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Stealing Sorcery
Part #1 of "The War of Broken Mirrors" series by Andrew Rowe
Fantasy / Fiction
The immortal sorcerers – three legendary figures that toppled the empire of Xixis. Each has lived for over a hundred years, leaving a powerful legacy in their wake.
But their children do not share their renowned immortality – and when the firstborn son of Edrick Theas is killed, the sorceress Lydia Hastings is called to investigate the murder. When she discovers a sorcerous trail left by a creature of unfathomable power, she quickly realizes she needs outside help. And while Jonan Kestrian – a spy for a rival military power – might not be Lydia’s first choice for an ally, she knows that he has the knowledge and skills that she needs.
While Lydia and Jonan trace the assassin’s trail, Taelien undergoes the Trials of Unyielding Steel, a series of tests to ensure his entry into the Paladins of Tae’os. As he trains for his trials, Taelien faces his fiercest rival yet – Velas Jaldin, a former member of Orlyn’s Queensguard with the power to manipulate motion at her whim. With skills far beyond those of an ordinary soldier, the former Queensguard might be the killer that Lydia seeks – or the assassin’s next victim.
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Forging Divinity
Rowe, Andrew
Fantasy / Fiction
Fantasy > MythologySome say that in the city of Orlyn, godhood is on sale to the highest bidder. Thousands flock to the city each year, hoping for a chance at immortality.Lydia Hastings is a knowledge sorcerer, capable of extracting information from anything she touches. When she travels to Orlyn to validate the claims of the local faith, she discovers a conspiracy that could lead to a war between the world's three greatest powers. At the focal point is a prisoner who bears a striking resemblance to the long-missing leader of the pantheon she worships.Rescuing the prisoner would require risking her carefully cultivated cover - but his execution could mean the end of everything Lydia holds dear.From the AuthorAs a child, I loved reading books based on role-playing games, such as the various Dragonlanceand Forgotten Realms novels. As I grew older, however, I began to note that some of the mechanics in the stories felt very artificial. Why did the gods only grant their followers a limited number of spells of each type per day? Isn't that rather arbitrary?As I began to wonder at the mechanics of these magic systems - and the motivations of the gods, if they were deliberately limiting their followers in these ways - I began to discover fiction that spelled out the exact functions and restrictions of magic in ways that were internally consistent. I fell in love with that style, and this book is my love letter to the "hard fantasy" genre.Within this book, you'll see a variety of practitioners of magic, mostly in the form of Dominion Sorcery. My goal is that the reader should be able to understand how this system works and attempt to anticipate the ways in which the protagonists - and antagonists - may use their abilities, much in the same manner than one might guess at the twist in a "fair play" mystery.Another major source of inspiration from my writing comes from the amazing combat scenes in manga and anime. These types of flashy, epic battles are rarely found in western fiction, and I wanted to make a contribution into that side of the genre.I hope you enjoy the book!-Andrew