Peter Roberts

Told In Stone Chapter 16: Into the Echo

The heavy rain burst the banks of the river Grave and forty thousand marching Faelen infantry turned the ground around the looming gateway to a muddy quagmire.

Riot struggled through the bog, the sticking mud pulling at his boots. The flood waters had seeped into the Echo itself and small shoots of grass had appeared. Would the gateways breathe some life into the Faelen prison? It seemed hard to believe, as far as he could see the land was brown and dry, with naked red rock formations ...

Told In Stone Chapter 15: Yega

The manor belonged to a spinster, last in the line of a prominent family who had gifted her entire estate to Wikkan. Now it was in the possession of Master Quell. The mysterious figure that had given her more power than she could ever imagine. She didn’t even know his true name, but what did that matter? That he was using this house freely proved that even the Wikkan bowed to his wishes. How high did his influence spread? All the way to the Wikkan Seat?

The heavy wooden doors stood aj...

Told In Stone Chapter 14: Wikkan Archives

Archives of the Wikkan Seat - Report from Haland marsh, Far West of Parthanea.

Year of Thrall - 188 years before the present day.

Mistress,

Forgive me, but a local priest writes this missive as the last of my strength fails. Runala is captured. Silvia is dead and soon I will join her.

For two months we followed half tales and rumours of the witch that terrorised this land. We uncovered foul deeds. Homesteads burned, families mutilate...

Told In Stone Chapter 13: Nine Duke and Five Splits

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the delay, it's been crazy releasing The Last Man - back on track now.

The Faelen Queen was dead, and the funeral bells tolled all day long in Gravetree. The rain didn’t care much of the death of the monarch and hammered down on the heads of the fortune seekers who shuffled through the gateway into the red land.

The army command centre had been established in a large house in the centre of the town, and as Riot ducked inside out of the rain, ...

Told in Stone Chapter 12: Money and Spite

Riot’s head was pounding and his feet were in agony from the new leather shoes. The stiff uniform collar cut into his neck but at least it resembled a fighting man’s uniform, he’d managed to pull off most of the lace. The worst was the pounding in his head. As they had discussed their plans for securing Gwilhelm’s favour, the small Wikkan, Deacon had drunk him under the table.

“It has a kind of rustic charm, don’t you think, Nate?” Gwilhelm gushed, gazing around at the gr...

Told In Stone Chapter 11: A Wikkan Deal

Riot burst into the tavern sweating and panting to find Gwilhelm sat at a battered piano playing a janky tune. Around him a dozen hardened tavern brawlers were singing at the tops of their lungs, and judging by the words of the song it was one of the Princes own compositions.

Riot scanned the tavern and found to his surprise that no-one seemed to wish the young Faelen prince any harm, then he saw why. Despite the large crowd in the, one area was completely empty, and sitting at a small...

The Last Man available on Amazon

The Last Man—a story that has lived in my head for years and has taken months of planning, rewriting, reworking, and refining to finally bring to life.

Now its finally here.

Every battle, every twist, every spell and betrayal—it’s all been leading here. And if you’ve come this far with Riot and the world of Leybound, I just want to say: thank you. Truly. Your reads, comments, and support have meant more than you know.

This book was a labor of love. A full-...

Told In Stone Chapter 10: Incognito

The crashing noise that came from the chamber was followed by chorus of high pitched laughter. Halfway down the hallway, two young chambermaids who had been arranging the same vase of flowers for half an hour erupted into another fit of silent giggles.

Riot stood guard, glaring at the crack in the plaster of the wall in front of him. The young Faelen Prince seemed the type to hump anything that moved, and the bottomless purse to secure it. Riot couldn’t blame him, war was filled with ...

Told In Stone Chapter 9: Black Boughs

Deacon tilted her head to let the cold rain sting her face, the water seeping into her dry skin. After two years in the blighted land of the Faelen Echo, she had almost forgotten the delight of the falling rain.

Whatever happened tonight, she would not go back there. The Echo was open now and a river of humanity already rallied to flood inside, hoping to scratch their fortune from the golden bones of the Faelen prison. Let them send others to spy and scheme, her exile was ended and now ...

Told In Stone Chapter 8: Under a Hag's Moon

Archives of the High Wikkan- Report from High Ornestvale.

Year of Thrall - 188 years before the present day.

