Year 417 - Summer

Between field and forest stands Fairborne Estate — ancient, golden, and doomed. The summer of Year 417 burns bright over the kingdom, but beneath the sunlight, the world is beginning to crack. The old king lies buried, three claimants rise to the throne, and the fragile peace that binds the realm trembles. Yet within Fairborne's stone walls, life endures. Candles are lit, bread rises, servants whisper in the halls, and the great Goldridge family clings to the illusion of order — even as secrets stir below and something ancient wakes beneath the mountain. From Eli Taff Jr. comes a haunting collection of dark fantasy flash fiction, where each story unfolds in exactly 500 words — a single moment, sharp as glass, caught between the sacred and the profane. Follow the lives of those who serve and those who rule: Bea Hollow, the head maid who hides forbidden faith beneath her apron. Brogar Stonevein, a Dwarven engineer who hears the mountain whisper back. Sir Caldus Veyne, the weary knight who is sworn to protect Fairborne at all costs. The Goldridges, noble and oblivious, dancing through a summer about to end. In Fairborne: Year 417 – Summer, battles are fought in glances, prayers, and silences. Wars begin at the dinner table. Love and loyalty are tested in the glow of a dying sun. A literary gothic fantasy where every word bears its weight, every pause matters, and every story leaves a shadow. For readers who love: A Song of Ice and Fire — but slower, sadder, and smaller. Downton Abbey by way of The Witcher. The creeping tension of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Flash fiction that cuts deep and lingers long after the last page. Fairborne endures. But summer cannot last.