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

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.

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.

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 true spirit master remains at large. Tolan might be the only one able to stop him, but he must find the truth within himself first. The element bonds, for so long the primary way to reach the power of the elements, have been tainted. The threat Tolan has long feared has revealed himself but escaped before his plan could be stopped. Now, Tolan and his allies must travel beyond the waste to search for answers. The journey again takes him away from his teaching responsibilities.

Rsiran is a disappointment to his family, gifted with the ability to Slide. It is a dark magic, one where he can transport himself wherever he wants, but using it will only turn him into the thief his father fears. Forbidden from Sliding, he's apprenticed under his father as a blacksmith where lorcith, a rare, precious metal with arcane properties, calls to him, seducing him into forming forbidden blades. When discovered, he's banished, sentenced indefinitely to the mines of Ilphaesn Mountain.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

After killing one of the Elvraeth to save his friends, Rsiran finds a measure of peace, but fears that it will be short lived. When attacked using knives he forged, he is pulled into a struggle that he wants nothing to do with. Worse, friends have secrets they do not share, secrets that could place both he and Jessa in danger. Finding answers sends him Sliding throughout the city and beyond, testing his ability all while trying to understand the secret of the alloy that might be the key to their safety.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Trapped by Venass. Tormented by the Forgotten. And both desire the very ability that allowed his escape. Chased through the city by someone able to influence his Sliding, Rsiran and his friends prepare for the next attack, uncertain whether the Forgotten or Venass will move first. When Rsiran learns that his sister was abducted, he must decide whether to help a family that abandoned him. If he does not, Alyse might suffer a fate worse than any torment he has already endured.

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 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.