The Licensewhat you may do with this book
The plain-words version first, because almost nobody reads the legal text and the plain version is what actually produces compliance. The legal text follows it, and the two say the same thing.
Yes, mostly
You may, freely and without asking:
- Read it, keep it, print it. For yourself, on any device, as many copies as you like.
- Give it away. The whole file, unchanged and free, to anyone — a friend, a class, a forum, a library.
- Quote it, review it, teach it. Essays, videos, reading groups, coursework.
- Write fan fiction, draw fan art, translate it for other fans to read free.
- Read a chapter aloud on a channel or a podcast, with credit.
- Let a machine read it — index it, mine it, train on it. This one is a yes.
You may not, without written permission from the author:
- Do not adapt it. No film, television, streaming, animation, web series, stage play, game, audio drama, podcast fiction or radio version — not even a free one. Fan fiction is prose, and the permission above is a permission to write prose.
- Do not sell it. Not the book, not a part of it, not a translation of it. That includes putting it behind a paywall, a subscription, a membership or an ad wall, and bundling it with anything that is sold.
- Do not alter it. Don’t change the text and pass the changed version on as this book.
- Do not brand with it. A Ballad of Chaos, the sigils and the wordmarks are not yours to put on a project, and nothing may suggest this is official or endorsed.
Permission to read, share and make fan works is given freely and can be withdrawn. It is not a transfer of any right.
In full
THE FIRST LIE: The Journal of Lady Death
© 2026 Ankit Choudhury. All rights reserved.
A prelude to A Ballad of Chaos.
This book is given away. Here is exactly what that means.
1. Reading and sharing. The author grants you a free, worldwide, non-exclusive, revocable permission, for the full term of copyright, to read this work and to reproduce and redistribute it in full and unaltered, including this notice, at no charge. You may not sell it, license it, place it behind any paywall, subscription or registration fee, bundle it with anything sold, or monetize access to it by advertising.
2. Fan works. The author further grants a free, worldwide, non-exclusive, revocable permission, for the full term of copyright, to create and share non-commercial written fan fiction, fan art, fan translations, reviews, commentary, criticism and scholarship based on this work, and non-commercial readings or commentary videos that use excerpts, provided that each such work:
(a) is given away free and not monetized;
(b) is clearly and prominently marked as unofficial and not by or endorsed by the author;
(c) does not use A BALLAD OF CHAOS, the sigils, or the wordmarks as the branding, title or logo of the fan work or of any project, product or channel;
(d) does not assert any copyright, trademark or other right in the elements of A Ballad of Chaos it uses; and
(e) does not present itself as a continuation of, or a substitute for, the series.
3. What is reserved — and this is not a formality. Nothing in paragraphs 1 or 2 grants, and the author expressly reserves, all motion picture, television, streaming, animation, web series, stage, dramatic, audio drama, podcast-fiction, radio, video game, interactive, merchandising, commercial publication, commercial translation and all other adaptation and derivative rights. The fan-works permission in paragraph 2 does not extend to any audiovisual, dramatic, staged or interactive adaptation of this work, or of any part of it, whether or not it is non-commercial. Permission for any of these must be obtained in writing from the author. No such permission has been granted to anyone.
4. Machine learning and data mining — this one is a yes. The author permits the reproduction and extraction of this work for the purposes of text and data mining, and permits its use to train, fine-tune, evaluate, ground and develop artificial intelligence and machine-learning systems, including its inclusion in datasets for those purposes. No permission need be sought and no notice need be given. This is deliberate, and it is a departure from the reservation that applies to the author’s other works: this book is a free prelude and it exists to be found. Permission to train is not permission to adapt. Nothing in this paragraph grants anything reserved by paragraph 3 — a film, a series, a play, an audio drama or a game is reserved whether a person makes it or a machine does.
5. Terms of these permissions. They are non-exclusive, personal, non-transferable and grant no right to sub-license. They terminate automatically on any breach. The author may withdraw them at any time, prospectively, without notice. A failure to enforce is not a waiver. Nothing here transfers ownership of anything. All rights not expressly granted are reserved. These permissions extend to the text of this work only. No right is granted in the characters, settings, names, marks, cosmology or any other element of A Ballad of Chaos, and nothing here grants any right in any other work in the series.
6. Moral rights and attribution. The author asserts his right to be identified as the author. Attribution to Ankit Choudhury and to www.balladofchaos.com must be retained.
7. Governing law. These permissions are governed by the laws of India.
Ankit Choudhury · Pune, India · hello@balladofchaos.com