'Are you still alive? . . . Then you're still learning.'
Era Gualtieri lives his life on permanent hard mode. His right leg is gone, his hometown was bombed into toxic waste, and he's elvish in an age when pointy ears are the mother of all 'kick me' signs. He's spent the past four years hopping trains and shoplifting just to survive, with only his flying sword to keep him safe.
Now, he's suddenly the only guy on the planet who's legally allowed to stop the new Dark Lord.
But Era's in no mood to bail out. Besides, his new government-appointed comrades (the edgiest sorceress in the food court, and a healer who's all heart and 0% brains) wouldn't stand for such nonsense.
But there's an ancient conspiracy lurking at the heart of the whole Dark Lord fiasco, keeping the world in a cycle of constant violence for profit. Era's determined to get to the bottom of it, even if it means being branded an outlaw for the rest of his life.
Give a Gualtieri two paths to choose, and he'll take the third.
Neverstone: Mad Elf is a zany love letter to JRPGs far and wide. Thrilling, morbidly hilarious, and character-driven-what else can you ask for from a LitRPG Adventure?
Era Gualtieri-public enemy #1, swashbuckler, provocateur, hero, villain, philosopher, madman-is about to have the worst Holiday Season of his life . . .
For starters: Prince Raphael Koschei, the so-called Hero of Luminar, is dead. Good riddance and all, but the assassin was none other than Era's bestie and perpetual 'it's complicated,' Liv.
As the Empire mourns its problematic fave, Era sees his chance to put a stop to House Koschei's 'Island' conspiracy. But when he finds what he seeks, let's just say too much truth can be a biohazard.
As for Liv, she sets off on a desert pilgrimage to save a friend caught in the crossfire. When that goes off the rails, she's caught between a vengeful tyrant's plot and her own self-destructive brain.
The Koscheis' tyranny extends into not only this world, but the afterlife itself. And despite it all, Era, Liv, and Noah are the only three people who stand a chance against them-if they can stop having a new mental breakdown every five vogging minutes!
Noah Tamino's the sort of healer who bursts into tears whenever you remind him that field mice don't live in little mushroom houses. And now, Gods help us all, he's been chosen as the new Hero-King of Aries.
As if Noah didn't have enough on his plate! I mean, come on, his fiancee is gone, and he spent the past month being tortured by House Koschei's mastermind, 'Little Astrid' herself.
Sadly, there's a chain reaction of disaster and civil war going on, so abandoning the Hero-King business is out of the question. But Noah's true challenge won't be in saving the world-but in staying true to himself in the process.
But he won't have to do it alone. The Mad Elf is all too eager to unravel Astrid's web of manipulation, while Liv sees the whole thing as another excuse to use the Sevenfold Staff irresponsibly.
Aries needs its Hero-King now more than ever. Because the Koscheis are moving into the final phase of their plan: an unholy ritual, 5,200 years in the making, is about to reach its climax.
And if Astrid gets her way . . . not only will Luminar pay the price, so will the world of its creators: Earth.
It only gets crazier from here.
