Darkhelm

Tales of Shattered Glass, Book 1

By: BardLyre

Narrated by: Aven Shore

You are a brief candle in a long night. You pass through, and we are grateful, but the blackness will take you.

Yet another village full of complaints. Daine listened, delivered all the justice she had power to give, and prepared to move on.

All in a day's work for a Knight of the Road.

Of course, some disliked her intrusion into their schemes, but they were of little concern. They had tried to stop her before and would doubtless try again.

Things change when Daine is charged with the protection of a simple stable boy. Shadows gather around those like Daine who seek to bring light, and their eyes are fixed on the boy.

Can Lady Darkhelm stand in their way? The realm needs heroes, and Daine Darkhelm may not be enough.

BardLyre's Darkhelm is a grim and gritty epic fantasy adventure that thousands have already come to love through Royal Road. Dive in today, and brace yourself for a tale you'll never forget.

©2023 BardLyre (P)2025 Tantor Media

A good start with some unanswered questions

Overall, a great start to a new series. It's not a super "in your face" style of LitRPG, and for that I am very thankful. In fact, this more subtle form is much more to my liking than previous LitRPGs I've read. But the book leaves some unanswered questions that may or may not be addressed going forward. Having also read the next book (a third isn't out yet), I can say some of the questions still remain. That's not to say it's a negative, but some things still just don't make sense. Like the main character is Lady Darkhelm. Known for her, you guessed it, dark helmet. But... she's in like 8 fights in this book, and as many more in the next, and only wears the helmet once (and it's knocked from her head in 2 seconds). Plus she also talks about keeping her hair short so gore doesn't get tangled in it, which wouldn't be an issue if she wore the dang thing she is apparently known for. So what gives? Is there some other meaning to this we just don't know yet? Other than that (quite frustrating) quirk, the characters are pretty likeable and the story is a fun introduction to the world. Looking forward to more!