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

Ashan has returned to the Vard lands, becoming what his people claim him to be: a traitor. Now that he's connected to the power of Affellah, the king will stop at nothing to bring him back. That includes attacking Ashan's home and those he cares about. Once again, he must leave the Vard lands before he can fully understand the power of Affellah. Saving his people has already meant betrayal. Can he still find a way to be their Servant?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Still trying to master his magic, Fes begins to understand the nature of his power - along with the risks. With a resurrected dragon once more in the world and with the empire believing the worst of the threat is gone, the remaining Deshazl must stop the Damhur incursion into the empire. When a rescue of captured Deshazl goes wrong, Fes finds that his knowledge of his Deshazl abilities might not be enough. Having lived most of his life caring only for himself, he’s now a part of something greater.

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.

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.

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.

The dragons deserve to be free, but who will be strong enough to ensure their safety? A war long thought over has returned, and this time the empire is not equipped to survive. Still, the dragons are safe, living in the heart of the forest near an ancient Deshazl settlement. Though hidden from the Damhur who would control them, Fes feels they deserve more and longs to see them fly free again. When another attack leaves the empire weakened, Fes and a few friends search for allies. Finding those allies is key, but who can they trust?

After betraying both the empire and the rebellion, Fes and Jayell travel alone, struggling to remain safe when a daring break-in that might provide the needed leverage goes awry. Searching for help requires them go to those who want nothing more than to raise the dragons, but it’s where Fes might finally begin to understand just what it means for him to be Deshazl. Facing a fight for his life, he discovers he’s not as alone as he thought. With new allies, he might finally be able to save Jayell.

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.

After saving the dragons, Fes knows what must come next, but the empire has other plans. Rather than saving the Deshazl from slavery, the emperor bargains for peace. Can real peace happen when his people remain enslaved? When a summons draws him south, Fes discovers an ancient threat to the dragons that he might not be able to stop. Worse, the Damhur might finally have what they want - a way to control or destroy the remaining dragons.

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.

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.

Those who fight the darkness have scattered as the ancient power grows stronger. When Ciara is abducted by summoners of dark power, they seduce her with lessons on how to summon the elementals, an education she never received in the barracks. Only a distant part knows that she must find a way to escape before they manage to turn her to their side.