Showing results by author "D. K. Holmberg" in All Categories

For the first time since mastering his connection to the elements, Tolan fears an elemental. He's long advocated that the elementals were misunderstood, and tried convincing others within Terndahl to free them from the bond, but the appearance of Light has proven his mistake. Chasing the threat leads Tolan to take a dangerous journey, one that challenges all that he's learned of spirit and brings him back to the lands beyond the waste, where he discovers a secret hidden from the rest of the world for centuries.

While trying to track down her brother, Sam discovers she isn't through with Marin quite yet. An attack proves that a traitor sympathetic to Marin remains active in the city, but training prevents Sam from finding answers. With the Thelns once more in the city, Elaine doesn't believe Sam should be involved in the search, which means she has to go off on her own. Doing so risks her position at the palace, but any other choice puts her brother in danger.

The A'ras of Nyaesh have a terrifying reputation: skilled swordsmen, owners of powerful magic, and ruthless killers. When they kill her parents, Carth discovers her parents had trained her for magic she never knew she possessed. She must use the skills they taught to stay alive, discover a way to find answers, and avenge them if she can. Only the discovery of a greater threat than the A'ras forces her to risk herself, for new friends and a home she never wanted.

As Endric continues his search for the traitor Urik, a new threat emerges, one that demands the attention of the Denraen. Now an officer, Endric should be a part of the planning, but the general seems determined to keep him from it. Endric searches for information that might help him understand, and as he finally thinks he’s getting close to discovering word on Urik, he’s sent from the city on what appears nothing more than a pointless mission. When an asset he cares for goes missing, Endric betrays the Denraen to go after them.

The barrier has fallen. The king is gone. Tan has secured the artifact, but now the Fortress of Fire in Incendin burns more brightly than it has in a generation. To master his connection to the elementals, Tan needs to rediscover knowledge about the elemental power that has been lost for centuries. When the draasin bonded to him is injured, Tan must rely on everything he's learned to save him and discovers a new threat to the kingdoms more powerful than anything he's ever faced.

Chenir has allied with the kingdoms. The great serpent has bonded to the lisincend. And the ancient draasin, Asboel, lies injured. Tan enters the Fire Fortress seeking an alliance with the lisincend. Doing so requires him to attempt a shaping he isn't certain he can control, and this time without his draasin for help. The Par-shon attack has reached the mainland, pushing through Chenir, as the final battle with the unstoppable Utu Tonah approaches. Survival hinges on old friends and a new connection, but can Tan control enough power to defeat him?

The archivists are defeated, but their plan was already set in place. A new lisincend has emerged, more dangerous than before. Incendin still possesses the powerful artifact. And a spirit shaping placed on the king must be released. Tan has potential to be a warrior shaper - one who can shape all the elements - but shaping doesn't work for him the same as with other shapers. While he struggles to control his new magic, his friends work to free the king from the spirit shaping.

Tan now serves as Athan. The remaining draasin have bonded. Elle and all of Doma have been saved. And Par-Shon has been defeated. Tan knows the victory is short lived. Par-Shon knows how to obscure their shapers, and they could hide anywhere. When Tan discovers Par-shon shapers within the kingdoms, a dangerous and wild elemental is released. As Tan tries to defend his bonds, he learns the terrible history of this elemental, one that the draasin would hide from him.

War is coming to the kingdoms. Tan now knows that a threat greater than Incendin exists, one he suspects will require ancient enemies to forge an uneasy alliance. He must use the control he's gained over shaping to rescue a friend, protect the draasin, and convince the kingdoms of the true danger, or everything he knows will be destroyed.

Fresh out of prison, Jonathan Aguelon wants one big score before he leaves the city for good. The job will be more complicated than any that he's ever attempted, but this time he can steal more than money: He can get revenge—but only if he follows a mysterious benefactor’s plan. With the right team, Jonathan can succeed, but much in the city has changed during his time away, and the Dragon doesn't have the draw he once did. The team of outcasts he assembles needs time to prepare, but time is the one luxury they don’t have.

