Only the Embers can stand against it.For centuries, the flame-wielding warriors have been the last line of defense against the nightmare creatures of the World Apart. But their light is fading, and few remain to push back the darkness.When Kole Reyna, Ember of Last Lake is wounded by a demon unlike any they have seen before, the Emberfolk believe it is a sign of an ancient enemy returned - a powerful Sage known as the Eastern Dark.With the tribes of the valley besieged, the land's mightiest champions rise up to meet the coming threat, but even the combined might of the last Embers and their elemental kin may not be enough to stem the tide of chaos.Kole has never believed in destiny, but with his people hanging on the precipice and his home on the brink of ruin, he must discover the limits of the one power he fears above all else.His own.For when an Ember's fire awakens, even the gods take notice.Publisher’s Note: Valley of Embers 3rd Edition represents a re-written and improved version of the 2016 self-published release, with new prose, expanded lore, a fresh intro and extended ending.

    Tempered in blood. Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the south squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North.In the remote villages of southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving—a test of courage and skill that not all survive.But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war that has been raging for centuries.There is no prophecy. His coming was not foretold.He bleeds like any man, and bleed he will.

    A relic of rune-carved bronze and ivory flames. A war for powers only a god could fathom.In the centuries since rising up against a cruel, twisted dynasty, the Seven Cities have done much to move past their horrid histories, the memories of ancient monarchs who once fed on the life and blood of their own people. Those with a talent for magic are no longer hounded and slain. The lands beyond the Cities are safe, spared the atrocities the Alescuans once wrought upon them. For 300 years, there has been peace.Then Eska de Caraval, head of the prestigious Firenzia Company, finds herself framed for murder.Soon hunted for the strange bronze disc she most certainly did not steal, Eska is forced to pit both wit and blade against all manner of adversaries who would eagerly see her dead. An assassin in the shadows. A monster in the deep. A rival looking to burn her alive. From sword and fang and flame Eska must defend herself, struggling all the while to prove her innocence and unravel the mysteries of a dangerous artifact.But unbeknownst to Eska and her enemies, the cruelest of those tyrants of old is stirring in his grave.

    The country is on its knees.In a society that fears and shuns him, Aranok is the first magically-skilled draoidh to be named King’s Envoy.Now, charged with restoring an exiled foreign queen to her throne, he leads a group of strangers across the ravaged country. But at every step, a new mystery complicates their mission.As bodies drop around them, new threats emerge and lies are revealed, can Aranok bring his companions together and uncover the conspiracy that threatens the kingdom?Strap in for this twisted fantasy road trip from award-winning author Justin Lee Anderson.

    Now, the lost things are returning and the Onryo have gathered. Five legendary spirits with mysterious powers, bent on freeing an ancient evil that would wreak havoc on humanity.Haruto swore his soul to the God of Death for the chance to hunt down the vengeful ghost of his wife. Now an onmyoji, he’s tasked by the Imperial Throne to hunt down monsters and malicious spirits. But he knows not all spirits are evil and not all deserve the peace of the sword.Kira is a student at Heiwa, an academy for children with dangerous techniques. But she has a secret, she’s not like the other students. When the school is attacked, she flees with one of the tutors, determined to hide both from those who would kill her, and those who would use her.As a plague of spirits sweeps across the land, the Onryo leave a bloody trail for Haruto to follow. But who’s hunting who?The Mortal Techniques novels are a series of stand-alone stories that can be read entirely independently, set in the award-winning Mortal Techniques universe.

    The ambitious thirst for it.In a realm where wizards rule, those able to claim a throne are granted the power of a god.How can one defeat a god?A clever thief, a determined acrobat, and a troubled dwarf are joined by an old storyteller as they attempt the impossible: Assassinate a wizard lord.Their slim hope lies in the power of an enchanted amulet, the Eye of Obscurance.These unwitting pawns are trapped in a contest of wizards. The stakes: The fate of the world.From bestselling author Jeffrey L. Kohanek comes the first novel in an epic fantasy saga where magic reigns, wizards thirst for power, and the world teeters on the edge of breaking, perfect for readers who enjoy Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, or Robert Jordan.

    At his command the last emperor was executed, but vengeance is coming... Endymion is an Empath. He was born with the ability to feel another's emotions and reach inside their hearts for their deepest secrets. Often despised, he lives a nomadic existence, but when he finds himself imprisoned for sorcery and facing death, his past will condemn him. Born Prince Takehiko Otako, the only surviving son of the True Emperor, Endymion is caught in the brewing storm. But as his skill grows beyond his control, has the truth come too late?The fight for the Crimson Throne has begun.

