Cold Forged Flame

Out of nothingness they summon her: a woman with no name and no memory, and the power to bring them what they need. Across an island that changes beneath her feet -- into a cavern that holds a terrible trap -- to the brink of her soul’s annihilation -- her journey will transform her forever.

When Gerald was a child he was fascinated by fire. But fire is dangerous and tragedy strikes. The one bright light in Gerald's life is his little half sister, Angel, whom he struggles to protect from her abusive father. Gerald finds success on the Hazelwood Tigers basketball team, and Angel develops her talents as a dancer, despite the trouble that still haunts them.

“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” The words of composer Gustav Mahler animate this collection of sixteen tales from award-winning author Marie Brennan, inspired by mythological and folkloric traditions around the world. Here you will find flames of revenge, immortality, and grace, as a valkyrie seeks peace, a queen weaves and unweaves her own fate, and a goddess vanishes from mortal memory — but never from the page. TABLE OF CONTENTS * This Is How * Serpent, Wolf, and Half-Dead Thing * The Waking of Angantyr * Silence, Before the Horn * Daughter of Necessity * Your Body, My Prison, My Forge * For the Fairest * The Wives of Paris * The Me of Perfect Sight * The Gospel of Nachash * Salt Feels No Pain * At the Heart of Each Pearl Lies a Grain of Sand * Centuries of Kings * The Old Woman and the Tea * Ghost and Fox * Speak to the Moon * Story notes

Topics ranging from escaping forest fires and smoke jumping to fighting house fires and making campfires are featured in this collection of essays--by a number of talented Idaho writers--that explore fire from various perspectives. Original.

Once she had nothing: no name, no memory, no purpose beyond the one her master bound her to fulfill. Now the wandering archon known as Ree must walk an unseen path -- one that will lead her toward the untold story of her origins. But the road to the truth is paved with blood . . .

Realms of story and wonder . . . New topics take center stage in this volume of award-winning author Marie Brennan’s set of worldbuilding guides for science fiction and fantasy writers. Ranging from the poverty-stricken reality of beggars and servants up to the heights of imperial rule, from the solidarity of guilds and unions to the spirituality of saints and miracles, the NEW WORLDS series offers insights into every corner of human society. This volume collects essays from the seventh year of the New Worlds Patreon.

Some people play roleplaying-games for the challenge; others play them for the story. Award-winning fantasy author and freelance game writer Marie Brennan is unabashedly in the latter camp. In these essays she looks at tabletop and live-action RPGs from a narrative perspective, exploring the ways the framework of a game can generate and support (or undermine) your tale. Whether you are a player or a game master, Dice Tales offers insights on every facet of RPG storytelling, including: * generating characters with rich narrative potential * scaling plot as PCs become more powerful * managing the interaction between rules and roleplay * campaign planning at different stages * the social dynamics of collaborative creation * and more!

A thrilling epic fantasy adventure in the astonishing realm of Legend of the Five Rings, as two rival clans join forces to investigate a lethal supernatural mystery Chaos has broken out in the isolated Dragon Clan settlement of Seibo Mura. During the full moon, horrifying creatures rampage through the village, unleashing havoc and death. When the Dragon samurai Agasha no Isao Ryotora is sent to investigate, he faces even greater danger than expected. To save the village, he must confront his buried past – not to mention an unexpected Phoenix Clan visitor, Asako Sekken, who has his own secrets to hide. The quest to save Sebo Mura will take the two samurai into the depths of forgotten history and the shifting terrain of the Spirit Realms… and bring them face to face with an ancient, terrifying evil.