Born into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path - one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier's life in the king's army. Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain, a noblewoman beset by visions of a demonic apocalypse, Alwyn must survive war and the deadly intrigues of the nobility if he hopes to claim his vengeance.

It was a day like any other when suddenly the world changed. The universe reached a threshold humanity didn’t even know existed, and it was time to finally be integrated into the vast multiverse. A place where power is the only thing anyone can truly rely on.

Wolf-men, savage creatures given humanoid form in an ancient war, mass along the Gihon River. Led by their pack leader Redclaw, they seek to cross the river and claim a land of their own, slaughtering those who would stand in their way. Two paladins, Jerico of the god Ashhur, and Darius of the god Karak, must lead the desperate defense against the invasion. Their friendship will be tested as their gods resume an unending war, and their very faiths call for the death of the other.

Six islands float high above the Endless Ocean, where humanity's final remnants are locked in brutal civil war. Their parents slain in battle, twins Kael and Brenna Skyborn are training to be Seraphim, elite soldiers of aerial combat who wield elements of ice, fire, stone, and lightning. When the invasion comes, they will take to the skies and claim their vengeance.

Five hundred years ago, brother gods devastated their world with civil war. When they were imprisoned, their conflict ended without a victor. Centuries passed while their followers secretly continued the war, a war that will soon have an end. The gods have found their paragons. When half-bloods Harruq and Qurrah Tun pledged their lives to the death prophet Velixar, they sought only escape from their squalid beginnings. Instead they become his greatest disciples, charged with leading his army of undead.

He was once known as Prince Bernard, ruler of his people and the man who led them in the Fey War against creatures out of myth and legend, beings out of nightmare. A man renowned for his strength, a man feared by his own people as much as his enemies. But there are other names for him, too. Kingslayer. Oathbreaker. Traitor. The Crimson Prince.

Legend. Myth. Nightfall has long been rumored to be nothing more than whispers on the breeze. If only it were so. In those halls of darkness, where children are taken from the world and given to shadow and dust, Asher is destined for that same fate. He will become the myth. He will become the legend. He will become the whisper of Death itself.

On the unforgiving streets of Karad, Veron grows up hungry, inexperienced, and stealing just to survive. After tragedy strikes, he is forced to decide what path his life will take. Opportunity arises when he discovers the last survivor of a secret organization called the Shadow Knights. Apprenticed to learn their ways, Veron begins to develop abilities he never dreamed he could have. Meanwhile, an enemy from across the mountains comes to destroy their kingdom’s way of life, and the Shadow Knights are the only ones able to stop him.

Raised and trained in seclusion at a secret fortress on the edge of the northern wilds of the Kingdom of Ashai, a young warrior called Rezkin is unexpectedly thrust into the outworld when a terrible battle destroys all that he knows. With no understanding of his life’s purpose and armed with masterful weapons mysteriously bestowed upon him by a dead king, Rezkin must travel across Ashai to find the one man who may hold the clues to his very existence.

Aren has lived by the rules all his life. He's never questioned it; that's just the way things are. But then his father is executed for treason, and he and his best friend, Cade, are thrown into a prison mine, doomed to work until they drop. Unless they can somehow break free.... But what lies beyond the prison walls is more terrifying still. Rescued by a man who hates him yet is oath-bound to protect him, pursued by inhuman forces, Aren slowly accepts that everything he knew about his world was a lie.

Scorio will rise from the ashes to conquer the 10 layers of hell. Reborn without memories, Scorio learns that he is a Great Soul, a legendary defender of the ancient city of Bastion. That within the hallowed halls of the Academy and under the stern eyes of the underworld’s greatest instructors he will enjoy enormous privilege, rediscover unique and wondrous powers, and one day return to the millennium-old battle against their infernal foes. Until he is betrayed.

In a world long ago ravaged by war, the nations have sworn an armistice never to use weapons of mass destruction again. Instead, highly-skilled warriors known as Grievar Knights represent their nations’ interests in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Murray Pearson was once a famed Knight until he suffered a loss that crippled his homeland—but now he’s on the hunt to discover the next champion.

My name is Cade Ombra, and though I currently make my living as a mercenary wonderist, I used to have a far more noble-sounding job title—until I discovered the people I worked for weren't quite as noble as I'd believed. Now I'm on the run and my only friend, a homicidal thunder mage, has invited me to join him on a suicide mission against the seven deadliest mages on the continent. Time to recruit some very bad people to help us on this job.

With a knife in his gut, Rowan figured he was destined to become just another corpse littering the slums of Taureen. So he was fairly surprised to wake up in the back of a moving wagon with a couple of adventurers. Turns out that Rowan had been given something most street rats can only dream of—a second chance.

Sacred artists follow a thousand Paths to power, using their souls to control the forces of the natural world. Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan. When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must rise beyond anything he's ever known...and forge his own Path.

Not bound as a book. Free. Like Unfettered before it, the contributing writers of Unbound were allowed to submit the tales they wished fans of genre to hear - without the constraints of a shackling theme. The result is magical. Twenty-three all-original stories are sure to captivate you - some will move you to tears while others will keep you listening long into the night. The power of Unbound lies in its variety of tales and the voices behind them. If you are a fan of discovering new writers or hearing the works of beloved authors, Unbound is for you.

Artemio Volpe must contend with more than simple intrigue. The embers of war burn bright beyond the horizon of the northern steppes, his already estranged family has been hounded by the assassinations, and the shades of the dead pervade his body and mind, granting him their power at a terrible price.

