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

Trained to kill from a young age, Gavin Lorren finally escaped that life. No more killing innocents. No more working alone. Holed up in a quiet city that has outlawed magic, Gavin finds himself drawn into dangers unlike any he’s ever faced before. Each job tests him more than the last, and each tied to the kind of magic he’d hoped to avoid.

The northern mountain village offers protection from the threat of dragons, but is a difficult place, especially for a misfit like Jason Dreshen. His days are spent hunting for food for his family, praying for warmth, and trying to hide his strange silver eye that grants him dragon sight. When a stranger visits during the local Freedom Festival searching for a different kind of dragon, everything changes.

Life on the farm at the edge of the kingdom is anything but routine for Ashan. The plains around Berestal suffer from severe storms, making travel to the city difficult, with the threat of an attack from the people of Vard always looming. He long ago abandoned dreams of serving as a dragon rider, caring for his injured father and brother, but everything is about to change.

With the threat of rogue elementals escaping from the element bond and fear of another attack by the Draasin Lord, life at the edge of Terndahl is difficult for Tolan. Without any magic of his own, he spends his days working a menial job as a carpenter’s apprentice. When an elemental attack draws the attention of the Inquisitors from the Academy, everything changes.

After establishing an uneasy truce with the constables, Gavin has settled in Yoran to offer protection to his friends and the remaining magical element in the city. When a job reveals a dangerous new threat in the city, Gavin must take action. This time the target isn’t Gavin, but the city itself. Magic was banished a generation ago, but the Fates have returned. They bring a dark magic Gavin has never seen before - and might be helpless to control.

With the threat of rogue elementals escaping from the element bond and fear of another attack by the Draasin Lord, life at the edge of Terndahl is difficult for Tolan. Without any magic of his own, he spends his days working as a carpenter’s apprentice. When an elemental attack draws the attention of the Inquisitors from the Academy, everything changes.

After capturing the sorcerer called the Apostle, Gavin decided to remain in the city of Yoran where he’s become comfortable. Work that had been plentiful has dried up and comfort becomes complacency. While new friends help to find jobs, they’re not the kind of jobs an assassin trained to be the Chain Breaker should take. He’s trained to kill, not track down relics in a city that long ago banished magic.

As executioner within Verendal, Finn takes on more responsibility, especially now that he’s saved the kingdom from repeated attack. When protests erupt within Verendal, those from the poorer sections clashing with Archers, Finn finds himself investigating a very different kind of crime than he’s ever pursued, one that might involve witchcraft that he doesn’t understand. This time, his usual tactics might not be enough. Finn must find those responsible before the city falls into chaos, but it might be too late to keep the violence from spreading throughout the kingdom.

Trained to kill from a young age, Gavin Lorren finally escaped that life. No more killing innocents. No more working alone. The jobs are still dangerous, but at least he can choose. Now an old friend has invited him to the city of Yoran where the work is plentiful. The Roasted Dragon tavern is rough but cozy. The regulars are seedy but welcoming. The owner, Jessica, is fond of him. It's almost too good to be true.

In the city of Verdholm, canals separate the highborns in the center sections of the city from the lowborns along the outer sections. The city is isolated, surrounded by a deadly swamp and steam fields which should protect the people of the city from the dangerous outside world. Until it doesn't. For Sam, an orphaned thief who wants only to protect her brother, protection means stealing enough so she can one day buy her way into a better section. She's a skilled thief, and when she's offered a job that can change everything for her, what choice does she have but to take it?

The Chain Breaker series continues with The Paper Dragon. A dark power that attacks Yoran leads Gavin on a dangerous journey. Gavin remains in Yoran while struggling to master his El’aras abilities. With the power of the strange ring that grants him even more power, he knows he has to learn control, otherwise he’ll destroy the city while trying to protect it. When the hyadan, creatures of dark sorcery, come to the city, Gavin has to make a choice between staying to learn control over his power or helping Imogen.

After discovering the Inquisitor’s plot within the Academy, Tolan is offered a chance to go with his father and learn from the Draasin Lord. Doing so not only means turning against the Academy and everything he has come to know, but means the Inquisitors will succeed in their plan. When the Grand Master comes to him asking a dangerous favor, Tolan must make a choice that might bring him into direct contact with the Draasin Lord. Everything he’s been taught about the elementals and the Draasin Lord is wrong.

Executioners don’t solve crimes; they punish those who commit them. Or, so Finn thought before apprenticed to one. Poverty-stricken Finn Jagger would give anything to heal his ailing mother. With his father imprisoned, Finn has joined a thieving crew to earn the money he needs to save her. When the latest heist turns to disaster and lands him on death row, Finn’s future seems to be tied up with a noose. Until the king’s executioner claims him as an apprentice. Finn soon learns an executioner has far more power and greater responsibility than he’d ever realized.

The arrival of a dangerous sorcerer forces Gavin to confront his past. As Gavin works with the El’aras to master his connection to the ring, he learns of an El’aras prophecy that speaks of the Shard and a Champion. One must destroy the other. Though Gavin doesn’t believe in prophecy, he can’t deny that he’s caught up in something greater than he understands - and begins to suspect he’s been guided toward his fate. The arrival of a powerful sorcerer tests Gavin’s belief.

The Inquisitors have been stopped, but the one who leads them remains at large. Tolan discovers a dangerous plot against the Academy - and all of Terndahl - the Inquisitors have planned for far longer than any have suspected. The power involved is unlike anything ever encountered by those within the Academy. Tolan isn’t sure he’s capable of understanding what has happened, but with his connection to the elementals, he might be the only one able. The key to what’s happening is tied to something in Tolan’s past.

Gavin has left the only friends he’d ever made to study his El’aras magic. Though he may share their heritage, he quickly learns that he’s not El’aras. When an attack targets them, and has the ability to counter any El’aras ability, Gavin is all that prevents certain devastation. Understanding the attack and who is behind it leads Gavin to uncover the truth about his mentor - and there is much Tristan never shared. There has been another Champion, and he’ll stop at nothing to claim a destructive power he believes he’s fated to control. Only Gavin stands in his way.

The power of the elements can be complicated to master. Most reach it through the element bonds, ways of connecting to and shaping power that allowed the nation of Terndahl to thrive for centuries. Few can reach power of their own, an ancient way of holding magic the elemental warriors of old possessed.

Jason has returned to the normalcy of the mountain village, but nothing is as it had been. Now connected to the Ice Dragon and responsible for keeping his presence a secret, it won't be long before the Dragon Souls return. They know the Ice Dragon exists and will stop at nothing to control him. When the Ice Dragon makes a request of Jason to search for other dragons like him, how can he refuse? The search leads Jason away from home and into direct conflict with those searching for another dragon misfit.

Finn has served the king as journeyman executioner, but the time has come for a testing with the executioner court. Regardless of the outcome, he will no longer serve in Verendal.

Zarinth is a dangerous city at the edge of the kingdom, illuminated by the constant fire of the nearby volcano Ishantil. For thief Ty, it’s more than a city filled with valuable ancient dragon relics. It’s the home he could never leave. Ty wants one last score before finally leaving the city—and his past behind. All while the notorious Dragon Thief chases the same prize. The Dragon Thief has a reputation for a reason, but Ty begins to think there’s more to the job than he ever expected. If he succeeds, he might stop a war.