Title: The Ambition of the Dreadlord Raveres
Author: The Viscount Vampyre
Rating: M
Fandom: Warhammer Fantasy
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Status: In-Progress
Pairings: ??? (Raveres/Jacques?)
Summary: These are the adventures of a young dark elf noble as she seeks fame, fortune, and glory across the world. Leaving Naggaroth and her family behind Raveres quickly learns that she'll have to toughen up if she wants to succeed. Rated M for content and general themes. Read and review, thank you! More descriptive summary and forward in the first chapter.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13203307/1/The-Ambition-of-the-Dreadlord-Raveres
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17729939/

So, this is a rare bird indeed, and I think it needs some lovin' (Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have mixed those metaphors). I also want to preface my review to say that I don't think any kind of intimate knowledge of Warhammer lore is in any way necessary. The author does a very good job of explaining that which needs explained without overdoing it and if you have no knowledge of Warhammer, I think it should be more than enough to give you enough of an appreciation for the world to be able to enjoy the story.

So, at the beginning of this story, we have Raveres (an OC. Everyone is an OC). She's basically a starry-eyed youngster heading out on a grand tour. She's also a Druchii, so that tour is fully expected to involve some pirating, pillaging and probably a bit of rape and enslavement too. It goes poorly.

She ends up shipwrecked on the coast of Araby, saved by an ageing Bretonnian knight and his young squire, she has to find her way in the world with nothing at all too her name, except perhaps the 'good-will' of (mostly horny) men who just see a total sex bomb.

I'll should admit that I think I stopped reading at around chapter 20 due mostly to a lack of interest in the fact that while the story seemed to be moving onward, I'm not sure it's going in a direction I currently want to read. That does not take away from the overall quality of the story, however. That's my problem.

Raveres is not a good person, nor even a nice one, but perhaps if you squint you might be led to think that had the circumstances of her birth been different, she could have been. She's a Druchii, though, so her upbringing has taught her that lower races have no higher purpose than the brief amusement they can bring her. It is amusing to watch her try and hold onto tentative allies while her default attitude is one of absolute smug superiority, and complete disregard for the feelings or thoughts of others.

The characters beyond Raveres are pretty good too. Sir Jean the knight is enjoyable. He knows Raveres is a Dark Elf, and he doesn't really think there's much chance of her changing in her ways, but he gives her the chance anyway, and he does what he can for her.

The quality of the writing is good. I felt the action was very good and there is one sequence in particular that really takes on the challenge of writing proper 'eldritch abomination' Chaos and does a pretty bloody good job at it.

Overall, I think this is probably the best Warhammer Fantasy story I've found so far.

My primary complaint is that it feels very much like a travel-fic with no real end in sight. There's no real big bad, and as a result my attention often waned between the individual arcs of the story, as there was nothing really driving the plot forward. Raveres wants to return home in glory with riches galore, but that's not really something I as a reader am especially invested in. That's what Raveres wants, but it is not what I as a reader was really watching. Most of the story seems to be about Raveres personal and emotional growth, but there's no end goal for that process and the author has been up-front that it is not a redemption story.

So we're left with a well written, very enjoyable and well characterised story that is spending most of its time and effort on setting up something that's not going to see a real pay-off.

Despite that, if you're in it for the journey regardless of the outcome, or don't mind a bit more tragedy in your life, this is a story that's well worth reading.

I'll give it 4/5.