Heroes prevail... usually. You sit close to a campfire, depending on its faint, flickering light to ward off the darkness. Yet the fire cannot hold back dark memories, thoughts of your fallen kingdom, of monsters across the land, of magic gone awry. Around fires like yours are seated other travelers, refugees from catastrophes none dare mention. Kings and queens huddle shoulder to shoulder with peasants, wizards share scraps with slaves, and each wishes only to be saved. Some will be lucky, for heroes yet remain in their lands. For others, hope was not among the provisions stuffed into a pack when fleeing home. Eventually the silence of the night grows too heavy, and someone speaks. They tell a tale of loss, of foolish pride and tragic mistake. With bravery stoked by company, others speak up, each sharing their own sorrows. Before long, there are enough tales to fill a volume. The conversations continue through the night, and by the time dawn has filtered through the gnarled tree limbs, journeys must continue, and one by one, the strangers trudge away. Their worlds may have ended, but they have survived another night. They will continue on, seeking to rebuild upon the ruins of great dreams. Their stories linger upon the air, drifting into time like the smoke from their extinguished fires, fed only by faint embers. This book contains eleven stories set in worlds where an apocalypse has already come, but the characters you'll read about aren't quite ready for the end.

The Kingdom of Aelethia has been quiet for five hundred years, but the Dark One is rising from out of the depths. All of Aelethia will perish unless the Chosen One comes forward to save them. Unfortunately, the Chosen One doesn't know her destiny in the world; she only knows she is odd and confused about where her destiny lies. She wants to find love, but the men in her life that actually love her, she cannot have, and the only one that wants her is as evil as they come. The elves know of her destiny and must tell her and train her in time in order to fulfill the prophesy that has been laid out before her. Can she become the person they have waited for? Can she, in time, destroy the evil that is threatening to overtake her kingdom? With friends to guide her and a man to whom she truly loves beside her, she may be able to save Aelethia from doom.