A boy learns heroes still exist. This is a short story set in the world of the series Erdemen Honor. It is a prequel/introduction to an upcoming novel and takes place several generations after The King's Sword.

Dominic's world had been a fairly simple life. To live his life to the best of his abilities, gain experience, level up, and strive to enjoy himself as best he could in a backwater. Which, while tough on its own, was made infinitely harder by his father being the local executioner. All of that becomes infinitely worse when his entire family is murdered. Dominic is then thrust into a war between noble houses that had been put on hold for generations. A war that the royal family lost, and now only had one true heir and claimant: Dominic Randolph.

When Miss Lilybeth Rose Hathaway and her family arrive in Ardmond for the season, Lily can’t help but be charmed by wealthy, popular Theo Overton’s lovely manners and genuine affection. The Hathaways are soon elevated far beyond what they might have imagined, and like everyone else, they are captivated by rumors of the national hero known as the Wraith, who is saving human children from the terrors of the Fair Court. The arrival of the Special Envoy of the Fair Court tasked with capturing the Wraith frightens everyone. But the Wraith is far too clever to be captured.

Raised a warrior in the harsh winter country, Ryo inGara has always been willing to die for his family and his tribe. When war erupts against the summer country, the prospect of death in battle seems imminent. But when his warleader leaves Ryo as a sacrifice—a tuyo—to die at the hands of their enemies, he faces a fate he never imagined.

When a fairy king grants a human wish, there's more at stake than dreams. Claire Delaney has a good life, despite her adolescent angst. But she wants more. In a moment of frustration, she wishes to be "the hero." What she actually wants is to be the center of attention, but what she gets is a terrifying Fae king demanding that she rescue an imprisoned fairy, facing fantastical dangers and hardships she could not have imagined. Yet the dreams - and the rescue - are only the beginning of her journey. She is at the center of the king's audacious gamble to end the war that has raged in Faerie for half a century.