MeredithAll

As a spare heir and hero of the last war, Wystan would like nothing more than to enjoy retirement while teaching recruits and drinking up his inheritance. After stepping on the wrong toes, he is reinstated early and finds himself on a quest to slay a dragon in the Southern Lands of the Empire. Unwanted and feared, the merry band of the Empire's mercenaries joins him on the journey, for they have been ordered to die with him in not so many words.While the rumors consist of a tale of a feral, man-eating dragon, a captured princess, and a dreary, impenetrable fortress of a tower where both dwell, Wystan learns that stories are just that: stories.The tower is not impenetrable nor dreary. On the contrary, it's quite homey with warm rugs, shiny chandeliers, and the fire roaring in every heart. The dragon ignores humans like a person would an ant. And the princess...Is in fact a prince. The runaway prince of the Zmaya Kingdom enjoys making Wystan's days harder. Smooth-tongued and shrewd, Alexei offers their party a place to stay after hearing about their grim fate. Uncovered coincidences and secrets imply a connection between him and the dragon.If Wystan returns home empty-handed, the Emperor would hang him. But it's not just his life at stake, the mercenaries become comrades in arms. Wystan is forced to entertain Alexei's whims while unraveling the truth behind the man's meddling, the dragon's presence, and the Empire's betrayal.…

MeredithAll

Just like all the other Dragon Heirs of age, Plamen attends The Grand Test of Power so the Gods can judge who of them is worthy of breaking the curse that binds Dragon kind to human bodies. Not many managed to pass the test - you can count them on the fingers of one hand. Even worse, only one person came close to breaking the curse, yet failed.Plamen will do anything to succeed, even unwillingly team up with two other Dragon Heirs. Zima and Vid are interesting companions, though, ones he thinks he doesn't need.The obstacle appearing in front of them is not something anyone could predict but, to their utter bafflement, they pass the Test. However, it comes at a steep price.Because now, they just need to find out how to stay alive.From one corner it's Goddess Nužda's minions attacking them - and not just them, but their friends, families, everyone's at risk - and from another, it's the political machinations of adult dragons that make this endeavor almost impossible.'...what price are you willing to pay?' The ancient prophecy speaks of the three that will be victorious, but it's not complete and the missing parts are ones they need to be wary of.Featured on the reading lists of Magic and Fantasy profiles20k milestone achievedRound Two QualifierOpen Novella Contest 2020 prompt 24. (dragons, of course xD)- 1st place winner in Fantasy (The Royalty Awards)- 1st place winner in Fantasy (Concealed Voices Awards 2020)…

MeredithAll

Armed with magic and a gun, Nicole Hallian works as an investigator in the Supernatural Investigations Bureau (SIB) branch office located in the town of Callahan's Morrow. She likes her job, but not these days when mysterious abductions make the front pages in the newspaper. People are scared and SIB is getting nowhere with the investigation.Just as everything seems black, a prominent supernatural figure, Giuseppe Viola, arrives back in the town. Nicole unsuccessfully tries to extract some information from him; a vampire as old as him is a tough nut to crack. But not everything is as it seems to be: Nicole's boss, Adrian Crawshaw, has a few skeletons in his closet - and those come to bite him in the ass. He would love nothing more than everyone staying unaware of his connection to Giuseppe, no matter how much easier life could be if he made peace with the past.As a dead body thumps to the ground in front of the investigation team, members of the SIB office branch form a tentative partnership with Giuseppe to get to the bottom of this unresolved case.…

MeredithAll

Shawna is hundreds of years old but not dead. As a vampire, she has existed for a long time, but only now she feels threatened. Kaz needs a concubine to fill in a position in his entourage, a requirement for those in power in the society of vampires. They meet during a pub quiz - a chance encounter, yet a turnaround for both of them.Love? Who needs love when you can have political machinations, unexpected assassinations, and deadly vampires.This beautiful cover was made by @Manya707*happens in the same world as The Crime in Callahan's Morrow**1st place winner - Fantasy category - The Ace Awards 2020**1st place winner - Vampire - The Legendary Awards**2nd place winner - Vampire/Werewolf - Creativity Awards 2019***short hiatus…

MeredithAll

Every now and then, a strange signal blinks on the live-dead map. Question marks above the dot represent how much knowledge about it the Underworld Central's Death Headquarters lacks.Kuolema, the Master Death and ruler of the Underworld, sends out his reapers to investigate, yet each time they come back empty-handed. Convinced they are just incompetent idiots, he decides to find this mysterious intruder while performing the obligatory centennial surveillance of mortals.Of course, it's 2020 and the pandemic is in full swing. His plan does not go as conceived.ONC entry using the prompts 36 and 57, both featuring Death as the main theme2k words achieved - passed the 1st round8k words achieved…

MeredithAll

A little collection of short stories I've written for contests and other stuff I want to share.Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampire...…

MeredithAll

Hades had his peace and tranquillity of the Underworld broken by an unsanctioned visitor. Who is the intruder and what did he offer to the Lord of Death to make him ditch his job? This story was written for Fantasy's May 2018 - Tempting Hades Collab Contest. Word count: 996.…