ALDROM, by Matthew Wuertz: The sun pulled away from me like a warm blanket as men led me up the wide steps.  Someone’s cough echoed in the vast interior of wherever we were, and though curious, I left my blindfold in place.  We walked a short distance and then descended a staircase that spiraled into […]

NO TWO STONES, by Christopher Wood: 1. Now. Still I am the strongest! I am atop this hill on the Third Moon. Behind me, my soldiers struggle up the slope. I raise my iron sword over my head; it shines in the surreal light of the World blazing above us like a sun. I turn […]

BEFORE THE BATTLE, by Vonnie Winslow Crist: On this witch-kissed morning, as I trudge northward, dampness frizzes my hair, worms its way into my joints. Beneath winter clouds draped like dark cloth above the trees, an unkindness of ravens descends, bickers over a half-eaten carcass. At my approach, the feathered trio complain, rise to an […]

WHAT SIEGLINDE SERPENTSLAYER SAID TO THE KING, by Megan Arkenberg: The truth, my lord, is that I am sick of monsters. I am sick of the smell of mountain aeries and brood caves, cool and salty-wet. I am tired of dragons’ riddles, feats of strength, game pieces carved of human bone, the musty whispering of […]

As forewarned but not forsworn — and neither forbidden nor forborne — we bring you Issue 4 of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly! Once again we’ve scoured worlds known, unknown, and those only touched upon in dreams — this time discovering two great works of fiction and two of poetry which, oddly, total four: Fiction Contents LIVING […]