Mistress,

Runala, Silvia and I arrived in High Ornestvale as instructed, yet thus far we have been unable to gather information regarding the supposed Wikkan who terrorises this land.

We will continue our search, but it is made difficult as the western wilds are rife with fear and hostility against Wikkan, and thus...

Kickstarter update - 9 days to go

I’m beyond excited to announce that the Kickstarter has officially reached the first stretch goal! Thanks to incredible support, all copies of the paperback and hardcover will now feature beautifully printed end pages. This was a goal I didn’t think we’d achieve when I first launched the Kickstarter, and I’m so grateful to everyone who�...

Told in Stone Chapter 7: End of the rope

Somewhere to Riot’s left, Loic cursed and stumbled in the dark. “Are you sure you told him where to meet you?” The young northman hissed.

“He knows where to be,” Riot replied, stopping on the tree line and scanning the darker shadows.

The grass clearing behind the crumbling Priory building was deserted, only dimly lit by a sliver of a creeping moon.

“Could be an ambush, could be that he got scared, asked around about you,” Loic suggested.

“He knows damn...

Stretch goal in sight

Kickstarter update!

Still 15 days to go to get your signed copy of The Last Man. The book isn't print on demand, its a high quality book - get it while you can and help support me to keep writing the Leybound series.

We are so close to the first stretch goal of having the inside covers of the book printed.

Shipping to the US is only around $6.50

Head to 2025-03-12 14:41:43 +0000 UTC View Post

Kickstarter update

The Kickstarter for The Last Man kicked off with a bang – we hit our target in just eight hours and are already on track for our first stretch goal!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who’s backed the campaign so far! Thanks to your support, I’m ready to place the print order for the books I’ll take to Eastercon in Belfast. 

T...

🚨 Exciting Kickstarter News! 🚨

This Saturday, March 8th, the Kickstarter campaign for physical copies of The Last Man goes LIVE! 🥳

🎉 Why is this so important? 🎉
This isn’t just any launch – it’s the first time ever you’ll be able to hold The Last Man in you...

Told in Stone Chapter 6: Blackjack

The officers mess was a tavern in the town square that had been taken over by the well heeled commanders of the regiments. The innkeeper wore a wider smile than any of the patrons as he watched the the guilders of the monied class flowing into his coffers.

It was noon and there were only a handful of figures at the tables and the low murmur of conversation died down as Riot and Clarkson entered. Riot exchanged small nods with those that he had fought with, and matched the glares of thos...

Told In Stone Chapter 5: Baggage

Lieutenant Clarkson ducked out of the command tent. “I am sure you can go in at any moment, Riot,” he said, extracting another handkerchief and dabbing at his large nose. “Hay-fever,” he said by way of explanation.  

Riot already waited almost an hour under the beating sun, glaring at the other officers that walked past without troubling to hide their satisfaction at seeing him kept waiting. A black stallion nearby tossed its head. Its saddle was expensive, stitched wi...

BIG NEWS

I'm running a Kickstarter for physical copies of The Last Man!

Exciting (and frightening). The Kickstarter starts on the 2nd of March 2025 and runs for four weeks. I'll be offering numbered, signed copies of The Last Man in paperback and hardback. The books are being printed by booksfactory and the quality is insane, cloth covers for the hardback with matt printed dustcovers. Books will include m...

Told In Stone Chapter 4: Failure

Antoinietta picked up the tattered remains of the boys uniform, running a finger over the name stitched in black thread. “Edward Vaughn,” she murmered.

The young man strapped to the apparatus stirred, straining weakly against his bonds, his skinny back exposed and drooling around the gag that muffled his groans. She took his hand, turning it slowly so that the light of the forge caught the silvery scars that marked him as Leybound.

“Be strong for me, Edward, and you will pow...

Told In Stone Chapter 3: Warcaster

The two hundred Leybound broke, fleeing swiftly up the hillside. Fifty feet from them, the driver of the prince's carriage cracked the reins and the white horses snorted and hauled as Worthy and the other officers mounted and fled toward the safety of the tree line on the top of the hill.

Riot ran, focussing on finding firm footing. A misstep here would be the last thing he ever did. Ahead of him the golden wagon bounced wildly. It wasn’t making good progress and there was a chorus of...

Told In Stone Chapter 2: Poor Odds

Riot thundered down the hill and as he jumped off of the horse it tossed its head around and tried to bite at him. He cursed at the animal and hurried forward to find Major Doyle in the centre of the large square.

