Fantasy Adventure (All Ages)
Date of Publication: 1 September 2023
Rojo Siete Φωτιά
The red dragon full of chaos fire magic must serve the human mages for seventy years.
Leslie Μάγος
Orphaned human child of slaves, sold to the Magesterium to train as a mage, and paired with a fire dragon.
Ruven Σκιά
Shadow assassin elf turned tracker with a hellhound who eats the undead.
Heista Νεκρός
An undead priest risen and controlled by the most powerful necromancer
Tiamat is a demon god from Earth now banished to a world full of magic and dragon. Lucky for him, his dragon form is a six-headed dragon. The magic here is not like on Earth, it comes from dragons, not from souls.
To be a god on this world, he must learn how to harness the power of the dragons. So, pretending to be less than he is, he joins the Magesterium to train as a mage. He masters this ability easily but is paired with a dragon who was once a human. Her dragon mate has died and if he doesn’t pair with her, the other dragons will kill her.
Her magic is weak, but Tiamat can fix that. He can show this world that the dragons banished from their clans can find a new purpose, just like him. Until his past catches up and demons from Earth arrive to take a soul from Tiamat that they feel is theirs. Turns out, necromancy is easy to do on this world and the other demons have no qualms about using it.
To defeat the other demons, Tiamat must give up the new life he’s found, and become the god he was destined to be.
This story is told from multiple viewpoints and is available in both an all-ages friendly adaptation (Mage & Magic) and the original (Mages and Mates) which has a heavier focus on romance.
Fantasy Adventure (All Ages)
Date of Publication: 8 September 2023
Olje Ιππότης
Dedicated Goblin Paladin of the Sun Deities, raised as an undead protector to Tiamat
Gruillie Καλόγερος
Religious Goblin Monk, fierce warrior, and bound to Mage Tiamat as his dragon.
Tiamat ψόφιος
Six-headed demon god dragon sworn to protect the inhabitants of this world.
Neo Νερό
Water Dragon, bound to Mage Peter and entangled with demons.
Goblins have secrets. Their knowledge of science has created the sun deities and given them the power to harness the holy sun power from another plane of existence. Their methods of creating the coveted gold is unethical. Their practices drive a wedge in their alliance to the six-headed demon god Tiamat and soon elves, humans, dragons, and goblins are divided in who they will trust in the coming war against the undead.
New mages and dragons become trusted allies, while others are lost. Neo, a water dragon, despises elves and undead, yet vows to help Tiamat in order to protect his clan. Olje, a goblin monk, once faithful to Tiamat, shifts his priorities when an unwitting mage comes into possession of a clutch of goblin gold. This gold must be acquired and kept safe at all costs, even if it means asking the elves for help.
This story is told from multiple viewpoints and is available in both an all-ages friendly adaptation (Mage & Magic) and the original (Mages and Mates) which has a heavier focus on romance.
Excerpt
“The fire sprites,” I said before Gruillie could answer my
question. “Your sun deities are female goblins?”
“No-no,” Gruillie quickly denied,
but I could see the fear in his eyes.
“What did you call them?” Olje
asked.
“I saw them,” I said. I glanced at
him briefly, not wanting to bring up the memory. “When you turned me into a
dragon the first time. They took me to another astral plane or something. They
looked like sprites to me, but I figured out they were the things you worship
as sun deities. They were the same size as goblins. Same shape. I can’t believe
I didn’t figure it out sooner.”
“Okay, okay, let’s pretend aye agree
with ye,” Gruillie said.
“Let’s drop the pretenses, monk,” I
snapped. “Have they always been sun deities or was that a side effect from all
your experiments? The men got the ability to turn into dragons, and the women
became fire creatures?”
“They don’t like to be called
creatures,” Olje said.
“Monsters, then?”
They both gasped, like they thought
I’d be smited for saying such a thing.
“Deities. They are sun deities.”
“You’re terrified of them.”
“Of course, we are. All our power
comes from them. They are the gods of this world.”
“Born or made, Gruillie. Tell me.”
He clenched his jaw, refusing to
speak.
“Olje.”
“Made.” This earned him a swift
whack from the staff Gruillie held. “Aye can’t help it. He’s my necromancer.
