Showing results by author "AJ Cooper" in All Categories

A summons from a long-lost mentor thrusts Reev Nax, a boy of uncertain parentage, into a fateful journey of discovery. Reev learns that an ancient evil has reawakened in the world of Varda, and that two prophetic figures, one the Hand of Light and the other, a man declared the Dark One's Hand, are predicted to appear. Along the way, he will meet many friends—Fortunato, a warrior and tracker; Wrinn, a former pit fighter; Ambrass, a serving girl whose fate may be written in the stars; and more.

The Empire teeters on the brink of collapse. A hedonistic teen assumes the throne under false pretenses while a slave rebellion erupts in the north. The southern King of Kings, sensing weakness, sets his eyes on his vulnerable foe. In the midst of the growing tumult, a young man from the Empire's hinterlands grudgingly heads to Imperial City. There, Claudio-Valens sees firsthand the weak, treasonous Imperial Council that aids foreign enemies, and finds himself at the center of the fight to save the country he loves.

More than 400 years after the vampire's curse first took hold among the Dark Prince's children, the druen nation faces certain doom. The non-cursed elven tribes, angered by recent atrocities, form an unprecedented union to annihilate the druen race. The king of the vampires musters his too-few soldiers to stave off certain obliteration, but the Dark Elves and High Elves, acting in unison, have made up their minds: to invade the Dark Land and bring about the Day of Reckoning.

Druthor, the ancient king of the vampires, sought to cheat death with alchemy but only quickened his demise. His sudden death throws Nardur into civil war as the lesser lords vie for the Crimson Throne. In the north, the Black Zealots of the Lonely Temple remain neutral but - in time - everyone must pick their allegiance; and choosing the wrong side means death.

The first vampires, driven from their home, find themselves locked in a struggle for survival. The King of the Elves sends an army to destroy them, and the only escape is north. Their last hope may lie in the walled frontier town of Dundari, or beyond in the White Wastes: a land of ice and snow completely empty of life...or so everyone thinks.

An evil not seen in hundreds of years has awakened in the highland nation of Badelgard. The Ulfr - the original inhabitants of the land whose evil was matched only by their power over death - stir from their barrows. The dead walk again at the command of an Ulfr witch. The fate of the High King and the possession of the High Throne grow more and more uncertain.

Nocturne, a descendant of Prince Gilden, is an outsider. He sees humans as more than bloodmeals - something not well respected in Druen society. One winter night, his compassion gets the best of him when he kills his neighbor to save a human slave. Forced to flee his village and everything he's ever known, he begins a world-spanning journey in pursuit of his true home. His search will take him from the frozen wilderness of the Druen to the great cities of the non-cursed Elves and beyond, perhaps even into the realms of humanity.

From the ashes of civil war, the vampire nation emerges stronger than ever. Homar son of Homar, whom history will know as the Prince of Dread, musters his troops to avenge a nearly forgotten wrong. Caught in the wake of the vampire king's ambition is Malirias, an escaped slave who would rather die than lose his false freedom. But the vampire nation does not forgive, and in the end he may perish in the tumult, threatening to remake the world.

Pietro, a young man, has never killed: something rare for the corrupt city of Peregoth and totally alien to the tropics of Molkoro, where circumstances will soon take him. In the sweltering jungle, his purity has become a commodity to the ettin invaders and their lord, the dark Vexor. But how long can his innocence last in a godless land?

This story originally appeared in Mindflights Magazine in Sept. 2008.

The City on the Rock is dying. It rests on Salan, Captain of the Tower Guard, to find out why.

>A century has passed since the vampire race settled in the arctic north. It seems all is well for Druthor the Great, King of the Vampires, sitting uncontested on the Crimson Throne, when an iron sorceress arrives from the southlands. With her tales of war and tumult, she brings memories of what Druthor does not have: a national heirloom, an ancestral treasure - Lifedrinker, the ancient blade of the vampires. But recovering it will prove more dangerous than any could possibly imagine.

Angrok, a great warrior, is called many things: a terrible destroyer by his many enemies, and a powerful avenger by those he chooses to save. This collection brings together two of Angrok's adventures as told from the perspective of his assistant Marcellus. In "Angrok the Avenger", Marcellus and his master take revenge upon a dangerous city of spider worshippers. In "Angrok the Destroyer", they come to Bezakirah, a desert city controlled by two fanatical and increasingly warlike houses. Whether he is a destroyer or an avenger, you decide.

Alysse Riverhall sails to her native land, vowing to return with an army of knights. While Sigmund sits on the throne, Kenna Wildsaber calls up spirits of darkness to aid her ambitions. The undead High Witch of the Ulfr plots and waits for her chance. But only one of them can be High Queen.