Showing results for "Revival" in Fantasy

In a small New England town, in the early '60s, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. Then tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, the preacher curses God, mocking all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town. Jamie has demons of his own. In his mid-30s, he is living a nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll. Addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate, he sees Jacobs again....

The Magus posting in Krogga was over, and Gregory and his many wives had finished it with the quiet days they’d all wanted. It’d been an odd five years that’d seen them embroiled in wars, assassinations, political incidents, and far more. The majority had come during their first two years, making things fraught during that time.

Every year, the empire administers the rite of passage into adulthood. That rite serves to identify those blessed by Aether to become magi. The new magi are shipped to the academy to learn the arts of magic. The academy is a dangerous place; the tournaments held twice each year can cripple or kill the students, and the clans of the empire will go to great lengths to recruit the students they want. Gregory had one dream: to become a magi like the legends of old. Though he was ridiculed by the residents of the village and his unsupportive father, he never wavered from his dream.

Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn were thrilled—not only had they won their first apprentice tournament, their friends finally joined them in Aether’s Guard. Daciana, Nessa, and Victoria were only halfway through their novice year, but had made an impact during their novice tournament.

Things were supposed to settle down after the Bloodrock war. Even with the upcoming wedding to Verka, things should have gotten calm. For a time, it even looked like it might, giving the family hope. However, Krogga was proving to be a far more dangerous post than they’d thought it would be. The spies who’d been hounding them had to be dealt with, revealing them to be a few clans from the empire. They’d had to kill all involved, only bringing further trouble when an Imperial investigator arrived to question them.

Nearly everything in Gregory’s life had changed by the end of his first year at the academy. Alone at the start of his novice year, he’d gotten engaged to Yukiko Warlin and found a friend in Jenn Bean by the time the annual tournament was over. The three of them went on to join Aether’s Guard, bringing the name of the nearly dead clan back to life. Elder Lightshield, the leader of Aether’s Guard, gave them his support and backing and Magus Dia guided them.

Gregory’s life changed when his aether sparked to life during the Age Day ritual. He left his old friends and his old life behind, and was taken to the Magi Academy to start training to serve the Vela Empire. Suddenly alone and out of place, he prepared for the worst. When the beautiful novice, Yukiko Warlin, asked if they could be friends, his life changed again. After six months of duplicity from the people who they had thought of as friends, Gregory and Yukiko isolated themselves from all the other novices.

With their initiate year over, the Pettit family dispersed to their separate adept postings: Jenn would be on the border with Krogga, defending against incursions. Yukiko was to patrol near Alturis, giving her the chance to see Gregory’s home and childhood friends. Mindy was going back to Grackle to help their younger friends with their troop training. Gregory was headed off to the far northern end of the empire, going to what was known as the most dangerous patrol for an adept magi.

Gregory and his wives fought honorably and hard to advance to the finals, where their last fight was against the Eternal Flame. With their rigorous training and communication, they managed to defeat the arrogant clan, letting them stand alongside their novice friends as champions. The excitement of being the champions wasn’t the happiest part of their year, though. That came after the tournament, when all five of their friends—Nessa, Daciana, Victoria, Clover, and Ling—joined Aether’s Guard.

At the end of their apprentice year, Aether’s Guard headed off to Buldoun for an international tournament. They had allies there in the Swift Wind and Iron Hand clans, but they also had to deal with the Eternal Flame; Nick Shun had no interest in letting go of his perceived grudge against Aether’s Guard. However, with the academy overseer on the trip, Nick had no chance to act out against them.

Gregory’s year-long posting along the northern wilds was done. He’d had to face corrupt magi, assassination attempts, aether-using bane beasts, and even deal with the loss of some of his men. The year had left a mark on his soul. He’d accepted the burden of leadership fully, knowing that his men could and would die under his command. He might’ve avoided all of it if he hadn’t made his moral stand, using the empire’s slave laws to force the corruption to come to light. Because he had, it threw his posting into conflict.

After a long march across the empire, Gregory finally made it to Krogga. Ambassador Rudit Glowstone, Grandmaster of Aether’s Guard, greeted him upon his arrival in the capital. After a brief meeting, she let him go to his wives and friends, arranging for them to have the few days off that Yukiko had requested. That was why Gregory spent his first two days in Krogheim going through the steps required to marry Ling, Clover, and Roshana.

Finally in Krogga, Gregory found himself pulled into the solstice tournament to celebrate Krog. Invited by both the high priest and Council of Krogheim, Gregory and Jenn did their best to show that some magi had honor. While both of them lost to Ragnar Ivarson, the youngest High Champion in Krogga, that’d only set the stage for what the next year was going to be. The weeks after the tournament were a whirlwind of ambassadorial visits and discussions, but eventually, a key meeting took place when Ragnar brought his sister, Verka, to visit the family.

Street rat Del used to only rely on himself, but since being stranded on a desert island with Lathan, Etenia, and a pair of newly hatched dragons, he’s learned about the importance of friendship. Which is why he’ll do anything to prevent them from being hurt, even if it means leaving his homeland Pothena vulnerable to a threat that lurks deep off the coast; something even deadlier than a kraken.

Dave Varine is the host of Ghost Search International, a reality show verifying or debunking sites of supernatural activity. Nouvel Espoir plantation is called the “Most Haunted House in New Orleans. Visitors claim to have seen things but when asked for details, they become very close-mouthed. Now, the Louisiana Historical Society wants David to certify the house, abruptly abandoned in the late 19th century, is really haunted.

Salt Flat, Kentucky is a sleepy town. Until a mysterious Tent shows up one day, with a charismatic preacher, inviting the people to an old-fashioned tent revival. Everyone’s mesmerized by his presence, entranced by the magic he performs. Sy Sutton isn't fooled by what’s going on. But as his son becomes entrenched in the craziness around him, he has no choice but to get involved.

Two years after walking in on her husband in bed with his secretary, Charlie was celebrating the high-profile remodel of her parent’s bed-and-breakfast, Southern Lady Inn. The unveiling of the newly refurbished inn was the talk of Charleston high society, and all of the movers and shakers were at the party toasting Charlie’s success. Charlie felt like everything was finally clicking for her again. As she slid into one of her parent’s guest rooms to catch her breath, she never expected the heart-racing encounter that would change everything.

When he was a boy, Siv McCaig came face-to-face with a monster. After a childhood lived in fear, he encountered it again. Siv just wants to work his trade as a blacksmith, play cards at the saloon, and watch the stars. But he'll never be at peace without answers. What was the monster that burned down his house? Where did it come from? And will it ever come back again? His search becomes a battle for his planet's survival. Only two things might keep all of Verde from falling to the horrors of Siv's nightmares, but they've been lost for 200 years: technology and magic.

In an empire ruled by the honored dead, seraphs are the ultimate weapons. Fueled by the pilot’s very soul, these colossal humanoid mecha are unstoppable in battle. Jack Donolon is the most powerful pilot in existence, a hero of Earth with a mind fractured by his seraph. On the far side of the galaxy, he uncovers a terrible truth about the seraphs and their pilots. Now he must return on a mission no one will understand, to face and kill the people who once called him friend and comrade.

Just when I thought life in the Eros Woods couldn't get crazier, it throws new challenges my way. First on the agenda: bringing back Londyn from the mystical realm of Interlude, where fey magic is healing her broken body. Dealings with the fey are tricky, and they've demanded a steep price for their help. One that I'm more than ready and willing to pay!