Contemporary Sword and Sorcery Series Characters

Joe Bonadonna’s Dorgo the Dowser

Bonadonna writes: Inspired by both Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe character and Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade, as well as the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories of Fritz Leiber, Dorgo is a somewhat world-weary, down-on-his luck, wise-cracking “gumshoe.” He lives in my version of a 15^th century England and France, both inspired by Charles Dickens and Victor Hugo; his is a film noir styled Heroic Fantasy world, inhabited by humans as well as Muthologians—creatures out of Greek and Celtic mythology. Armed with a unique dowsing rod that can detect the ectoplasmic residue of any supernatural presence or demonic entity, and sense the vestiges of magical power used in the commission of crimes, Dorgo walks in the shadows of a world where life is cheap and souls are always up for sale.

 

Appearances

1. Mad Shadows—Book One: The Weird Tales of Dorgo the Dowser | 2011, revised 2019, revised 2022

2. “The Book of Echoes” | Azieran Adventures Presents Artifacts and Relics: Extreme Sorcery, 2013

3. Mad Shadows—Book Two: The Order of the Serpent | 2017, revised 2019, revised 2022

4. Mad Shadows—Book Three: The Heroes of Echo Gate | 2020, revised 2022

Jim Breyfogle's Mongoose and Meerkat

Breyfogle writes: Mangos and Kat seem an unlikely duo. He is talented but inexperienced, she is reticent about her past. He has a passion for adventure, she has a purpose for it. Their world teems with adventures, threaded through its history and people, but sometimes the greatest challenge is at home. I wrote The Tales of the Mongoose & Meerkat to provide variety and excitement. Mangos and Kat range from the depths of the earth to the frozen tundra, from tropical islands to islands in the clouds. They fight monsters and men, demons and dragons. They have to solve mysteries, kill monsters, and survive treachery. And, somewhere along the line, Mangos needs to figure out Kat’s past and decide whose side he’s on. It’s been said that all good partnerships are greater than the sum of their parts.  That better be true if Mangos and Kat are to survive, let alone succeed.

Appearances

1. “The Battlefield of Keres” | Cirsova #6, Fall 2017 | Pursuit Without Asking, 2020
2. “Brandy and Dye” | Cirsova #8, Summer 2018 | Pursuit Without Asking, 2020
3. “Sword of the Mongoose” | Cirsova #10, Winter 2018 | Pursuit Without Asking, 2020
4. “The Valley of Terzol” | Cirsova vol. 2 #1, Spring 2019 | Pursuit Without Asking, 2020
5. “The Burning Fish” | Cirsova vol. 2 #2, Fall 2019 | Pursuit Without Asking, 2020
6. “The Golden Pearl” | Cirsova vol. 2 #3, Spring 2020 | The Heat of the Chase, 2022
7. “Hunt of the Mine Worm” | Cirsova vol. 2 #5, Winter 2020 | The Heat of the Chase, 2022
8. “The Grain Merchant of Alomar” | Cirsova vol. 2, #6, Spring 2021 | The Heat of the Chase, 2022
9. “The King’s Game” | Cirsova vol. 2 #7, Summer 2021 | The Heat of the Chase, 2022
10. “Too Many Mangos” | Cirsova vol. 2 #8, Fall 2021 | The Heat of the Chase, 2022
11. “The Wreck of the Cassada” | Cirsova vol. 2 #9, Winter 2021 | The Heat of the Chase, 2022
12. “The Flying Mongoose” | Cirsova vol. 2 #10, Spring 2022 | The Redemption of Alness, 2023
13. “Death and Renewal” | Cirsova vol. 2 #11, Summer 2022 | The Redemption of Alness, 2023
14. “Fight of the Sandfishers” | Cirsova vol. 2 #12, Fall 2022 | The Redemption of Alness, 2023
15. “Thunder in the North” | Cirsova vol. 2 #13, Winter 2022 | The Redemption of Alness, 2023
16. “The Feast of the Fedai” | Cirsova vol. 2 #14, Spring 2023 | The Redemption of Alness, 2023
17. “Trapped in the Loop” | The Redemption of Alness, 2023
18. “The Redemption of Alness” | The Redemption of Alness, 2023

Cora Buhlert and Richard Blakemore’s* Thurvok

 

*Richard Blakemore is fictional pulp writer Cora created.

