong with that? * * * This story is my entry in The Royal Road Community Magazine Contest * * *
5.76 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-04-02 14:59
parkertallan | one_shot | Complete
In the deepest reaches of space lies the planet Catalonia. Here two powerful cat nations vie to impose their desired cat scratching material upon their world. The nation of Felinia hopes to score a public relations coup by sending the first cat into space, but the rival nation of Catstroph is working to achieve the same goal and will stop at nothing to keep Felinia from beating them. Join Major Thomas Fluffison as he rockets into orbit, unaware of the adventure which awaits him. But wait, there's more. Join cats Henri and Cassie on their travels as they and we learn more about Physics. Look up in the sky. Yes, it's Dynamics Cat, that feline hero of acceleration and motion who uses his abilities to fight evil and keep the city of Newtonville safe. Warning: This short story collection contains scientific information explaining how rockets get into orbit, how to perform orbit transfers, and the secrets of reentry. In addition, there is the presence of other Physics related topics.
18.32 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-04-19 15:30
Razzmatazz | tragedy | Complete
[Every time I die, I respawn as a trash-mob at the very bottom of the dungeon. It's a rather troublesome existence, but honestly, I think I've managed to adapt, guy.] A lost soul is trapped at the bottom of what may be the world's deepest and darkest dungeon, constantly being reborn into the bodies of new monsters over and over again after every time it is forced to fight and die against the human incursion into the underbelly of the world, which is led by the unbeatable hero-party' who has never lost a single fight. However, unlike all of its other monster brethren, who suffer the same fate, this unnamed soul alone seems to remember each and every lost life and also each death in excruciating, painful detail. After an eternity of this cycle of violent reincarnation, something changes. The soul discovers a secret passage that it has never seen or heard of before in all of its hundreds, if not thousands, of lives. Making a desperate bid to fight against the crushing weight of continual death, it pushes out through this new way, climbing up to a higher floor of the dungeon for the first time, fostering hopes of an escape from this torture as it navigates the dungeon from the bottom up, using trickery, guile, and the capabilities of many wildly different bodies and repeating timelines to outsmart the dominating hero-party and the dungeon itself, which seems all too unwilling to let this trapped soul escape from its belly, deep in the underworld. What is the secret of the dungeon and the forced cycle of reincarnation? Will the soul be able to break free from this arduous, slow grind that is existence, or will it be crushed into madness from the pressure finally beginning to break its fragile mind? Find out in this ultra slow burning, litRPG inspired fantasy novel by renowned dark fantasy author D.M. Rhodes!
235.73 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 18:15
Ever been a god? Well, I was! Until I died.... and got judged by the other gods! Apparently, they didn't like the whole "My Faith is the only true one!" idea. Oh, and for the record: The Apocalypse wasn't intentional, ok? In my defense, I want it to be known that my enemies threw the first stone and the whole 'Offer the other cheek' just isn't mything. Seems like, for punishment, I get sent onto a vacation! Or so I hope? Reading Order of the Multiverse-Books Author's Comment: It's here, a rewrite? Yes! I would like to think that this version will have better grammar, better jokes, hopefully, everything better. Since it was my first work and started solely to improve my English,the grammar always caused me headaches when I looked at it. Well, and there are the plotholes which appeared with the whole multiverse thingthat came with my other works...Let's just say that the first one was never written with the idea of turning it into a series. So let's get a shovel andfill-up the plot so that hapless readers won't fall into those pitch-black pits. They might break a knee! Or worse, vanish forever. And now the disclaimer everyone knows: I was asked about reading my work on other sites. The answer is simple: Currently, I am not active in any other networks than royalroadl.com. Only here, I correct mistakes and errors. If you read it anywhere else and have to pay for it or have to deal with an annoying amount of advertisement, You Are Being Betrayed. You would do good if you make other people in that network aware of it. This is a free project of mine for the purpose of having fun. And if people try to make money with it you shouldn't bother visiting their website. The only one whom I actually allowed to have my work on his website is Armaell who invested the time to compile them into pdf. (http://armaell-library.net/author/andur)
205.02 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-13 16:11
Kitsune's Inkwell | comedy | Complete
A series of shorts set in a mash-up of the Pokemon Universe and Baldur's Gate 3. A pop-up event just for fun!
4.00 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 14:21
The Devourer | sci_fi | Complete
Carnage... This name I gave myself...The last human being...The first dragon...The first carnivore...The world as we knew it no longer exists. The Gods, the sky or the creator...whatever. After a solar explosion and a good dose of gamma rays, all humans and most animals disappeared. With time, all traces of civilization disappeared. But the Gods, tired of our conflicts or wanting to finish once and for all with evolution, decided to replace our way of life by a magical, fantastic universe. Populated by elves, gnomes, dwarves, goblins and all sorts of creatures born spontaneously by magic, the moon, flowers and dew, like fairies. A paradise.Me? I was a scientist... I knew... There were plenty of signs... and I went on expeditions, stole relics from another age and by the power of science and genetics I made the crazy bet to transform myself into a dragon. When I woke up... Everything was gone, replaced.So I decided to avenge those billions of sacrificed souls by devouring everything I could. Gods included. I am the first and only carnivore...
91.64 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 18:10
trevorm | contemporary | Complete
In the quiet English town of Marrenforth, the dead are returning to life. The zombie apocalypse has begun. Zombie Shards is novella built from a collection of linked short stories and vignettes. These follow the early stages of the outbreak through an assortment of characters. Some will survive, others will not be so lucky; join them in their battle against the undead. This book is for over 18s only.
12.01 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 15:35
This is a short story.Warning: contains traumatizing content, if this will cause you stress please avoid it. Setting: underwater Two siblings, a boy and girl, have always spent their time in the ocean. They are merfolk, rather than mermaids: they’re tailless. Their time is spent vaguely, and their neighbors are mysterious. Unlike most oceans, they are in some enclosed environment. Why? They’ll never know. But things get too much for them. What’ll they decide on? Enjoy.
0.40 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 14:33
