Earned power.
Real cost.

Fast, character-driven epic fantasy where hope isn’t free. Start reading Xavier Schwindt’s complete free story now.

Read This Bleeding Light free Browse free stories
The promise

Hard choices. Real cost.
Hope that isn’t free.

Meet Xavier
A FIRST STEP INTO XAVIER’S WORLDSThis Bleeding Light coverA complete
free story

Start here / Epic fantasy

This Bleeding
Light.

A burning king faces a growing rebellion.

Read a complete epic fantasy story about power, resistance, and the cost of hope.

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Behind the pages · On the writing desk

Writing
progress.

Follow Xavier’s current projects. Each entry shows the draft stage and progress within that stage.

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PROJECT 01First draft

Cardinal’s War

77%

First draft in progress.

PROJECT 02Final draft

To Burn The Dark

6%

Final draft in progress.

Release dates will be announced when confirmed.

From Xavier’s writing desk

Follow your instinct

Find your next read.

Browse by theme, or explore the full collection below.

I

A darker
kind of hope.

High stakes, costly choices, and people who refuse to surrender.

Explore dark fantasy II

Something
worth becoming.

Humility, purpose, and the work of growing into the person you could be.

Find a hopeful read III

A question
that stays.

Memory, mercy, and the uneasy space between the rules and what is right.

Choose a reflective read

The free collection / 5 reads

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free collection.

View the full library
01This Bleeding Light cover

Epic fantasy · Free

This Bleeding Light

A king burns in the dark as a rebellion gathers around a mysterious light.

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02Midwife of the Dead cover

Dark fantasy · Free

Midwife of the Dead

A girl who can animate the dead fights for her freedom and the boy she wants to save.

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03Heavy Lies the Crown cover

Hopeful fantasy · Free

Heavy Lies the Crown

A future king discovers that leadership is forged through work, humility, and responsibility.

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04The Forest Without Trees cover

Science fiction · Free

The Forest Without Trees

A HuBot investigates an AI that heals patients with memories of forests that no longer exist.

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05Memorium cover

Mythic fantasy · Free

Memorium

One of the last gods tends a garden of memorial trees and carries the memory of the war dead.

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Xavier SchwindtXavier Schwindt / Author & worldmaker

The person behind the pages

About
Xavier Schwindt.

Xavier Schwindt is a Colorado author of epic fantasy and speculative fiction. Through Crownling Entertainment, he publishes stories about people who face fear, take responsibility, and fight for hope that must be earned.

Meet the author

From the journal

Essays & reading notes.

All entries
Essay / On the craft

Why I Write
Dark Stories

On writing difficult choices and earned hope.

The reading life / 2026

On My
Bookshelf

My reading log, with ratings and notes.

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