Not every hero survives. All heroes pay a cost, some the ultimate sacrifice. We’re examining that theme of ultimate sacrifice as key to heroism. Not only the willingness to sacrifice all, but the act of sacrifice for the greater ’cause,’ whatever that may be. These are tales of loss. Death can be a cost of heroism–but it might not be the greater loss come story’s end. Heroes die. And they lose things greater than life: Family. Freedom. Innocence. Faith. Ideals. Drastic change must happen to your hero by story’s end. But this is not just a book of dead heroes. Death does not have to mean defeat. Loss does not always equal failure. We want stories across the spectrum, stories of apotheosis and of nihilism and of what lies between. Heroes die and legends are born. Or nothing changes and it is all moot. A battle is won, while a war lost . . . or a battle lost to win a war.

This is character-driven storytelling, and we want to read it in all the ‘Sword-and-‘ genres: Sword & Sorcery, Sword & Planet, Sword & Sandal, Sword & Soul, Sword & Six-gun. 11 week submission period. We will be accepting 13-15 stories, and stories should be 2k-9k words in length. Nothing shorter will be read, and our sweet spot is in the 5k-7k range. Publication is intended for Christmas 2020. Payment of $30 flat per story shall be rendered after publication, and authors will receive electronic copies and permanent discount on print purchases from RBE.