10860+ 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?

🏆 Winning stories

“The Fate of Customer 12” by HR Pinches

 Normal people don’t have destinies. Of course, I never tell them that. When they come into my shop, I take their palms solemnly—after I take their payment, $25 cash or card—and stare into the blankness of their futures with undue reverence. Day after day, year after year, they come: the businessmen and the soccer moms, the mailroom clerks, dentists, and hairstylists of the world. The politicians and the theologians, too. The young an...

134 likes 91 comments 91 WINNER 🏆

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“Untold” by Geir Westrul

“Where are we?” the old man said.“In a dark wood.”“Who are you?” said the old man.“Just … a brother,” said the young man.“Stop,” the old man said. “Let me look at you.”“It is dark.”“And I am blind. For me it is always dark. I can see with my hands, if you will allow me.”“Yes.”The old man felt first the young man’s wavy hair.“Please, describe the color of your hair.”

135 likes 105 comments 105 WINNER 🏆

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“Decomposition Sits with You” by Fabi M

Hugo told me once that fall was his favorite time of the year. Told me to hold leaves as delicate as you would a pretty girl’s hand. His teeth would then spread wide across his face. Pallid and flaked with brown. Rows of sweet tooth that hadn’t been cleared of duff.  On his days off we’d go hunting for mushrooms in the forest behind our house. “It’s hard to tell which mushrooms are edible,” Hugo would ...

128 likes 94 comments 94 WINNER 🏆

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⭐️ Recommended stories

“Cursed To Be More” by Michelle Oliver

The grizzled, grey man hobbled along the village street, his head bent, back bowed. Samra watched him with a wary eye and huddled closer to Mama as they sat on the stoop shelling peas together. Mama’s hands worked endlessly, and she barely needed to follow her actions with her eyes. Samra was not so dexterous. Her hands slowed as her eyes followed the old man as he shuffled along. His gait was slow and rolling, as if one leg was shorter than the other.“Samra, stop staring. Concentrate on your task, chi...

11 likes 8 comments 8

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“Owl Academy” by Tamarin Butcher

Delilah watched, smiling, as this year's batch of fresh students filed into her classroom, guided by an older student who had not, if he knew how to follow the rules, answered a single one of the many questions the teenagers no doubt had. Once all six children were in the room, the door closed, suddenly and with a small snap. Catherine and Isabella, names Delilah knew from the files she had studied carefu...

21 likes 24 comments 24 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Four Fated Fortunes” by Shannon Gale

We four wandered into fortune’s path And learned how we would die.We laughed, though the wariness Never wilted in our eyes.I watched as all the others wentTheir fortunes holding true.Would knowing how your life will endInfluence all you...

25 likes 19 comments 19 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“The One Who Lingers in the Mausoleum ” by Jasmine Wesley

George Vaughn: March 12th, 1986 - December 29th, 1992. He was only six… Wilted daisies, three of them, were scattered over his grave. It had been about three decades and his loved ones, most likely his parents, took the time to visit him. It warmed my heart to witness moments like this. I kneel in front of the grave, my hand hovered over the flowers. I whispered, “George, are you here?” No response.  He passed o...

1 like 0 comments 0

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“Cursed To Be More” by Michelle Oliver

The grizzled, grey man hobbled along the village street, his head bent, back bowed. Samra watched him with a wary eye and huddled closer to Mama as they sat on the stoop shelling peas together. Mama’s hands worked endlessly, and she barely needed to follow her actions with her eyes. Samra was not so dexterous. Her hands slowed as her eyes followed the old man as he shuffled along. His gait was slow and rolling, as if one leg was shorter than the other.“Samra, stop staring. Concentrate on your task, chi...

11 likes 8 comments 8

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“The Queen’s Maze” by Genevieve Pearl

Meet me at the faerie fountain in the middle of the queen’s maze when the moon is full and pregnant in the evening sky. I have a surprise you won’t want to miss.-Prince SolI clutched the note written with hurried strokes against my chest. I needed to hide it in fear that Princess Salor would see it. It had been two years since I became a handmaid to the princess, and one since I secretly started learning ancient spells and incantations that could supposedly awaken a sleeping magic in my bones.

4 likes 3 comments 3

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“Away” by Corrie McCue

Like a crimson leaf descending to the ground in the autumn, I lazily drift above my body, which lies motionless in the bed below, until its gravity draws me back inside. Back inside, where I feel like a violin inside its case. Silent and still. Trapped. Hidden. Not at all the me I become when I float away and am free. I open my eyes. Even as I hear footsteps in the hall, somehow, I feel it is different now…. I h...

