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

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.

Endric wants only to serve, but he's destined to lead. As the second son of the general of the Denraen, Endric wants only to fight, not the commission his father demands of him. When a strange attack in the south leads to the loss of someone close to him, only Endric seems concerned about what happened. All signs point to an attack on the city, and betrayal by someone deep within the Denraen, but his father no longer trusts his judgment.

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.

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?

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Now that he’s bonded the dragon Sashaak, Laric Mason must come to understand the power of the bond—and the potential power it grants him. Without a mentor, Laric struggles to understand the lessons of a dragon. Having imprisoned Talia, Laric and his friends know it's only a matter of time before mages come looking for her and Daelon. When Talia escapes, there's a new urgency. They must defend the village against a mage, but she's not after the village. She's after the dragon.

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.

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 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.

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.

As Endric continues his search for the traitor Urik, a new threat emerges, one that demands the attention of the Denraen. Now an officer, Endric should be a part of the planning, but the general seems determined to keep him from it. Endric searches for information that might help him understand, and as he finally thinks he’s getting close to discovering word on Urik, he’s sent from the city on what appears nothing more than a pointless mission. When an asset he cares for goes missing, Endric betrays the Denraen to go after them.

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.

Having saved her people from the danger of the Branox, Imogen must find a way to lead them home. The way back is treacherous, and there’s an ever-present threat of more dark creatures attacking. When hunted by a new threat, the sacred patterns are not enough. Imogen must find a way to bring her people together while staying on the path the Porapeth have seen for her, but even that might not lead her to safety. The first of the blade must be more than a sacred sword master. If she can’t unlock the potential hidden deep inside her, all her people will fall.

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.

When Carthenne Rel first came to Nyaesh, she feared the A'ras. Now she trains with them, struggling to use the magic they teach, and cut off from the shadow blessing within her. Isolated for her differences, she has only a few friends among the other students. When the strange and powerful Master Invar offers to teach her to access the powers warring within her, Carth is isolated even more.