Roun was born clanless, depriving him of a future in an empire where bloodlines and reputation mean everything. His only hope for escaping the life of an outcast lies in being awakened by the Eldest Throne and becoming a guardian of humanity.

The nation of Torwyn is run on the power of industry, and industry is run by the Guilds. Chief among them are the Hawkspurs, whose responsibility it is to keep the gears of the empire turning. That’s exactly why matriarch Rosomon Hawkspur sends each of her heirs to the far reaches of the nation. Conall, the eldest son, is sent to the distant frontier to earn his stripes in the military. It is here that he faces a threat he could have never seen coming: the first rumblings of revolution.

Tattooed with magical runes to enhance his skills and suppress his emotions, Lad is raised from birth to be the most lethal assassin the world has ever known. He is the pinnacle of his master’s magical and martial arts, a true weapon of flesh, all according to plan. Until the plan goes awry. The Master is gone, and the weapon is free. And in a dangerous world, a weapon does what a weapon is made to do. Or does he? Alone for the first time, Lad’s future is now in his own hands.

Young Jarren Heartwood's only chance of survival is to join the Shadow Academy elites, the enemy of his enemy, to destroy the fire mages known as the flares. Jarren's secretive mother raised him on fear of the Academy and the flares, but infused his life with love and fanciful tales as they scraped by in their brutal city of Nirwood. At the age of 10, he suddenly has his mother ripped away, leaving him fending for himself. To survive and avenge his mother, he turns to the Shadow Academy assassins. After seven years, Jarren has become the vengeful killer needed to take out his enemies.

Caius Oppita has served the Alyrion Empire for more than half his life, watching with growing revulsion as the royal family descends ever deeper into corruption and depravity. Powerless to do more than stand by as the land he loves slides toward civil war and social upheaval, he longs for his days as a general on the battlefield rather than a tame palace lapdog. When the execution of one of the emperor’s inconvenient bastard sons goes wrong, Caius has a choice to make—do his duty, or do what is right and spirit the innocent man away to safety.

People like Ig are born from life-threatening trials that bind periodic elements to the human body, forged in the boiling volcanoes and subterranean passages under Mira's frozen lands. One of the most powerful known elementals, he is forced to work as an enforcer for Magnate Sorrelo Adriann—cursed with a flesh binding—magic that will kill him at the first sign of disobedience. When Sorrelo is overthrown, Ig quickly learns he can do worse—far worse—than what has been asked from him so far.

Tur’Mor, capital of the Republic of Ordiatea and the center of the modern world, is a vast city-state by the sea where the haze of industry and the glisten of steel draws in people from across the continent of Ethrea. At the heart of the Tur’Mor lies two governing authorities, that of the political figureheads and the holy council of the church of Ordan. However, beneath its cobbled streets and immense markets, a cancer sucks at the city-state, threatening to overturn the tender balance of it all.

For 600 years, the kingdom of Wahrheit was ruled by an unbroken line. It rose on a wave of technology and magic and stood alone—a bastion of stability built on pillars of economic and military might. The nation and her people thrived due to the strength of soldiers and the protection of dragons. But the line has ended—the king is dead. Noble houses vie to carve out their own domains. Foreign armies march across Wahrheit’s soil for the first time in memory. Without leadership, the king’s army watches helplessly.

Six immortal siblings. Five sworn to peace. One demands a throne. Radiance, the mysterious power of life and creation, is theirs to command. Death cannot claim them. For hundreds of years, the ever-living ruled with ease. Yet when the world is nearly broken beneath their reign, the humbled six swear a vow: They will sit upon no thrones, wear no crowns, and no longer teach humanity the gifts of radiance. But after centuries of peace, Eder rejects their vow, anoints himself Voice of Father, and spreads a cruel new faith across the land.

Tamri is a scrappy magic thief in the brutal canal city of Pendark, where sorcerers feud over a powerful liquid magic known as Watermight. She just wants to steal enough Watermight to take care of her grandmother and escape the city one day. But when a big score involving a dragon goes wrong, the king of Pendark ships Tamri off to a distant mountaintop kingdom, where the legendary Fire Queen is starting a school for magic wielders. The king suspects the Fire Queen is plotting against him, and he orders Tamri to find out the truth. If she fails, her grandmother will pay the price.

Anuka Sandbar is the most interesting half-goblin alive. Just ask him. When Papa disappears, Anuka sets out to find him. While sailing to a sleazy port city to begin his search, Anuka and some unlikely companions are enslaved by pirates. They wind up the property of an emissary for the Silver DragonLord, Shimmer. The emissary offers them manumission if they discover the source of massive amounts of illegal DragonsBlood flooding the country. With different dragon factions on the precipice of war, revealing the truth could mean the destruction of mortal civilization.

The Wilderlands are said to contain many dangers. On most maps the area remains blank and only the bravest of travelers will venture beneath its canopy. For monsters roam these woods, which made it the perfect place for a legendary swordmaster to disappear from the world for a time and raise a child. For seventeen years Holviti of Yuutan raised Duren in those woods, training him in the sword, hunting the creatures that called it home, but as is the case with all young men, there comes a day when one must leave his fathers home and make their own mark on the world.

Grahme has wanted to be a druid for as long as he can remember. Talented but headstrong, he runs afoul of a despotic, mind-controlling mage during his initiation quest. The price of failure is death. Intrigue and distrust have turned the druids against him. Haggard and hunted, he must make impossible sacrifices or lose everything.