Aye have to obey.”
“You didn’t think you should tell me
about this?”
“Do ye know what would happen if
word got out? Imagine the elves becoming sun deities? Or dragons? We have to
keep our secrets close-hold.”
“Your women are running around
pretending to be gods.”
“They aren’t pretending,” Olje said.
“They are gods.”
“They are your daughters,” I
growled. “They are suffering from a side effect of your people’s experiments.”
It took me a few swipes but I managed to yank Gruillie’s staff from him. “So,
your women are sun deities and somehow you’re able to channel their power
through gold objects?”
“Aye,” Gruillie said.
“Did you ever try to fix them?” They
were both silent. “Did you ever ask them if they want to be normal again?”
“They aren’t exactly talkative,”
Gruillie said. “When they are on our… as ye put it astral plane… they light
things on fire and sing songs. So, when they hatch, we banish them.”
“You banish them. Of course, you
do.” I put both hands on the staff and tried to focus on the sun power residing
in it. I had more power now, thanks to the elf, so it was possible I could
shift to the other plane. I’d gone there before, and I hadn’t been nearly as
powerful as I was now.
My world filled with a golden haze,
and my body burned with pain like it had on that first day. In the flames that
danced around me, I saw the figures slowly become distinct. I grabbed the
nearest one and held onto them, pulling them into a bearhug and shoving my
darkness into them. It snuffed out their light and I shifted back to the plane
we belonged in, still holding her tightly.
I held the staff in front of us,
channeling what remained of the sun powers into it, then dropped it. I couched
and released the goblin I held. She stumbled and wobbled in circles for a bit,
completely naked, with disheveled red hair that was so long it kept tripping
her. She saw the two men with us and hurried to cover herself with the hair.
“A woman,” Gruillie said. He looked
at me. “How did ye do that?”
“I don’t think I could have without
the elf bond.” My head throbbed, and my body was exhausted. “It’ll be a bit
before I can do it again.”
“We need to get out of here. We
can’t stay on this beach.” Olje glanced wearily in the direction of Dragon
Isle. We were a bit too close to that. “Can ye make us a portal?”
“Only to the Magesterium… but, I
know a guy.” I reached out to Mage Peter and told him to come. Instead of
shifting to smoke and flying to us, he opened a portal. Because of course,
portals were easy for him to make.
He stepped through, bringing his
dragon with him.
“What is this?” the blue dragon
asked in his human form.
“You’re going to keep your mouth
shut about all of this,” I said. “Do that, and I’ll put in a good word about
you to Leslie.”
The dragon nodded.
“I need you to make a portal to
Benchual Temple,” I said.
“You called me here to make you a
portal? You’re a mage, can’t you do that yourself?” Peter asked.
“Oye, ye be a new undead. Welcome,”
Olje said, strolling over with his hand extended.
“Undead.” The dragon looked at
Peter. “When did that happen? You died? He’s your necromancer?”
“Want to join him?” I asked.
“I did not say I had a problem with
it. No problems. No, sir.” He politely stepped back and clasped his hands.
“Is yer dragon a juvenile? He looks
to be wee one of ten,” Olje said.
“I’m not as short as you,” the
dragon snapped.
“Stop it. Portal now. We need to get
her somewhere and I…” I couldn’t stand. “Need to rest.” I shot a glare at
Peter. “I better not wake up in a dungeon.”
“Oh, aye knew there’d be a reason he
killed ye,” Gruillie said. “Give me one of yer robes. The lass be naked.”
As Peter obliged, helping to cover
the nude goblin, it was the water dragon who came to me and offered to help me
stand. He was remarkably short, not even reaching my shoulders, but he was
stout and easily took my weight.
About the Author
Nina Schluntz is a native to rural Nebraska. In her youth, she often wrote short stories to entertain her friends. Those ideas evolved into the novels she creates today.
Her husband continues to ensure her stories maintain a touch of realism as she delves into the science fiction and fantasy realm. Their three cats are always willing to stay up late to provide inspiration, whether it is a howl from the stray born in the backyard or an encouraging bite from the so called “calming kitten.”
You can find Nina at:
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