Epic Fantasy Short

Alis was a quiet librarian at the campus library of the School of Spells & Magic - that is, until the sword wielding buffoon Cahan had the audacity to battle a dragon in her library! Now she's following him off on some foolhardy adventure. As they try to save the university from the mysterious Formless, she fights an equally important battle - to maintain her self-respect!

Jaron and Bren are a pair of roguish adventurers only hoping for one big score. Unfortunately, things never work out that easy. Whether facing packs of hungry goblins, armies of marauding orcs, malevolent cults, or even the mythical Galackin, the odds always seem to be stacked against this intrepid duo. This is a collection of 10 fantasy flash fiction stories, each with a comedic bent. Fans of the Discworld will enjoy the situational humor, while lovers of traditional fantasy will enjoy seeing common fantasy tropes in a different light.

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.

Renowned and knighted for capturing the fearsome Dark Elf of Syron, Sir Fredric has nagging doubts about his victory. His brother Malgrid's drunken remark strengthens dire suspicions. Was it all some devious scheme? Fredric has enough enemies who would want to compromise his honor, especially with the prestigious Jewel Quest coming up. It seems that there is only one person who can possibly shed some light on the situation - the Dark Elf himself. But will the captured enemy speak? Will Fredric discover the truth before a plot far more elaborate and danger much greater than he realizes take his life?

King Gelleran is facing a dilemma. The dangerous dark elf he holds captive and uses as his protection from the neighboring country of Kerbia has drawn the attention of Welmar, a kingdom even more powerful. The Welmarians have offered a generous sum for the prisoner; refusing the offer could mean war. As the king tries to find a way to handle this, he learns a devastating news: Things are not as they appeared, and the prisoner he thought securely jailed is playing a game of his own, threatening vengeance if it's not played by his rules.

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.

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....

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.

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.

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.

Old Man's War author John Scalzi's sendup of the heroic fantasy genre, a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story. An over-the-top, humorous short story representing the prologue for a "future" book (written as an April Fool's Joke) published on Tor.com. The title of the series and book...

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.

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.

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.

A name. All she needed was a name. The sign on the door read: Hot Yoga. Certainly that wasn’t the troll’s name. She’d have to knock. When the door opened, she saw a sight which she would never be able to unsee, even with the aid of a forgetting spell. Yet the mission must continue.