Matthew D Riven's Blog

Gathering the Pages: A Note on Volume One

Some of you may have seen Seeds of Discontent: Volume One listed here on Goodreads, or briefly available on Amazon Kindle.

This volume has now been temporarily withdrawn—not because the story is being rewritten, but because the arc isn’t finished yet.

The Shattered Covenant is a continuous story told in serialized parts, and Volume One was originally intended to close with Chapter 6. But as the trail unfolded, it became clear the arc hadn’t yet reached its first true resting place.

And so, Volume One will continue—not rewritten, but expanded—until it reaches the point where the arc bends, the world widens, and the reader can pause without being left adrift.

The chapters already released still stand. But the collected edition will return only when it carries the weight of a complete first movement.

Thank you for your patience and support as the road stretches further than I first imagined.

— Matthew D Riven

A Gift Along the Road: Chapter 6 Free (April 6–10)

A bell tolled, its echo rolling across the hills like a summons. Lori tilted her head, her sketchbook forgotten. ‘A church?’ Malak’s brow furrowed, a rare crack in his calm. ‘Not in my time. Arlinstead never had one.’ The tolling grew louder as they pressed on, the sky bruising to deep purple, stars piercing the dusk like pinpricks of light.

This Sunday through Thursday (April 6–10), Chapter 6 of The Shattered Covenant is free on Kindle.

This part of the journey sees pasts revealed and convictions tested, as the road leads the travelers toward an uncertain destination. If you've journeyed with Malak, Galot, Lori, and the others thus far, you will find growing unease and the emergence of deeper motivations.

Chapter 6: The Covenant

The road to Arlinstead is colder than frost—quiet, heavy with memory, and lined with questions no one dares ask aloud.


Malak Crosswell leads the group east—steady, burdened. The others follow: some by family, some by necessity, and some bound in iron. In the hush between steps, hearts begin to speak. Along the ridge and through the mist, Malak tells a history most have forgotten—a covenant once forged in faith, now buried beneath ritual, vengeance, and myth. His words land heavy, met with silence, skepticism, and a question left hanging: does anyone remember what it was truly worth?


Galot wrestles with guilt and glimpses of growth, unsure whether grace can follow bloodshed. Lori watches with guarded eyes, caught between compassion and conviction. Rho shifts beneath his chains, hearing truth spoken—but not yet letting it in.


Arlinstead waits at the edge of dusk. But something is wrong. The people do not sleep. The town breathes like it remembers something ancient—and demands it back.


The Shattered Covenant: Part 6 continues the Christian fantasy saga where faith, guilt, and shadowed threats are real—where history, conviction, and hidden motives tangle on a road paved with loss. The stone is still lost. But deeper questions remain:

Can truth outlast the lies men build their hopes on? And will this weary fellowship hold together when the road begins to divide?

If you're looking for a place to start, this chapter offers a concentrated look at the series' essence, showcasing the main players, the central mysteries, and the overall tone of the story.

Read Chapter 6 for free on Amazon (April 6–10)

Explore the world of Terindale on my site

“The road is long, the night is cold, and the fire is just right.”

The World of Terindale: A Living Map, A Fixed Record

“In Terindale, geography is more than place—it’s story. And stories, once written, become stone.”

Terindale isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a world built in tension.

Tension between forgotten covenants and rising kingdoms.
Between truth and illusion.
Between what I imagined… and what I can no longer change.

That’s one of the more unusual things about how I write. Once I publish a chapter, it stays as it is. I don’t go back to revise or retrofit. No retcons. No smoothing over cracks. If a character says something too bold—or not enough—it remains. That’s what happened. The foundation is laid.

So while the world of Terindale is still forming in my imagination, much of it is already canon—fixed by what’s been written. Geography becomes consequence. The world turns into record.

Arlinstead is etched in stone—a coastal stronghold of prosperity and zeal, built on ritual and ritualism.
The Ashen Lands smolder in the distance—tribal, fractured, cloaked in vengeance.
The Covenant Stone, wherever it lies, has already cracked the story in half—and maybe the land with it.

But geography in Terindale is never just names.
Movement is meaning.
Direction carries weight.
And roads often say more than any map ever could.

To the northwest lies Lorn—a fortress of shadowed loyalties and political ambition.
To the northeast, the hills still remember blood—where a battle ended one age and left another unfinished.
To the south, Kinlan waits—quiet and weathered, a village left untouched not by peace, but by neglect.
And to the far east, beyond the coast, Arlinstead shines—bright with fervor, robed in zeal... and shadow.

At the center lies the Great Forest—a vast chasm of timber and time. Few pass through. Fewer return unchanged.
Most take the main roads—spokes on a wheel. Safe. Predictable. Slow.

But my characters are not most people.

They take the forgotten ways. The half-swallowed trails, gnarled with roots and memory. The kind that bend stories dangerously—and refuse to leave travelers unchanged.

This kind of storytelling demands care. It forces me to reread—not to rewrite—but to remember.
To honor what’s already been chosen.

Because in Terindale, precision matters.
And in writing—as in life—every step leads somewhere.

More volumes will come. The map will stretch.
But one thing won’t change: every word I publish is a commitment.
A choice.
And, I hope, the makings of a meaningful story.

— Matthew D. Riven

📖 Visit my website to explore more of Terindale.

The Shattered Covenant, Volume 1: Seeds of Discontent