 

Buhlert writes: This pulpy sword and sorcery series chronicles the adventures of Thurvok, the sellsword, and his companions: Meldom, thief, cutpurse and occasional assassin, the sorceress Sharenna and Lysha, Meldom’s childhood sweetheart whom the adventurers saved from the gallows. Thurvok was actually supposed to be a lone barbarian in the Conan mould, but he quickly acquired companions and together they travel the world, looking for loot and treasure and fighting demons, dragons and monsters. 

 

Appearances

 

1. “The Valley of the Man Vultures,” 2019

2. “The Tomb of the Undead Slaves,” 2019

3. “The Road of Skeletons,” 2019

4. “The Forest of the Hanged,” 2019

5. “The Bleak Heath,” 2019

6. “The Cave of the Dragon,” 2019

7. “The Night Court,” 2019

8. “The Temple of the Snake God,” 2019

9. “The Thing From the Dread Swamp,” 2020

10.        “The Tentacled Terror,” 2020

11.        “The Beast from the Sea of Blood,” 2020

12.        "The City of the Screaming Pillars" | Rogues in the House Present: A Book of Blades, 2022

13.        “The Lantern Bearers” | forthcoming ~2023

 

 

 

Cora Buhlert and Richard Blakemore’s* Kurval

 

*Richard Blakemore is fictional pulp writer Cora created.

 

Buhlert writes: This pulpy sword and sorcery series chronicles the adventures of Kurval, barbarian turned King of Azakoria and his struggles to be a good and just king to his people. So follow Kurval as he deals with treason, assassination attempts, monsters and the day to day troubles of kinghood.

 

I created Kurval, when I had an idea for a sword and sorcery story that did not fit Thurvok and his friends. Where Thurvok and friends were partly inspired by Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, Kurval is inspired by Robert E. Howard's Kull of Atlantis. Like Thurvok, Kurval aquired a regular supporting cast consisting of the scheming vizier Izgomir, his mercenary friend Tsabo, the young aristocratic couple Ragur and Nelaira, whom Kurval saved from the gallows, Lord Vangenard, commander of the elite Blood Guards, and the headstrong female knight Adeliz of Angilbert

 

Appearances

 

1. “King's Justice,” 2020

2. “The Plains of Shadow,” 2021

3. “Worm Fodder,” 2021

4. “The Wolf of Rajala,” 2021

5. The Black Knight, 2021

6. “The Frozen Citadel,” 2021

7. “Twelve Nooses,” 2022

8. “The Tear of Chronos,” 2022

9. “Straw Men” | forthcoming ~2023

Michael T. Burke’s Ahanu Foxcloud

Burke writes: Based in equal parts on my baptism of reading REH's Conan and ERB's Tarzan at an age likely too young by today's standards, and lifelong passion for the four-color fantasies of the comic books of my youth, I created Ahanu Foxcloud. The amber-eyed warrior is dissatisfied with his lot among his people, the Mahkah, and ventures into the wider world of Symbria to find his fortune and the answers he seeks. He is also haunted by the mystery of his dead mother's origins; she was a witch and shunned by the Mahkah. As he travels the world, drinking in the heady experiences of being on his own, Ahanu senses his own growing mystical sensitivity. Which path will he follow, the wandering warrior's life he has grown to love, or will he take up his mother's mantle? Or maybe, there is a third path between those two roads? 

Appearances

 

1. “The Spirit of the Hill” | Whetstone #3, Spring 2021 | Fragments of a Greater Darkness, 2023
2. “In Dust and Dead Desire” | Whetstone #4, Winter 2021 | Fragments of a Greater Darkness, 2023
3. “More Shadow Than Substance” | Whetstone #5, Spring 2022 | Fragments of a Greater Darkness, 2023
4. “A Green and Pleasant Wasteland” | Whetstone #6, Winter 2022
5. “Lord of the Blood” | Swords & Heroes, 2023
6. “Certain Hungers” | Fragments of a Greater Darkness, 2023
7. “One Not There” | Fragments of a Greater Darkness, 2023
8. “House of the Dark One” | Fragments of a Greater Darkness, 2023

D.J. Butler’s Tales of Indrajit and Fix

 

Butler writes: I write a Vancian sword and sorcery series about two swordsmen named Indrajit & Fix in a decayed ancient city called Kish.

