There are many ways to be a heroine.Princess and swordswoman, lawyer and motorcyclist, scholar and barbarian: there are many ways to be a heroine. In this anthology, seventeen authors find new ways to pair one weapon-wielding woman and one whose strengths lie in softer skills.“Which is more powerful, the warrior or the gentlewoman?” these stories ask. And the answer is inevitably, “Both, working together!”Herein, you’ll find duels and smugglers, dan...

The gods are gone, long ago trapped in stones and lost to the ages. A godless nation rises to power, fueled by a brilliant and genocidal dictator who is willing to manipulate souls and embrace dark magics to spread his empire over the whole of the Five Lands.Kenton is the last of his people, desperately searching for others who can aid in his quest to unearth the gods from their hiding places and restore goodness and order to the world. As Kenton gathers together the legendary godb...

Kenton and his people have sacrificed everything to collect the godstones, the only power that can hold back the onslaught of the tyrannical nation of Sevairn as it expands across the Five Lands. With the forces of deity in their hands, the godbearers are ready to begin their fight against Diamis, dictator of Sevairn and powerful blood mage.But Diamis is in the process of recovering his most powerful weapon—his daughter Daniella, created by dark magics and unimaginable cruelty—who ...

Mortiche—home of the famous knighthood, land of oaths of fidelity and honor, and the lone sovereign nation still standing against the armies of Sevairn. Kenton, Daniella, and their group of godbearers take refuge here as they search for the next of the godstones, holy receptacles where the gods themselves have been housed for millennia.In the land of the noble and brave, Kenton hopes they will find safe harbor, but the dictator of Sevairn is seeking their blood, and his spies are a...