Web-and-Ink | one_shot | Complete
A collection of fantasy short stories about far-away lands and locales strange, wonderful, and terrible. Each piece of this anthology will be a brief glimpse into a world vastly different from our own, whether that be a haunted sea, a magic-laden desert, an endless maze, or something else entirely. New stories released monthly. Cover art by the phenomenal Josiah Mork!
14.05 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 10:57
Meakashi | one_shot | Complete
In a city without a past or a future, a world with an iron sky, where soulless beings called humans live under the reign of ruthless megacorporations. A bounty huntress receives a contract from one such conglomerate to retrieve a specimen from a rival corporation - just the repetition of the daily scuffles between monopolies to trump each other. But something is different this time. ________________________ This is a one-shot, first conceived as a script for a short film that could be turned into a feature film or series.
2.69 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 10:57
Miles Trombley | one_shot | Complete
Tyger and his friends are a group of genetically engineered cat humanoid, raised to become star rangers for the intergalactic human federation, called the Star Alliance. Their job is to protect the human colonies and defeat whoever tries to threaten them. But everything changed when a mysterious race of alien bugs appears from the unknown and attack the planets. To order to stop the bugs, the Star Cats must find an alien artifact with the mysterious potential of stopping the invaders. They will travel to different worlds, fight different space monsters, and raid two alien temples before the bugs exterminate everyone across the galaxy. Will they be able to save humans, or will they fall? Note: There might be grammar errors I missed because this is my first draft. This fiction will also be a novella. I will post the chapters between 6 pm and 10 pm. The book cover is also AI generated from Dall-e 3.
11.42 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 16:46
This is a short story based in the world of Wet World Wonderland. The Machine is reborn, inspired by a great light he will journey to find it once more, giving everything he has as he upholds his prime directive.
7.99 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 16:44
Ruslan_rb_kg | one_shot | Complete
Going to sea, century after century, generation after generation, people have met the same things there - the wind, the waves and a ship with an elven captain coming into port just to restock the supplies...
2.75 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 16:44
Ralts Bloodthorne | one_shot | Complete
The Sterile Queen Aveliene, the most feared of the legendary Wraithkillers, has been sent by her step-mother, the Eternal Elba, to look into rumors that the black unicorn has returned. After over a century of war, the Six Worlds lie in ruins, and an ill omen like the black unicorn appearing could mean that the troubles are still not over. A story set in the Six Worlds of Shtar, it takes place during the same time period as Echoes of War, but is a complete, stand-alone work.
12.61 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 18:01
MichaelJSullivan | one_shot | Complete
TWO ROGUES | FOUR SHORT STORIES | ONE CLASSIC FANTASY OF UNLIKELY HEROES The Riyria novels featuring Royce Melborn (a cynical ex-assassin) and Hadrian Blackwater (an idealistic ex-mercenary) have been enthralling fantasy readers for more than 15 years. Now for the first time four short stories and two full-length novels are available for free on Royal Road. You can read these shorts in any order, but if you haven't read any of my books, I suggest starting with The Thieves. The Thieves:THEY ATTACKED TWO RIDERS. THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EASY. THEY WERE WRONG.A band of thieves set upon two lonely riders in the middle of the night. They had a larger party. They had the element of surprise. There was no reason to be concerned. But they didn't realize who they were dealing with. The Viscount and the Witch: WHO WILL BE SCHOOLED?A desperate woman seeks help to rid her barn of a drunkard. Hadrian agrees to help, and Royce goes along only to teach his idealistic partner that no good deed goes unpunished. What they find isn't what they expected, and maybe it'll be Royce's opinion that will be changed. Professional Integrity: YOU WANT US TO STEAL WHAT?Several years have passed since the war-weary mercenary Hadrian and cynical ex-assassin Royce joined forces to start their thieves-for-hire organization, better known as Riyria. Things have gone well enough for the team as they perform tasks for nobles throughout Elan. Usually, that means stealing something, but when a young heiress asks them to steal her . . . well, that's a first for the pair. The Jester: WHO WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH?Stop me if you've heard this one. A thief, a candlemaker, an ex-mercenary, and a pig farmer walk into a trap . . . and what happens is no joke. When Riyria is hired to retrieve a jester's treasure, Royce and Hadrian must match wits with a dwarf who proves to be anything but a fool. Difficult choices will need to be made, and in the end, those who laugh last do so because they are the only ones to survive. If you enjoy these Riyria short stories, you'll be happy to know there are another 10 full-length novels (2 are available for free on Royal Road) featuring these rogues-for-hire and a total of 19 novels in an epic series that spans 3,000 years. The novels are spread across four collections as seen here. The Riyria Revelations:Theft of Swords(containsThe Crown Conspiracy&Avempartha).". Rise of Empire(containsNyphron Rising&The Emerald Storm) "Heir of Novron(containsWintertide&Percepliquis) The Riyria Chronicles:The Crown Tower " The Rose and the Thorn " The Death of Dulgath ". The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter Legends of the First Empire:Age of Myth " Age of Swords " Age of War " Age of Legend " Age of Death " Age of Empyre The Rise and Fall:Nolyn "Farilane " Esrahaddon
22.48 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 17:36
Aster Loka | one_shot | Complete
~First place winner! January 2022 Royal Road Community Magazine Contest~ When all else fails, when all hope is lost, perhaps madness is less important than results. If the world is going to end, save what you can from the ashes. No matter the sacrifice. When came the monsters, So fell the elves; The rising of the Dungeon Queen, And then the sun went out.
