Epic Fantasy Short

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?

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.

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.

Three new tales of axe-wielding barbarians, lusty wenches, and evil wizards! Literary Rebel is dedicated to bringing you a new crop of monthly fantasy fiction by talented authors. In this issue: an outcast Viking takes back his village, a wily rogue goes toe to toe with a deadly mage, and a temporally displaced cowboy finds himself in a nightmare landscape dealing death with his trusty six-shooters!

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.

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.

After being rescued from the greedy mole by her faithful swallow and brought to the tropical kingdom populated by elves, Thumbelina finds herself thrust into the intricacies of elvish court politics and facing yet another marriage no one had asked her about.

Circa 1.700 Jahre vor den Ereignissen der Buchreihe "Der Dreizehnte Paladin" handelt die vorliegende Kurzgeschichte von der Zeit der dunklen Tage und dem Zusammentreffen zweier ungleicher Zeitgenossen. Auf der einen Seite der unbedarfte Zwergenhändler Kur, auf der anderen Seite der Nekromantennovize Melkom, dem sein düsterer Meister einen eindeutigen Befehl erteilt hat: "Bring mir das Herz eines Zwergs!".

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.

An innocent Human child is murdered by an Elven artisan in the village of Foxglove Falls, under Lorewyn's jurisdiction as Constable. With the child's parents and the rest of the village outraged - and rightfully so - the administration of justice falls into the hands of a divided Elven tribunal...with Lorewyn's reputation and a promise she made on the line. Tristyn Caelbryn, a young novice Mage, is faced with a dilemma when the Nullification Act is passed in New Sylestia by the Elven council, preventing humans from continuing to practice the magical arts.

Word has spread that the Howler King has been defeated, though many of his magically created intelligent wolves still roam the land. Slowly, people in the kingdom have tried to recover from the war and live somewhat normal lives. However, some learn that no matter how much they want to put the past behind them, the terrible events of the war haunt them still.

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.