 

Appearances

 

1. “The Path of the Hunter” | Negotiation, 2019 | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
2. In the Palace of Shadow and Joy, 2020
3. “No Trade for Nice Guys” | When Valor Must Hold, 2020 | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
4. “Backup” | Songs of Valor, 2021 | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
5. "The Name of the Monster" | Talons and Talismans | 2021 | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
6. “The Caveats of Salish-Bozar” | Talons and Talismans II, 2021 | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
7. “Sacrifices” | baen.com, July 2021 | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
8. “Power & Prestige” | Sword & Planet, 2021 | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
9. “The End of the Story” | Keen Edge of Valor, 2022 | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
10. “The Lady in the Pit” | No Game for Knights, 2022 | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
11. “Good Boy” | A Hero of a Different Stripe, 2023 | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
12. “The Bonds of Matrimony” | Bonds of Valor, 2023
13. The Politics of Wizards | Between Princesses and Other Jobs, 2023
14. Among the Gray Lords | forthcoming

Mario Carić’s Marked Mercenary

Carić writes: An exiled northman with a strange mark—acting as both gift and curse—of the phantom stare which enables him to peer into the Other Side, Glain is a black-garbed mercenary traversing a singular landmass of his world, itself an amalgamation of various epochs of Earth's (pre)history. Glain was conceived as a “generic” sword-and-sorcery character with a certain emotional depth in order for me to get into the “feel” of a sword-and-sorcery yarn. As I penned more stories, however, the “Marked Mercenary” gained more organic—and specific—characteristics.

Appearances

1. "Wights of Winterwood" | Swords and Sorcery Magazine #108, January 2021 
2. "Terror and Talon" | Whetstone #4, Winter 2021 
3. "The Hunter and the Hunted" | Swords and Sorcery Magazine #122, March 2022 
4. "Darkness Dreamer" | Thews You Can Use, S&S Newsletter, 2022
5. "Rulers and Reavers" | Savage Realms Monthly #15, September 2022 
6. “Children of the Crown | forthcoming in Tales From the Magician’s Skull
7. “The Stranger and the Shadow” | forthcoming in Tales From the Magician’s Skull

Jason Ray Carney's The Rogue

Carney writes: I originally began writing "the Rogue" stories for my print mailings in the Robert E. Howard United Press Association. If I had some extra white space on my zine, I would fill it up with a short flash fiction featuring the Rogue (who I imagined to be a generic S&S protagonist). Because flash fiction is such a limiting form, the Rogue became less defined by the information the narrator provides and more defined by the information the narrator keeps from the reader (i.e. characterization via withholding of information, a unique effect Toni Morrison deploys to great effect). Slowly but surely, I am expanding to longer forms with the Rogue, and so previous tales are beginning to feel like useful character studies.

Appearances

1. “Two Silvers For a Song of Blood” | Rakefire and Other Stories, 2020
2. “The Rogue and the Ragling” | The Cromcast Chronicle #2, Winter 2021
3. “The Silence of the Rogue” | Old Moon Quarterly #2, Autumn 2022
4. “The Form of the Rogue” | The Cromcast Chronicle #3, Winter 2022
5. “The Sorcerer’s Mask” | Tales From the Magician’s Skull #10, March 2023

Matthew X Gomez’s Liam the Black

 

Gomez writes: Liam the Black is an itinerant magician and fighter, hailing from the frozen north of his land. The idea was what would a character who comes from a land that forsakes all gods and religion do if he found himself in a land of priests, gods and demons? His story is that of outsider, making his way by knife and magic and wits (and sometimes pure stubbornness). Unlike certain sword and sorcery protagonists, he isn't afraid to indulge in a bit of magic and in his youth, he was apprenticed to the local magician. 

