Demon Doctorine

The breach isn't light. It's a peel, sight, sound, memory torn apart and reassembled on the far side. Staff Sergeant Leo Novak survives the crossing and hits Pambar, a city where contracts are sacred, heresy trials are efficient, and the Church's doctrine has teeth. Break the rules of power and the power breaks you.

Novak wants one thing: keep people alive. That gets complicated fast when a mark links him to Neve, a hunted half-blood who grew up running from chains. The mark is supposed to make her obey. He refuses to use it, and vows to break it instead. Together they move through alleys and timberlines, trading favors and learning which words in this world cut deepest.

Pambar notices. A letter summons them to the Hall of Inquiry, a "consultation" arranged by High Ecclesiarch Balvara, a strategist who turns theology into a weapon. Street maps, guard counts, and exit routes say the same thing: the invitation is the threat. If it goes bad, the crypts won't save them. If it goes well, it will only be because Novak learns the doctrine faster than the faithful think he can.

What to expect

• Grim military portal fantasy rooted in tactics and consequence
• A ruthless, rules-driven magic system of contracts, oaths, names, and marks
• Morally gray choices, leverage over mercy, and found allies rather than easy friends
• A city of churches, courts, and back-alley logistics where the first victory is understanding the rules

If you like Joe Abercrombie's grit, Django Wexler's precision, or Marko Kloos's tempo, and you want a portal fantasy where learning the system matters, this will hit the mark.

Content note: war violence, coercion, trauma, and institutional abuse of power.