Rsiran now understands that he can use not only the arcane power of lorcith, but also that of heartstone. This ability makes him powerful, perhaps too powerful for some. Others know of his ability and seek to use him. After Brusus is attacked, Rsiran makes a decision that requires an unlikely ally, and brings him to dangerous Thyr, where the Scholars of Venass offer their aid, but for a price. But the scholars want Rsiran for the same reason as the Forgotten.

The empire remains in chaos following the last attack. Fes searches to connect to the newly raised dragon, wanting to find him before the Damhur attack again, but when he finally returns to the capital, he’s too late. War has returned to the empire in full. With dragons controlled by the Damhur attacking along the coast, the fire mages and Dragon Guard outmanned, Fes urgently needs to find a way to save the dragons - and help the empire. The search brings him to a foreign land where he uncovers ancient secrets in his quest.

Carthenne Rel survived the Hjan attack on the A'ras and has left the north, the only place she ever really known. Now she travels to better understand what it means that she's shadow born. Stranded by storms in a dangerous port city, she's captured while helping rescue a young girl from slavers. Discovering her mysterious captor's agenda forces her to play his games in order to escape, only to realize she hasn't finished with the Hjan.

Ty has bonded to a strange smoke dragon and trains as a Tecal. If he can’t control the connection, the dragon will be stripped from him so that another can use the power of the dragon in service of the kingdom, as the threat from Lothinal is not gone. When Roson James makes his move, Ty feels an increased urgency to understand how to connect to the dragon. Help comes from an unlikely source, but it might not be in time. This time, the kingdom is not the only target.

No longer forced to hide his ability, Rsiran now Slides openly throughout the city as he helps it recover from the recent attack. Requirements of his time continue to mount, not only as he tries to help his friends, but new responsibilities to the guild force him to interact with the Elvraeth, where he discovers the uneasy alliance that exists between the guilds and the council. When one of the great crystals goes missing, that alliance is tested, and the quest to find the crystal leads him to realize a secret long hidden.

Roelle leads the Magi north to discover the secrets of the northern warriors known as the Antrilii. What she discovers forces her to question the role the Magi play in the world as she begins to realize how far they have drifted from their Founders. Rumors out of the north are much worse than she could ever imagine, and her mage warriors might be key to stopping a threat the world hasn't seen in 1,000 years.

Forced into the heart of the Aisl Forest, Rsiran and the guilds regroup and try to find a way to reclaim the city from Venass and the Elvraeth council. Rsiran has stopped the production of shadowsteel, but Venass still possesses dangerous weapons, and what's more, one of the great crystals remains missing. Forced into an alliance with the mysterious Carth in order to find the crystal, they make new allies and discover the means to reclaim the city, but will it be too late?

Ciara has traveled to the barracks, but the promised teaching has not come to pass, leaving her worse off than before and her people without the nya'shin for protection. If she can't master the summoning, she fears the darkness will claim her. But now that the darkness has revealed itself, Jasn must find a way to save Alena from her connection to the draasin before that connection kills her. Only then can he search for whether Katya was destroyed by the darkness or learn if he can still save her.

Ashan has saved his homeland, but the threat from the king—along with Ashan's mentor—remains. The price for saving Berestal was high. His once recovered brother is now debilitated again, while his sister struggles to connect to Affelah, leaving Ashan to wonder what path he should take. When the king threatens the Wilds, Ashan must discover the truth of a land long ignored, as it might be the key to stopping the king and the spread of the dangerous power of the murtar.

No longer alone, Sam and Alec struggle to find time to continue their studies together. Sam knows that she is more than the lowborn she'd long believed, now living and training in the palace, but still doesn't feel as if she quite fits in. Worse, it seems as if Alec has moved on without her, preferring his new life in the university. Alec has quickly risen in rank, but that only draws attention to him. Learning from master physickers has its benefits, but there are dangers and he's not certain whether he can trust the new friends he's made.