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    Of Dragons, Love, and Poison
    Of Dragons, Love, and Poison
    Of Dragons, Love, and Poison
    Ebook71 pages1 hour

    Of Dragons, Love, and Poison

    By Matthew D. Ryan

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    About this ebook

    A collection of three short stories from Matthew D. Ryan.

    Of Dragons, Love, and Poison: The king’s daughter and son have disappeared. The nation of Heshra is in an uproar. Who did the deed? What does it portend? Amidst the swirling rumors of deceit and treachery, the king turns to the warrior, Thrigon, one of his most trusted soldiers to seek out the wrongdoer and rescue his family. If Thrigon succeeds, he may gain the princess’ hand in marriage. If he fails, both he and those he was meant to rescue may wish he’d never tried.

    The Red Archer: Amgwin Altarre. The Red Archer. He is the greatest marksman in all the world of Athron. Plagued by a master thief that can seemingly strike at will anywhere in his city, Count Thadeus turns to Amgwin for help. But can even the Red Archer stop an adversary as cunning as The Hawk?

    Fate Unchained: When young Prince Kyahn is born, the Royal Seer predicts that he will be the downfall of the kingdom. Devastated, his father, the king, sends him to grow up in the care of the Royal Wizard to learn the Art ignorant of his birthright and build for himself a new life. His younger twin is pronounced the heir. But is that enough to cheat Fate? Or is it the very thing that will bring the nation down?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMatthew D. Ryan
    Release dateFeb 17, 2014
    ISBN9781311167026
    Of Dragons, Love, and Poison
    Author

    Matthew D. Ryan

    Looking for a vampire that actually kills people? So was I. So, I created one: Lucian val Drasmyr. He's not a teen heart throb. He's a killer. My first novel, Drasmyr, features him as the chief antagonist and a formidable force for darkness. Just in case I was unclear: he is pure evil. Unholy. Diabolical. A true scourge from Hell.I'm Matthew D. Ryan and I'm a fantasy author. My topics of choice include the aforementioned vampires, as well as dragons, wizards, magic ... that sort of thing. I get my inspiration from multiple sources, not least of which is my almost complete immersion in the fantasy genre over many, many years. I've read more fantasy novels than I can remember; I've been playing RPG games like D&D as both Dungeonmaster/Gamemaster and player for nearly forty years; and I've watched innumerable movies and television programs steeped in the fantastic and miraculous. All of that gives me a fertile imagination and a rich background of experience to draw upon. Writing about vampires or dragons is almost second nature for me now.My first novel, Drasmyr, started out as a short story. Then it grew into a stand-alone novel. Then it shifted into the prequel to my dark fantasy series, From the Ashes of Ruin. I've also written several small collections of short stories, a couple novellas, and even a non-fiction book about my struggles with mental illness -- I've unpublished that last for personal reasons. Additionally, I've run a number of web-sites and blogs here and there; and I've also done a couple speaking engagements on both worldbuilding and the writing process.So, if you like vampires or dragons, or are just into the fantasy genre in general, I'm your guy. Download one of my books now. I heartily recommend Drasmyr.Oh, by the way, if you go to my site: The Wizard's Inkwell (link below), I've started writing 5th Edition D & D Adventures (Under the SRD License). If you play D & D, you can download an adventure or two and make a go at it. They're great fun!

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      Book preview

      Of Dragons, Love, and Poison - Matthew D. Ryan

      OF DRAGONS, LOVE, AND POISON

      Matthew D. Ryan

      The Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2014 Matthew D. Ryan

      To stay abreast of Matthew D. Ryan’s work go to http://www.matthewdryan.com

      To join his mailing list click here.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      Of Dragons, Love, and Poison

      The Red Archer

      Fate Unchained

      Other Stories and Novels by Matthew D. Ryan

      About the Author

      Excerpt: Drasmyr: Prologue

      Of Dragons, Love, and Poison

      The spider crawled along the top of the pew. It scuttled first one way then the other, its bulbous red abdomen looking like a strange traveling eye being carried by legs which moved so quickly as to be nearly invisible.

      Thrigon hated spiders. It had been a long tradition among his people that spiders were the agents of the devil, Agillos, one of the most powerful rulers of infernal Hell. But I’m a long way from my people, he thought. A brown-skinned man in a nation of the pale. Not exactly an outcast, but there were times when he’d felt isolated and alone, a stranger in his adopted land. As such, he’d certainly borne more than his fair share of bigotry. The king, of course, had always treated him well, but His Majesty had a number of subjects who were not nearly so fair-minded.

      The spider disappeared from view, and Thrigon returned his attention to the chancel of the church. High Priest Chonnis, dressed in blue and white vestments, approached the lectern and lifted his hands. The din of the surrounding crowd softened to a buzz, then faded to silence.

      Thrigon scanned the ranks of well-dressed men and women; it seemed that every courtier in the province had been summoned. The king stood alone near the front, dressed in regal robes of gold, crimson, and purple. As far as Thrigon could tell, the only people absent were the heir apparent, young Prince Aldor, and his older sister, Princess Anniya.

      With thought of Princess Anniya, Thrigon felt a gentle flush spread through his cheeks. A hollow ache filled his heart. If only.…

      Thrigon pushed the feelings away and turned his attention back to the chancel.

      My lords and ladies, High Priest Chonnis said, you have been summoned to hear the king. My lords and ladies, I give you King Edriss.

      The king stood. The high priest stepped to the side, bowed, and retreated off the dais.

      King Edriss had seen nearly fifty winters, but today he looked like he’d seen over one hundred. The planes and muscles of his face were soft and wrinkled, his hair, nearly white. He walked gingerly, as if his whole body was made of delicately bound sticks which would fall apart with the slightest perturbation—a far cry from the hale warrior who had rushed to Thrigon’s aid nearly twelve years ago.

      King Edriss climbed to the third step on the chancel dais and turned to face the crowd. Thank you, High Priest Chonnis. He paused long enough to clear his throat. Lords and ladies, vassals of my crown, I have grave news. He took a deep, shuddering breath, as if steeling himself for a blow. Sometime during the night, servants of evil snuck into my castle and sought to undue my dynasty. My daughter, Anniya, and my young son, Prince Aldor, were abducted. Today is a dark day indeed, for my kingdom is without an heir, and my line threatens to end with me unless my family is restored.

      As the king spoke, Thrigon felt his heart go numb. Princess Anniya was gone. He tried to block the news out, deny the painful reality of it, but soon it permeated every thought in his head. Someone had stolen into the king’s castle and violated the kingdom in a most dreadful way. The woman he loved, if only from afar, had been abducted.

      Around him, an angry murmuring of discontent arose from the gathered courtiers.

      We will bring justice to such devils, one man shouted.

      Who did the deed? asked another. We will have his head.

      The king raised a hand and silence descended. As of yet, we do not know who the perpetrators are, or where they have taken my family. We know dark magic was involved in the kidnapping, but that is all.

      How did they get past Athris? one man asked. Mage Athris was the royal wizard charged with Prince Aldor’s safety; a loyal servant, he kept an ever-watchful eye on the heir apparent and all his doings.

      Mage Athris is dead, the king said. The intruder killed his owl familiar while he slept.

      Clever, Thrigon

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