A listless girl who isn't quite human. A sorcerer looking for answers from a brilliant engineer. An herbalist from a time of oppression. This anthology of short tales will follow heroes and villains, scions of ancient houses and lowborn goodfolk, mortals, shifters, fey, and dragons. Whether contemporary with the adventures of a sky woman from Sandharbor or set in the distant past, Tales of the Five Kingdoms offers new lands, new cultures, lore, and the secret workings of the Continent. (Stories containing spoilers for The Empress Saga will be marked.) A/N: Full disclosure, a lot of these stories are ones I'm writing primarily as practice in different forms, subgenres, and character types. For instance, Gillwyn is in some ways a warm-up for when Jin at last becomes a viewpoint, and Obuu came from a desire to positively portray an autistic character. Tot5K is a learning experience for me, so please bear with me through the things that don't work. That said, I'll do my utmost to keep everything compliant with my own canon and not treat these as disposable. When doing something, do it sincerely, and I intend to.

In a decayed and dying alien world that was once center of a vast planetary empire, an embittered rogue knight, soldier to the fallen empire, traverses a bizarre landscape discovering strange and sinister truths about the nature of the leaders he once served and about the mysterious warlords who have now carved the world into their private kingdoms. ************************************************************************************************ Wonderful cover art by Stefanie Saw: @seventhstar

The world as humanity knew it was gone. In its place was a radioactive wasteland, scorched by nuclear furnaces. The third millenium passed unmarked and uncelebrated by those in the safezones. The rich took to the oceans, and to the skies, leaving everyone else behind. Stranded in the isolated "safe zones", with no knowledge of the worlds above their heads. Igor Jonovich changed everything. Nanotechnology, long thought to be impossible, flourished under his genius. Even as the walls of their radioactive cage closed in, humanity pushed back, harnessing Jonovich's creations to explore the radioactive wastelands. To challenge the twisted creatures that lurked in the ashes of their former glory. Humanity thought they, at least, knew this scarred earth. It turns out even that was a lie. Yesterday Jared found a message hidden within Professor Jonovich's greatest work that changed everything.