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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of fantasy short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ Fantasy Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Though fantasy is well known for its epically long sagas, fantasy short stories can deliver all the genre’s best attractions with one punch — or, shall we say, in one fiery dragon breath?

Fantasy Short Stories – Page 10 of 10

Until the Road Ends

Submitted to Contest #329

Under the unshielding sun, all beings stand as mirrors of the one true god, brought to form by him, known to his thoughts, and held in his heart. Let it be known; he who sheds the blood of their fellow man will draw his own blood in kind.I am dead. I know from the fact that I don’t feel hunger, I can’t feel pain, pleasure, sadness. A lack of feeling so profound it makes one wonder, how long will this last? I’ve floated through St’ Clementines Cemetery for decades now, I’ve watched man come, go, and return but a rotting corpse. It’s been the ...

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Hogare and the Witches

Submitted to Contest #329

Horgare rose up slowly. It had been a long successful night of burning villages, eating women, and taking more treasure. “In fact,” thought Horgare, “it was a record night. Three of those women were really tasty. Yum.” And. “Look at all this loot. I could barely carry it all home and it has almost filled the room completely.” The cavern was huge, with lots and lots of smaller caves and nasty crevices that only his body could breach. His treasure room was large and protected by four crevices. Even if some of those dirty little men got in, the...

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The Botanist and the Chemist

Submitted to Contest #329

Three hundred years ago, on a dark and stormy night in the great continent of Tribuna, there was a terrible war between its three kingdoms, known as Tihothia, Uesh, and Hiclaie. Each kingdom was wealthy with its own natural riches. Tihothia was known for its diamonds and precious gemstones, Uesh was known for its exotic fruits and spices, and Hiclaie was known for its iron and cooper exports. But the great and terrible King Paletooth of Hiclaie grew jealous of Tihothia’s wealth. Consumed by greed, he sent his armies to invade the Tihothians....

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R.A.T.S.

Submitted to Contest #329

It was, as they say, a dark and stormy night. A full moon always marked the first night of preschool at the Regional Academy of Terror and the Supernatural. Despite relentless cloud cover, this year’s moon stood sentry as lightning rumbled throughout the evening sky. This was traditionally a time of raised spirits, and the anthem howl of resident werewolves was fitting welcome as families made their way up Ghoul Hill.The school grounds boasted a monstrous haunted oak where vampire children could hang for nightly naps. Fledgling ghosts and go...

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A Mage, His Seagull, and a Serpent with a Broken Heart.

Submitted to Contest #329

'You keep going like that,' the seagull says to me, 'and you'll be jumping off this island when the smokes run out.' I nod and ignite the pipe anyway. The leaves fail to light. 'This stuff is getting worse somehow.' The seagull pauses his search for a butter knife, 'Almost enough to quit?' Saying ancient words, I jam a bright flame suspended from my index finger into the pipe. Earthy tastes of awful leaves envelop me. 'Not enough.' Outside, a wave almost topples our island. A hard slab of water slammed against an improbable spire our cottage...

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ST. DENIS INSTITUTE FOR IMPLACABLE CHILDREN

Submitted to Contest #329

Chapter One, In Which Two Vampires Arrive at Boarding School Saint Denis Institute had not enrolled sanguisuge students since 1899, nearly a hundred years ago, but neither did they turn them away. Vampires were simply infrequent acquaintances in any circumstance, as they kept a natural isolation that bordered on elitism. Thus, when the D’aureville siblings arrived, in uniform, on the fifth day of the semester, they were received rather warily and left quite alone. Revenant Students – immortals – were rare of themselves, but these students we...

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Shadow in the Dark

Submitted to Contest #329

I have walked the edges of humanity since long before there were names for shadows like me. Born not from darkness, but from the first unspoken wound, I emerged in the space where truth is swallowed and tears go unheard. I am older than memory, older than fear itself, older even than the instinct that tells a child to hide under the covers when the night becomes too quiet. Humans have called me many things through the centuries; Omen, nightmare, demon, watcher. They fear me only because I carry what they cannot. Every burden I take becomes a...