8.70 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 18:11
drewhead118 | one_shot | Complete
Dr. Laura Brandie is ready to change the world. She's the lead researcher behind the KSE, a revolutionary cure for paralysis and neurodegenerative conditions. And now, by good fortune, she's found the perfect candidate for her first human trial: a man who suffers from locked-in syndrome. Brett Harmon's paralysis is total: he can't move his arms, legs, torso, neck, or face. To the outside world, he's little more than a statue that breathes... but Dr. Brandie's KSE might be the miracle that allows Brett to run again.
7.96 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 17:38
Aest Belequa | one_shot | Complete
The Highwayman leaves no survivors. He hasn't in over a century of terror on the Old King's Road. His reputation for ruthlessness and immortality is his greatest weapon. When a dying noble begs him to spare his daughter, the Highwayman is faced with a choice; he can protect his reputation, or he can do the right thing. One choice lets his myth live on forever. The other may mean the Highwayman's end. Edit: I'm incredibly honored to have won the January 2024 Community Magazine Contest. Thank you all for reading!
5.10 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 18:13
wercwercwerc | one_shot | Complete
Inspired bythe following writing prompt: Your car changes slightly to accommodate your day, the day it snows, it magically has snow tires, the day it floods, it becomes a four by four. Today you walked out the door, and it's a tank. (Complete)
3.22 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 15:26
DarenGillingham | one_shot | Complete
Demons, Dragons, ghouls, and gheists. The monsters of Terra are many. I, Nicholas Wolfram shall tell you all about them in the hopes you may avoid the fate of some of my students. Read on, lest a lack of knowledge be your undoing. These monsters are based on those found in The Alchemist Series.
20.83 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:22
Wulfrann | one_shot | Complete
The best thing ever invented, you tell me one morning, is sliced bread. "Really?" "Yeah," you say, waving your buttered slice around for emphasis. Your fingers will be smeared with butter, and I know that later, you will complain about it. For now, though, this is a necessary part of your explanation. "I mean, it's obvious, isn't it?" Spoiler: Story Warnings Obsessive-compulsive behavior & Nonverbal shut-down
0.76 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:19
Everyone has superpowers, and mine wasn't anything special... until I got recruited out of prison. [June 2023 RR Magazine Contest] This short story is a study of a background character in a collaborative project I've been working on with a fellow RR author, Arlen K. Our collab is projected to start posting in 2024, so if you are enjoying Codename: Ghost and would like to see more of this world that he lives in, smash that "Follow Author" button to be alerted to new releases. If you would like more of this world now, check out Portal to Regret. Maybe you'll recognize the MC. = As always, comments, follows, favorites, ratings and reviews are appreciated, especially as there is a lot more planned for this world. Codename: Ghosthas been exclusively published on RoyalRoad. All other sites have stolen the story. If you find this title anywhere else, please PM me on RoyalRoad or email me at [email protected]. Thank you!
8.64 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:22
diesel64 | one_shot | Complete
An Long is an outcast boy from Ha Gian, a small village at the gates of the Khaz'Tiber. After the invasion of the Darenis, An Long loses everything. Everything but his dream. And thanks to his perseverance, he manages to make a place for himself on the Sky Combs, where dragon riders are trained. But riding a dragon is no easy task, and the training has taken away many apprentices. Will the boy be able to fulfill his dream?
10.99 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 14:01
Mad Sadie | one_shot | Complete
The final game in a chess tournament doesn't go quite as anyone planned... A short story.
0.56 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:43
Mad Sadie | one_shot | Complete
A young witch makes a storm. A short.
0.44 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:43
silentlysnowing | one_shot | Complete
Siren is an artist of all trades who fills her time with creation and performance. Zander is an adventurer who is always on the hunt for new challenges and undiscovered wonders. Both are solo acts, beings who make their own way through life and never settle for long in one place or with one person. Both are also immortal in a universe where living forever is a privilege held by very few. After a chance meeting and a planetwide catastrophe, Siren and Zander agree to work together in an effort to set things right. But when a simple mission goes wrong, these two independent souls might learn that sometimes, even an immortal needs someone else to lean on.
10.10 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:43
Methuselah | one_shot | Complete
A sci-fi-fantasy shortstory about political strife on a metropolis space-station populated by plant-humanoid aliens. Our Hero leads a team of his assistants to investigate the whereabouts of the station's Captain, whose absence has been noted at a time of unrest where he'd otherwise step in.
1.81 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:42
