In the glacier-topped Kuraneth mountains, Runnhilde the demonologist must compete with the Tanbar empire for the loyalty of a border town. With her only ally a maddeningly unperturbable demon-worshipping priest, the idea of challenging an entire empire seems laughable. And when her companion's bizarre religious rituals threaten the entire enterprise, everything seems to ready to plunge into the chamberpot. But then things get even weirder: A rival turns into a potential lover, and the creatures that she summons force her to question her whole life’s calling. Runnhilde knows one thing for certain: Getting out of this one will require no normal invocation. A novella in the world of Spellgiver.

In the Wormpile district, gangs rule the streets, unwashed urchins assail each other with minor magic, and the people boil under the sway of a monstrous god. Deep within those decaying alleyways, the boy Larin shouts his tourette-like outbursts at random, explosions that have turned him into a pariah throughout the neighborhood. And while he’s protected from the gangs by his drug-addicted uncle Akul—a warrior with a mysterious past and the emotional range of granite—none of that will restore his social life. But soon, Larin finds he has bigger problems. For the source of his outbursts is the malevolent being Haraf, Lord of Demons, enemy to the Six-Legged Gods. Now that priests of the Six-Legged Gods have begun creeping through the Wormpile, masking their terrifying agenda with calls for social justice, it’s only a matter of time before things spiral out of control. As Larin and his uncle find themselves surrounded by enemies, their only hope is to join forces with a perpetually drunk warrior-priestess and a high-born wizardress, who must hold her nose to work with the street-rabble she despises. And Larin will either follow his master Haraf, or watch his city plunge into a far more insidious darkness—one so great, it will turn mankind’s soul to ash.

The Old Gods have seized control of the capital in an orgy of executions and murder. Now, Larin and the others flee for their lives, as the High Wizard’s creatures fall upon them like a steel rain. Thus begins Book 2 of Spellgiver, a tale of heroism, hatred, wonder and betrayal. A tale in which Larin will meet his Master, Akul will reconcile with one horrible mistake from the past, and nothing matters but saving the king. Follow a six-limbed general as he fights his Gods for the soul of his people, row through the bubbling mud of an indigen swamp, view the world through the eyes of trapped, insane immortals, and vibrate to the hum of magic from a long dead race. And at the center of it all, Larin walks a narrow path between two evils, wanting nothing more than to go home again.

In the 5 years since the great war, the world has changed. Now, a reluctant Larin must tear himself away from his family to fulfill his sworn promise: To find the last Carver on earth and beg for release of the ancient race an ignorant humanity calls "demons". But across the Linesai mountains, a treacherous and spiteful king has different plans. Kemharak’s enclave is threatened, old alliances are sundered, and nothing is as it was. Yet while the Usurper looms like a dark shadow over the Created Ones, in order to save his people Kemharak must battle internal divisions every bit as dangerous as ungrateful human emperors. And in the south empire, Larin’s family sits in the eye of the storm, as rebellion whips into gale force around them. With death on his heels, Larin will flee across the south continent accompanied by his lethal uncle, a misfit historian, and a strange, selfish girl who speaks only truth. It is a journey that will take him to the extremes of power and depravity, into the bizarre cultures of the eastern continent, and the fusing of two worlds. For in this new godless age, Larin and his companions must begin to answer the questions that have mystified humanity from day one: Who are the indigen, and how did humanity come to this place?

And still, the Carver sleeps. Having evaded the emperor's clutches, Larin, Trana, Sirte, and Rhelas now find themselves in the chaotic jungle burb of Freetown, a den of brigands, thieves and slave traders. From here they’ll have to find passage across the ocean to the Southern Continent, land of the giant mountains that house the remnants of the divine indigen race that once ruled this place. But to do that, they must find a Captain greedy enough to risk life and limb for the prospect of Southern Continent riches, obstinate enough to ignore the dangers along the way, and lethal enough to defeat those dangers. That journey will place the four of them among pirates, cut-throats and murderers, with only Larin’s magic and Emderian’s spite to keep the worst at bay. Along the way they’ll encounter tropical islands beset with horrific indigen statues, ancient cities with impossible artifacts, and monstrous creatures that guard the deeps. And above it all, they will be begin to dive into the secrets of land—the deep mysteries of magic and gods, and the fascinating history at the core of humanity’s existence. In the heat of the Kulathi desert, two kings meet. But when things don’t go as planned, Uvalan’s only hope might be a young, hot-headed commander who is almost as good at tearing herself apart as she is at smiting her enemies. But even pushing herself to the breaking point might not get Tirla what she wants. She will also have to conquer dissension in the ranks, calcified traditions, and her own grievous mistakes in order to change the world. Spellgiver III “To Flee a King”, this book (Spellgiver IV), and Spellgiver V, “Mage and Prophet” together form the story of what came after the Great War. "Mage and Prophet" will be out in 2023.