After a hundred years of conquests and reformations, the world transformed under the united banner of the Order. The immortal handlers of this administration transitioned from agents of domination to stewards of humanity, and the head of the regime tended to the variety of cultures with the care of an attentive gardener. Not all were content with the guidance he provided, however, so those with ambition sought power for themselves and plotted against him.Despite the best efforts of...

It was an art through which men and women were able to realize their own will, an art by which a person could exert control over themselves and their surroundings. It was an art that enabled one to become a master of self, and this art, this magic, was once seen as a gift. As the ages progressed, understanding of magic grew, and it steadily turned from a heavenly blessing into a man-made curse. The Saline Realm, latest inheritor of this art, formed as a beneficiary of its power, but it als...

The Inspiring Story of a World War II Hero's Miraculous Survival at SeaJuly 30, 1945--The USS Indianapolis and its 1,196-man crew is making its way toward a small island in the South Pacific. The ship is sailing unescorted, assured by headquarters the waters are safe. It is midnight, and Marine Edgar Harrell and several others have sacked out on deck rather than spend the night in their hot and muggy quarters below. Fresh off a top-secret mission to delive...

The indomitable strength and power of the Legion were once a source of pride for the Firan people, and those who heard of their deeds in battle once cowered at the news of their coming. Their numbers were without peer, their endurance for hardship was without equal, and no one among the other realms could match their ferocity and determination in combat. They had once been divided, and then they were united, and for a time in history, their dominance was unchallenged, but pride preceded th...

In the Stony Realm, the worth of a man was measured by the size of his account and his relationship to it. Pious or agnostic, virtuous or vicious, ethical or otherwise, the scales of the economy had but one dichotomy. One was either valuable or worthless. Everyone from the richest merchants and their whispering advisors to the poorest beggars and the vermin they lived with understood this system. They lived under it, bargained from within it, and though many were sacrificed for it, not eve...

Nestled within the early pages of the Aural Realm's exalted history was a period of tribulation and heroes. These heroes fought authorities and powers to unite a region in disarray, and to save their people, they established orders and founded a hedge of guiding principles around the emerging kingdoms. This foundation took years to build and was made of the blood, sacrifice, and toil of noble souls. It was intended to grant security for centuries to come but was undone by one generation of...

Alchemy, the Art of Change, was the premier power of the Silent Realm and the center of her ingenuity. It was the model by which society was structured and the standard by which everything was measured. It was the process through which everything was made and the fulcrum on which the nation and its people oscillated. It was the beginning and end of all things in the land, and like any discipline worth pursuing, alchemy required sacrifice.The Clockwork Cosmos, perpetual and unyieldi...

The Hollow Realm was like an oasis among the others, a land of restoration, abundance, and peace, but it was also a zealously guarded realm inhabited by powerful spirits, resilient beasts, and the elusive Hunters. To them and their people, the great wilderness of the forest was a garden to be protected, but to their neighbor in the south, it was a vast untamed estate.Initial contact between the Aural and Hollow Realms was strained but quickly soothed by a hunter's forgiveness and u...

July 30, 1945—The USS Indianapolis and its 1,196-man crew is making its way toward a small island in the South Pacific. The ship is sailing unescorted, assured by headquarters the waters are safe. It is midnight, and Marine Edgar Harrell and several others have sacked out on deck rather than spend the night in their hot and muggy quarters below. Fresh off a top-secret mission to deliver uranium for the atomic bombs that would ultimately end World War II, they are unaware their shi...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The shocking true story of the USS Houston, FDR’s legendary lost cruiser, and the epic saga of the survivors who faced one of World War II’s most brutal ordeals—from the acclaimed author of The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors“Captivating [and] unforgettable . . . A compelling book for anyone intrigued by harrowing tales of courage and the irrepressible will to survive.”—USA Today...

When the fishing vessel La Conte sinks suddenly at night in one-hundred-mile-per-hour winds and record ninety-foot seas during a savage storm in January 1998, her five crewmen are left to drift without a life raft in the freezing Alaskan waters and survive as best they can.One hundred fifty miles away, in Sitka, Alaska, an H-60 Jayhawk helicopter lifts off from America's most remote Coast Guard base in the hopes of tracking down an anonymous Mayday signal. A fisherman's wo...

The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt in American history -- the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth. From April 14 to April 26, 1865, the assassin led Union cavalry troops on a wild, twelve-day chase from the streets of Washington, D.C., across the swamps of Maryland, and into the forests of Virginia.At the very center of this story is John Wilkes Booth, Americas notorious villain. A confederate sympathizer and member of a celebrated acting family, Booth ...