 

Appearances

1. “Temple of Sashirak” | New Realm Magazine vol 5 no. 2
2. “A Godless Man” | Kzine #27
3. “A Will of Fire” | Whetstone #6, Winter 2022
4. “The Demon in the Blade” | The Tripper, 2022
5. “Bound in Brass and Iron” | Tales from the Magician's Skull #11 (forthcoming)

Schuyler Hernstrom's Mortu and Kyrus

 

Hernstrom writes: Mortu and Kyrus are a pair of unlikely friends traveling across an Earth scarred by alien invasion. It is a world where magic and technology compete in the creation of terrible wonders. Mortu is a grim barbarian, scion of the icy north and heir to a genetic legacy left behind by the old alien rulers. Kyrus is a Christian monk, educated and erudite, and very assured of the superiority of his intellect. He is the victim of terrible sorcery and is trapped within the body of a small monkey. Mortu and Kyrus pursue rumors of strange technologies and magics across the wasteland with the hope of undoing Kyrus's fiendish curse. Deep bonds of brotherhood join them after sharing so many desperate dangers which is fortunate, for otherwise they are wont to argue.

 

Appearances

 

1. "Mortu and Kyrus in the White City" | The Eye of Sounnu, 2020

2. "Mortu and Kyrus and the Judgement of Daganha" | The Penultimate Men, 2020

3. "Servants of the War God" | Thune’s Vision, 2022

Howard Andrew Jones’ Dabir and Asim

 

Jones writes: Dabir and Asim have been described as Sherlock Holmes and Watson crossed with the Arabian Nights, and that gets pretty close, except that Dabir isn’t quite as infallible as Holmes and Asim is a lot more of a full partner (as well as bodyguard) to his friend than Watson was – and is quite skilled at wielding the sword he carries. Someone else once quipped that the Dabir and Asim tales are like Indiana Jones crossed with Sinbad, and that’s pretty true as well. The adventures have something of ancient urban paranormal detective feel paired with sword-and-sorcery and are rooted in the real world where actual historical events take place and real historical personages turn up and interact with the protagonists – along with terrifying monsters from myth and dark sorceries.

 

Appearances

 

1. “Servant of Iblis” | Paradox #5, Summer 2004
2. “The Thief of Hearts” | Sages & Swords: Razor-Edged Arcanum, 2006 | The Waters of Eternity, 2011
3. “Sight of Vengeance” | Black Gate #10, Spring 2007 | The Waters of Eternity, 2011
4. “Whispers From the Stone” | Black Gate #12, Summer 2008
5. “In Bygone Days” | The Waters of Eternity, 2011
6. “Marked Man” | The Waters of Eternity, 2011
7. “The Slayer’s Tread” | The Waters of Eternity, 2011
8. “The Waters of Eternity” | The Waters of Eternity, 2011
9. The Desert of Souls | 2011
10. The Bones of the Old Ones | 2012
11. “The Serpent’s Heart” | Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, 2014
12. “The Black Lion” | Skelos #2, Winter 2017
13. “Instrument of Vengeance” | Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #45, August 2020
14. “The Dragon Planet” | Of Gods and Globes II, 2020
15. “The Palace in the Moonlight” | Lightspeed Magazine #132, May 2021
16. “Brother of the Sword” | When Worlds Collide, 2021
17. “The Flame and the Bottle” | Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #54, November 2022 

 

 

Howard Andrew Jones’ Hanuvar

 

Jones writes: Hanuvar’s an answer to what Hannibal of Carthage might have done if his city was destroyed in his lifetime while he was away. He shares the brilliance, martial prowess, and character of the great general, but wanders a fantasy world where dark magics and terrible monsters are real. He’s no brash youngster, he’s middle-aged. He’s not out to prove anything and he doesn’t need to find himself. He knows who he is. And he’s not interested in self advancement or riches, which is probably the most significant difference between him and the typical sword-and-sorcery lead, because rather than being in it for himself, he’s essentially selfless. For him, the only thing that matters is his people. Derva destroyed his city. His people fought block by block, house by house, until most fell with their swords in hand. Only a thousand or so survived to be led away in chains. No matter where his people have been taken, from the empire’s festering capital to its most remote outpost, he means to find them. Every last one of them. And he will set them free.