1 like 0 comments 0

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“On the Shores of Elysium” by John Weyermuller

Emily curls her toes into the soft white sands of the shoreline as she walks along the silky smooth beach just out of reach of the calm waves breaking peacefully against the shores in the soft light of the two moons overhead. She raises her head to stare at the stars, the constellations bright and twinkling, to the west, the faint purple hue of the water is barely discernible. Emily breathes in deeply, the smell of the sea, the sand, the palm trees, and coconuts fill the air. She brushes a wayward strand of hair from her face that’s come ...

2 likes 0 comments 0

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“Under a Second Moonlit Reverie” by Jules Truong

TW: brief description of body contortion, blood He blinked and in the next moment, he was standing in a long flowing robe, a salty breeze catching it and his long silvery hair. The months of dirt and grime and dried blood peeled off into nothing as he felt cleaned and enveloped in a warm embrace. His once raging heart calmed, and slowed, until it was finally a gentle, constant thud in his ...

2 likes 0 comments 0

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“Silver Stranger” by Amalee Bowen

I wanted to hurl my phone into the street, where cars sped by in a blur of exhaust and chrome. I imagined the glass cracking, the metal wrenched apart, the screen blinking frantically in its dying sputters as it split apart. The tires would roll over it, uncaring, just as the cars and the people passed by, uncaring. I squeezed my phone tighter, feeling the edges of the case press into the meat of my palm. The cost of re...

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“Jerri's Kids for Monterey Child Rentals” by Tommy Goround

Now some people prefer to sell their children at the farmer's market because the weekend rates are cheap and they have no faith in their productMe? I'm more of an exotic Foster Agency because our clients are tourists and the term "Child Broker" has lost its charm since the 1980's. Unfortunately, in California, I have to comply with the wishes of King George III of the 18th century because our rental agreements are based on English Common law when it comes to rentals or buying o...

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“Deacon's Recruitment” by Paul Besancon

Many years before the lavish feast at Lord Raymond’s court… Deacon stumbled through his home’s threshold—a thick wooden frame of ancient oak treated with scented lacquer and tree oils. Despite his decent wealth, he never kept an extravagant house. Why would one who spent most of his time overseas or in far...

2 likes 2 comments 2

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“Blaze of Bloodshed” by Jeff Duke

Chapter one “I’ve got to write in a new genre,” Markus said. “I think I will go for a walk,” he called to his wife. It was early evening as he left through the front door. The night felt crisp. It seemed the temperature was just right. The windows reflected a beautiful sky at sunset. The trees silhouetted against the late evening sky speared upward as ghosts gently swaying in the breeze. Mother nature had...

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“In Another Time” by Brigid Levi

Twirling a stray curl that had come loose from my bun, I contemplated the boring date Jon had planned for us that evening: dinner at the same Thai restaurant and back home for a board game we’d played a thousand times. Was it too late to cancel? Wait, I’d canceled the last one, so if I canceled this one, he’d definitely think something was up. Which wasn’t wrong… SLAM! I nearly hit the ceiling wh...

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“Sad situation ” by Lore Master

So there is some gore and implied threats of mental torture and cursing. Hmm, why is Bell here? wait why are those sewer rats following behind her? A man that is around 6 feet tall with short black hair and abyss-like black eyes could be described as drop-dead handsome with a completely black suit that seems to lead into the void. Saw a short yellow blond haired ...

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“Authentic” by Jacob Warren

Thumping music. Smells of cologne and perfume and stale alcohol in the humid, barely air conditioned air. Respectables was a nightclub along the midtown street of the university Jake attended.  He was there with his law school classmates. Were they his friends? He wanted them to be. There was Matt, Nick, Brad, Alex and the other Alex. They were, indeed, a friendly group, but all they talked about was spor...

4 likes 1 comment 1

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“A Miracle in Moonlight” by Vince Salamone

The cabin waited for her at the foot of the mountain, sheltered in its shadow like some forsaken traveler, weathered and crooked with age, and abandon… Yet, for all its scars, for all the time apart—twenty cycles hence—it stood preserved, as if made manifest from the very depths of her memory. A warm breeze pressed against Ahmelia Valunkroft’s back, gentle and carrying the life of summer with it. Insects chitter...

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“The Woman with the Gold Violin” by Persephone Humphrey

When I first met the woman with the gold violin, it was a glowing midnight in July, the moon spilling over everything in sight. The living room was soaking up the pale light as it pooled on the hardwood floor. The garden was drowning in it: water chestnuts glittered and shone, plum blossoms smiled with white teeth, mango trees appeared ablaze. The jungle beyond was a vase of light, overflowing with kinetic shadows. It w...

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