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

Having barely survived the Lands Beyond, Tolan recuperates while preparing for the next attack. His closest allies are gone, leaving him floundering for answers, along with his place in the Academy. Tolan must protect Terndahl, before the elementals attack. After years spent teaching others the elementals were no danger, he fears the repercussions of changing course. When even an elemental warrior might not be enough, Tolan must find the elemental nature within 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 Great Serpent grants a gift of powerful essence to those who come before him. The experience, and the gift, is unpredictable but all have a vision of the Great Serpent so they can understand the purpose of their essence.

An ancient artifact that must be found... Terrifying creatures from dark and dangerous Incendin... And long-forgotten elementals again unleashed on the world. As an earth senser, Tan is tasked with helping guide the king's servant through the dangerous mountain passes in search of the artifact before Incendin can reach it first. But after losing his father to the war, Tan wants nothing to do with the king's demands.

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.

Zarinth is a dangerous city at the edge of the kingdom, illuminated by the constant fire of the nearby volcano Ishantil. For thief Ty, it’s more than a city filled with valuable ancient dragon relics. It’s the home he could never leave. When Ishantil threatens to erupt and put the city in chaos, Ty wants one last score before finally leaving it - and his past - behind. All while the notorious Dragon Thief chases the same prize. The Dragon Thief has a reputation for a reason, but Ty begins to think there’s more to the job than just the prize.

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.

The powerful draasin - elemental creatures of fire not seen for a thousand years - have returned. Not all are convinced they should have been freed. As Tan struggles to learn earth shaping, he discovers dangerous fire shapers from Incendin have come to Ethea. When the city is attacked by the draasin, Tan must use his connection with them to learn why. Doing so leads him from the city and forces him to once more face the terrible shapers of Incendin, but this time bound to the draasin for help.

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.

No longer traveling with the Wayward, Leo learns that finding his own way is its own adventure and one he could never have experienced as one of the Wayward. He joins a new caravan and befriends a young girl fascinated by the Twilight Gates, travels with one of the fae and learns of a danger to their realm, and makes an enemy of the Alley King. Surviving the journey is only the first step. The Academy is the goal. Even then, he must still gain entry to the Academy—which proves more difficult than Benjamin led him to believe.

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.

The arrival of the mysterious Magi, along with their near invincible guardians, signals a change. For Jakob, apprentice historian, and son of a priest longing for adventure, it begins an opportunity. When his home is attacked, Jakob starts a journey that will take him far from home and everything he has ever known. Studying with a new swordmaster, he gains surprising skill, but also strange new abilities that make him fear the madness which has claimed so many has come to him.

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. 

Torian Ranth is no longer the struggling student he once was. Now a skilled sahir to be reckoned with, Torian arrives at the devastated university. It still stands amid the remnants of the Rusav onslaught.

As apprentice to the master executioner, Finn struggles to understand his place in the city as he searches for truth in those sentenced. The job is more complicated than he had ever imagined. He’s proven his understanding of the basics, but for him to serve as an executioner - if that’s what he wants - he needs mastery. Distracted by his search for a way to heal his still ailing mother despite the hegen magic, he finds himself at odds with the master executioner.

Fes has always longed for stability. Raised within the slums of the empire, taught to steal and hurt others to make his way, when he’s discovered by the emperor’s chief fire mage, he’s given a chance to use his particular gift for gathering lost dragon relics to become something more. An encounter with a priest in possession of a dragon bone reveals the existence of a new power that threatens to return the long dead dragons to the world. Chased by the dangerous enemies, Fes travels into the bleak lands of the Dragon Plains before others can reach it.

Leo Surinar is a wanderer, traveling with his mother in the Wayward caravan in the only life he's ever known, finding their own peace while parts of the world descend into war. When a traveling minstrel joins the caravan, everything begins to change. As Leo learns the power of song and begins to dream of a world beyond the caravan—one only the Academy can show him—he starts to think there might be more to the world than what he sees from the top of a wagon. Until his mother's illness forces him to make a difficult choice.

Pursuing the Grand Mage forces Laric Mason to make a choice—stay and protect his home, or chase a threat that poses a danger to all of the remaining dragons. As Laric learns the truth of his grandmother's quest for glyph knowledge, he uncovers even greater dangers than he could have imagined. And his uncle had not told him the truth of what Korthal faced. The Grand Mage may be a part of something much larger than Laric had imagined.

The magic of the ancient dragons cannot be ignored. Learning he’s descended from the ancient Deshazl, those once known as the Dragonwalkers, has changed nothing for Fes. He continues to serve Azithan and the empire, even after deceiving them. The ancient Deshazl magic lives within him, but Fes doesn’t know how to control it or even if he should try. An old nemesis approaches him with a job he can’t refuse, and he’s forced to head toward Toulen. When betrayal separates him from from a friend in need, Fes must begin to understand how to use his Deshazl magic.

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.