Haiyu's Descent

Tales of Heroic Fantasy

The samurai known as Haiyu never intended to find himself in service to the Lord of Hell. In the beginning, he was a man beset with dreams about a mysterious woman who was in some kind of trouble. Seduced into riding the mystical artifact known as Kairyon's Disk into the earth, he found himself spirited away from the world he knew and drawn into a weird world existing beneath a dying ochre sun. His adventures carried him through strange vistas and encounters with unusual creatures.

Soon enough, Haiyu found himself in the service of Emma-O himself, a Samurai of Hell venturing through a strange land with a two-fold mission. First, to find the heart of the mysterious land beneath the ochre sun and to plant Emma-O's standard there. Second, to slay all minions of the thousand Oni Worlds that would seek to do likewise for their own sick and monstrous masters.

In these six dark but heroic fantasy tales, including a brand new piece detailing Haiyu's meeting with Emma-O, the Samurai of Hell discovers his destiny and performs his duty. Follow the wanderer as he discovers:

• The corpses of two children at the edge of a swamp, which propel Haiyu into a tale of cruelty, tragedy, and forgiveness . . .
• A son's rage over his father's banishment and death combined with a strange magic, which pits Haiyu against an otherworldly entity bent on vengeance against an entire community . . .
• A monkey-like creature bearing a message of war written by the lord of a lost city, who draws Haiyu into a weird subterranean world . . ..

Fans of Fritz Leiber, Robert E. Howard, C. L. Moore, Roger Zelazny, and Andre Norton's heroic fantasy fiction will find plenty to savor in this collection.