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

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 off a victory against the Forgotten, and with unexpected allies, Rsiran knows that the war is far from over. An attack on someone close to him in the city leads to a search for answers, and he once again must confront the secrets hidden by his family. When he discovers a part of his people's history long forgotten, he realizes it might hold the key to what Venass really wants...and possibly the means to stopping them.

Life on the farm at the edge of the kingdom is anything but routine for Ashan. The plains around Berestal suffer from severe storms, making travel to the city difficult, with the threat of an attack from the people of Vard always looming. He long ago abandoned dreams of serving as a dragon rider, caring for his injured father and brother, but everything is about to change.

Having saved the village from the Korthal attack, Laric Mason faces a new reality where there are now expectations of him. As he trains with the mage Talia, he discovers that the lessons he learned from his grandmother prepared him for advanced magic in a way his school never did. But his grandmother hid other secrets, and Laric is not the only one after them. With a rogue mage posing an ongoing threat, he and his friends must train to use the power he never wanted, but it's a power that might now be necessary.

The kingdom has warred with the Vard long enough. Having gone with the Servant of the Vard, Ashan hopes to end that violence. First, he must find himself—even if it means coming to understand the strange Vard magic. When he finds an ancient and dangerous threat unlike anything he's ever encountered that once spread throughout the Vard lands, he begins to understand his enemy. As Ashan discovers the threat might still be active, he learns the truth behind the Vard actions and their hatred of dragons. What can he do if the threat has already spread to his people?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Kanar Reas, an ex-soldier known as the Blackheart, hides a dangerous secret. Exiled from the Realmsguard, he wants nothing to do with the kind of magic that destroyed his life. That is until his team of mercenaries is offered a job they can’t refuse.

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.

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.

Laric Mason has long evaded the grand expectations set before him by his grandmother. Engaged in the rudimentary spellslips and basics of mage magic at his local school, he intentionally conceals his true abilities. Public recognition would only bring unwanted responsibility and the threat of a transfer to the prestigious Mage Academy. When a devastating dragon assault from the neighboring realm of Korthal lays waste to his village, Laric's world is turned upside down. With his home in ruins and his loved ones lost, he and his friends are all that stand against further invasions.

Though Laric's grandmother has returned, he fears an ancient power has come with her. Searching for the means to help her leads Laric back to his home—where he finds mages targeting dragons, only now to drain away their potential. Laric must uncover the reason behind this attack to stop the Grand Mage and to save his grandmother. The key lies in the once potent protections that Laric had a hand in destroying. If he can't rebuild them, a greater danger than the Grand Mage will escape—and all the dragon potential Laric has bonded won't be enough to stop it.

The Grand Mage's plan has been thwarted, but he and his allies still search for power, but Laric still doesn't know what he intends—only that he must be stopped. As Laric searches for answers, and his friends struggle to understand the nature of the newly formed dragon bond, he finds the link to the dragon Sashaak has begun to change. The dragons share memories, but there are parts of their shared memories they have lost—and that might be the key to what the Grand Mage intends. Power builds, and the dragons feel the rising influence. Soon all will feel that influence.

The Disciples of the Draasin Lord have again been defeated, yet a traitor remains within Terndahl. The Inquisitors have come, and their presence has everyone on edge. With the help of the Keystone, Tolan has discovered the ability to shape each of the element bonds. Now that he’s passed testing to the second level at the Academy, he finally feels as if he belongs. Still, he can’t shake the feeling that his shaping is different than others - and tied to the elementals.

Having passed his first test at the Academy, most believe Tolan has proved he belongs. Only Tolan knows the truth: that his shaping required power from the borrowed bondar — and possibly from the elementals themselves. If he can’t find a way to shape without one, he’ll be expelled from the Academy. When he intervenes to stop another attack on the city, he once again finds himself in the middle of the battle between Terndahl and the Draasin Lord. Worse, because of his continued reliance on the bondars, he begins to fear he might be responsible for releasing elementals.

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.

Poverty-stricken Finn Jagger would give anything to heal his ailing mother. With his father imprisoned, Finn has joined a thieving crew to earn the money he needs to save her. When the latest heist turns to disaster and lands him on death row, Finn’s future seems to be tied up with a noose. Until the king’s executioner claims him as an apprentice.

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.