 

Appearances

 

1. “The Way of Serpents” | Goodman Games Gen Con 20016 Program Guide | Tales From the Magician’s Skull #0, 2018
2. “Crypt of Stars” | Tales From the Magician’s Skull #1, 2018
3. “The Second Death of Hanuvar” | Tales From the Magician’s Skull #3, 2019
4. “A Stone’s Throw” | Heroic Fiction Quarterly #40, 2019
5. “Course of Blood” | Galactic Stew, 2020
6. "From the Darkness Beneath" | Terra Incognita, 2022
7. “Shroud of Feathers” | Tales From the Magician’s Skull #6
8. Lord of a Shattered Land, 2023

Rev. Joe Kelly’s Conor Dubh O'Brien

Kelly writes: Conor Dubh has developed from what was only intended as a one-off character into what is basically my Conan. That is to say, he's a reflection of many of the core parts of my own character: he's an anarchist, an anti-authoritarian and an outsider; he's possessed of a deep passion that can manifest as love or fury; and he's a trickster, a man who despises and mocks the elites and old conservative power structures. He's also a work-in-progress. In the future, I want to explore more of the darker, mercenary aspects of his character, as well as how his pagan faith has been far more affected than he would be willing to admit by contact with, and resistance to, Christianity over the centuries.

Appearances

1. “The Linton Banshee” | Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #51, Feb 2021  
2. “The Black Cat of Barrowburn” | Samhain Sorceries, Sept 2022  
3. “Pagan Fires” | Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #56, May 2023  

Lorenzo D. Lopez’s Prince Celyn of Anörea

 

Lopez writes: Prince Celyn was lost in the jungle as a baby during an attempt to save him from a would-be usurper. Raised by Simians, he only learnt of his true identity after his tribe had been slaughter by a nigromancer. Offered the throne by his lustful sister, he turned it down and took to a life as a sellsword.

 

Appearances

 

1. Sons of the Spider God, 2020
2. Crimson Blades of the Corsair Kingdom, 2020
3. “Demons of the Dark Abyss” | Swords and Sorcery Magazine May 2021 | Demons of the Dark Abyss, 2023
4. “Sorcerous Vengeance” | Swords & Sorceries Volume 3, 2021 | Demons of the Dark Abyss, 2023
5. “The Invisible Plague” | Rumble, 2022 | Demons of the Dark Abyss, 2023
6. “People of the Lake” | Swords & Sorceries Volume 5, 2022 | Demons of the Dark Abyss, 2023

Mark Mellon’s Melkart of Tyre 

 

Mellon writes: This is probably my most popular character. I got the inspiration for the towering Tyrian from rereading some Conan stories for the first time in decades. Inspired by Howard’s storytelling verve, I devised my own big lug: a merchant from the city of Tyre endlessly embroiled in hair raising adventures in the course of his travels. One reason Melkart is a big personal favorite is that I can scratch two itches: my love of old school sword and sorcery fiction and my one man crusade to bring back sword and sandal a la early ‘60’s Italian movies. Unlike Conan, Melkart is good humored and easygoing, but he’s still quick to take action if he sees anything wrong, especially if the laws of hospitality are broken. So far I’ve had over half a dozen stories featuring the Bronze Age badass published or about to be published with no sign of the creative streak ebbing yet.

 

Appearances

 

1. “Melkart the Herdsman” | Mythaxis #21, February 2018
2. “Melkart in the City of the Dead” | Swords and Sorcery Magazine, July 2020
3. “Melkart the Castaway” | Cirsova Fall Special #1, 2020
4. “Melkart and the Mithras Miracle” | Savage Realms #6, August 2021
5. “Melkart and the Crocodile God” | Cirsova vol. 2 #11, Summer 2022
6. “Melkart and the Whore of Babylon” | Upcoming in Tales From the Magician’s Skull #11
7. “Melkart Unchained” | Upcoming in The Mighty Sons of Hercules

Scott Oden’s Grimnir

 

Oden writes: You will know him by his names. Corpse-maker and Life-quencher, he is called; the Bringer of Night, the Son of the Wolf and Brother of the Serpent. The Hooded One, he is, the last of Bálegyr’s brood to plague Miðgarðr, last to prey on we wretched sons of Adam. He is huorco. Aye, he is orco and ogre. To the hymn-singers of England, he is orcnéas. The Irish name him fomórach. To the folk of the North, the Danes and Swedes and the doom-haunted Norse, he is skrælingr. In his own tongue, he is kaunr.

