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My Own Take On Elden Ring
Mercy: Tears of the Fallen follows a cast of broken warriors, seers, rebels, and rulers as they claw through violence, political upheaval, and their own personal demons. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The primary questions I asked myself when setting out to write this story were:
What if Aragorn lost everything after the War for the One Ring?
And what if Sam had to kill Frodo in order to save Middle Earth?
Taking those into my story as I explored my newly crafted world helped me identify key themes and modes of that very exploration.
I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from, and how did it change as you were writing?
Inspiration for the setting came primarily from Elden Ring. There are so many deeply minted stories hidden in the Lands Between. And I truly wanted to create my own world with Elden Ring being a primary influence. I played a lot of World of Warcraft growing up, and so geographically as far as the continents and factions/races are concerned, one may find several similarities or at least be able to identify the inspiration there.
As far as the darkness of the setting goes though, Elden Ring has to take the biggest nod.
When creating the dynamic characters in this novel, did you have a plan for their development and traits, or did they grow organically as you were writing the story?
I had a plan for where each of the main ones started and where I wanted them to end up at the end of the four-volume epic. Other characters introduced themselves to me and I decided to explore their personalities and thoughts and mannerisms to really bring the life out of the story. Everybody is the hero of their own story—and I felt the need to put that on full display each time I entered a character’s perspective.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?
The next book (MERCY: ILL IS THE FATE) is slated for release on March 31st, 2026. The cover reveal is September 25th. In this second installment, fans can expect a close-out of a lot of the questions I raised in the first volume.
This being a four-volume series, books one and two serve as a single “arc” just as books three and four will serve as the second “arc” of the story. And I’m very excited to share what’s in store (Already 10,000 words into drafting the third volume). And if anybody is curious as to more of the story, I have the “Blood Rebellion” Short story and the first four chapters of Tears of the Fallen available through my newsletter on my website!
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A paragon left for dead, Alevist Lightseeker sought peace—but peace had other plans.
Thirty four years past, the blade he buried must rise again. As he hunts the ones who shattered his world, another exile awakens—Erevayn. A man drunk on grief and bound by blood. A minstrel must bring the two together in a war against a rising ill fate.
Viyala, a lost love, unexpectedly returns and sparks a fire in Erevayn—but will it be enough to quell his thirst for vengeance? And will the world unfolding around her offer the chance for the future she has long desired?
Salasmir, Blade of the Reckoning, must answer the call of duty once again.
Hayde and Neera, twins of the Stained, hunt for sacred artifacts for their false king. Steyvin and Ilatu must travel across the Sundered Sea in order to do the same, but for their once wise father—who holds damning secrets of his own.
The Tears awaken—and call to the broken.
Two men, one path, and no Gods left to help them.
Some martyrs stay dead. Others—become legend.
Mercy: Tears of the Fallen (The First Volume)
Mercy: Tears of the Fallen is a sprawling, bloody, and relentless dive into a world where power, betrayal, and sacrifice tangle together until you can’t tell where hope ends and despair begins. The book drops you headfirst into Maetlynd, a land haunted by the wreckage of old wars and cursed legacies. We follow a cast of broken warriors, seers, rebels, and rulers as they claw through violence, political upheaval, and their own personal demons. It’s about the weight of history and the terrible cost of survival. It’s epic, it’s brutal, and it doesn’t let you catch your breath.
Dillon’s writing is sharp, often lyrical, and he doesn’t shy away from pain. I admired how he painted scenes of intimacy in the same breath as carnage, letting moments of quiet family life burn brighter because of the looming tragedy. Some passages gutted me, especially when characters faced choices that had no good outcome. I’ll admit, there were points where the sheer density of names, Orders, and histories slowed me down, but when the story caught its rhythm, it roared forward with the force of a storm. I found myself lingering on certain sentences, then racing through the next few pages, heart in my throat.
What really struck me were the themes of legacy and loss. Every character seemed to carry ghosts, and the weight of their choices bled into every line of dialogue. At times, it was overwhelming, but in a way that felt intentional, like Dillon wanted me to feel the exhaustion and heartbreak of living in a world that never truly heals. There were nights I had to close the book just to sit with the heaviness, and mornings when I couldn’t wait to dive back in. That kind of emotional push and pull is rare, and it’s what made the story feel alive.
I’d recommend Mercy: Tears of the Fallen to readers who want their fantasy raw, unflinching, and emotionally devastating. If you’re ready to be immersed in a world where every victory feels earned in blood and every loss cuts deep, then you’ll heartily enjoy this book. For fans of grimdark fantasy and epic sagas alike, this is a debut worth paying attention to.
Pages: 629 | ASIN : B0DRWCBRZD
LITERARY TITAN 