The Ancient Ones

When David stumbles upon a tragic young woman in a sordid Limehouse pub, he has no idea she'd recognize him as the last vampyre alive, nor that she'd be the one to pull out his story. Yet as he recalls his life from the sweltering vineyards of Ancient Rome to the cold horrors of Medieval Romania - as well as his tumultuous past with the mad and mysterious Lucius - he realizes she is much more than what she seems. Gothic horror and mythological fantasy blend seamlessly together in this thrilling adventure, breathing new life into vampire lore as it reveals its true origins. The Ancient Ones is a tale of myth, mayhem, and magic ... with a dash of romance that bites.

Evolution.

A powerful story exploring the interconnectedness of all things from New York Times betselling author of the Merlin saga. When thirteen-year-old Kate travels to Oregon for a quiet week at Aunt Melanie’s cottage, her plans are dashed by the discovery of a grove of giant redwood trees in nearby Lost Crater. While helping try to protect the redwood forest from loggers, Kate goes back five centuries through a time tunnel and finds herself facing the evil creature Gashra, who is bent on destroying the same forest. In this extraordinary quest from The Adventures of Kate series, a girl discovers that all living things are connected in ways she never expected, and that true friendship can reach across cultures, and even across centuries. "Once in a great while a book comes along that is so powerful and so wise that you want to shout about it." —Madeleine L'Engle, bestselling author of A Wrinkle in Time, on The Ancient One

The Return of the Ancient Ones was awarded WINNER status for the Fantasy Category in the 2011 National Indie Excellence Awards. The 2011 International Book Awards have been announced and the Return of the Ancient Ones has been honored as a "Finalist" in the "Fiction:Fantasy/Sci-Fi" category. Extended Description: Second in the Chronicles of Illúmaril series, author Gary Caplan's the Return of the Ancient Ones is a distinct tale that illustrates how one's fiercest enemy can become one's most aggressive ally. As dramatic as it is playful and sublime, Caplan has a knack at weaving the enchanted world of fantasy into the tension of a good old-fashioned cloak and dagger thriller. His incredible instinct for action rests on a spellbinding prose, yet what distinguishes his work in this genre is his ability to consider an otherworld culture as it reaches its pinnacle, rather than upon its downfall. In thirty-one chapters with titles like "Tyl University and the Academy of Spellweaving Arts," "Back to the Order of the Platinum Griffon and Duty," and "End Game," readers are reintroduced to Illúmaril, a land that patiently awaits its heir apparent. Once hidden on Earth, Gideon Finelen, as a birthright, holds the legacy that he and his ancestors are the only ones who can use the Sword of Order. Gideon's advisors, Tauri Ragan and Lord Talmor, hold great hope in Gideon and his Companions of the Sword of Order, but it is their enemy's enemy that first instigates a bold move. And while the Darkspawn have no intention of giving up their power, the return of Thatos and his twelve evil sorceror generals from their ancient, watery graves disperses Darkspawn's allegiance to temporarily help the armies of the Free Peoples against Thatos, his mercenaries, and other chaos warriors. For Gideon, the quixotic irony in all of this is that Darkspawn leadership is just as fixed on revenge as it is with maintaining its stronghold over Illúmaril. As he pits foe against foe to claim Illúmaril, the Sword of Order has a chance to triumph over Chaos.

Just as the earth is moved by the universe, you, me, every human, every life form, and every thing is moved by the universe as well. This movement feeling, the sense of the universe s gravity field or what Einstein called space time, is not just felt by astronauts. All of us feel moved by gravity all the time. When you let gravity move you, when you are moved by space time, you are moved by the universe. When you are moved in this way, you are showing the dance of the ancient one, and are in contact with the space between us, with the subtle experience of being moved by what I shall explain is a system mind possibly the most powerful system mind available to us. Arnold Mindell, The Dance of the Ancient One, Spring 2013 In his latest book, Mindell expands on his earlier concept of the processmind as he develops the notion of space time dreaming or dance of the ancient one in his rigorous efforts toward the elucidation of a ToE (or theory of everything). Space time dreaming weaves together essential spiritual concepts from the Eastern mystical tradition of the Tao and Wu Wei of Chinese philosophy, along with modern Western field and space theories in quantum physics such as gravity, space time, unified field theories, indeterminacy and entanglement. He draws upon personal field ideas (i.e., the unconscious), interpersonal social field and role theory from psychology and sociology, then adds concepts of intersubjectivity and entanglement from transpersonal and integral psychology. On a group level, he incorporates interdependence from organizational system mind models and places it all in the context of ecology, of Gaia, and then the larger universe. One World concepts, such as the Unus Mundus from mystical and alchemical traditions that work at a more essential or non-dual level to unite seeming opposites, facilitate the coming together of all of these varied perspectives in his framing of the space time dreaming concept, experientially accessible as The Dance of the Ancient One. Each chapter contains either an exercise to do in pairs or a small group, or an inner work exercise, so that you can facilitate yourself and experience the space time dreaming states directly. Transcripts of discussions with his students are distributed throughout the book, and engagingly contribute to a diverse and resonant learning experience.

Picking up right where The Ancient Ones left off, David has just discovered the diabolical brother he left for dead in 15th century Romania has returned. Making matters even stranger, the news is delivered by his old friend, Danulf, the half-vampyre/half-lycanthrope he had also presumed dead. As Dan divulges his story to David and his newly reanimated lover, Morrigan, it becomes clear that the ancient pagan gods history hoped to forget are back. Another adventure through time, from the Carpathian Mountains to Pre-Revolutionary France, the story unfolds to reveal there is a much bigger problem than the return of the vainglorious Lucius. Even with the addition of a liminal witch named Cahira, the gods find themselves facing a threat that can erase their existence for good. Wrought with adventure, romance, tragedy, and heartache, the second book in The Ancient Ones Trilogy dives deeper into a tale as old as time itself...one that bites.

For use in schools and libraries only. A visit to a forest of old-growth Douglas firs reveals how the trees help support a multitude of life forms in an intricate web.

Biblical thriller - end times Lara Croft meets DaVinci Code