Lady Theona McArthur thinks opening The Keeper, a forbidden ancient relic, will help her find the love of her life. At least that's what her dreams tell her. But instead of being shown where this handsome boy with violet eyes lives, she becomes possessed by evil spirits and is imprisoned for violating the laws of Kildaria.Then rumors of war bring a foreign prince to seek an alliance with Kildaria, and Theona is shocked that Prince Gideon Seville is the young man of her dreams, the one with the violet eyes.When Theona is condemned to death for her crimes, three of the evil spirits--the shades of sorcerers long dead--offer her one reprieve. Just learn to use magic she never knew she had to return them to mortality, and they'll set her free. She has no choice but fears that if the sorcerers don't destroy her, the lure of magic could. Her chance meeting with Prince Gideon blossoms into the love of a lifetime, but even together, will they have what it takes to beat the odds against evil sorcerers, vicious dragons, war, and death?

Lady Theona McArthur thinks opening The Keeper, a forbidden ancient relic, will help her find the love of her life. At least that's what her dreams tell her. But instead of being shown where this handsome boy with violet eyes lives, she becomes possessed by evil spirits and is imprisoned for violating the laws of Kildaria. Then rumors of war bring a foreign prince to seek an alliance with Kildaria, and Theona's shocked that Prince Gideon Seville is the young man of her dreams, the one with the violet eyes. When Theona is condemned to death for transgressing the law, those evil spirits-the shades of sorcerers long dead-offer her one reprieve. Just learn to use magic she never knew she had to return them, and their two ferocious dragons, to mortality, and they'll set her free. She has no choice but to comply, but she fears that if the sorcerers don't destroy her, the lure of magic could. Her chance friendship with Prince Gideon blossoms into the love of a lifetime, but even together, will they have what it takes to beat the odds against evil sorcerers, magical dragons, war, and death?

New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory teamed up to write The Obsidian Trilogy, set in a wondrous world filled with magical beings, competing magic systems, and a titanic struggle between good and evil. That world proved so popular with the creators and readers alike that Lackey and Mallory have returned to it with The Phoenix Unchained, Book One of The Enduring Flame, the opening volume of a new epic fantasy trilogy. After a thousand years of peace, much Magick has faded from the world. The Elves live far from humankind. There are no High Mages, and Wild Mages are seen only rarely. Bisochim, a powerful Wild Mage, is determined to reintroduce Darkness to the world, believing that it is out of Balance. Tiercel, a young Armethalian nobleman, is convinced that High Magic is not just philosophy. He attempts a spell—and draws the unwelcome attention of Bisochim. Tiercel survives Bisochim's attack and begins trying to turn himself into a High Mage. Next in line to be Harbormaster of Armethalieh, Harrier instead finds himself regularly saving Tyr's life and meeting magickal people and creatures. To Harrier's dismay, it seems that he must become a hero. In The Phoenix Unchained, Harrier and Tiercel begin a marvelous journey to uncover their destinies. Along the way, they meet a charming female centaur, several snooty Elves, and the most powerful dragon their world has ever known. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Victoria Marshall is living a lie. She works for a member of the Knights of the Dragon, a secret society that traps and uses dragons for their own gain. As a child, she made an unlikely friend—a drakon. He went missing, and she’s spent the past twenty years searching for him. The only thing distracting her from her mission is Luther Henderson, her boss’s new head of security. Luther is also living a lie. One, if discovered, could lead to a fate worse than death. He’s attracted to Victoria, but can’t fully trust her, doesn’t know if she’s truly innocent or a true member of the Knights. It’s not only his life at stake, but those of the people he loves. As they’re thrust deeper into the dangerous dealings of the Knights, they each have to share their secrets in order to survive. The Blood of the Drakon series is best enjoyed in order Reading Order: Book #1: Drakon’s Promise Book #2: Drakon’s Prey Book #3: Drakon's Plunder Book #4: Drakon's Past Book #5: Drakon Unchained Book #6: Drakon’s Tear Book #7: Drakon's Knight

Django Unchained is certainly Quentin Tarantino's most commercially-successful film and is arguably also his most controversial. Fellow director Spike Lee has denounced the representation of race and slavery in the film, while many African American writers have defended the white auteur. The use of extremely graphic violence in the film, even by Tarantino's standards, at a time when gun control is being hotly debated, has sparked further controversy and has led to angry outbursts by the director himself. Moreover, Django Unchained has become a popular culture phenomenon, with t-shirts, highly contentious action figures, posters, and strong DVD/BluRay sales. The topic (slavery and revenge), the setting (a few years before the Civil War), the intentionally provocative generic roots (Spaghetti Western and Blaxploitation) and the many intertexts and references (to German and French culture) demand a thorough examination. Befitting such a complex film, the essays collected here represent a diverse group of scholars who examine Django Unchained from many perspectives.