“Orders?” Doyle shouted over the sound of cracking Leybound charges.

“We move back to the foot of the hill,” Riot replied.

Doyle hesitated, then gave a tight lipped nod. He was a stout, sensible officer and he hadn’t gotten to where he was by questioning ...

Told In Stone Chapter 1. Flanking

Despite the chill of the morning, Colonel Tobias Worthy pulled his new bicorne hat from his head and dabbed the beads of sweat from his forehead with an already sodden handkerchief. The arcanum army stood on the brink of annihilation, and he stood on the flank of that brink. He wasn’t currently flanking of course, but if he intended to flank, then by the gods he would not hesitate.

“It looks as though the enemy are forming up to move toward our position, Uncle.” Lieutenant Clarkso...

Told In Stone Prologue: A Bards Tale

Gather round, friends, tip my hat with silver and hold close your babes to your bosom, for the Moon is full, and I would tell you of the Yega…

Our beloved full moon smiles on the western marshes, but while we rejoice the abyss weeps for its lightless sky, and the fell beasts hiss and shrink into the dark places. In the memory of what was lost, the Yega hunts, for the walls between worlds are as thin as a web of gossamer.

This night, through wood and glen and coast and beach and ...

Leybound Chapter Fifty-Three | Legacy

The gray-eyed soldiers of the Erudoran army outnumbered the guild forces by almost two to one. A hundred thousand of them. Riot drew curious glances as he strode through the camp. His long hair was tied behind his neck and held in a small leather bag in an outdated Erudoran style, and he wore the dark blue uniform of the regiment of the Duke of Fallow, which he wasn’t even sure still existed.

The command center was bustling with activity. Officers barged in and out, mingling with cler...

Book 2 update

Hi everyone!

Well, that's it, book one is officially finished, what did you think? Best bits? Worst?? Any favorite characters or scenes?

There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes over the last few months and I'm happy to say that the book has a new edition that will be updated here soon. The biggest change is the title of the book, which has changed to "The Last Man".

The other changes are quite minor, mostly additional setting and prose that have added about ...

Leybound Chapter Fifty-Two | Spellcraft

Moran stood and gestured for Riot to approach. “Take off your jacket, please, and roll up your sleeves.”

Riot took off the blue uniform. It looked like a rag now, and he had refused to let the infirmary take it away; he wouldn’t even let them try to wash it as the dirt and dried blood were likely the only things holding the threadbare fabric together. 

“In a moment, I will ask you to remove the barrier between yourself and the ley line. I will then bind this spell to ...

Leybound Chapter Fifty-One | A Butchers Blade

Riot kicked one of the stones from the pile that remained of the arcanist tower. It seemed like a regular stone, and he marveled at whatever art had made it impenetrable and able to stand for hundreds of years.

This was the last place that anyone had seen Natalia Quinn, and though he knew she wouldn’t be there, he had still returned each day to check. 

“You don’t have to go back, you know; my offer still stands,” Riot said. 

“You’re going?” Loic asked...

2024 In Review

Hi everyone,

It’s about six hours from the stroke of midnight where I live and I’m rounding out the year that's gone by—and what an incredible journey it’s been.

First of all, I want to thank everyone on Patreon for all of your incredible support throughout the year (and for multiple years for some people). Without you all, I wouldn't have been able to pay the book cover designer. Your support made it possible, and I cannot wait to share the new cover with you.

Leybound Chapter Fifty | Little Shadow

The sky was beginning to lighten in the south. In her home, they called this the blue hour, but here it was more like the red hour, as the light of a new day illuminated the blood that ran in the gutters of the streets and the red embers of flames in burned-out homes.

Natalia Quinn filled the pathways in her body until gray light pricked her vision, and then she bid the ley line to retreat. It faded like a great wave going back out to the sea. She hadn’t relied on barriers for years, ...

Leybound Chapter Forty-Nine | One Eye

“Shh, lad, it's okay,” Riot said, gripping the young soldier's hand and feeling the strength leave it as he died.

“You should not have brought him here Riot, though he died well,” Price said. 

Riot waited for the rage but it didn’t come. Instead he felt a cold certainty, perhaps that was better. “You’ll die hard.”

“I hope so. I have a new blade, Riot; what do you think? A gift from Myam-tal. I thought that they might take everything from me, but now yo...