David Rich

Frances Koziar

Michael Agoston

Daniel Elliot

Lori Jensen

L. S. Engler

Peter M. Floyd

Sean Mabry

R. J. Novotney

For over a decade, the Bards and Sages Quarterly has been a showcase for both new and established authors to share their speculative works. The short stories presented in each issue serve as a delightful sampler of the speculative genres. Whether your preference is sword and sorcery, time-travel, space exploration, gothic horror, urban fantasy, or any of the speculative genres, you are sure to find something to love in the pages of this magazine. A sample of what is in this issue: The employees of a no-kill animal shelter must content with an influx of magical creatures in The Week of Floofy Hell. The residents of the former penal colony of Drought find themselves in a fight for survival against raiders from another colony in The Mutineers of Starvation. A pair of siblings engaged in some time-travel tourism to see the Beatles perform live discover they may have been sold a dangerous deal in The Farther One Travels. Special notification: Though we avoid publishing stories we deem gratuitous in nature, as a journal of speculative fiction, some stories may content dark subject matter. Some stories may contain strong or offensive language, depictions of violence, and child and animal endangerment.

Bards and Sages Quarterly (January 2023)

A hundred years ago the spell placed upon the Shard of Dancun by the ancient wizards was undone and evil consumed the Shadow Hills. Now, as the Flying Comet appears again, Princess Airia Nyuru must flee her home for the safety of the Hamikai Temple. When a king attempts to kidnap her, she and her griffin Enereas seek refuge in the Hillwall country of Ruekar. The only hope for the end of the Shadow Hills and the Soulless that dwell within them are two puzzling prophecies that Airia alone can fulfill. As she struggles to decipher them, journeying to foreign lands and facing hardships from both within and without, she realizes the gravity and scale of the War of the Shard, and fears her quest is impossible.

The War of the Shard

A hundred years ago the spell placed upon the Shard of Danc?n by the ancient wizards was undone and evil consumed the Shadow Hills. Now, as the Flying Comet appears again, Princess Airia Nyuru must flee her home for the safety of the Hamikai Temple. When a king attempts to kidnap her, she and her griffin Enereas seek refuge in the Hillwall country of Ruekar. The only hope for the end of the Shadow Hills and the Soulless that dwell within them are two puzzling prophecies that Airia alone can fulfill. As she struggles to decipher them, journeying to foreign lands and facing hardships from both within and without, she realizes the gravity and scale of the War of the Shard, and fears her quest is impossible.

Frances Koziar

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