Epic Fantasy Short

A mute elven archer known only as Killer. Azyrin, a half Winter-orc shaman and his human swordswoman bride, Makha. Drake, the charming, swashbuckling rogue. The fireball-slinging pixie-goblin, Rahiel, and her mini-unicorn, Bill. These are the Gryphonpike Companions. Arriving in Strongwater Barrow, the Companions find the town riddled with plague and death. Ending the curse and saving the survivors means going into the swamps where monsters lurk and witches wait. Sounds like exactly their kind of day.

The mute elven archer known only as Killer. Azyrin, a half Winter-orc shaman and his human swordswoman bride, Makha. Drake, the charming, swashbuckling rogue. The fireball-slinging pixie-goblin, Rahiel, and her mini-unicorn, Bill. These are the Gryphonpike Companions. En route to the town of Coldragon, the Companions find a peaceful monastery threatened by necromantic evil and get a chance to answer an important question: How many times can you kill a dragon?

A time so very long ago decided the very fate of our race. Men and women once survived below the core of the Earth's crust. Our faces, banished from the warmth of the sun, and left to the darkness and the cold stone. Visit a world where Vampires, Witches, Elementals, Demons and Humans once ruled the land. In the fifth part, Gerwulf faces the Vampire Grythe and Alex learns of his Destiny.

Richard of Tenneth, after witnessing his father murdered over mounting debt, flees to the city of Loridium to be taken in by the Holy Order. Protected and educated, the lecter grooms young Richard to lead the faithful, to sit atop the Order and follow the bidding of the Almighty without question, without mercy, and with absolute devotion. This is the second of three short stories from the world of the forthcoming series, Kingdom of Ash, to be released in autumn of 2012.

A time so very long ago decided the very fate of our race. Men and women once survived below the Earth's crust. Our faces, banished from the warmth of the sun, and left to the darkness and the cold stone. Our tale has been told so many times by so many different people. Yet, no one heeds the warnings, and the message of the tale is lost from generation to generation. The time is coming again, oh so very soon it will be upon us. Darkness will fall upon the Earth, and one of the five races will reign supreme.

What do you do when your best friend is three stories tall, breathes fire, and might be forgetting that you're his friend? That's the dilemma in this short story about an aging dragonrider and his dragon.

Maya and a group of survivors embark on a dangerous journey to find a device that could save humanity. Along the way, they face challenges and discover the true meaning of sacrifice and courage....

Dywnia, speaker for Thynitic, seeks allies to fight the humans who are threatening to destroy the forest of Kilenter and the elves who live there.

Across the Azkhantian steppe, warrior women ride to battle against foes both human and supernatural. From the world of The Seven-Petaled Shield come four fantasy tales, originally published in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword & Sorceress. Prophecy links a mother and daughter in an unbreakable bond. A young woman defies tradition to become a shaman. When twins are magically divided, the survivor searches for the other half of her soul. A warrior woman discovers that to wield a magical blade dishonorably carries a heavy price.

Quite long after the world we occupy, when man reaches the very heights of decadence and treachery, the first great breaking upends dominance and sends us into the ashes of failed greatness. Fire and stone ground down the vast masses into flickering tribes of roving survivors, the world unfriendly to those solemn few who so tirelessly remain. And yet, as always, humanity survives...

Welcome to the magical land of Snowybrook Vale! While you're here, enjoy good company, fine drink, and elegant lodging, all to be had at Vale's premier vacation spot, Snowybrook Inn. But if you venture into the countryside, watch out for shadows! Because Goblins lurk behind every rock, and Imperial soldiers are always around, looking to teach unruly frontiersmen a lesson.

Dyana Graceford never asked for her engagement to the mysterious Prince Rydan, who has been locked away in a tower for most of his life due to an unknown but terrible affliction. She had no way of knowing, however, that this unwanted engagement would lead her into the woods of the infamous witch who burdened the prince with his curse. Can she convince the witch to lift it? Or will Prince Rydan be doomed to spend the rest of his life as a monster?

A beleaguered dryad in search of safe harbor in a land ravaged by an invasive fungus finds herself at odds with a young dryad who wields the blasphemous magic of men. The two of them must find a way to work together before a vicious sorcerer hunts them down and puts an end to them both.

Here is Old Man's War author John Scalzi's sendup of the heroic fantasy genre, now a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story.

In this collection of dark-fantasy flash-fiction stories, Sir Bryan Wulfram of Erdenwald continues his journey to the Starlight Monastery, where he will lay the remains of a dead friend to rest. He has hired three different mercenary companies to guard himself and the 20 orphans from Pelastrios City who have taken the journey with him, and he will need all of their strongest and bravest warriors to survive the hidden enemies who threaten him and his mission at every turn.

In A New Kind, Brian Shinomiya once again takes listeners on another suspenseful journey in this fictional apocalyptic short story. Our main character, Anatu, is a talented fighter who searches with ambition and drive, continuing the journey of finding her kind. Throughout the fall of society, Anatu faces terrifying cannibalistic creatures with spider-like legs and strength like an army. She fights and yearns for significance, a place to live in a world of destruction and distrust. When Anatu finally reaches a human settlement, she's interrogated and put to the test.

Book seven in the saga of Sir Bryan. In this dark fantasy collection of flash fiction stories, Sir Bryan embarks on the months-long journey from Pelastrios City to Starlight Monastery. Along for the ride are the adventurous Bagwood Blighters: Pelastios orphans who were drawn to Sir Bryan's goodness and nobility. As a precaution, Sir Bryan has employed a number of mercenary companies to assist in escorting his young charges safely, including Captain Caecilia Sidonia, who may have a deeper connection to Sir Bryan than either of them realize.

In a land veiled by mists and steeped in history, The Hollow Vale weaves a haunting tale of fate, sacrifice, and the indelible pull of memory. Velden Nan-once Eadgifu-heeds the call of the Wyrd, leaving behind her daughter, Ethelwyn, and the familiar rhythms of life in Elderglen. Under the shadow of the Thorn Tree, where ancient roots coil around secrets long buried, the Spiral turns, binding past, present, and future in unyielding threads.

After escaping the harsh desert with his fox companion, Benjamin, an elf with amnesia finds relief in a large grassland. The elf soon discovers a lizard-like creature who steals his magical dagger. The weapon holds secrets that the elf has yet to discover. In the course of recovering his dagger, the elf discovers a small human town in dire need. Their food supply is cut off after their farms were invaded by the lizard creatures. The elf decides to help the humans and ward off the threat before the town starves.

The Lost Elf is a medieval fantasy series about an elf who struggles to understand his true identity. The elf wakes to find a strange environment for which he is ill prepared for. He must learn how to survive by learning about who he is and discovering his strange powers. Unable to remember anything about himself or how he arrived at the desert, the elf struggles to adapt to the reality he must face. His loneliness is quickly shattered after discovering the power to communicate with nature through his mind.