“The Tree of Kysh” – A young man is afraid to tell the girl he loves how he feels for fear of rejection, so when a famous oracle appears outside of town, he races to it to learn his fate. But when he doesn’t receive the answer he wants, he keeps changing the question until satisfied. He then sets out to live his life accordingly.
“The Jhaikan and the Golden Path” – A boy is walking down a golden path through a forest. He doesn’t know how he got there, how long he’s been there, or where he’s going, but he knows that as long as he stays on the path, he’s safe from the bad things in the forest.
“The Epic of Ronyn” – Ronyn is the greatest bard of his day, but it wasn’t always this way. He’d once mastered the only three chords the gods had given the species but had failed to distinguish himself from his peers. Then one day the gods released a fourth chord, placing it where only the bravest and most stalwart of men could reach it. Ronyn recounts his adventure to find and master the fourth chord.
“Effigy for Hermon the Obstacle” – Obstacles are born into the world assuming they’ll succeed in stopping people from realizing their dreams. Or at least, that’s how it always was – until Hermon the Obstacle’s encounter with the Monster.
“The Islands of Eternity” – The god of wisdom shows a woman four identical islands, each with a physically identical man. He tells her the beliefs and behavior of each so she can choose which one to spend eternity with.
“The Lute of Gildyn” – Since everyone always asks the bard Gildyn to bring his lute when inviting him to a ball, he’s concluded that no one – including the princess he loves – desires him for himself. When his rival for her, Prince Galen, learns that Gildyn seeks a way to remove that talent, so he can learn how he’d be welcomed without it, Galen helps, with disastrous consequences for everyone.
“Mightier Than Pen and Sword” – A eunuch wonders how he can consummate his marriage.
“The Garden of Taria” – A woman who wants to be left alone finds an unwelcome visitor, a querra, relentlessly invading her space until she finds a way to not only drive him away forever, but kill him.
“Knight of the Looking Glass” – A knight’s desire for fame leads him to risk being forgotten forever to save the woman he loves from a sword that has devoured her soul.
“Bounty for a Heart” – When a jhaikan, species known for cunning and murder, appears outside of town with a peace flag, the knight Talen is rightly suspicious but has no idea that their entire plan hinges on him.
“The Spirit Harvest” – When a girl causes her brother’s soul to be damned, she travels to the afterlife to demand the god of the undead release him, but she might be risking far more than her own soul.