Skull Of The Lich Lord

Captured by the survivors of his massacre at Arx Gravis, the Nameless Dwarf is sentenced to die. The assassin Ilesa has abandoned him, and so it falls to the ex-rogue Nils and Silas the sorcerer to stage a rescue. But with the Lich Lord’s grimoire obsessing him more and more, Silas suspects he is no longer in control of his own fate. Sick and close to death, he is drawn on by visions of a black staff within a forest of tar. As an ancient trap closes in on the companions, the last of the dwarves are threatened with extinction at the hands of ravenous beasts that live only to feed. And in the background, orchestrating it all, an implacable horror Nameless thought had been destroyed: A skull with crimson eyes that feast on living souls. All that remains of Otto Blightey, the Lich Lord of Verusia.

As an ancient trap closes in on Nameless and his companions, the last of the dwarves are hunted by a skull with crimson gems for eyes. A skull that feeds on living souls. All that remains of the Lich Lord of Verusia.

Captured by the survivors of his massacre at Arx Gravis, the Nameless Dwarf is sentenced to die. The assassin Ilesa has abandoned him, and so it falls to the ex-rogue Nils and Silas the sorcerer to stage a rescue.But with the Lich Lord's grimoire obsessing him more and more, Silas suspects he is no longer in control of his own fate. Sick and close to death, he is drawn on by visions of a black staff within a forest of tar.As an ancient trap closes in on the companions, the last of the dwarves are threatened with extinction at the hands of ravenous beasts that live only to feed.And in the background, orchestrating it all, an implacable horror Nameless thought had been destroyed: A skull with crimson eyes that feast on living souls.All that remains of Otto Blightey, the Lich Lord of Verusia

"Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes." Mitchell Hogan, author of A Crucible of Souls The dwarven civil war might have ended, but the powers behind it still fester.... Snuv Scavage is about as lowborn as a dwarf can get. With no parents and no home, she tends Arnoch’s battle-goats and sleeps in their pen. But there is something special about this dwarf. Something written in her blood. When disturbing reports come in from the city of Jeridium, Snuv is sent to kill the heavily pregnant Skald, Nyra Sahtis, before she can give birth to her unnatural child. But Nyra is watched over by the Church of the Way, whose priests have changed beyond all recognition. And she enjoys the protection of Caelin the Cleaver, the most deadly warrior of her generation. Meanwhile, the wizard Venton Nap has returned to life on Aosia with only one thing on his mind: to bring back his deceased family from the Supernal Realm. Employing a guide from the backwater town of Malfen, Venton picks up on the ill-fated quest that once ended his life, determined to find the fabled lily cats of Rhylion and wrest from them the secret of life. As the ages old war between the Lich Lord of Verusia and the Witch Queen of Tho-Agoth at last comes to a head, plunging Medryn-Tha into a new age of darkness, Snuv is confronted by a dwarf with a plain-looking axe, which he claims is the legendary Paxa Boraga. A dwarf who has done his fair share of fighting, and who knows Snuv better than she knows herself. "A masterpiece of sword and sorcery storytelling. A visceral yet thoughtful epic." (Bookwraiths Reviews)

"Shader is a triumph of fantasy!" (Journal of Always) "Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes." (Mitchell Hogan) When a powerful artifact is stolen from the Abbey of Pardes, the holy knight Deacon Shader is sent to retrieve it. But events have already spiraled out of control: plague spreads across the land, the dead rise from their graves, and an ancient evil has awakened. As Creation itself hangs by a thread, Shader must confront the contradiction that defines him: Either he is a man of prayer with a wavering faith, Or the deadliest warrior of his generation. The fate of all the worlds will be decided by his answer. "Like Bernard Cornwell on 'shrooms!" (Dinorah Wilson) "... an epic fantasy across three books that is wild, fast-paced, has fantastic characters, spreads across countries as well as worlds and religions, and is absolutely one of the best fantasy trilogies in existence." (Melinda LeBaron)

"One of the best fantasy novels I have read so far this year." Rebecca Ross (Reedsy Discovery) When a bloodthirsty horde storms out of the north, refugees flee for their lives, among them the skald Nyra Sahtis and Sister Caelin, a priestess who was once a trainer of armies. But with the capital, Jeridium, under siege from a second incursion, there is nowhere left to run. As rival armies converge on Jeridium, the Senate are reduced to clutching at straws. In a desperate last gambit, they send the assassin Shadrak the Unseen past enemy lines and into the mountains, where he must find a grief-stricken warrior and his mythical axe. "Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes." Mitchell Hogan, author of A Crucible of Souls

When the dwarven civil war ended, the Nameless Dwarf lay cold upon the battlefield, his broken axe beside him. But death is not the end in a cosmos ruled by the Supernals, beings of pure sorcery with the power to create worlds. Nameless finds himself aboard a ship bound for the Feasting Hall of Witandos, but disappointment, rather than beer, awaits him, along with a mountain of unpaid penance. For the deeds performed in life have their consequences in the world to come, and an evil has taken root at the heart of the afterlife. An evil that seeks to turn the Supernal Realm into a second Abyss.

One by one, the guilds of New Jerusalem fall to Shadrak the Unseen and his accomplice, the poisoner Albert. But as the battle for supremacy comes to a head, Shadrak is given a new order by the mysterious Archon: kill his closest living friend, the Nameless Dwarf. The philosopher Aristodeus persuades the Archon to stay his hand, proposing instead three quests that will free Nameless from the curse of the black axe that led him to slaughter his own people. But the plan has perils of its own: a visit to the fire giant’s lair at the heart of a volcano; a daring raid on the Liche Lord’s castle in darkest Verusia; and a confrontation with the son of the Demiurgos in the depths of the Abyss. Even with the incomparable partnership of Shadrak and Nameless, the quests seem doomed to failure, and so Aristodeus tries once more to entice Deacon Shader back to the fight. But Shader is a changed man, more given to drink than the sword, and if he should discover the secret Rhiannon and Aristodeus have kept from him these past four years, the quests are sure to come to a crashing halt before they even get off the ground. Friendship, scheming, and the worst horrors imaginable combine to test the companions to the limits, and despair dark enough to corrode even the most unwavering faith awaits those not destined to return.