After lights-out
The Shadow Trial
Every student at the mountain school passes the Shadow Trial alone, at night, with no light. Your character is the only one who has failed it twice — and tonight is the last attempt anyone is allowed.
- 12 illustrated pages
- Read online
- Keep the PDF
- Illustrated in comic style
Free to try. We draw your character first. Love it, or ask for a redraw.
Turn the pages of a finished book →
At the mountain school, every student must face the Shadow Trial alone, at night, without a light. Twice, your character turns back. Tonight there is no fourth chance. Familiar landmarks disappear into darkness, and every sound seems to come from the wrong direction. With sight no longer any help, the next step depends on listening to the very noises that make retreat so tempting.
For you if quiet suspense makes bedtime a little more interesting.
What is inside this book?
Across twelve pages, you follow a single nighttime trial, with the mountain school giving way to darkness and uncertain sounds. The text comes in one or two short sentences per page. Comic illustrations give shape to the surroundings that become difficult to recognize, while the writing follows the effort to listen and keep moving.
Who is this one for?
Choose this if you or someone you know enjoys suspense built from silence, strange sounds, and a difficult next step. The appeal is the pressure of trying again after failure. It fits an evening when you want a tense, inward adventure and a little uncertainty before sleep.
The Shadow Trial is a personalized illustrated storybook of twelve pages about a final attempt at a mountain school’s nighttime test.
More like this
The Last One AwakeAt nine o’clock the whole town falls asleep mid-sentence.
The Monster Who Was Scared of the DarkThere’s something under the bed, and it is shaking.
Captain of NothingThe map only works once the crew is completely lost.How is this one different from the others?
All four books are the same price, the same twelve illustrated pages, read online and downloaded as a PDF. What differs is the situation, the feeling, and the style it is drawn in.
| Story | The situation | Mood | Illustration | Choose this if you like |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Shadow Trial — this one | A final school trial in complete darkness | tense, solitary | Comic | facing a feared test after two failed attempts |
| The Last One Awake | A lone search through a sleeping town | eerie, quiet | Watercolor | empty streets and the mystery of everyone’s sudden sleep |
| The Monster Who Was Scared of the Dark | A first hello to a frightened bedroom monster | tender, funny | Bright cartoon | awkward introductions and discovering a monster shares the same fear |
| Captain of Nothing | A squabbling crew with a contrary map | chaotic, comic | Storybook | crew arguments and navigation that depends on getting lost |
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