and sorcery most foul. fierce and beautiful, Arwyn the archer lost her family to Mordath's unstoppable troll armies. Now Arwyn journeys in search of a mythic hero's arrow of power--the one weapon that can forever and Mordath's reign of fire Her quest to destroy the undead tyrant Mordath reaches the land of Ankhara, inhabited by a winged race living in fabulous cliff cities. The archer Arwyn must decide whether to continue her quest, or help the Ankharans in their rebellion against troll occupiers.

    IntroductionChapter 1 - AbilitiesChapter 2 - RacesChapter 3 - ClassesChapter 4 - SkillsChapter 5 - Feats and TalentsChapter 6 - EquipmentChapter 7 - Playing the GameChapter 8 - MagicChapter 9 - SpellsAppendix (Index)Intended as a full (drop-in) replacement for D&D 3.x PHB; published under the Open Game License.

    "Robin Hobb" and "Megan Lindholm" are both pseudonyms used by California-born Margaret Ogden, who from 1983 to 1992, published exclusively as Lindholm. This generous, 400-page hardcover original brings together short stories and novellas penned under both authorial bylines. As Hobb herself notes, "their" writing and styles differ in significant ways. (P.S. This collection includes stories previously unpublished in the United States.)

    These short stories examine the world of unwinding in a way we haven’t seen before, providing a fresh framework, new characters, and a different take on some events.With UnBound, Shusterman’s fans can continue to get caught up in the world he has created in this “gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

    The Bound Folio tells their stories from the tortured childhood of the legendary Blademaster the Sword of the North, to the humble origins of the Queen of the Five Kingdoms, to the death of one of the world's greatest assassins. This anthology collects together eight dark stories of swords, sorcery, and seduction from First Earth, the setting of Rob J. Hayes' The Ties That Bind trilogy.CONTENTS"The Sword of the North" - Northborn lordling Derran Fowl has a natural affinity for swordplay. Even so, such a talent cannot contend with an alcoholic father who invites an Arbiter to their estate in order to investigate his own sickly daughter and Derran's beloved little sister, Leesa. Learn the origins of what drives young Derran to begin a journey that ends with the Sword of the North."The Night Blade" - A tale in which two fabled assassins, one a veteran of the trade, the other a promising upstart, are hired by the same man to kill one another, with the prize being a major contract for a hefty sum."The Kid" introduces an undersized street rat at the bottom of the pecking order in his small group of famished and thieving orphans. A victim of frequent beatings and constant bullying, learn how he overcomes his enemies in the unfeeling gutters and alleyways of Korral."The Battle of Underbridge" - Tristan Southerland and his fellow squires intend to get riproaring drunk on a night out. Instead, they find themselves fighting for their lives — and dying — against a pestilent tide of ceaseless foes."The Merchant of Truridge" - Sirion Tell is married to the perfect woman, and although his father has recently passed, he has inherited a considerable sum and the future looks bright for the enterprising newlyweds...until he crosses paths with the pirate known as Drake Morass."The Twins" - Irris the Drurr is charged with the protection of royal half-breed twins as they flee to the surface world. In the coming weeks, beneath the open skies, will she be able to lead both small girls to a safe haven? Or will they be caught by human hunters; or worse, their own merciless people, intent on slaughtering the twins merely for being born?"The Mistress of the West" - In the western deserts of the Five Kingdoms, the school of mistresses instructs young girls like Shián how to capture rich and powerful husbands to increase their family's status; however, will the mistresses be able to teach Shián what cost the price of vengeance?"Beck" - An Arbiter of the Inquisition finds herself at the mercy of pirates, taken captive for her magical abilities and used to locate a mysterious treasure. When the treasure itself turns out to potentially be heretical, the Arbiter finds she must make a choice between her duty or freedom.

