THE PASS, by Nick Mazolillo, art by Andrea Alemanno   Strand wasn’t afraid of what lay on the other side of the rope bridge. The opposite side of the canyon was a constant wall of fog. No one ever came from the veiled end of the crossing, and all those Strand and his father allowed […]

INTRIGUE IN AVIENE, by Steve Dilks   1 “You have a keen eye for swords, soldier,” said the blacksmith, setting down his hammer and moving to the front of his stall. Squinting out into the midday sun, he saw an imposing figure stood there, an ebon giant dressed in mail shirt and high strapped sandals. […]

KING YVORIAN’S WAGER,  by Darrell Schweitzer   On the morning of his father’s funeral and his own accession, King Yvorian had a vision. It came to him as he rode in solemn state on the golden throne of the Eagle Kings, borne aloft at the head of a procession of priests and courtiers by the […]

A NIGHT IN THE WITHERLANDS, by Daniel Stride, artwork by Simon Walpole   I sank my teeth into another sour marsh-apple. It’d been that, and little more, since the previous night. Donkey-cart journeys are dull affairs, and while there are worse ways to spend a fortnight – the silver clinked in my purse – I hungered […]

THE MEDALLION’S SONG, by Ginny Patrick, artwork by Karolína Wellartová   Twilight darkened the narrow alley in the marketplace. Serena hurried down an unfamiliar path, pulling her hood close beneath her chin as she peered through a deepening gray mist at the merchants’ tented stalls. Under the cover of her cape she clutched the hilt of […]