Status: Writing
Sylvanus is a dark fantasy novel set in the world of Lucardia. It is a continuation of Koen’s storyline, told through the eyes of his younger brother.
Sylvanus rules Westgate from Runemaul, the ancient seat of his mother’s Anworth line, far from the center of his father’s power. But no distance is enough to escape the shadow of Emperor Vesper the Uniter, the conqueror who forged the empire and now seems to be leading it into an increasingly darker age.
When word arrives that Koen—Vesper’s favored son and Sylvanus’s elder brother—has returned after a three-year disappearance, the news shakes the empire. Believed dead, Koen’s return feels almost impossible. For Sylvanus, it stirs something he has not allowed himself to feel in years: hope.
Hope that his brother has finally come to his senses. Hope that the bond between them might still endure. Hope that together they might yet confront the man who shaped their world through conquest, blood, and will.
Set against the weight of empire, family legacy, and gathering ruin, Sylvanus is a story of brotherhood, inheritance, and the cost of resisting a father who was once hailed as a savior and now looms as something far more dangerous.
8/9/25- New story begins! 1,885 words
8/12/25- 8,232 words, moving along
8/20/25- 13,093 words. Broke 10k mark
9/5/25- Rewrote beginning. 24,763 words
9/29/25- 28,378 words. Koen is releasing soon!
10/1/25- Pause. Promoting Koen.
4/18/26- After focusing on Jezelle: Thief of Forks and a few other projects, returning to this book. 34,368 words.
5/1/26- 38,756 words. Slow as I get reacquainted with the story, but about to reach the end of what I wrote months ago, and will venture into new territory.
5/13/26- 49,336 words. Humming along. Almost 50K. Sylvanus is maybe two chapters away from finally meeting Koen after a difficult journey.
The Creeping Cankers
In my world of Lucardia, not every horror announces itself with claws, teeth, or a sword drawn in the dark. Some horrors arrive slowly. They creep beneath the skin. They fester. They deform. They turn a human face into something others cannot bear to look upon. They take years to kill, and before death comes,…
The Ruins Beneath Belief
Governments, whether modern-day or fantastical, are all very good at pretending the past is dead. They build roads over old paths. They raise new temples on the bones of older shrines. They rename holy days, outlaw certain prayers, scrape symbols from door lintels, and teach children that whatever came before was foolishness at best and…
Sylvanus it is!
After much deliberation, I decided to proceed with Sylvanus: Sword and Sons. In the last week or so, I’ve written ~9,000 words, which is such a relief after a dry spell that caused me concern. I thank you all for your kind words, support, and input after the post before last. It helped greatly, not…
Preview of Sylvanus
I just got back from a two-week vacation to celebrate my 20th wedding anniversary. I will share more about that trip and how it helped recharge my writing batteries soon. It was a great trip with many adventures, but I am sick as a dog and jet-lagged right now, so I am being a little…
Sylvanus makes his entrance
The in-laws are back safe in China, and the house feels quiet again as my wife and I adjust to their absence. They didn’t stay quite as long as last year, but two and a half months is still a long time to share a life so closely. Saying goodbye is always bittersweet. On the…
