Each issue of the Bards and Sages Quarterly provides readers with an amazing collection of original speculative fiction from both new and established authors in the genre. In this issue: an aging hero reflects on his life as he faces one final challenge, greedy relatives find their plans to collect their inheritance early thwarted through the miracle of science, a young woman finds herself abandoned by her guardian angel at the most inopportune of times, and much more. Plus: an interview with 33 A.D. and Saying Goodbye to the Sun author David McAfee.

Abandoned for her magic, raised by a dryad, Emily must leave her sheltered home to face her duties as a Tempest--a servant of Maia. Accompanied by the notorious outcast mercenary, Katriene, Emily is thrust deep into a mission to protect the kingdom. Along the way she must face the truths from her past, understand the limits of her magic and face the greatest battle of all: Love.

Shauna discovers the vampires in her favorite novels are real, as she hoped they would be. Her initial encounter with them proves fatal for her. She awakens as one of them, but the mysterious vampire who turned her has disappeared. She is taken under the wings of both the Countess of Philadelphia and the legendary Elizabeth Bathory and soon discovers that even immortality can be fatal.

The Vampire Queen of Los Angeles struggles against those who would show she is too weak for the job. A wave of murders among the vampires of her kingdom leaves the Queen as a suspect. Nate Silver, the queen's bloodson and sheriff, must track down the true dangers to the vampire kingdom, even if it means bringing down his own queen. At every step, he hopes to prove her innocence, but at every step, he finds more to link her to the crimes.

Free of her mortal sins, Elsa doesn't live by the rules. She is close with the royal of Philadelphia, so Elsa can get away with murder. Not every vampire in the city appreciates such favoritism. Elsa's longtime rival finds a new ally, one who will not only tip the scales but threaten the royal Elsa is loyal to. Never underestimate how far Elsa will go to protect those she loves. Never underestimate the Blood Countess.

Losing himself in his mundane work after the massacre and burning of Hallows, Nate Silver works to find a crimelord notorious for ruthlessness who specializes in human trafficking. Meanwhile, Katina, a potent vampire who recently lost her twin sister, and Azure, a mage with striking blue hair, are calling in a favor Nate owes them. Their plans involve dark magic, but not as dark as the mage working against them.

We are the damned, they say. We tend to believe them. We live in Hell, they say. That's just one name for it. There are places that would certainly fit the descriptions of Hell around here. They tell us we are doomed to eternity here unless we redeem ourselves. Who are they? We are. We re the denizens of Demia. I've heard said, in many languages the name means the place in the middle, the place between. Between what? Between lives. Most of us remember our lives. They're short vacations into mortality. We're born there; we die there; we come back here and start over. And it's always starting over. Now matter how powerful, how important, how intelligent we were, everyone pops out of the Spawning Pools the same scrawny, weak, and stupid imp. We only remember what we once knew and understood, and the memory is fleeting. Demia: Existence in the Before and After is a roleplaying game set in the realm of demons and the damned. Using a unique, included, role playing system. Demia is the first setting to use Wil Ogden's Rings of Blood system.

Short Story Collections Includes the Novelette - Sheillene: Choosing FateSheillene, a champion tournament archer, is setting out on her own for the first time and discovers she has other options than the life of an exhibition performer. Follow her as she learns the ups and downs of bounty-hunting and the trade of the bard. Faced with the choice, which profession will she ultimately choose?Also in this tome are half a dozen other short stories from the world of Mealth and another half dozen that are from other worlds.

Elsabet or Elizabeth Bathory's life is notorious and, for the most part, known to history. What she's done since is another story altogether. Haunted by the crimes of her life and by her bloodfather, Vlad Dracula, Elsa seeks a life of her own in the New World. But her past will always catch up to her and she must face her demon. Herein are the stories that led to Elizabeth Bathory's atonement, at least, with herself. She can never undo what she's done, but she can balance it. Some of these stories have been told, but without the truth of the tales as Elsa knows them. These are those dark truths.

Arrek and his mercanery company, the Blackwolves, had been hired to quell a peasant uprising. Instead, they find themselves facing something dark and sinister. Two weeks into the job and there are only a handful of Blackwolves left. Arrek's honor won't let him quit as the chances that anyone will survive disappear into the night.