Showing results by narrator "Gerard Tim Reynolds" in All Categories

The Spellweaver: a legendary sorcerer who crafted magic with their words. These spells were written down and given to others who would become mages. Over time, the Spellweaver was no longer reincarnated through the ages. Without the magic-creating words of the Spellweaver, magic is now a finite resource. Soon, magic will be lost to the sands of time. Unless a new Spellweaver can be found. Calwyn Weft lives in the village of Pebbert and works as an apothecary’s apprentice. It’s the one job he knows how to do well. But then the village is visited by a strange, red-robed figure.

"The Secret" is set in the world where the Broken Empire and Red Queen's War trilogies take place. I've been writing short stories based on the various members of Jorg Ancrath's brotherhood of the road, exploring their origins. When I saw that the Blackguards anthology was seeking tales of assassins, I thought it was time to write about Brother Sim.

The assassination of the chief judge has pushed the Capitol to the edge. The Great Extermination has spread to all the land. The casteless must be annihilated. Their only hope is the fallen Protector Ashok Vadal. But Vadal is being held prisoner on the island of Fortress. In order to save those who need him most, he must escape and find his way across the demon-infested sea and return to Thera, the prophet of an illegal and forgotten god. It is she who has sent the Sons of the Black Sword to war against the warrior caste, hoping to buy time until Vadal’s return.

Hump and his companions return to Sheercliff City to find a region plagued by monsters—bad news for most, but for a hedge wizard, it's just good business. With the gorger dead and the bond with his unhatched dragon growing quickly, Hump looked forward to some ordinary adventures. Yet trouble finds him as the Inquisition arrives, accusing him of his master's murder. It seems there is more to the old man's death than he believed.

The Tour de France is always one of the most spectacular and dramatic events in sports. But the 1998 Tour provided drama like no other. As the opening stages in Ireland unfolded, the Festina team's soigneur, Willy Voet, was arrested at the French-Belgian border with a carload of drugs. Raid upon police raid followed, with arrest after arrest hammering the Tour.

Artemio Volpe must contend with more than simple intrigue. The embers of war burn bright beyond the horizon of the northern steppes, his already estranged family has been hounded by the assassinations, and the shades of the dead pervade his body and mind, granting him their power at a terrible price.

Dante and Blays have a single hope of victory: the Spear of Stars, the long-lost weapon that may be capable of killing the lich. There's just one problem. Though they've learned the spear is real, they've also learned the nine parts of the weapon are guarded by the gods themselves. And they have no intention of handing over their prize. Alone in a strange realm, with no friends or allies, and a growing list of enemies, Dante and Blays' task looks doomed. Yet, they're the last line standing between the lich and the destruction of their whole world.

Cally and Rowe have scoured the demonic wights from Narashtovik. But during the war, Cally learned he can no longer be part of the pacifist Order that raised him to be a sorcerer. The pair has traveled south, seeking the true copy of The Cycle of Arawn - the artifact Cally believes can restore proper rule to Narashtovik. There's a few problems with this plan, though. For one, nobody's seen the true copy in decades. And another, in these lands, possessing a copy of the Cycle is rewarded with a quick trip to the hangman.

With the threat of two wars looming on the horizon, one between Elondria and Cylmar and the other between Sandstorm and Avalanche, Ayrion finds himself being pulled between his duty to his king and country and his desire to keep his street family safe.

Threadbare has not had a very good time of it recently. His little girl has been taken from him, and he must travel the kingdom, finding allies old and new, living and dead, to help him rescue Celia. Fortunately, he's got a voice now and access to all those fun skills he couldn't before use. He may only be a very small teddy bear, but he's got the persistence to plow through dungeons of rascally raccoon monsters, the wiles to turn a town full of undead on its ear, and the sanity to survive an encounter with a mediocre old one.

In the age of belief, magic is a myth. But when an apocalyptic crusade comes to the remote border of Gul Kana, that belief is shattered, as is the tenuous peace that held the Five Isles together. Now the prophecies that were used to justify this war are unraveling, revealing a hidden agenda while the world lies in the wake of the degradations of this war. But a slim skein of hope resides within the hidden truths, long kept secret and scattered throughout the isles—truths less reliant upon prophecy than heroism and great sacrifice.

They are feared, hated, haunted down, and destroyed—and yet, they are mankind's last hope. For a thousand years magic has been banished throughout the Five Kingdoms, and those caught wielding it are rounded up and taken to the White Tower. They are never heard from again.

The Great Extermination has begun. In the Capitol, Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan hatches a plot to kill every member of the untouchable caste in all of Lok, down to the last man, woman, and child. As a member of the Order of Inquisition, Vokkan has no official say in the creation of Law, but he has powerful allies willing to do his bidding. Through them, he has convinced the Judges that the genocide will be swift, complete, and without complication. Nothing is farther from the truth.

Koren Bladewell now knows he is a wizard, but he is lost in the wilderness, cut off from help, and unable to use his powers. The enemy is poised at the border with an overwhelming invasion force, and it will take wizards, soldiers and a young, untested princess to hold off defeat long enough for Koren to be trained and grow into his power. But he might not wish to help those who deceived him and destroyed his life.

Hoping to prevent a bloody war, Will departs in search of the mythical hidden gate to the elven homeland and believes the country is safe in his absence. He is wrong. Adept at manipulation, the elves seek to conquer from within, and their spies have already infiltrated the kingdom. As Selene prepares to defend her throne, she discovers that the elven plot runs deeper than the blackest shadows. Duty demands she put her nation first, but a loathsome ally urges a darker choice.

Kelvin Wiltshire lives the life of a simple cook in a remote village on the far side of Trendham. The townsfolk think little of the man and his son and believe him to be just another refugee from the Terabinian war. On cold winter nights, they share rumors of the bloody conflict and the mysterious death of Will Cartwright, the mighty mage who had the power to command storms. They like the new cook. They fear the fallen king. But the two men are one and the same.

Everything Ayrion has ever believed about his people is brought into question as an inconceivable heritage dating back millennia is revealed. Sent by the wizard Nyalis, Ayrion is tasked with not only returning to the Lost City—the one place that had forsaken him—but convincing his people to abandon who they are and leaving the only home they’ve ever known.

Another king is dead, leaving Finfalla's fate in the shadow of an ancient enemy lurking beneath the tides. To discover the key to defeating the Blood Tide, Bryony and Ludo must travel southward to Zibanejad to find one of the Five Gods—the Sculptor. What he reveals to them could change the course of history forever. But can Bryony harness her growing power before it destroys her and everyone she loves?

If there's one thing dragons fear, it's a kraken. Even lowly hull-scrubber Zee Tarrow knows that. Like everyone on the island kingdom of Tosh, he grew up frightened by fables and horrible tales of the great beasts of the deep. It seems an odd thing to impress upon the children of the realm, because–luckily for the dragons and their riders–no one has seen a kraken in a thousand years.

Be bright but do not burn. Embrace the shadows but do not live in the darkness. Those are more than just words; they are truth revealed to only the bravest of souls, those who have the power to change the course of history and rewrite a future otherwise etched into Kingfall's flesh itself. But will good finally overcome the storm of evil brewing in the north? Or will the ancient invaders have their pound of flesh? The answers to these questions may surprise both heroes and villains alike.