An Elondrian ambassador and his wife are kidnapped by the overlord of Cylmar, and Ayrion finds himself being whisked away in the middle of the night to save them. Not even given the chance to tell his tribe that he is being sent on a secret mission, Ayrion and Room Eleven find themselves being forced to sneak behind enemy lines. Unfortunately, as Ayrion's luck usually holds, nothing goes according to plan. With this being Ayrion's first time to lead a mission, he doesn't want to fail, but the deeper into enemy territory they get, the more likely that outcome becomes.

A summons by the king turns Ayrion’s life upside down. He’s being conscripted into the Lancer Corps . . . and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Just as Ayrion’s priorities are involuntarily split between the Elondrian Lancers and his tribe, Noph—the notably cunning chief of Sandstorm—calls for a secret meeting between himself and Hurricane. The outcome of that meeting forces Ayrion, Reevie, and Sapphire to make a decision that will not only affect their role within the tribes but will test the true strength of their friendship. Whether they can survive the transition will hinge on which choice they make.

Life on the streets is hard. Ayrion learned to fight, young, being raised by mercenaries. But after a fatal accident sees him banished from his home, he makes his way to the capital city of Aramoor in hopes of starting a new life. With high aspirations of making a name for himself, Ayrion soon discovers how dangerous and unforgiving those streets can be. If there's one lesson he's learned above all others, it's the importance of choosing his friends wisely.

AYRION Everything Ayrion has ever believed about his people is brought into question as an inconceivable heritage dating back millennia is revealed. Sent by the wizard Nyalis, Ayrion is tasked with not only returning to the Lost City—the one place that had forsaken him—but convincing his people to abandon who they are and leaving the only home they’ve ever known. ADARRA With the possibility of an impending Tallosian invasion, Adarra finds herself whisked away in the middle of the night to join the ambassadorial team as they attempt to establish a dialogue between her people and the savage Northmen. Aboard a ship full of Sidaran Lancers, she sets sail for the Isle of Tallos, a place so...

An ancient proverb holds the key to restoring the long-awaited wizard fortress of Aero’set. Sitting in the front room of his family’s cottage, TY listens intently as Nyalis conveys the urgency of his upcoming quest. Having agreed to search out the four missing pieces of an age-old relic, Ty soon discovers how unprepared he is for a mission of this importance. Not only must he find the missing pieces and assemble them, he must survive long enough to figure out how to use them before the White Tower closes in. Desperate to reach Rhowynn ahead of Chief Inquisitor Sylas, FERRIN pushes his small band of convicts to their limits—his twin sister’s life depends on it. On foot, they fight their...

No place is left untouched. In his quest for vengeance against the witch Mangora, TY stumbles across a curious book he believes might help. But its pages hold a dark secret that threatens to unravel everything his family and friends have been fighting for. The more he reads, the more addicted he becomes to the knowledge it offers... With no memory of who he is or where he came from, AYRION finds himself traveling with a pair Rhivanni tinkers as they head east toward Sidara. Then a plea for help from a young rover boy leads them into the middle of a horrific bloodbath against an enemy no one has seen in over a thousand years. If they aren't stopped, these creatures will spread across...

For a thousand years magic has been banished throughout the Five Kingdoms, and those caught wielding it are rounded up and taken to the White Tower. They are never heard from again. TY knows he's different. And when the bounty hunters arrive in the quiet city of Easthaven, his family is forced to reveal the shocking truth about his magical bloodline, a secret that threatens not only his life, but the lives of everyone around him...including LYESSA. As the daughter of an overlord, and a skilled fighter, Lyessa will one day be expected to rule. However, when an Ahvari witch hires a tribe of Northmen to capture Ty, the two find themselves in the middle of a war they didn't know...

Our Fourth Collection of Deep Magic fantasy and science fiction stories remains one of the most cost-effective ways to access larger collections of the short fiction we feature. As will previous collections, this one does not include the novel excerpts, but otherwise includes all of the short fiction from the four issues collected. Please enjoy your introduction to these worlds and characters, and if you are returning to these stories for another look, welcome back.