You will know him by his deeds, as well, for is he not the slayer of Hróarr, of Hrothmund of Badon, of Nechtan of the vestálfar, of Bjarki Half-Dane, and a thousand more, besides? He has walked the branches of Yggðrasil and shaken the bones of Ymir. He has stood in the shield wall at Chluain Tarbh, outside the walls of Dubhlinn, and on the pitiful ramparts of Hrafnhaugr against the crusaders of North. He is the Kin-slayer and the Slaughterer of Witches. He is the Butcher of the Morðavættir, the Beast of Gjöll’s Inlet, and the Outsider. And by his hand was the Malice-Striker—that wretched wyrm, Níðhöggr—freed from its prison and loosed upon Miðgarðr. By the hand of Grimnir… 

 

Appearances

1. A Gathering of Ravens, 2017 
2. Twilight of the Gods, 2020 
3. The Doom of Odin, 2023 
4. “Beasts of Waste and Desolation” | self-published, 2023 | forthcoming in A Book of Blades, vol. 2, 2023

Dariel R.A. Quiogue’s Arios the Spearman

 

Quiogue writes: …coming from my fascination with history, the character idea for Arios was born from wondering what if Alexander the Great had existed in a sword and sorcery setting? What would the fallout of his sudden death have been like? And how would that have been experienced by an ordinary soldier? Arios was the first shared-setting character I made after Orhan Timur, as their careers weave through a world reshaped by the campaigns of my world's Alexander counterpart. Unlike the usual freebooting S&S hero, Arios is an old retired soldier, forcibly dragged back into war, and only trying to find his way back to his wife and son after a campaign ruined by supernatural forces.

Appearances

 

1. "Mountain of the Chained God" | Swords of the Four Winds, 2013
2. "The Key  to the Dead" | Swords of the Four Winds, 2013
3. "The Sea of Dragon's Blood" | Swords of the Four Winds, 2013

Dariel R.A. Quiogue’s Orhan Timur

 

Quiogue writes: Orhan Timur sprang to my head fully formed (I know that sounds kinda familiar) when I wrote my first Orhan story, “Lord of the Brass Host”. Based on my long fascination with medieval Central Asian history, I came up with a character that was a what-if version of Genghis Khan, wherein he had been defeated by his blood-brother turned rival Jamuqa instead of the other way around. Would Genghis ever have given up trying to get his position back? Never, not even if all the forces of Hell stood against him! The idea of nicknaming Orhan the Snow Leopard was a spontaneous inspiration, coming from my concept of having the character lair in my setting's version of the Himalayas plus the idea to give him gray eyes as a distinguishing mark.

 

Appearances

 

1. “Lord of the Brass Host” | Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #7, 2011

2. “Black Titan of Gaikand | Swords of the Four Winds, 2013

3. “The Unholiness at Zogurthang | Swords of the Four Winds, 2013

4. “Valley of the Yellow-Eyed King” | Swords of the Four Winds, 2013

5. “Palace of the Purple Lotus” | Track of the Snow Leopard, 2022

6. The Caves of Koro Shan | Track of the Snow Leopard, 2022

7. “Curse of the Horsetail Banner” | New Edge of Sword and Sorcery #0, 2022

D.M. Ritzlin's Vran the Chaos-Warped

 

Ritzlin writes: By his sickly green eyes he bears the mark of a sorcerous experiment gone awry, but he was also altered in more dreadful ways…

 

Appearances

 

1. “Under the Horns of Iljer” - Necromancy in Nilztiria, 2020
2. Vran the Chaos-Warped | Serialized in the Summer, Fall and Winter 2022 issues of Cirsova Magazine.