    ASSASSINS. MERCENARIES.Coin is their master, and their trade, more often than not, is blood. These are BLACKGUARDS.Whether by coin or by blood...YOU WILL PAY.Swift from the shadows, comes an 'edgy' anthology, edited by J.M. MARTIN, featuring sundry tales of roguish types—assassins, mercenaries, thieves—many of whom are already established in well-known fantasy series. Interior artwork by David Alvarez, Orion Zangara and Oksana Dmitrienko. A full roster of authors from indie sensations to New York Times bestsellers: Foreword by Glen Cook Introduction by J.M. Martin JEAN RABE, "Mainon" (Original tale) * BRADLEY P. BEAULIEU, "Irindai" (Shattered Sands) * CAT RAMBO, "The Subtler Art" (Serendib) CAROL BERG, "Seeds" (Lighthouse Duet) KENNY SOWARD, "Jancy's Justice" (GnomeSaga) MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN, "Professional Integrity" (Riyria) RICHARD LEE BYERS, "Troll Trouble" (Plague Knight) PAUL S. KEMP, "A Better Man" (Egil and Nix) * DJANGO WEXLER, "First Kill" (Shadow Campaigns) MARK SMYLIE, "Manhunt" (The Known World) JOHN GWYNNE, "Better to Live than to Die" (Faithful Fallen) MARK LAWRENCE, "The Secret" (Broken Empire) LAURA RESNICK, "Friendship" (Silerian Chronicles) CLAY SANGER, "The First Kiss" ** SHAWN SPEAKMAN, "The White Rose Thief" (The Dark Thorn) PETER ORULLIAN, "A Length of Cherrywood" (Aeshau Vaal) TIM MARQUITZ, "A Taste of Agony" (Prodigy series) JAMES A. MOORE, "What Gods Demand" (Seven Forges) DAVID DALGLISH, "Take You Home" (Shadowdance) JOSEPH R. LALLO, "Seeking the Shadow" (Book of Deacon) JON SPRUNK, "Sun and Steel" (Shadow Saga) S.R. CAMBRIDGE, "The Betyár and the Magus" ** SNORRI KRISTJANSSON, "A Kingdom and a Horse" (Valhalla Saga) JAMES ENGE, "Thieves at the Gate" (Morlock) LIAN HEARN, "His Kikuta Hands" (Tales of the Otori) ANTHONY RYAN, "The Lord Collector" (Raven's Shadow novella)* ANTON STROUT, "Scream" (Simon Canderous Chronicles) * stretch goal achieved** open submissions winners

    5,000 words (16 pages).For Bafion, there is no farther to fall. Once a banneret, officer, and gentleman, he is none of those things now. He is a swordsman who has slipped through the cracks of society and is eking out an existence as a thug for hire.Bafion is presented with the opportunity to reclaim some of what was lost to him, but to do so will mean facing part of his past that he would rather forget.The Swordsman of Tanosa is a swashbuckling fantasy short story set in the same world as the Society of the Sword trilogy.

    Victor Frankenstein; a rivalry between brothers complicates the interpretation of a message from the stars; two girls discover that the cruel social rituals of adolescence apply differently in fact than fiction...The depth and breadth of what science fiction and fantasy fiction is changes with every passing year. The stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully maps this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer.Jonathan Strahan has edited more than twenty anthologies and collections, including The Locus Awards, The New Space Opera, The Jack Vance Treasury, and a number of year's best annuals. He has won the Ditmar, William J. Atheling Jr., and Peter McNamara Awards for his work as an anthologist, and is the reviews editor for Locus.--back coverExhalation / Ted Chiang -- Shoggoths in bloom / Elizabeth Bear -- Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the angel / Peter S. Beagle -- Fixing Hanover / Jeff VanderMeer -- The gambler / Paolo Bacigalupi -- The dust assassin / Ian McDonald -- Virgin / Holly Black -- Pride and Prometheus / John Kessel -- The thought war / Paul McAuley -- Beyond the sea gates of the Scholar Pirates of Sarsköe / Garth Nix -- The small door / Holly Phillips -- Turing's apples / Stephen Baxter -- The New York Times at special bargain rates / Stephen King -- Five thrillers / Robert Reed -- The magician's house / Meghan McCarron -- Goblin music / Joan Aiken -- Machine maid / Margo Lanagan -- The art of alchemy / Ted Kosmatka -- 26 Monkeys, also The abyss / Kij Johnson -- Marry the sun / Rachel Swirsky -- Crystal nights / Greg Egan -- His master's voice / Hannu Rajaniemi -- Special economics / Maureen F. McHugh -- Evidence of love in a case of abandonment / M. Rickert -- From Babel's fall'n glory we fled / Michael Swanwich -- If angels fight / Richard Bowes -- The doom of love in small spaces / Ken Scholes -- Pretty monsters / Kelly Link.

