Showing results by author "Sebastien de Castell" in All Categories

New to the ways of the Argosi, the tribe of wandering philosophers who seek to defeat evil by wit and guile, Ferius Parfax encounters a hideous plague - the Red Scream. Highly contagious, caught by the hearing of a deadly verse, it turns its victims into mindless monsters that destroy all human life they come into contact with. With the help of a deaf boy whom she has saved from two horrifying victims of the plague, Ferius sets out to find the source of the Red Scream and overcome its terrifying power.

While liberating a notorious thief from prison, Ferius Parfax encounters an inmate named Chedran, one of the last living members of her people, the Mahdek. Ferius agrees to help him and the Mahdek remnant reach a mystical island where they can live free from persecution. Chedran convinces the Mahdek elders that this refuge is their last chance to repopulate their civilisation so they can one day retake their homeland, and so the elders rule that all Mahdek must remain on the island to bear and raise children.

The Greatcoats - legendary heroes, arbiters of justice...or notorious traitors? The Greatcoats are travelling magistrates bringing justice to all...or at least they were, before they watched the Dukes impale their King's head on a spike. Now the land's heroes are reviled as traitors, their Greatcoats in tatters. Facio, Kest and Brasti have been reduced to working as mercenaries, but when they find their employer dead - and are forced to watch as the killer plants evidence framing them for the murder - they realise things are about to get even worse.

The Greatcoats are back - and this time it's personal. How do you kill a Saint? Falcio, Brasti and Kest are about to find out, as someone is doing just that, and they've started with a friend. The Dukes were already looking for ways to weasel out of their promise to put Aline on her father's throne - but with Saints turning up dead and Church Inquisitors pushing for control, rumours are spreading that the gods themselves oppose her ascension.

Here are eight tales of the Greatcoats, legendary sword-fighting magistrates brought together by an idealistic young king and disbanded after his execution as a tyrant. Follow along through their swashbuckling adventures, their triumphs and defeats, their darkest hours and their moments of shining redemption as they struggle to bring justice to a corrupt kingdom.

Kellen Argos is an outlaw spellslinger with a bad reputation, a long list of enemies, and zero luck. When he accidently smears blood on the Daroman flag, he's dragged before the queen to be executed for his act of treason. Face-to-face with the young monarch, Kellen is offered a chance to save himself. If he can defeat the queen at a game of cards, he'll walk free...if not, his life is forfeit. But what begins as a game reveals a conspiracy against the queen's life.

Damelas Shademantaigne picked a poor night to flee a judicial duel. He has precious little hope of escaping the wrath of the Vixen, the most feared duellist in the entire city, until he stumbles through the stage doors of the magnificent Operato Belleza and tricks his way into the company of actors. An archaic law provides a temporary respite from his troubles - until one night a ghostly voice in his head causes Damelas to fumble his lines, inadvertently blurting out a dreadful truth: the city's most legendary hero may actually be a traitor and a brutal murderer.

Estevar Borros, one of the legendary sword-fighting magistrates known as the Greatcoats and the king's personal investigator of the supernatural, is no stranger to tales of ghosts and demons. When the fractious monks of the abbey rumoured to be the birthplace of the gods begin warring over claims of a new pantheon arising, the frantic abbot summons him to settle the dispute. But Estevar has his own problems: a near-fatal sword wound from his last judicial duel, a sworn knight who claims he has proof the monks are consorting with demons, a diabolical inquisitor, and a mysterious young woman.

Ferius Parfax has a simple plan: Kill every last inhabitant of the spell-gifted nation that destroyed her people, starting with the man who murdered her parents. Killing mages is a difficult and dangerous business, of course, but when she meets the inimitable and extraordinary Durrall Brown, she discovers that physical strength is not the only way to defeat evil of all kinds. So Ferius undertakes to study the ways of the Argosi: the loosely-knit tribe of tricksters known for getting the better of even the most powerful of spellcasters.

For Kellen, the only way to survive is to hide. His curse is growing stronger, bringing dark and violent visions, and the bounty hunters dogging his heels get closer every day. Desperate, he searches for a mysterious order of monks rumored to have a cure. But salvation comes with a high price.

Once an outlaw spellslinger, Kellen Argos has made a life for himself as the Daroman Queen's protector. A little magic and a handful of tricks are all it takes to deal with the constant threats to her reign. But when rumors of an empire-shattering war begin to stir, Kellen is asked to commit an unimaginable act to protect his queen. Inside enemy territory, he quickly realizes something is amiss. Someone is playing a dangerous game. And to discover their secrets, Kellen will have to challenge the greatest spellcaster who's ever lived.

A failed mage learns that just because he's not the chosen one it doesn't mean he can't be a hero in the third book of an exciting adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell. Kellen's life as an outlaw spellslinger is about to get a lot worse. In Gitabria, a miraculous discovery draws spies from all over the continent willing to kill to get their hands on it. Swept up in the race for power, Kellen is forced to join the pursuit. But the invention holds a dark secret-one that could spark a war.

Forced to live as an outlaw, Kellen relies on his wits and his allies to survive the unforgiving borderlands. When he meets a young woman cursed with a deadly plague, he feels compelled to help. But her secrets draw powerful enemies, and it's not long before Kellen is entangled in a conspiracy of blackmail, magic, and murder. As the bodies begin to pile up, Kellen fears he's next.

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.

The Greatcoats have found the heir to the throne...but now they must keep her alive, against all the odds. Falcio Val Mond has completed the final task given to him by the late King Paelis: he has found the King's Charoites (well, one at least). But his task isn't over, and now he, Kest and Brasti must protect the girl from those who want her dead.

Kellen is moments away from facing his first duel and proving his worth as a spellcaster. There's just one problem: his magic is fading. Facing exile unless he can pass the mage trials, Kellen is willing to risk everything - even his own life - in search of a way to restore his magic. But when the enigmatic Ferius Parfax arrives in town, she challenges him to take a different path. One of the elusive Argosi, Ferius is a traveller who lives by her wits and the cards she carries. Daring, unpredictable, and wielding magic Kellen has never seen before, she may be his only hope.

Would you - could you? - uphold the law at the cost of those you love? Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats, is on the brink of fulfilling his dead King's dream: Aline is about to take the throne and restore the rule of law once and for all. But for the Greatcoats, nothing is ever that simple.

Kellen and Reichis are settling into their lives as protectors of the young queen. For the first time Kellen feels as if he's becoming the kind of man that his mentor Ferius had wanted him to be. Even Reichis has come to appreciate having a noble purpose - so long as no one minds him committing the occasional act of theft from the royal treasury.

Kellen and Reichis have just finished fighting a duel in the desert when Kellen inadvertently smears blood on the Daroman flag - an act of treason for which the Marshals have no choice but to arrest him. Just before he's put before the Queen to be executed, Kellen is given a strange piece of advice from one of his fellow prisoners: kill the Queen and he'll be given clemency by those who take power. But when Kellen comes face-to-face with the 11-year-old monarch, he realises she's vastly smarter than he expected - and in a great deal more danger.

Kellens sektensårs fødselsdag nærmer sig, og det samme gør de fire magiske prøver, der én gang for alle afgør, om han kan blive en magtfuld jan'Tep-mager eller om han vil blive udstødt af sin familie og venner som sha'Tep-tjener. Der er bare et problem. Kellens magi er ved at forsvinde. For at undgå total ydmygelse, forsøger Kellen at snyde sig gennem en magisk duel. Men da en mystisk fremmed kommer til byen, udfordrer hun Kellen til at gå helt nye veje.