This was a thrilling read from start to finish. I hesitated and put it off for months, scared of the darkness within, but found myself undisturbed much later. Overall, am glad I powered through. The final battle was such a touching scene to imagine, and Fendril's sacrifice truly moved me.
As much as I enjoyed it however, I do have some grievances with the narrative. Mainly Elara's corruption feeling heavy handed. The introduction of day-old goblin cum acting as a full on hypnosis shattered my investment for a bit, and I cant help but wonder how much potential there was.
I was expecting Elara's progression to be much sweeter and slower, with her morals and love for Aldric degrading naturally through progessively debased scenarios. Instead, it feels like it was fast tracked to rush out the ending. Seeing the hero's wife fall and corrupt slowly was my biggest hope going in, and it's admittedly disappointing to see the potential somewhat squandered.
Not to say it wasnt a good read. The sound design is impeccable, the alliteration and descriptions were top notch fantasy. As a writer myself, I felt inspired with the way you captured such evocative scenes so vividly. This was truly well done, and is a proud achievement for VNs everywhere. Perhaps the fault is in my own expectation and bias for agonizingly slow burn corruption. Nonetheless, I eagerly await the sequel.