    A handful of Messengers brave the night between the increasingly isolated populace behind protective wards. Arlen Bales will search anywhere, dare anything, to save the world. Maybe Abban, a merchant in the Great Bazaar of Krasia who purports to sell anything, has the answer.

    The Order of the Stick: On the Origin of PCs reveals the secret character backgrounds of your favorite band of webcomic adventurers, the Order of the Stick. Spinning out of the popular online comic (and subsequent book collections), On the Origin of PCs presents 72 pages of all-new, never-seen- before-or-since OOTS action and comedy that detail what each of the six members of the Order were doing with their lonely and pathetic lives before they joined forces to become a less lonely (but no less pathetic) team. Presented in nostalgic greyscale that we like to call "Past-O-Vision," On the Origin of PCs is a vital part of your Order of the Stick collection. From new DBD publisher Paizo Publishing

    A party girl’s addiction gives birth to a monster within. Man’s best friend must fend off a woman’s greatest nightmare…Scare Street is proud to present eleven chilling tales of the supernatural, in one monstrous volume. Horror authors Ron Ripley, David Longhorn, Sara Clancy, and many more unite to bring you a terrifying collection of short stories, each one guaranteed to haunt your dreams. And each one more chilling than the last.Once you start reading you won’t be able to stop. Because when these authors sink their teeth into you, it’s already too late.The only way to escape from these nightmares… is to wake up screaming.

    In all of fantasy's far-flung realms, women of power - whether trained in the ways of the warrior or in the deepest secrets of sorcery - rally against those who seek to conquer and enslave.Join today's most visionary fantasy writers - Mercedes Lackey, Diana Paxson, Josepha Sherman, and their comrades in words - as they lead you on quests for:shape-changers who prowl the night in search of unsuspecting prey;a sword whose cost could prove far greater than gold;a dragon whose magic may seem more of a curse than a blessing - and countless other adventures where one miscast spell or off-target arrow could see the forces of darkness invading all the magic's lands...Introduction (Sword And Sorceress IX) • (1992) • essay by Marion Zimmer BradleySlave to the Sword • (1992) • short story by Tanya BeatyShadows Do Not Bleed • (1992) • short story by Bruce D. ArthursBeastly! • (1992) • short story by Lynne Armstrong-JonesPiper • (1992) • short story by Susan Hanniford CrowleyStopthrust • (1992) • short story by Diana L. PaxsonElynne Dragonchild • (1992) • short story by Phil BrucatoFreeing Souls • (1992) • short story by Lisa DeasonBlademistress • (1992) • short story by Jessie D. EakerSorcerers' Gate • (1992) • short story by Patricia Duffy NovakThe Birthday Gift • (1992) • short story by Elisabeth WatersTangled Webs • (1992) • short story by Laura J. UnderwoodWinterwood • (1992) • short story by Stephanie D. ShaverRed Wings • (1992) • short story by Josepha ShermanAbove the Ground • (1992) • short story by Eric HainesOn a Night Like Any Other • (1992) • short story by Mark TompkinsA Woman's Weapon • (1992) • short story by Mercedes LackeyBehind the Waterfall • (1992) • short story by Mary FreyHoard • (1992) • short story by Steven PiziksQueen of the Dead • (1992) • short story by Dorothy J. HeydtThe Flower that Does Not Wither • (1992) • short story by Dave SmedsTo Have and to Hold • (1992) • short story by Linda GordonThe Catalyst • (1992) • short story by Lee Ann MartinsBreaking Walls • (1992) • short story by Leslie Ann MillerThe Enchanted Frog • (1992) • novelette by Cynthia L. WardThe Price of the Gods • (1992) • short story by Roxana PiersonTiger's Eye • (1992) • short fiction by Syne Mitchell

    Since then, tension has risen, kingdoms have fallen and the land is at a crossroad. House Evindass, along with the rest of the Pawdin Empire, is in a life-and-death struggle to free the land and themselves from the Iumenta. Now, in the last book of the Legon series, everything will come to a head. Who will stand triumphant? The Elves or the Iumenta…

    It features work from established and popular authors such as Graham McNeill and Nathan Long.

    With the King of the Northmen and the High Priestess of Thond in pursuit, can Shevedieh, the greatest thief in Styria, persuade either one of these proud heroes to step aside?