Obeying the powerful is easy. To resist takes courage.

When interests collide-between countries, or social classes, or different notions of right and wrong-power and violence lurk close by. Do you submit out of fear? Or because it's the smart move? Fight to defend your honor or your home? Or do you fight because that is all you have ever known?

In For the Good of the Realm: Stories of Power and Defiance, experience eight fantasy short stories by skilled authors-each with a different take on power and obedience. The succession to a noble title depends on the cunning of an underworld fixer. Wizards and common folk struggle for supremacy in a parliamentary democracy. A famous mercenary general returns to the village that he once conquered, with an unknown purpose. Cultures clash as a barbarian princess arrives at the court of a neighboring king with a shocking request. And more!

For the Good of the Realm features the following short stories:

• "Dinja Duwar," by S.R. Crickard
• "A Well-Placed Word," by Derek Des Anges
• "Magic and Steel," by Liam Hogan
• "Scars," by Jake Lithua
• "Birthstones," by Marshall J. Moore
• "For the Sake of a Dandelion," by Jennifer R. Povey
• "The Silk Code," by Samantha Rich
• "The Warrior Princess of Mogtesa," by JM Williams

With an introduction by editor Oren Litwin.