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She Walks at Night

Submitted to Contest #329

CW: Emotional abuse, sexually suggestive content I can see the stranger watching me from across the pub and I allow a small smile to stretch across my lips which he returns with a much lazier, drunker version. Sitting up a little straighter, I reach out one hand and delicately beckon him over to the corner where I sit. He stands, unsteadily, and begins to push his way through the crowd. I glance at the mirror on the wall next to me to check my lipstick. My reflection, as always, is that of a beautiful woman. Long deep-brown hair with slight ...

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Circe

Submitted to Contest #329

The tide rolled in, grabbing sand from the shore and pulling it back into the sea, claiming it for Poseidon. High above the beach, a woman dressed in a simple off white gown that fluttered in the wind, stared at the sea expectantly. The saltwater air caressed her skin and played with the dark colored curls of her hair. The air shimmered beside her revealing the lithe figure of a water nymph took shape, her main companion on the island. “Poseidon continues to press his claim on the island”, the nymph remarked in her liquid voice. The wo...

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Cinnamon and Coffee

Submitted to Contest #329

“Hey, are you alright?” a voice asks me, waking me from my sleep. She smells like cinnamon and coffee. But I wasn’t just asleep. I was on the way to dying. For a second time, I suppose. I mean, I was already dead. But that’s the strange thing about being a vampire– you very well may end up dying twice. I hear the rustle of a plastic grocery bag and I open my eyes to blinding sunlight. “Oh god!” I wail, slapping my palm over my suffering eyes. “How is it morning already?” I can feel the sun sapping my energy. Everything hurts. I am always hid...

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The Night Porter

Submitted to Contest #329

The Night Porter As he entered the kitchen the night porter wished he could sigh. Working the night shift suited him because he didn’t sleep, and he loved the sweet quiet of darkness. He wondered at the need for all the lights illuminating the night in cacophony. As if we were kids scared of the dark. So, he made the rounds to check no lights had been left on. And of course, the light at the back, towards the walk-in fridge, was on, as per usual. The idea of a room that was also a fridge where you hang meat and store food as if they were cl...

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Ghost in the machine

Submitted to Contest #329

The call center smelled of burnt coffee and desperation, which, after three centuries of existence, I could confirm was the universal scent of human futility. The fluorescent lights hummed above my cubicle, casting everything in a shade of greenish misery that made even the living look half-dead.I adjusted my headset. 3:47 AM."Thank you for calling TechSupport Solutions, my name is Trevor. How may I assist you this evening?"The voice on the other end belonged to a man who sounded like he'd been gargling gravel and disappointment. "My bloody ...

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A Few Words Were All It Took

Submitted to Contest #329

**Content Warning: erotic horror; blood and feeding; violence; coercive relationship dynamics; references to domestic abuse. I should have known Rafael wasn’t human the moment I saw him onstage, but it wouldn’t have mattered. All that mattered then was the sway of his angular hips and the way he licked his lips between every song, as if even he couldn’t resist himself. I tried my hardest not to let him in on my obsession. When he appeared after his set, dripping sweat and vodka, leaning over the bar toward me, I pretended to ignore him—prete...

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Mother's Milk

Submitted to Contest #329

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, my darling. Blood and bile soaked through the shag carpet. Humans often puked when they were scared.Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I liked to thank them, like hunters thank the deer. Deer are more useful, though; the meat can last for months if stored properly, the hide can make clothes, you can even use the antlers and bones for tools. Human meat is scarce, their skin makes weak leather, and their bones are thin and brittle. This is the true burden of the vampire- we could, and do, drink the blood of other...

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HARLEQUIN

Submitted to Contest #329

HARLEQUIN Harlequin was bored. He put aside his mask and carnival clothing and changed shape for fun. Sitting in a Knightsbridge Costa, he checked over the girls chattering around him. Two blondes in Pashminas, long boots and flicking hair; No. A brunette; hair to dark, faux fur coat; constantly on her I-phone; No. The girl with red hair? She arrived carrying her Latte and searched for a seat. He looked up and smiled, moving along the bench seat to make room. At first, she glanced elsewhere but he had chosen carefully and kept space on his t...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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