    A story that combines the political and cultural landscape of epic fantasy with slow-creeping horrors and mysteries. Praised for complex character development and rich, diverse worldbuilding."The true story, as always, is in the details."After a botched job leaves his friend dead, the mercenary Kefier is chased down by former associates for the crime. Already once branded a murderer, fate seems to continue to frown on him when he comes face-to-face with his friend's sister, Sume: a young woman reeling from her own string of bad luck, and the last person he would ever want to confess to. Their lives, unknowingly tangled before they've even met, are now thrown into upheaval as one flees from the past and the other runs to it. In the meantime, the young, arrogant merchant Ylir takes a special interest in Kefier while he battles with a powerful mage, one whose name has been long forgotten in legend. At the crux of their conflict is a terrible creature with one eye, cast from the womb of a forlorn woman, with powers so immense whoever possesses it holds the key to bring the continent to its knees.Jaeth’s Eye introduces an epic fantasy tale of revenge and lost kingdoms, but also of grief, love, hope, and a promise for tomorrow. The Agartes Epilogues gets to the heart of epic fantasy from the sidelines and is a must-read for the discerning fan.

    But caught between her warring parents, Lidan’s world begins to unravel when another of her father’s wives falls pregnant. Before she has time to consider the threat of a brother, a bloody swathe is cut through the heart of the clan and Lidan must fight, not only to prove her worth, but simply to survive. Ranoth Olseta wants nothing more than to be a worthy successor to his father’s throne. When his home is threatened by the aggressive Woaden Empire, Ran becomes his city’s saviour, but powers within him are revealed by the enemy and he is condemned to death. Confused and betrayed, Ran is forced to flee his homeland, vowing to reclaim what he has lost, even if it kills him.Facing an unknown future, and battling forces both familiar and foreign, can Lidan and Ran overcome the odds threatening to drag them into inescapable darkness?

    But then it all blew up in his face. Now he’s been framed for a murder he didn’t commit.So how is a second-rate mage, broke, traumatized, and with a habit of annoying the wrong people, supposed to prove his innocence when everyone believes he’s guilty?Mennik has no choice if he wants to get out of this: he is going to have to throw himself into the corrupt world of the city’s high mages, a world he fled years ago. Faced by supernatural beasts, the mage-killing Ash Guard, and a ruthless, unknown adversary, it’s going to take every trick Mennik can summon just to keep him and his friend alive.But a new, dark power is rising in Agatos, and all that stands in its way is one damaged mage…Third place in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off 2020 (SPFBO6)Finalist in the Book Bloggers' Book of the Year Award (BBNYA) 2021Shortlisted for the Booknest Fantasy Award Best Self-published Novel 2020

    But what if the law is wrong?Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack. Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions. Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated. Where had she come from? Who would tattoo a child? Was it the same person who killed her? Why was he the only one who cared? Will Tashué be able to stand against everything he thought he believed in to get the answers he’s looking for?

    He just doesn't know it yet.Aram thinks he's nothing but a misfit from a small fishing village in a dark corner of the world. As far as Aram knows, he has nothing, with hardly a possession to his name other than a desire to make friends and be accepted by those around him, which is something he’s never known.But Aram is more. Much, much more.Unknown to him, Aram bears within him a gift so old and rare that many people would kill him for it, and there are others who would twist him to use for their own sinister purposes. These magics are so potent that Aram earns a place at an academy for warrior mages training to earn for themselves the greatest place of honor among the armies of men: dragon riders.Aram will have to fight for respect by becoming not just a dragon rider, but a Champion, the caliber of mage that hasn’t existed in the world for hundreds of years. And the land needs a Champion. Because when a dark god out of ancient myth arises to threaten the world of magic, it is Aram the world will turn to in its hour of need.

    Agerastian heretics, armed with black fire and fueled by bitter hatred, seek to sever the ancient portals that unite the empire - and in so doing destroy it.Asho--a squire with a reviled past--sees his liege, the Lady Kyferin, and her meager forces banished to an infamous ruin. Beset by tragedy and betrayal, demons and an approaching army, the fate of the Kyferins hangs by the slenderest of threads. Asho realizes that their sole hope of survival may lie hidden within the depths of his scarred soul--a secret that could reverse their fortunes and reveal the truth behind the war that wracks their empire.Unpredictable, fast paced, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Path of Flames is the first installment in a gripping new epic fantasy series.

    Some of these adventurers are heroes. Some are rogues. And some just want to return from the void with their bodies and minds unbroken . . .Kerin thon Talisien is the heir to a legendary name. When he was a young boy, his grandfather swooped down from the stars and rescued him from the slums of his homeworld. But with the death of the infamous old streamsurfer, Kerin and his crew have fallen on hard times, exiled from the Starfarers Guild and forced to take on risky contracts in the shadowy margins of the stellar tributary. A strange encounter in a glimmer den offers a chance at redemption and glory . . . but the stakes are high, with the fate of the Known potentially hanging in the balance.

    His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.There was a woman.There was a sword.There was an end to sorrow.Khraen walks the obsidian path.