"Oh, for the love of the Virgin," Raúl muttered under his breath. Fernando, at his side, looked more than passing amused. The young man in front of him flushed with anger and repeated, "You're Raúl González, aren't you?"

He was loud enough to attract the attention of the crowds passing by; heads turned, as a murmur ran down the street.

"I am," Raúl said, with a credible veneer of patience. "And you?"

The young man – still a boy, really – looked as though he hadn't expected that. He rallied, and declared with self-conscious zeal, "My name isn't important. I speak for the nameless of this city, those of ability overlooked by the hierarchies of your beloved Institución – "

The townhouse of Richard Lowell was not one known to respectable members of Society.... Thus, when word went out that Lowell had died, and moreover had died without a will, an unprecedented opportunity arose to investigate the matter -- through suitable intermediaries, of course. The public auction was set for May the fourteenth, and many a wealthy man instructed his gentleman-factor to attend, there to observe, and perhaps to purchase any oddities which might appeal.

Cid's not the knightly sort, so why is he riding off to rescue a princess?

I was angry when we had that fight, too. Our last fight, though I didn't know that at the time. What did you expect me to say? You come in late and you're bloody and filthy, and you tell me some story about "the fey," and "faeries." About the fey and our family and a war. You said, "I have to go, Mom. The Unseelie Court has taken the Southern Provinces, and only our family's bloodline can save the High Ones." It makes no sense. Those are things out of stories, out of books. I just want to know, Amanda—in what universe did you think I would not ask you what drugs you were on?

Magra rounded a corner in the servants’ corridors and came upon a body, one of the servant girls
stretched out upon the stone. A man, one of the knights of the castle, knelt beside her. He smoothed
the girl’s dress and folded her still hands across her abdomen. Then he looked up at Magra with eyes
that pretended at humanity.

fairy!Kris AU

Adventures of Cath Traethlin, thief extraordinaire.

A Japanese businessman stumbles into another dimension and meets an Assyrian warrior. Adventure and romance ensue. Nice worldbuilding, interesting non-cliche characterization, and lots of culture clash.

Former apprentice mage Rodney McKay joins an adventuring party, and discovers that there's more than one kind of magic.

Magic was a substance, like fire or water. It was abundant and incredibly powerful and could be manipulated with the correct application of knowledge and will. But if you didn't use it properly, you'd be immolated or drowned. Or worse: other people would be, and you'd be forced to watch it happening. That was why it terrified him to see the casual, unthinking way Teyla and Carson used magic, because he knew that someday they'd be forced to pay for what they'd taken. Every wizard would, sooner or later. It was the first thing mages ever learned, and Rodney had lived it.

Magic was a zero-sum game. If you didn't sacrifice as much as you were given, you would lose.

The storyteller said: He was a sorrowful prince, young Livna'lams, seven years old and full of sorrow.

Rodney McKay, raised by a pod of telepathic whales. John Sheppard, mage with fae blood. Teyla Emmagan, rune-scientist. Ronon Dex, winged soldier. On the waystation of Atlantis, they're about to become embroiled in an age-old war against a brutal enemy.
[sidefics and fanart at http://community.livejournal.com/whaleverse/]

The Angel was only a temple myth to scare wild younglings, or so Ratty believed.

In a land beset by the fearsome, winged creatures known as the night terrors, a wounded guide with a mysterious past finds sanctuary at Baron James' castle. Humanity is on the verge of destruction, and not everything is as it seems...