J.L. Allred

Stories from the dark,
for those struggling toward the dawn.

Epic tales of living darkness, impossible choices, and light that pushes back.

Nobledark Fantasy
Hunting Misfortune cover art — a lone figure on a precipice facing a beam of light through the storm

Illustration by Jeremiah Carrig

Book One

Darkness Kindled

Book One of the Darkland Saga

Free on Royal Road

For years, Fior has longed to strike back against his father's killer. But beyond the Pillar of Light's protective shroud, survival itself is a fool's hope. When the Crown Prince offers Fior a chance to strike behind enemy lines, he seizes it without hesitation. But before the mission can begin, darkness-cloaked agents unleash a series of attacks within the Capitol itself. When one attacks Fior's closest friend, he is drawn into a sinister conspiracy that threatens everything he holds dear. Determined not to lose his friend, Fior will foil the Storm's plot at any cost. But the deeper he descends into the dark conspiracy, the clearer one terrible truth becomes: saving his friend may mean sacrificing an entire kingdom to death incarnate.

Prequel

Hunting Misfortune

A Darkland Saga Novel (Prequel)

Scarred by failure, Rowan, a seasoned banehunter, wants nothing more than to work alone. But when a hunt in Eventide Mine collides with a hellcat and a mysterious rival hunter known only as 'Misfortune,' betrayal shatters Rowan all over again—and reveals a threat far darker than the monsters he hunts. Battered and broken, Rowan follows the fading trail of Misfortune into the path of the Umbra Six, an elite squad sworn to the dark cult known as the Blackstones. Led by Misfortune himself, the squad's mission threatens to place a terrible power into the hands of those who serve the darkness. As old wounds reopen and loyalties are tested, Rowan must decide whether Misfortune is beyond saving—or whether redemption is still possible in a world where darkness spreads beyond the reach of the Light.

Death incarnate, called 'bane', came with The Storm, and everything they touched turned to Darkness.

The Darkland Saga

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