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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.

15040+ 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 988 of 1003

The Stranger

Submitted to Contest #24

“Whew!” Hank whipped out a hanky and mopped his glistening brow, squinting hard as the sun blazed overhead. “If this ain’t the hottest darn day…”He had just finished loading the last sack of provisions into the wagon. Bill Druthers, the General Store owner, was inspecting the mound of goods so he could tally up the bill. “That’s fer sure.” Bill agreed. “Can’t last too long, though. Way them clouds look we’re in for a squall come nightfall.” Hank lifted up his Stetson a bit, peering at the deep, dark clouds that were gathering over the distan...

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Red Ghost

Submitted to Contest #24

The town was silent as Decker Carr led his horse down the dusty street of Pistolcross. The sun was just beginning to disappear behind the canyon horizon. The wooden buildings seemed to have a red glow. Decker had patrolled the endless and empty desert for days. This was the first town he had come across. But where was everyone?                As Decker traveled further down the street, he began to hear the uplifting sound of a piano coming from the lit building. He co...

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Rhyolite Remembers

Submitted to Contest #24

The violent inward swing of the batwing doors caused every head in the saloon to swivel towards the entrance There was no fear or anxiety in the dozen of so eyes that came to rest on Deputy William Dillinger’s serious face, only burning curiosity. Rhyolite was a peaceful town, after all. Distractions were a hot commodity.  Dillinger’s eyes met those of Father Wyatt Hardin who sat alone in a corner with his tattered King James. “The Sheriff’s awake Father.” A salacious smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He paused a moment, his tee...

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The Possum

Shortlisted for Contest #24 ⭐️

The whiskey stung going down. Sheriff Houghton coughed back the cheap swill and took in a deep breath through his nostrils, taking in the scents of Old Delilah’s saloon. That one sniff carried with it the musty memories of liquor, twice chewed tobacco, and the unmistakable truth that it had been weeks since the bartender before him had seen a bar of soap. He quickly rejected the breath, pushing it out from his mouth with great force and slamming his empty glass onto the table. “You’re doin’ nobody favors here, Kipp.” The words came out in a ...

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The Promise

Submitted to Contest #24

PreludeThe rain pounded the small stone home outside of the city of Corinth. The storm raged and the winds howled, and yet Lamia couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge the storm’s presence. All she could feel was the warm radiance of the god laying in bed next to her. His powerful arms wrapped around her body, making her feel safe and secure in the home. “You more than any other mortal, have captured my heart,” Zeus said sleepily, a smile on his face as he gently stroked the hair out of Lamia’s face. “My heart is yours, now and fore...

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Two Green Eyes Staring at Me

Submitted to Contest #24

Two Green Eyes Staring at Me                                                                            Suzanne Marsh           ...

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A Moment in Time

Submitted to Contest #24

Charlie bounced the ball against the side of the log cabin. Thump, thump. Thump, thump.“Charlie will you quit bouncing that ball! It is making such a racket and has woke Clara up from her nap!” Charlie’s mom yelled out the door of the cabin.Charlie sighed. Ever since his sister had been born, he had to tiptoe around everywhere. He couldn’t run through the house anymore. Clara would wake up and cry. He couldn’t pretend he was Sherriff anymore and play shoot 'em up. Clara would wake up and cry. Now he couldn’t bounce his ball against the house...

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Miles Apart, but so close

Submitted to Contest #24

It started on that very day. The day the world was starting to change and everything around me seemed to go full throttle without any remorse for what was happening. It couldn't have been something so simple like horses going extinct or new ways of transport being found. No.It started with a headache that came to me out of no where. People around me whispering. It was shortly after that I realized that things around me were floating around the ground was shaking. The wood buildings around were starting to shift and fall apart. I didn't know ...

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Trading Five Bullets

Submitted to Contest #24

Like wolves howling, the chorused voices of oo-way oh-way oo-way oh-way floated into the sky. The notes were partners with the dancers as they stomped left and right, left, left and right. The drumbeats matched the dancers and rumbled the dust with a bada-bada-bum bada- bum bada-bum. Both feet and drumsticks kicked up the dry dust with every vibration, adding to their call for rain.               “Come dance, Black Cloud,” coaxed the elders. “Call to Mother Nature. Ad...

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The Mercantile Shop

Submitted to Contest #24

She looked up at the empty sky, lifted her hand to shield her eyes, and decided she would stop once she reached Salt River. She calculated she was a half day or more north of Goldfield, a major gold mining town. She could almost hear the river over the noise of her horse’s hooves hitting the rocky path, and she looked around to enjoy the last moments of solitude that the road provided.She clicked at Tumbleweed, and tapped her heels into his belly, “Only a little further Tum.” Tumbleweed’s ears folded backwards to acknowledge he heard he...

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The Hunter

Submitted to Contest #24

The Hunter Dawn 7 AM two armed men stand outside an old abandoned town on top of a plateau. One Sherriff and one Bounty hunter. They have tracked a particularly dangerous criminal to this area. The town Is surrounded on all sides by a large sand stone wall with a large gate in the center. Its half destroyed as if one side of it has been ripped off.Sherriff maloy and the Hunter approach the gate slowly in anticipation of an attack. The Bounty that they are chasing is a Man known as “Calamity Sam” the gunslinging Warlock. He’s been a...

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Artisan

Submitted to Contest #24

Artisan We all saw him come in to town. All dressed in a long black coat, crisp white shirt and a tall top hat. I marveled at how white his shirt was, leading his cart around the dusty street. As he walked into town, he didn’t say much, just inquired about empty space among and by the storefronts, finally finding a spot he liked. The only person he talked to much was the sawmill man, Oscar. Oscar told us the man walked to his place and asked for just so many and so long of plain boards: didn’t tell Oscar what he wanted them for, and was...

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The Girl who Defied Dotty Moon

Submitted to Contest #24

Nobody knew quite how or when it had started, apart from Dorothy herself, and sometimes even she wasn’t quite sure, but scores of people claimed they did. Doc Moon’s daughter Dorothy was a miracle worker, said the folk in Gifford’s Creek. Doc Moon’s daughter can make the blind see and can quite probably make the deaf hear and the lame run, and the mute talk the hind leg off a mule, and make the mayor have some common sense – no, that was probably expecting too much. Even of Dotty Moon.     Sh...

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Wyatt Earp and the Medicine Man

Submitted to Contest #24

An armadillo curls into a ball and rolls away. Tumbleweeds sweep across the landscape. The sun is burning, nestled above the western horizon. The plains are barren, more likely to be called a desert. Dust is swept up in the wind and brought over the terrain before settling a few miles away. A Medicine Man makes his way through the unrelenting conditions. His skin ablaze after enduring the heat of the sun for many days, and sleeping on the sand for many nights. He is old, born with the earth, grown with the trees, and he will die with the uni...

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Bank Job

Submitted to Contest #24

Wood splinters pepper my face as another chunk of the door frame is blown off by gunfire. We barely managed to drag Chubbs in when the shooting started. “Spider,” I shout over the storm of bullets “get him in the corner and put some pressure on that wound!” She hefts him into a nearby corner and begins inspecting the wound as I throw a table against the deteriorating bank door and take position at the nearest window. Glancing out, I see that Chubbs had dropped the money on the porch after he took that shot in the gut. Just in front of our ho...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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