He can barely cast any spells at all, and those he does cast tend to fail explosively. If that wasn't bad enough, he's also managed to attract the ire of the most promising student of his year- who also happens to be the nephew of a king. Hugh has no friends, no talent, and definitely doesn't expect a mage to choose him as an apprentice at all during the upcoming Choosing. When a very unusual mage does choose him as apprentice, however, his life starts to take a sharp turn for the better. Now all he has to worry about is the final test for the first years- being sent into the terrifying labyrinth below Skyhold.

    Born the night that the Archmagus Valeria died, Endrance was gifted with the talent and mind for magic. He'd proven that he was more than capable of mastering the forces of magic and intellectual study at the hands of a master as mad as he was crafty. He was one of the Scribed, mages who had undergone a painful yet powerful ritual that granted them the ability to tattoo spells upon their very skin.He had finally proven himself to his master, and was free to practice magic at his own pace. If that were all fate had in store for him, he would have been happy. However fate wanted more of this man's potential than a lifetime of quiet study.Instead, he was appointed the Spengur of Balator, a country radically different from his own. He would face an entire city of people that prized physical might and shunned the mystic. There he would meet staunch allies, and dangerous foes. There, he could change the world, if he could only survive.It is through the fires of strife that a person is melted down into the core of who they really are, and fate has stoked the flames white hot. Can he survive the blaze? And even more importantly, who will he be if he emerges from the other side?

    After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

    Now all he does is help his mother manage her tavern as his father rests in a grave. Desil knows there’s at least one other mage somewhere in this territory who can do what he can; they share a connection through their magic, although they’ve never met. He stays up nights wondering what they might be able to accomplish together.When an opportunity to not only meet this mage but change the course of his future finally presents itself, Desil jumps at the chance. A great leader has disappeared, leaving clues that only Desil and this other mage can see. War is coming, and following the clues could mark Desil as a traitor, but he trained his whole life for something. If this isn’t it, then what is? He might unearth a new power capable of ending war, or he might die trying. Either is better than doing nothing.

    In the kingdom of Mallon, all knowledge of the death god Arawn has been brutally quashed--but a teen named Dante has just found the dark god's holiest book.Within days, Dante's attacked in the streets. Not by the city guard. By Arawn's own servants, long-hidden. Two things save his life: a big-mouthed bodyguard named Blays, and his own growing skill with the nether, the shadowy power that fuels the world.But the attacks on Dante are just the first stirs of a larger threat. In the far north, Arawn's followers are rallied by a priestess named Samarand. Mallon is burning. To save their homeland, Dante and Blays will have to travel to a half-ruined city and assassinate the woman driving her people to war.

    Those who survive the spire’s trials return home with an attunement: a mark granting the bearer magical powers. According to legend, those few who reach the top of the tower will be granted a boon by the spire’s goddess. He never returned. Now, it’s Corin’s turn. He’s headed to the top floor, on a mission to meet the goddess. If he can survive the trials, Corin will earn an attunement, but that won’t be sufficient to survive the dangers on the upper levels. For that, he’s going to need training, allies, and a lot of ingenuity. The journey won’t be easy, but Corin won’t stop until he gets his brother back.

    When an insane stranger is murdered at the inn where she works, Trouble becomes the next Soulbearer for the disembodied god of chaos, Loku. Yes, it comes with the ability to channel the god’s limitless power, but at the cost of her sanity — literally. Now she has a sexy but cynical knight claiming to be her protector, a prince trying to seduce her to his cause (and his bed), and a snarky chaos god who offers a play-by-play commentary on it all, whether she wants to hear it or not. To make matters worse, a necromancer wants to capture the soul of Loku for his own dark purposes, and the only way he can get it is by killing her first.

    Concealment. In the shadow of Dimmingwood, she finds temporary protection with a band of forest brigands led by the infamous outlaw Rideon the Red Hand.But as Ilan matures, learns the skills of survival, and struggles to master the inherent magic of her dying race, danger is always close behind. When old enemies reappear and new friendships lead to betrayal, will her discovery of an enchanted bow prove to be Ilan’s final salvation or her ultimate downfall?

