01
A Quill's Confession
Dragged into the heart of the keep, a hard-drinking bard is ordered to shape a dead czar's legacy into a single, perfect story while power watches from the shadows. A tale about art as both salvation and weapon.
A dark fantasy story collection
Broken Statues
by Alexander Kondov
Eleven tales of gods, monsters, and the choices that haunt us, woven from the history and mythology of Eastern Europe.
What Is This Book?
Broken Statues is a collection of eleven standalone dark fantasy stories, each inspired by the folklore, history, and mythology of Eastern Europe.
The tone is literary and character-driven, with bittersweet endings that linger. These are stories about legacy, love, loss, meaning, and power, told through the eyes of warriors, gods, peasants, and rulers.
The Stories
Eleven tales that can be read in any order. Each complete on its own, each a window into a shared world.
02
Broken Statues
A conqueror who traded love for empire discovers too late that ambition doesn't quiet the heart. When Death comes to collect, a czar must face what his victories were really worth.
03
Dreams and Seeds
In a village where legends still breathe, a formidable grandmother refuses to let sickness take what she loves. A tender, fierce story about care, stubborn hope, and small miracles.
04
Monsters Have Good Days
Bleeding out in the mud, a warrior meets a pale lady in white and is forced to confess what violence made of him, and what love couldn't. A haunting meditation on rage, guilt, and redemption.
05
One Last March
An aging general is asked to lead one final campaign for a young ruler who's never seen war. Old gods, old wounds, and one disastrous march test loyalty and reveal how easily order turns into chaos.
06
Scent of Rage
An inquisitor in black arrives in an idyllic village because something monstrous hides behind its normal smiles. A grim, fast-moving hunt for a killer where faith and fear both sharpen the blade.
07
The Bard's Three Tales
In a noble's hall, a traveling storyteller offers three tales: patience, mercy, and one with a moral you must choose yourself. A sharp, self-aware story about power, meaning, and whether words can change men.
08
The Blue Flower Read Free
While armies march and seasons turn, a woman clings to a promise marked by a single blue flower. A heartbreaking love story about war's aftershocks and the vows we keep, even when we can't come home.
09
The Golden Apple
A young heir inherits a legacy rooted in a mysterious orchard and learns that symbols of rule demand real sacrifice. Courtly, tense, and intimate, it's a coming-of-age story where mercy and survival collide.
10
The Only Question
An old forest god, bored and bitter, stands at the edge of a chasm and wonders if anything is worth living for anymore. Darkly funny and strangely tender, a story about meaning found in rebellion.
11
The Wings of Terror
A band of fighters seeks a blacksmith who can forge the one blade meant to kill a beast that burned a city to ash. Myth, steel, and ambition intertwine on a dragon hunt where creation may be deadlier than destruction.
Read a Sample
Experience a complete tale from the collection
"I remember the day I learned that the gods hate us. I wish I could tell you about the calm blue of the sky, the songs of birds, the laughter of playing children, and the kisses of the sun on my skin. But I cannot."
- Opening lines from "The Blue Flower"
The Blue Flower
While armies march and seasons turn, a woman clings to a promise marked by a single blue flower. A heartbreaking love story about war's aftershocks and the vows we keep, even when we can't come home.
10 Chapters
~30 min read
Start Reading
For Readers Who Like...
Similar Authors
Katherine Arden's Winternight, Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver, Angela Carter's fairy tales, Guy Gavriel Kay's historical fantasy
Moods & Themes
Slavic folklore, literary dark fantasy, bittersweet endings, moral complexity, stories that linger
Perfect For
Character-driven anthologies, Eastern European mythology, stories about legacy, loss, and finding meaning
A Godless Land
The nameless czardom has been a battleground of the gods for generations. Now, the people face the consequences of denouncing them, left to navigate a world where ancient powers still linger in the forests, noble houses crumble under the weight of ambition, and old pacts demand their due.
It's a world inspired by the folklore and history of Eastern Europe, a place of harsh winters and stubborn hope, where empires rise and fall, and ordinary people carry stories as old as the mountains.
The tales are self-contained, but observant readers will notice threads connecting them: echoes of names, places that recur, and a shared mythology that breathes beneath the surface.
About the Author
Frequently Asked
What order should I read the stories in?
The stories are completely standalone. Start with whichever title catches your eye. Each tale is self-contained with its own beginning, middle, and end.
Are the stories connected?
They share the same world, and careful readers will notice subtle connections: recurring places, echoes of events, threads that weave between tales. But each story works perfectly on its own.
How long are the stories?
They vary from short stories to novella-length pieces. Most can be read in a single sitting of 20-45 minutes.
Any content warnings?
These are dark fantasy stories dealing with war, loss, violence, mortality, and moral ambiguity. The tone is literary and reflective rather than graphic, but the themes are heavy.
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