Havok Publishing

Tag - knights

The Beheading Game

Every year, King Hearthsward hosted a grand Midsummer Feast at our royal court. There were games and challenges, boasts and feats of strength, and people traveled from many lands to partake in the celebrations. Even our enemies visited our table, emboldened by the oath of peace during festival-time. If you brought no trouble, none would find you.

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Waking Ugly

Waking to a kiss sounds romantic. I mean, I had no problem with the kiss itself—soft lips, tickle of a mustache, faint licorice flavor. But oh my goodness people, what was a man doing in my bedroom?!
I sat bolt upright. My forehead smacked against his.
Ouch.
He staggered back from

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The Sea’s Mercy

Are you the Beowulf who took on Breca in a swimming match on the open sea?”
The festive hall quieted. Unferth, that envious rat, who had remained silent throughout the hero’s introduction, now sought to sow discord. Beowulf’s boasts had convinced King Hrothgar, and everyone else in the mead hall, that he’d be

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Melvin the Mediocre

Melvin trudged through the downpour, head down in an effort to avoid the wind and wet.
Getting fired wasn’t enough. He’d returned home to endure yet another lecture from his parents. Over dinner, they again complained about his lack of potential and the detrimental effects of his juvenile obsessions, specifically “that stupid role game

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Sage Wisdom

“My king, I will be the one to find the answer to Merlin’s riddle,” Sir Percival yelled back to Arthur. He galloped ahead of the other knights as they made their way through the dark forest.
Sage, the king’s squire, looked over to his lordship. “Sir Percival seems quite eager to gain

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Dragon, Knight, Princess

Everyone knows the tale of the dragon, knight, and princess.
An evil dragon kidnaps a princess and whisks her away to his lair. A brave knight in shining armor is tasked with saving her from her infernal fate. After an epic battle, the knight slays the dragon and rescues the princess, before riding off

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Rumors and Requiems

“You know, you’ve got this all wrong.” Aloysia glared at her unwanted visitor, who’d just burst into her tiny cabin in the heart of Germany’s Black Forest and announced his intention to “rescue” her.
The knight in shining armor stood in front of the twelve-year-old girl, his jaw slack, eyes bulging.
Honestly.

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Bellyaching

Sir Gregory stepped out from behind the overturned table, dusted the ash off his boots, and exhaled in relief. Not even a scuff on the shiny leather. He ran fingers over his cape made from a manticore’s pelt. That, too, was as luxurious as ever. He stared through the broken wall at the departing

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The Vice of Drinking to Excess

“Bert! Another.”
I throw my empty tankard against the wall, where it clangs and rolls under a table. The customers there give me a look of wariness and move to hide in a shadowed corner. They are the fortuitous ones. Shadows no longer hide me.
Bert gives me a look of disgust as he slams the fresh

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For the Love of Pie

I’d better get that blueberry pie. It’s the only reason I signed up for this ridiculous jousting tournament. Cielo di Spala loosened his hold on the horse’s reins and gripped his lance. A breeze fluttered the frayed, sky blue handkerchief tied around the pole. Alessia’s handkerchief. His ladylove sat in the front row,

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