The Viscount and the Witch (Riyria Chronicles Short #1)

By Michael J. Sullivan

Eleven years before they were framed for the murder of a king, before even assuming the title of Riyria, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater were practically strangers. Unlikely associates, this cynical thief and idealist swordsman, were just learning how to work together as a team. In this standalone first installment of The Riyria Chronicles, Royce is determined to teach his naive partner a lesson about good deeds. Join Royce and Hadrian in this short story (5,400 words) about one of their earliest adventures.

Praise for Sullivan's Riyria Revelations
“Filled with adventure and clever dialog and featuring a pair of not-quite-heroes whose loyalties to each other provide them with their greatest strength, this epic fantasy showcases the arrival of a master storyteller.” — Library Journal Fantasy Debut for September 2011

“Hair-raising escapes, flashy sword fights, and faithful friendship complete the formula for good old-fashioned escapist fun.” — Publisher's Weekly

“This series is thrilling, laugh-out-loud-funny, heartbreaking, chilling, and whip-smart at
every turn.” — Fantasy Faction

“An exciting, out-of-nowhere swashbuckler, The Riyria Revelations by Michael J
Sullivan astounds with its masterful combination of simplicity and
depth.” — Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction @ Suite 101

“[I]t's been a while since I found a sword and sorcery story I truly delighted in reading, and Theft of Swords reminded me of everything I love about the sub-genre.” — Deluded Visions

Other works by Michael J. Sullivan
Theft of Swords (Riyria Revelations Volume #1) — Nov 2011
Rise of Empire (Riyria Revelations Volume #2) — Dec 2011
Heir of Novron (Riyria Revelations Volume #3) — Jan 2012

The Crown Conspiracy (Riyria Revelations Book #1) — Oct 2008
Avempartha (Riyria Revelations Book #2) — Apr 2009
Nyphron Rising (Riyria Revelations Book #3) — Oct 2009
The Emerald Storm (Riyria Revelations Book #4) — Apr 2010
Wintertide (Riyria Revelations Book #5) — Oct 2010
Percepliquis (Riyria Revelations Book #6) — Jan 2012

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ridan Publishing
• Release date: Sep 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465836403

Michael J. Sullivan

Michael J. Sullivan is a three-time New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post bestselling author who has been nominated for nine Goodreads Choice Awards. His first novel, The Crown Conspiracy, was released by Aspirations Media Inc. in October 2008. From 2009 through 2010, he self-published the next five of the six books of The Riyria Revelations, which were later sold and re-released by Hachette Book Group’s Orbit imprint as three two-book omnibus editions: Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire, and Heir of Novron. Michael’s Riyria Chronicles series (a prequel to Riyria Revelations) has been both traditionally and self-published. The first two books were released by Orbit, and the next two by his own imprint, Riyria Enterprises. A fifth Riyria Chronicle, titled Drumindor, will be self-published in the near future. For Penguin Random House’s Del Rey imprint, Michael has published the first three books of The Legends of the First Empire: Age of Myth, Age of Swords, and Age of War. Grim Oak Press distributes the last three books of the series: Age of Legend, Age of Death, and Age of Empyre. Michael has returned to purely self-publishing roots with the release of his most recent series, The Rise and Fall Trilogy. These books are being published in the current schedule: Nolyn (Summer 2021), Farilane (Summer 2022,  and Esrahaddon (Summer 2023). Michael is now writing Drumindor, the fifth book of The Riyria Chronicles. This will return him to the timeline of Royce and Hadrian, two rogues he hasn’t visited with since the release of The Disappearance of Winter’s Daughter in 2018.  You can email Michael at [e-mail].

Book preview

The Viscount and the Witch

Michael J. Sullivan

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 by Michael J. Sullivan

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this book is free, it remains copyrighted property of the author. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please consider buying other books by the author. Thank you for your support.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual persons, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

Published by Ridan Publishing at Smashwords

A Ridan Publication

http://www.ridanpublishing.com

http//www.riyria.com

Cover Art by Michael J. Sullivan

Release Date: October 2011

The Viscount and the Witch

A Riyria Chronicles Short

Eleven years before they were framed for the murder of a king, before even assuming the title of Riyria, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater were practically strangers. Unlikely associates, this cynical thief and idealist swordsman, were just learning how to work together as a team. In this standalone first installment of The Riyria Chronicles, Royce is determined to teach his naive partner a lesson about good deeds. Join Royce and Hadrian in this short story (5,400 words) about one of their earliest adventures.

Praise for Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations

Filled with adventure and clever dialog and featuring a pair of not-quite-heroes whose loyalties to each other provide them with their greatest strength, this epic fantasy showcases the arrival of a master storyteller. — Library Journal Fantasy Debut for September 2011

Hair-raising escapes, flashy sword fights, and faithful friendship complete the formula for good old-fashioned escapist fun. — Publisher's Weekly

This series is thrilling, laugh-out-loud-funny, heartbreaking, chilling, and whip-smart at every turn. — Fantasy Faction

An exciting, out-of-nowhere swashbuckler, The Riyria Revelations by Michael J Sullivan astounds with its masterful combination of simplicity and depth. — Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction @ Suite 101

[I]t's been a while since I found a sword and sorcery story I truly delighted in reading, and Theft of Swords reminded me of everything I love about the sub-genre. — Deluded Visions

Other Works by Michael J. Sullivan

Theft of Swords (Riyria Revelations Volume #1)

Rise of Empire (Riyria Revelations Volume #2)

Heir of Novron (Riyria Revelations Volume #3)

The Crown Conspiracy (Riyria Revelations Book #1)

Avempartha (Riyria Revelations Book #2)

Nyphron Rising (Riyria Revelations Book #3)

The Emerald Storm (Riyria Revelations Book #4)

Wintertide (Riyria Revelations Book #5)

Percepliquis (Riyria Revelations Book #6)

Works in Progress

Antithesis

A Burden to the Earth

Dedicated to my fans:You'll never know how much your faith means to me

Table of Contents

Author’s Note

The Viscount and the Witch

Chapter One of Theft of Swords

About the Author

Other Works

Author’s Note

Welcome to this first installment in the Riyria Chronicles, a short story that tells a tale about the early days of Royce and Hadrian, before they became the notorious pair known as Riyria. For those who are unfamiliar with my larger epic series The Riyria Revelations, fear not. This story is perfect for you as it is a standalone tale that will provide a wonderful introduction to the world of Elan and a pair of characters that thousands have come to know and love.

