THE DANCE, by Shennandoah Diaz: He danced the dance a million times before. Slide right, twist, lunge, pull up. Each movement graceful — Each blow destructive. He lived for the dance. The exchange of steel, The giving of flesh and blood, Each sacrifice made in honor replenishing the soil And feeding the legends that sustained […]

Hail! And welcome to the one-year anniversary issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly! One year of adventure, action, and arcane magic. One year of broadswords, short swords, long swords, lust, love, loss, revenge, romance, dragons, goats, stoats, and all points in between.  We’ve had stories nominated for international awards (the Internets makes them such!) while surviving […]

ANCIENT SHADES, by James Lecky: Although the admission pains me, I must confess that, under certain circumstances, I am a man for whom the goods of others become a temptation. Had I given myself more time to think – or if I had not foolishly accepted a pipe of kif from my gambling companion Abel […]

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 […]