Tag: Free Fantasy

Dark Fantasy Editor's Pick Short Fiction

Sky Over Mountain

Under the mountain, known to the trolls who lived in her caverns as Cairn, winter was held at bay. In the cavernous network worming through Cairn’s rocky heart, the temperature remained constant, no matter the season. For trolls, with hides as thick as an ox’s, the near-freezing atmosphere was favorable to their hardy constitution. Not unlike the caves within Cairn, Hakon, the clan’s chieftain, was neither warm nor cold. He was stern, but fair, and his mood, like the innards of the mountain, seemed held at a constant. Such was his stoicism when he approached Noma, an elderly troll who…

Absurdist Fantasy Short Fiction

The Value of Horns

When it comes to trolls, horns are paramount to one’s identity. More than a badge of status, they transcend mere ornamentation. For trolls, size matters—the bigger the better—especially when it comes to their horns. Although, the shape, curve, twist, and hue are no less important than the length and girth. Troll horns are versatile, multifaceted in their purpose. They are used for combat, for attracting mates, for intimidation and glamour. Horns are at the center of troll fashion and, in some tribes, even of great spiritual significance. For trolls, be they of the cave or forest or mountain clans, horns…

Dark Fantasy Serial Fiction

Ashen Rider — Part Four

FOUR Let me tell you, boy A tale of down below. Where the days are hard And the beds are stone. I’ll tell you the tale Of when time had split. And the fires of hell Were our only light. Ephraim (-54 to 47) “Down Below,” published Year 40. I — In the sky, crossing the threshold Grahtzildahn, second layer of Pandemonium The dreamlike threshold separating the unceasing storms of the Vale Betwixt shimmered with the furnace heat of Grahtzildahn. The nearer they drew, the sorcerous wall appeared more like an illusion than something material. The barrier danced, milky tendrils jittering…

Short Fiction Sword and Sorcery

All but Guaranteed

The tower wall of Duke Danlo’s palace reflected the brumal light of a winter moon. Stones fitted and polished to near perfection by expert masons of two centuries past, its silken surface emanated a ghostly sheen, not unlike the frozen moat upon which Izrak Laav stood. His infiltration had thus far gone unhindered. Diamond shrouds of whirling snow, and a shirt of black iron mail, had veiled the mercenary’s approach. Yet scaling the icy wall presented an impossible challenge to any would-be invader. Impossible to all, but for him. Izrak removed his gloves and reached out to the wall, his…

Adventure Short Fiction

The Samurai’s Quest

Moriyami backed out of the emperor’s presence. Beside him, Hiroki, his most trusted companion, bowed equally low. They’d both taken care to sweep their sheathed swords back, and they shuffled their feet lightly over the polished parquet floor. The smoke of burning incense swirled around their heads and clung to their leather armor. Emperor Karasu had charged Moriyami with a noble task, entrusting him with a sacred box that he must never open, now tucked inside his jacket. Moriyami in turn chose Hiroki—five years younger, yet his most capable soldier-brother—to accompany him on this mission to the very peak of…

Dark Fantasy Serial Fiction

Ashen Rider — Part Three

THREE You have been robbed. Of something. You didn’t know. Could be taken. Syr Arthur Cain (-13 to 35) “Awakening,” published Year 36. I — A conversation, somewhere far away. The Kaza’dur left a gross power vacuum in their wake. In the years following your knighthood, you rose through the ranks of Valentine Aristocracy. Valencia was no longer a humble fortress, subservient to a crumbling empire. The Kaldean capital, the Great City of Baltaire, fell the instant the invasion began. Once the Lord Governor Vidoq perished of dysentery, Syr Laszlo Balderas the First put a crown upon his head and declared…

Dark Fantasy Serial Fiction

Vigilant — The Weight of a Torch — Part Three

Deep in the archives, far below the streets of Yed’ol, Kaia poured over an antique journal. Its pages were yellowed with age, the ink beginning to fade. She sat at a desk, old leather-bound volumes piled high on both her flanks. The only illumination, a large five-wicked candle, burning steadily. She quickly flipped through pages, spending no more than a few seconds on each one, her silver eyes darting across the words written therein. “There.” Gregory’s raspy voice spoke inside Kaia’s mind. “That’s what we’re looking for.” Kaia stopped, and ran her fingers over a diagram, covered in arcane symbols…

Dark Fantasy Serial Fiction

Ashen Rider — Part Two

TWO In our darkest hour We trudged through the sands. Beneath clear, open sky We boiled in our armor. My horse collapsed at my feet And I was thankful. Her suffering was great Existence tortured. I did not give her a name If I had, I would not have remembered. Unknown author “March to Idraan,” found on a soldier’s body, Year 31. I — On a thoroughfare in Monrovia The Vale Betwixt, first layer of Pandemonium There had been no time to think; she could only run. Kateryna had no desire to think. Thinking meant reflection, and what she had…

Absurdist Fantasy Short Fiction

Red Town

I dreamed of a crimson river. In my mind, I willingly drowned in its sanguine flow. I meditated on deep vermilion, lingering on ripe apples and plump cherries. Oh, how I longed to pluck them, to hold them up to the sun, to study their skin, their flesh, to savor their scarlet, blush, and rose. I closed my eyes, conjuring visions of boiled lobsters on a bed of rhubarb. I turned my head to the sky and hoped for rain, miraculous and strange, blood-red droplets of Merlot. I dwelled on these things: searing hues in the belly of a smith’s…

Dark Fantasy Serial Fiction

Ashen Rider — Part One

ONE Tonight, we have lost our god! I asked my sister where the god went, And she did not know. “Poof!” she said, “Gone in a cloud of smoke!” And I asked, “What of dearest grandmother? What of her?” But sister only shrugged. “We are alone now,” she said, “No one helms the ferry.” The river has flooded with silver And no one helms the ferry. We are alone now. And so I left my home In desperate search for my god. But still, I did not find her. I found only gray carrion fields, Glowing red by brutal light…