I’d like to take a moment to discuss my Riyria Revelations series and why I’m releasing this short now. This is an interesting time for me as a writer. I feel like I’m graduating from a college where I spent the last thirty years. Writing for a living is not an easy career choice, and if I had any say in the matter, I wouldn’t have selected it. But you see, I can’t stop the stories from filling my head and putting them down on paper is really the only way to stop the voices. So I have to do this or go mad, and I’m opting for door number one. It’s unfortunate that so many authors have nightmarish war stories of what they went through

Reviews for The Viscount and the Witch (Riyria Chronicles Short #1)

[bookaholiccat · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4 ½ Stars - Audiobook

Great audio, now I want to listen to The Riyria Revelations.

[robinlythgoenull · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story (when you finally get to it past the introduction), is… cute.

It’s a nice little “day-in-the-life” of two men—three, if you count their rescue project—that gives a lighthearted look at their relationship. There’s more talking/explaining than showing, and I found the tale a bit short on both plot and tension. I found the ending too coincidental and convenient to be particularly satisfying, but I did enjoy the banter, the humor, and the unusual character of the viscount. The contrast between the two main characters made an interesting study, and it’s clear that the author knows these two very well.

“It's a good thing there was a moat right under the window.”

Royce stopped. “There was?”

All in all, I am still I am looking forward to reading the series.

[avoraciousreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

*Book source ~ Many thanks to the author for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.In the world of Riyria Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater are unlikely partners. Royce is a thief and assassin and Hadrian is an honorable soldier determined to see the good in people and to help where he can. Royce decides to teach his new partner a lesson in trusting strangers.Ok, I have no idea how these two guys became partners in the procurement business in the first place, but I am officially hooked on this world and on Royce and Hadrian in particular. There isn’t a lot of world-building in this short tale, but what there is only makes me want more. The hook is the back and forth between Royce and Hadrian. The dialogue and dynamics between the two is awesome. I am seriously chomping at the bit to read more and I’m thankful there are several stories about them out there for me to devour.

[kvhardy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is my first foray into this author's work, and the first time I've read anything labelled as Fantasy in many a moon. I've no knowledge whatsoever of the Riyria world or series, so frankly, I was glad that this was a quick dip into this particular pool. After all, no one wants to jump in if the water is too cold (not at my age, anyway).

I loved this. Royce and Hadrian are great together, and seem to have that kind of relationship I find entertaining and interesting - they seem to like and dislike each other all at the same time. I won't say more as I don't want to spoil it for anyone. What this story's relation is to the rest of the books is unknown to me, but I'm rather interested in finding out.

Over the years I've fallen off the strict fantasy/scifi boat mostly because I don't have much interest in the hardware or detailed warfare that is usually in the books that I've picked up. Character always seems secondary. I'm likely wrong and might have just picked up the wrong books, but it's been my experience. I'm beginning to get the same feelings for the romance genre, and I'm sad about that. This short story, however, definitely puts the emphasis on character. I almost felt like "squeeing" last night when that came across (I refrained because my teenagers think I'm weird enough as it is...lol...)

I'm off to try the next book! Wow. Can't believe I found a fantasy book I like. :-D

[fdholt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With the publishing of the six books of The Riyria revelations in three volumes, there is not much else for an author to do but go back and fill in gaps in the story. So Michael J. Sullivan does it and does it beautifully. We found out how our two main characters in the series, Hadrian and Royce, meet another character for the first time. The author uses his wonderfully crafted world of Elan as a frame but can’t really explain in all in this brief short story. Although you need not read the novels to enjoy the story, it can be a help. If you haven’t read any of the series, reading this story will encourage you to read on. If you are “hooked” like me, going back to Elan was a pleasure worth reading.

[melhay_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hadrian always a soft heart stops to see what the ragged dressed woman, tripping through the brush, is calling to him and Royce, his partner of just about a year, for help. There is an unknown man in her barn and she fears for her life. Hadrian wants to go take care of the problem, Royce is ready to move on but lets Hadrian learn a lesson on people.I'm not going to say to much as it's such a short read and if I do I just might give it all way. I want you to go read this quick read for yourself and enjoy it.First and foremost, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ THE SERIES TO READ THIS. Actually, you could read this to get a taste of Hadrian and Royce.I loved getting to see these two characters again, Hadrian and Royce. I love them, Hadrian and his big soft heart and Royce with his syndicalism of the two. But the two together are fun. There are jokes, the familiarity of the two carrying on together, and a great story as well. I love the way Royce is and the mystery with him. Even knowing Royce after five books of the series I still love the mystery here. And do want to know more!The nice thing about this short story is mention of some of the future characters in the series. You are introduced to some names and who they are, which will give you a little background for when you read the series. And yes, I think once you read this short story you will want the series. Michael has created amazing characters and a great world here that all should read. I do hope you go check this out.Also included with this short story is the first chapter of Theft of Swords, to be released in November, then the next two books each month after.