3RD Edition, 1st color illustrated edition, changes, corrections, lines added. The poem & story: "Unchained Dragon & the legend of the wandering Prophetess, Christkindl, that unchained & changed Him," was inspired by & set in Medieval chivalry & the ceremonies done to the making of Knights. Chivalry is the medieval knightly system that had its religious, moral, & social codes, with the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, that of courage, honor, courtesy, justice, & readiness to help the weak. Christkindl is German for the wandering Christ-child, an original Santa Claus type, but in German lore, a female saint or Santa, that wanders the whole earth teaching, gift giving, & testing our true charity, or non-charitable attitudes. Thus, this poem & story was inspired by Medieval Knight lore, ceremonies for chivalry, & German Christmas Christkindl traditions.The story poem: The wandering prophetess, Christkindl, seeking shelter from a storm, enters a cave & discovers a sleeping dragon, that wakes up. Charmed by her beauty, the dragon warms her by starting a small fire. Christkindl sings to the dragon about how, though unchained, he's been chained by invisible chains, to the treasure he had taken from humans, a thousand years ago. The invisible chains was his fear, that if he left his cave, someone would take some of his treasure, thus he stayed guarding it, & didn't realize that a 1000 or more years had gone by. Having wandered the whole world, Christkindl tells him about the beautiful world out side, & gets him to unchain himself from his fear & other negative traits, & free himself from the treasure that he couldn't spend as a dragon. Together they leave the cave & fly all over the world to enjoy the sights, & experience the world out side. The unchained dragon seeks to return the treasure & help the poor & needy peasantry. Thus, the dragon & the prophetess fly back to the palaces & kingdoms to return as much of the stolen treasure that they could, helping the poor people along the ways too. They sing to Knights & armies fighting, to get them all to stop their wars. They sing to the Kings & Queens & peasantry to encourage them all to change & have true charity & respect for each other. Stories spread about their good deeds, & the devil & his fellow fallen angels seek to counter them. In later lore about the early Christian doctrines about a preexistence, a life before mortal life, as spirits in a family in heaven. Later lore & art works about preexistence themes, says & depicts how some of the fallen angels, fell down into the seas, lakes, rivers, woods, & under the ground. Lore says that they became the evil dwarfs, goblins, cave trolls, underground folks, water creatures, black birds, insect-pests & more. Thus, in this story, they learn about the dragon's repentant change for good, & they want to get him back to their dark ways. Thus, they gather to figure out what they should do & how to go to war against them & the humans that were changed by the repentant dragon & Christkindl.This poem story tells what happens next, & explores the symbolism of chivalry, Knighting ceremonies, & the meanings behind the colors black & white in Whitesunday traditions. Plus, in white clothing put on Knights after their ceremonial baths. During the Middle Ages, beliefs in white protective garments are seen in art works of souls ascending into paradise, that have the traditional white robes on to protect them from the arrows shot at them by black devils. The story poem has a positive moral message like the moral plays of the Middle Ages.Color illustrations by Darell Thorpe, with some paintings of his father, James Eldon Thorpe, 8-23-1935 to 6-13-2018. A couple paintings show faces in the mountains & rocks, "The Goblin Valley," plus, "Red Castle Mountain & Lake" art works from different angles. Deer scenes, Fall River, oil paintings, with a water color one of ships at sea during the evening. Volume 2 in the works.

Embark on a breathtaking journey through the world of dragon riders, where courage, friendship, and the power of flight unite to shape destinies. Feel the rush of battle, the agony of loss, and the triumph of spirit as each rider discovers what it truly means to soar. Whether defending their homelands from dire threats or exploring uncharted territories, each tale invites you to mount the scaled backs of majestic dragons and take to the skies. Thirteen authors bring you thirteen stories about the bond between rider and dragon!