DANE VALE

Of Swords and Sorrows

FANTASY | NOVELLA | SAGAS OF IRTH 1

An unlikely pair. A world full of enemies.

OF SWORDS AND SORROWS introduces readers to Farys and Sibyl, two heroic souls caught up in a desperate flight across the wilderness of Irth. Chased from the tiny town of Barrow by the fanatical priest, Valonnix and his band of Unhuman mercenary warriors in the service of the monstrous, mysterious Manticore. The two adventurers race for their lives through perilous mountains, filled with dangers and dark dreams.

Offering fans of fantasy fiction a grand tour of the lands of Irth and its storied history, OF SWORDS AND SORROWS vividly launches the SAGAS OF IRTH series with a tale of a knight errant’s quest for revenge and a wayward witch’s struggle to escape the long shadows of her eldritch past.

NOTE: Some material originally published in Dane Vale’s short story collection THE WOLF AND THE CROW: QUINTET (now out of print) has been incorporated into this novella, which also includes new narrative additions to the tale.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dane Vale lives in Chicagoland, where he conjures up Sword & Sorcery and Fantasy fiction when he’s not relentlessly critiquing his twin brother’s Science Fiction writing. He owns at least one spear, a war hammer, and a rapier, and is an avid reader and student of history. He dodges drunk texts from Dionysus, and believes that there should be far more megaliths in America. He cooks Italian food with verve, has a bond with wolves and crows. His favorite cities are Bronze Age Knossos, Iron Age Carthage, Medieval Constantinople, Renaissance Venice, and Paris at any time.