    Fans of Throne of Glass and A Game of Thrones will not be able to put down this epic fantasy adventure. Standing alone in a dark cell, Alec waits for the death he cannot seem to escape. The pungent smell of sweat and blood are permanently absorbed into his scarred skin. Though he can no longer hear them, the blood thirsty roars of the crowds still fill his ears. He knows his master won’t allow him to leave the arena alive this time. As a light calling out in the darkness, Jade appears offering Alec salvation. He would do anything to escape this fate, including traveling to a foreign land as her bodyguard. Freedom is not what Alec imagined. Stafford’s Battlemaster hates him, his fellow soldiers ignore him, and their healer refuses to treat him. Outside the city’s walls, a mysterious dragon becomes Alec’s constant shadow. Within, heated confrontations with Jade awaken a different type of fire Alec fears he will not be able to hide. Suddenly gifted with powerful magic, Alec’s once dormant abilities show him a world much different from the darkness he has known. Both new friends and dangerous challenges await the spirited warrior as he sets out to find his place in this enchanted kingdom. The journey may prove even more treacherous then the arena as Alec discovers everything he thought he knew about his past is a lie.

    A valiant warrior, a champion among men, that's what Jorem wanted to be. To be respected by others and loved by his father the King.Faced with decisions that could affect an entire kingdom he must choose between the comforts of life in a castle and the grueling work of a blacksmith's servant. He'll do this, if not for his family, at least for the people the royal house should be serving. In the refiners forge he discovers his own metal even when faced with the anger and contempt of a people who have come to distrust those of royal blood. Alone he may be, but through his determination and the wisdom gained from an old man Jorem stands his ground.He finds that becoming a man isn't about a title and prestige, sometimes it's just doing the right thing.

    She yearns for freedom, but he won’t let her go—not when her Cat’s Eye necklace is the only thing that can save his life.But the necklace itself presents a problem. It is an ancient device from the long forgotten War of the Races, and its magic has the ability to steal souls. Can Sora learn to wield its power—or will the power wield her? (Winner of the SKOW 2006 Best Fantasy Award)

    Towering tall even amongst the atherian, he is the only of his kind to live free in the "civilized" confines of mankind's varied cultures. He has no need of loyalties, his sole affections pledged to the gold crowns that buy his time and skills. Wed to his blades, Raz's only friends are the Moon and Her Stars and the shadows they bring with the night. But Raz was not born to the mercenary's way, to the butchery and battle of day-by-day survival. Raz, like a sword, was hammered from steel and fire and ashy smoke, forged on the ruins of an old life. And Raz knows who he owes this new path to, this carved way of blood and iron. The Monster of Karth, after all, would never forget who gave him that name. And some debts can't be paid in gold...

    Alec's carnival makes a fateful decision to visit lands in the wilderness, where he is exposed to violence and fear, and where he is forced to scramble for survival. When Alec and Natalie plunge into the ruins of Riverside, the adventures begin to come fast and furious, and before he knows it, Alec will acquire new abilities to heal the injuries of other in miraculous ways, and then be pressed to exercise those abilities to save the most powerful noble in the Dominion, the Duke of Goldenfields!Saving the Duke, and discovering that his act of healing will become a political act that plunges him into court intrigue, brings Alec face-to-face with new challenges and new people - allies and adversaries who seek to control him and his powers.With his change in abilities, change in status, and his uncertainty about what he wants to do, Alec has to decide who to trust, and how to protect himself in a complex world.

    He showed a little magical talent, is studying at the local academy, and is nothing particularly special. Others are smarter. Others are more talented. Others are quicker to pick up techniques. But none of them are with him when he breaks his journey home for the holidays in an inn. None of them step in to help when a young woman is thrown off a passing stage coach into the deep snow at the side of the road. And none of them are drawn into a fight to protect her.One of the others might have realised she was manipulating him all along . . .A powerful story about beginnings, coming of age, and the way choosing to take one step towards violence can lead to a slippery and dangerous slope, this is an accomplished fantasy series driven by strong characters and fast-paced action.

    That choice doomed the family she left behind to a life of disgrace.Yanko White Fox doesn’t remember his mother, but as the only gifted child in the family, he is expected to erase the mark she left on them all. With an affinity for earth magic and communicating with animals, he’s not the most natural candidate to become a warrior mage, but it’s the only sure route back into the Great Chief’s good graces. He has resigned himself to training for that destiny, whether it matches his passions or not.Long before he’s ready for his first battle, insurrection comes to his distant corner of the empire. Rebels take over the salt mine his family manages and slay the only relative who ever supported Yanko. On the heels of the tragedy, a courier brings a message from the Great Chief’s son. Whether he is prepared or not, Yanko must undertake a quest, one that could save millions of lives… or fail utterly, leaving him dead, his family forgotten, and his people the victims of starvation and endless war.