 

D.M. Ritzlin's Xaarxool the Necromancer

 

Ritzlin writes: Possessor of powerful artefacts and reams of forgotten lore, his expertise in wizardry is unmatched.

 

Appearances

 

1. “A Twisted Branch of Yggdrasil” | Necromancy in Nilztiria, 2020
2. “The Valley of Eternal Midnight” | Necromancy in Nilztiria, 2020
3. “Black Castle of Torture” | Necromancy in Nilztiria, 2020
4. “An Unforgivable Interruption” | Whetstone #2, Winter 2020
5. “The Necromancer and the Forgotten Hero” | Tales from the Magician's Skull No. 9, 2022

 

D.M. Ritzlin's Xedroch Loor

 

Ritzlin writes: A lusty rapscallion, his striving for glittering treasures and the embraces of lovely ladies invariably leads him into danger.

 

Appearances

 

1. “Hunting the Lirpkin” | Necromancy in Nilztiria, 2020
2. “Spider-Magic in the Jungles of Jamboota” | Necromancy in Nilztiria, 2020
3. “Consequences of Lust” | Necromancy in Nilztiria, 2020
4. “The Isle of the Pleasure Slaves” | Necromancy in Nilztiria, 2020

Byron A. Roberts’ Caylen-Tor

 

Roberts writes: Caylen-Tor, the legendary Wolf of the North... mercenary, corsair, warlord, king! Caylen-Tor is a savage clansman who united his grim and warlike people to seize the tribal throne, pitting his strength, his courage and his cold, hard steel against the forces of evil in a time-lost, antediluvian world. The Caylen-Tor stories are pulp sword & sorcery tales and his saga is one of pitiless carnage, dark sorcery and epic battle. All hail Caylen-Tor! 

 

Appearances

1. “The Hallowing of the Wolf King” | The Hyborian Gazette #2, 2016
2. “Caylen-Tor” | Dreams of Fire and Steel, 2018
3. “The Siege of Gul-Azlaan” | The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor: Volume I, 2019
4. “The Battle of Blackhelm Vale” | The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor: Volume I, 2019
5. “The King Beneath the Mountain of Fire” | The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor: Volume I, 2019
6. “The Trial of Blood and Steel” | The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor: Volume II, 2021
7. “Carnage at the Crimson Stones” | The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor: Volume II, 2021
8. “In the Hall of the Wolfborn Liege” | The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor: Volume II, 2021
9. “The Devil Beyond the Gate of Shadow” | The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor: Volume II, 2021 

Ethan Sabatella’s Eachann MacLeod and Connor Ua Sreng

Sabatella writes: I conceived and developed this duo simultaneously with my research and understanding of Gaelic history, language, and mythology. Eachann came first, he is a Scottish Gael from the Isle of Skye (which he refers to by its Ossianic name Selma). He seeks to build his reputation as a hero throughout Scotland and Ireland, purposefully putting himself through hardships in order to make for a better story that bards may sing of long after his death. His best friend Connor is of the primeval Fir Bolg from Ireland, a race of demi-humans that are incredibly strong but are permanently slouched over due to their enslaved ancestors carrying bags of clay for generations. Connor was inspired by one half of the legendary, ill-fated friendship of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn and the Fer Bolg Ferdiad. Previously enslaved by Vikings, Connor shares Eachann's goal of acquiring a heroic reputation along with slaking his thirst for freedom after being denied it for so long. Together, these lads travel through an alternate Earth where old gods and monsters dwell in the mists surrounding the tribes of the world, even after the fall of Rome. With Eachann and Connor's adventures, I hope to fill a space in contemporary sword & sorcery and fiction in general that provides more true-to-form Gaelic and overall Celtic stories.

 

Appearances

 

1. "The Pole-House" | Broadswords and Blasters #9, April 2019
2. "Fort of the Ravens" | Whetstone #3, June 2021
3. "The Tomb of Tigernmas" | Samhain Sorceries, September 2022
4. "The Abartachs' Hostage" | Die By the Sword vol. 1, May 2023

Toni Sweeney’s Trygare kan Ingan, Riven kan Ingan 

 

Sweeney writes: As a budding novelist seeing the Schwarzenegger portrayal of Conan, I decided to try my own hand at copying Robert E. Howard. The result was GodChosen, Part 1. 

