7 reasons Cymraeg Tales is not grimdark fantasy

Cymraeg Tales could come across as grimdark fantasy, but there are many reasons that point to the contrary. Some of which are kind of comical.

Cymraeg Tales might be a bleak dark epic fantasy series, but it’s a stretch to call it grimdark fantasy. Instead, nobledark is more appropriate, since it lacks that ‘kill or be killed’ mechanism in a world laden with monsters and brutal regimes that engage in mass murder. 

Still, when you read about the slums like Jungleland, that the Tamurian Empire forces its inhabitants to burn X’s onto the back of their hands, and that soldiers and guardsmen can kill when they feel like it, it’s hard to not put Cymraeg Tales into the grimdark subgenre. 

Yet there’s way too much hope involved. Let’s check out seven reasons Cymraeg Tales is better suited for nobledark. 

1 – Redeemable characters

Mali LaSalle may want to avenge her Untouchable status and take out as many of King Magnu’s soldiers and guardsmen as she can, but she has a conscience and uses it well. No, she didn’t like Prince Caer Cymraeg early in the work simply because he was a Monarch, but it wasn’t long before she discovered not every member of royalty are bad people. 

Mali, like Caer, Arttu, and Dianna, rarely seek to kill when push comes to shove unless they need to. They’d rather inflict just enough damage to take opponents out of commission. 

2 – Noblebright tropes

Mali and the gang are almost like a group of merry men and women. Yeah, they bicker, and it’s something that continues into Spirit and Water. But they also hold a sense of adventure as they continually try to escape Tamuria. 

They’re also ‘chosen’ in so many ways, and that will come in time. Plus, they’ll meet other ‘chosen’ people down the rocky road they’ve embarked on. 

3 – Tamuria isn’t as grim as it looks

Jungleland’s residents know tomorrow’s never guaranteed, and raiders have no problem killing them just for being in the way. It sets a grim outlook from the get-go. But Those inhabiting Tamuria’s slums are just a sliver of the population. 

In Spirit and Water, we see what other groups of people live like, and most of the place is working or middle class. Sure, they serve merchants and those above them, but they don’t live dark, dreary lives like the Untouchable caste. 

4 – Libertarian societies thrive

Caer, Mali, and the gang cross libertarian/voluntarist societies time and again, and every one of them is happy and thriving. Well, unless they’re tricked into accepting protection from outside sources, such was the case with Halifax, where most of Spirit and Fire’s action takes place. 

Sure, they’re hidden from Tamuria, deep within the nation’s Northern and Western Forests. And they’d do well to keep their guard up, lest Magnu would have them killed. Maybe, anyway. But there’s a lot of hope in these small villages.

5 – Good vs. evil isn’t prominent, but it’s there

While none of my works feature straight-up good vs. evil storylines, it’s present in Cymraeg Tales. Magnu’s the stereotypical evil king, an aspiring emperor, really. He’s got a strong army and allies going to bat for him, and he’s got the populace under his spell thanks to his spewing relentless propaganda. 

Meanwhile, there’s a grassroots effort looking to resist Magnu, something that those libertarian societies do so well. Then, you got Mali, Caer, Arttu, and Dianna seeking out a group of chosen ones to really put a dagger in Magnu’s agenda. 

6 – Way too much comic relief

Comic relief runs rampant and throws away any indication that the Cymraeg Tales is a grimdark fantasy series. From Caer looking in the wrong direction at sunset in Spirit and Fire and Mali trying in vain to figure out how to use the medieval version of a faucet in Spirit and Water, readers get more laughs than they can count. 

Yeah, there’s a lot of twisted stuff going on, but there’s way too much comedy for this short epic fantasy to get too dark. Besides, they’re also rather good at outsmarting their enemies, so there’s always that. 

7 – Light shines in the darkest times

Mali’s flashbacks are nothing short of heartbreaking, but they always end on positive notes. Heck, Mali’s entire life’s heartbreaking, but her never-say-die approach forces her to attract light even if it seems like there’s no reason left to hope for a brighter tomorrow. 

Her sister’s killed, yet she finds a group of mentors not long after. She confronts this twisted being during a hunt, yet she insists the experience made her stronger. She even goes as far as to sacrifice and find herself caught behind enemy lines. But she still finds confidence she’ll sneak out of that predicament.

So, while elements of grimdark fantasy exist in this little book series I’ve concocted, light shines a little too brightly.