Fourteen years in the making. Three books. Two worlds on the edge of breaking.
The Youngling is a dark fantasy series following two young protagonists across two fractured realms: Syn, a girl whose birth set something ancient in motion, and Seth, a man drifting between worlds without understanding why. Between them moves something else entirely, a creature that is not quite one thing or another, and a shadow older than either world that feeds on what people hold most dear.
It's character-driven and atmospheric, built slowly across seven rewrites and a very long stretch of stolen time. It begins with origin and wonder, and grows darker as it goes. There are moments of warmth, loyalty, and quiet grace along the way. But it doesn't flinch.
If you enjoy fantasy that takes faith, identity, and loss seriously, and that builds a world carefully enough that when it starts to crack, you feel it, this is the series for you.
This is Syn’s origin story - her birth, childhood, and the moment everything begins to go wrong.
It sets up the Midgarden, the danger in the Seams between worlds, and the first spark of the shadow creature.
Seth’s parallel journey continues here.
Across the divide, he tries to survive in a world where mercy is rare, while Syn learns to endure the Manheim after being torn from her own.
Syn and Seth are finally drawn together as the shadow creature reaches its full form and the worlds begin to break.
This book answers the trilogy’s biggest questions and brings the story to its emotional, fiery close.
The Youngling started as Syn's story. That was the whole of it, at first: one girl, one world, one beginning. Then Seth arrived, and his viewpoint turned out to be not optional but essential, and the story doubled. Seven full rewrites followed over the years, each one deepening the world, the characters, the emotional weight of what was being built. All of it written around a full-time job, in the hours before work and after it, in the gaps a busy life allows.
Some of the people this trilogy was written for never got to read all of it. The author's dad was one of them. The series is dedicated to them.
This is a world built slowly, carefully, and with a lot of heart.
The Youngling trilogy is availabe in ebook or paperback. It's also available for free on Kindle Unlimited.
You can read more about the trilogy, including watch the trailer