 

Trygare kan Ingan only appears in the first book of the GodChosen, but he’s mentioned often throughout the succeeding novels. Son of a sellsword turned blacksmith, he’s prophesied to be the father of kings who’ll rule for 3000 years. 

 

The rest of the series follows Trygare’s son, Riven. Riven is spoiled, impetuous, an opportunist and a schemer, and also denies the existence of the gods, who take every opportunity to thwart his plans. The stories follow him from impetuous youth through uncertain newly-wed, settled middle age when he accepts the existence of the gods, and finally as an elderly warrior abruptly returning to war by leading a rebellion against an insane monarch.

 

Appearances

 

1. Godchosen, 2020 

2. An Oath on His Sword, 2021 

3. Curse Quest, 2021

4. Bloodsong, 2021

5. The Crown on a Barbarian Brow, 2021 

W.E. Wertenberger’s Kol the Saxon

 

Wertenberger writes: The idea for the character sprang from an article about England post the Norman invasion. It mentioned that after losing the war, many displaced Saxon warriors left the island in pursuit of mercenary work. With the character in mind and using this period as a historical backdrop, I added some fantasy elements and started writing.  

Appearances

1. “The Gnawed Bone” | Thunder on the Battlefield vol. 1: Sword, 2013

2. “Veil of Black Fire” | Savage Realms #6, August 2021

3. “Hag of Bones” | Savage Realms #20, May 2023

Chris Willrich’s Gaunt and Bone

Willrich writes: The poet Persimmon Gaunt and the thief Imago Bone wander a dangerous and colorful world while engaged in burglary, relic robbery, the composition of mordant lyrics, and a surprising number of good deeds. To their great astonishment they will end up marrying and having children together. Settling down may be a quest beyond even their powers, however.

Appearances

1. “The Thief with Two Deaths” | The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2000
2. “King Rainjoy’s Tears” | The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 2002
3. “Penultima Thule” | The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 2006
4. “A Wizard of the Old School” | The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 2007
5. “The Mermaid and the Mortal Thing” | Flashing Swords Summer Special Issue, 2008 (reprinted with some alterations in Lightspeed Magazine, February 2012)
6. “The Sword of Loving Kindness” | Beneath Ceaseless Skies 1 and 2, October 2008
7. The Scroll of Years | Pyr Books, 2013
8. The Silk Map | Pyr Books, 2014
9. The Chart of Tomorrows | Pyr Books, 2015
10. “What Lies In Ice” | Tales from the Magician’s Skull #1, 2017
11. “Eyetooth” | Beneath Ceaseless Skies #314, October 8, 2020
12. “To the Darkhouse” | Tales from the Magician’s Skull #8, 2022
13. “On Magog’s Pond” | Beneath Ceaseless Skies #367, October 20, 2022
14. “Hausferatu” | Beneath Ceaseless Skies #384, June 15, 2023

Chad A.B. Wilson’s Brock of Falsea

 

Wilson writes: Brock of Falsea was created as a nameless mercenary fighting monsters, a man who would do good only if he were paid for it. I completed two unpublished novels about his transition from mercenary to leader of the Queen's army, to disgraced mercenary yet again, to Guardian of Falsea before deciding to write short stories about the same character. He's the big, bald mercenary who hates everyone, yet everyone loves him because he always does the right thing. In most of the stories, he's an old man who struggles to do what needs to be done. He's tired of fighting and tired of living, yet he keeps on going because there's always more evil in the world. 

 

Appearances

 

1. "The Bard at the Bronze Falcon" | Swords and Sorcery Magazine, December 2019
2. "Crawling in the Dark" | Savage Realms Monthly #4, May 2021
3. "The Amulet and the Pain," Swords and Sorcery Magazine, June 2021
4. "Stone Figures" | Savage Realms Monthly #11, April 2022
5. “The Dragon’s Eye” | Dragons and Heroines, 2022
6. "The Shadow's Pattern" | Grimdark, 2022