Tyranny of the Fey
Tyrannyof the Fey
Terry Bartley
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Starlight King Press
Date of Publication: 8/15/2023
ISBN: 979-8-9877958-1-1
ASIN: B0BV77GJCJ
Number of pages: 242
Word Count: 50,334
Cover Artist: Deryl Arrazaq
Tagline: Adventure Waits for No One
Book Description:
A collection ofshort stories in a connected fantasy world
A famed Elven researcher is worried about her home. When she discovers a newrealm with massive magic potential, she believes she has found the answer. Willthe Seasonal Fey Courts allow her to continue her research withoutinterference, or do they have more nefarious plans?
An Elven princess runs away from her arranged marriage to a parallel world.Will she be able to find the adventure she seeks? While she is in search ofbattles with dragons and quests to obtain sacred artifacts, she finds that whatshe was looking for may have been a true connection with someone thatunderstands her.
Two childhood friends, an Orc and a Goblin, have long dreamed of adventure.When a magic school dropout stumbles into their lives, they jump at the chanceto realize their ambitions. This found family realizes the world of Galevyn isa much bigger place than the jungle they grew up in.
Excerpt
“Nice moves,” Aunt Poppy said. Sweat wasbeginning to gather on her brow. Her sandy short-cropped hair glistened in thesunlight. “You must have been practicing while I was away.”
She raised her short sword to guard her face and torsoand backed away from me. She certainly looked less intimidating in her formalpantsuit, but the shirt still strained from her hulking arm muscles.
“Something like that,” I replied. I didn’t exactlyhave fighting clothes, as my mother didn’t approve of this hobby. But my old,beat up riding clothes worked well enough. “Or you’re just getting old.”
I took a deep breath and flung my head to toss my darkblack ponytail around to my back. I rushed towards her and she swiped her bladein my direction. At the last moment, I dropped into a crouch and swung myleg around to trip her. She jumped before I could make contact andflipped forward, over my head. She lowered the edge of her short sword tomy throat as autumn leaves fell around us.
“Got me again,” I laughed as she pulled her sword awayand offered me her hand. I happily took it and pulled myself up. Thegarden of the Autumn Maiden’s estate wasn’t meant for this sort of training,but it was always my favorite use of the grounds.
“You truly are getting better,” she repeated.
I pushed some loose hairs behind my ear and smirked.“Still not good enough to beat you.”
“Please girl, I have been adventuring for over acentury now. You are barely within your second decade,” Aunt Poppyreassured.
“I just really wanted to beat you before . . . . Well, you know,” I admitted.
“Asha,” she began sympathetically, “just becauseyou’re getting married doesn’t mean you need to stop sparring with me.”
“The future Autumn Maiden doesn’t concern herself withthe martial arts,” I said, pointing a crooked finger at her, mimicking mygrandmother. I pushed my nose out and opened my eyes a bit wider.
Aunt Poppy laughed. “You better not let her catch youdoing that. That woman never forgets. You can trust me on that.”
That made a chill run down my back, remembering allthe times I’d been scolded by my grandmother. It’s not what she says so much ashow she says it. That tone will stick with you.
“But it's more than that, Aunt Poppy. I don’twant sparring to just be a womanly dalliance for me. I want to be anadventurer. I want to be like you!” I exclaimed. I meant it. The princesslife never seemed to fit for me.
“I know,” she said in a consolatory tone. “Butsometimes we just don’t get to choose our path in life.”
I liked to believe she truly felt things could bedifferent. Why else would she send me such detailed letters of her adventuresall the time? I hoped she might know about a loophole to get me out of this.
“But you did!”
Aunt Poppy sighed. There were some things, it seemed,even great adventurers can’t do. “That’s the blessing of being the second born. I assure you, your father has made sacrifices because of his duty to thefamily. That is just something firstborns get saddled with.”
“It's not fair,” I whined. I sounded like asmall child. I always made sure to take advantage of my time with my aunt toget in all my overly dramatic complaints that I couldn’t do in front of therest of my family.
“That it is not, Asha. Life rarely is,” Poppysaid solemnly, turning to look toward the Autumn Maiden’s expansive manorhouse.
“It's just,” I began, “The way you talk aboutthe material realm makes it sound like there is so much more opportunitythere.”
“It is that,” Aunt Poppy admitted, “but there aretroubles there too. I’ll be heading back there after tonight’s dinner. Perhaps if you make a good impression your grandmother might let you tagalong.”
I smiled at the thought, even though I knew it was afar-fetched fantasy.
“Asha! Sister! It is almost time!” Mysister Tinsley called, running out of the large decorative glass double doors onthe back of the manor house.
“Very well, Tinsley,” I relented and began followingbehind her.
“Eh, not so fast,” Aunt Poppy said.
I looked down and noticed the training sword still inmy hand. I handed it over.
“I get it,” Aunt Poppy began, “I’ve had more than afew first dates I’d wished I’d brought a weapon along, but it may not offer agood first impression.”
“Probably not,” I laughed.
[image error] About the Author:
Terry Bartley is a journalism, literature, and English teacher at Scott HighSchool and writer of the upcoming collection of short stories, Tyranny of theFey. Terry is the host of the podcast “Most Writers are Fans,” about the intersectionbetween writing and fandom. Terry has professionally written for the CoalValley News and Screenrant. He has won awards for writing and broadcasting fromthe West Virginia Associated Press, the National Broadcasting Society, andMarCom. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Phoenix and an M.A. inEnglish Education from Western Governor’s University.He loves tabletoproleplaying games, social deduction games, reading comics, and watching musicaltelevision shows. He lives in rural West Virginia with his dog, Etsy.
Webpage: http://www.terrybartley.com
Podcast:https://anchor.fm/terry-bartley
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22973304.Terry_Bartley
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Do you love books full of adventure, cute sapphic romance, and found families?Tyranny of the Fey is the book for you! https://books2read.com/u/3nDX9e
#mustread #indiepub #fantasy #weekendread #lgbtq #bisexual #shortstory#dnd #ttrpg #anotherworld #isakai
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