Bryce O'Connor

Despite his youth, Declan Idrys knows of the evils of the world. He knows of the bastards and brigands who plague the King’s lands, of the monsters skulking in the wooded depths of the realm. Together with his companion, Ryn – a horse of rather peculiar talent – he has spent the last decade of his life beneath the bloody banners of a half-dozen mercenary guilds, hunting precisely such wickedness festering within the borders of Viridian. Unfortunately, fate is quick to pull on the leash of its favorite children. When one particularly troubling contract goes sideways, Declan and Ryn find themselves thrust into a war thought legend and long-ended, a conflict so old it is synonymous with a time in which dragons still ruled the western skies. Now, as dead men rise from their graves and the terrible beasts of the northern ranges descend into the kingdom with an appetite for savagery and flesh, Declan is faced with a profane choice. He can turn, can flee an ancient rising horror that would see the realms of man left as shattered death and wind-blown ash. Or, Declan can face this mounting threat, can come to terms with the fact that his oldest friend might just be more than he appears, and learn to wield an ageless power all his own. Centuries pass, after all, and the Blood of Kings does not fade…

The High Citadel cannot be seen to harbor a killer. This is a simple truth, and one that Raz i'Syul Arro has little choice but to respect. As the winter storms fall away in favor of the North's pleasant summer months, Raz finds himself having once more to face the cruelties of the world with spear and sword in hand. For the first time, though, the Monster no longer walks his path alone. Syrah Brahnt, Priestess of Laor and adopted daughter of the former High Priest of Cyurgi ‘Di himself, has joined him on his journey. Leaving all that might have been behind, they set out together in search of new lives, always striving to stay ahead of the ever-looming shadows of old enemies that hound their every step. Raz's legend, though, has spread too far. After vanquishing the great Kayle of the Northern tribes, his names have begun to echo across the realms: Monster of Karth, Scourge of the South, Dragon of the North. It isn't long before they are forced to draw on magic and steel to save themselves from the blades that seek them in the night, leaving them with little choice but to abandon everything they've ever known in favor of a perilous land neither would have every thought to seek. Meanwhile, waiting for them among the grasslands beyond those strange shores, a man whispers in his sleep, his iron shackles shaking as he trembles and repeats the same prophetic words over and over again. "By sand, then snow, then sea, the Dragon comes."

Among the scattered fringe cities bordering the Cienbal desert, the true name of the Monster of Karth is spoken only in whispers... RAZ I'SYUL ARRO. A sellsword of the utmost caliber, Raz is a killer of paramount skill and highest regard. Towering tall even amongst the atherian, he is the only of his kind to live free in the "civilized" confines of mankind's varied cultures. He has no need of loyalties, his sole affections pledged to the gold crowns that buy his time and skills. Wed to his blades, Raz's only friends are the Moon and Her Stars and the shadows they bring with the night. But Raz was not born to the mercenary's way, to the butchery and battle of day-by-day survival. Raz, like a sword, was hammered from steel and fire and ashy smoke, forged on the ruins of an old life. And Raz knows who he owes this new path to, this carved way of blood and iron. The Monster of Karth, after all, would never forget who gave him that name. And some debts can't be paid in gold...

*The Iron Prince will claim his crown.* Reidon Ward’s first semester at the Galens Institute hasn't been without reward. In just over half a year he’s gone from the weakest cadet at school to one of the strongest in his class, and there’s no one left who would argue that his Device, Shido, isn’t the most terrifying CAD they’ve ever laid eyes on. Still, Rei knows that his climb has barely begun, like he knows that the true fight is only just starting. After all… The Sectionals tournament has arrived. Rei, along with Aria, Viv, Catcher, and a couple unexpected squadmates, are about to face the first real battle of their careers. Squaring off with some of the best Users in the Astra System, they’re going to have to put everything they have—as individuals and as a team—into their coming fights if they want to ultimately end up standing at the top. As ever, though, their journey is hardly bound to be a smooth one. Especially not when Rei and Aria begin to suspect that Shido may be even more formidable than it appears, much less as the powerful entities who've already taken notice of the ‘Iron Prince of Galens' begin to make their moves, some casting their hands in his favor, others very much against…

Reidon Ward will become a god. He doesn't know it yet, of course. Reidon was born weak, sickly and small. Afflicted with a painful disease and abandoned by his parents because of it, he has had to fight tooth and nail for every minor advantage life has allowed him. His perseverance has not gone unnoticed, however, and when the most powerful artificial intelligence in human history takes an interest in him, things began to change quickly. Granted a CAD—a Combat Assistance Device—with awful specs but an infinite potential for growth, Reidon finds himself at the bottom of his class at the Galens Institute, one of the top military academies in the Collective. Along with his best friend, Viviana Arada, Reidon will have to start his long climb through the school rankings, and on to the combat tournament circuits that have become humanity's greatest source of excitement and entertainment. So begins the rise of a god. So begins the ascent of the Stormweaver.

Raz i'Syul Arro is a hunted man. To the south, the Mahsadën of Miropa are gone. The šef lay dead, slain at Raz's own hands, their cruel will ripped from the shadows of the city. In response, riders careen to every reachable corner of the known realms, telling anyone with a mind to listen of the boundless riches promised for the Monster's head. The world now turned against him, Raz is forced to flee, escaping along the northern roads just as the summer months come to an end. For a time the coolness and breathtaking verdure of the great rolling woodlands he finds himself in are a welcome change, offering a sublime peace from a life that has rarely known more than brutality and bloodshed.But that peace - as is so often the case - is a shallow trickery. The North, it seems, is not far-gone from the corruption and wickedness Raz had hoped to leave behind in the fringe cities. Before long he finds himself embroiled in the savage politics of this new land, forced to play a part in the ugly game of intrigue and violence once more. To survive, Raz must again give way to the Monster, making his stand within the devouring walls of the cruel coliseum the Northerners call simply "the Arena".Blood, after all, freezes as hard and cold as anything else.

Only one profession is at once more reviled and revered than any other. That of the hired blade. The paid killer. The assassin. The When Swords Fall Silent anthology showcases the imaginations and talents of more than a dozen of the best modern science-fiction and fantasy authors, with each tale centered around one or more characters burdened with a bloody task they will see to completion no matter the cost. Featuring writers such as Michael J. Sullivan, Terry Mancour, Andrew Rowe, Marie Brennan, and many more, every story takes you for a vicious ride through a world of shadow and death, each as unique in perspective and execution as the contracts carried out within.

The Monster of Karth has risen once more. Quin Tern has met his fate, and his council has born the price of crossing Raz i'Syul Arro. Now, as the cruel walls of Azbar fade into the winter storms at his back, Raz rides north, seeking to take the High Priest Talo Brahnt up on an offer he never should have refused. The path Raz has chosen, though, is a bloody one, and before long he and his new companions find themselves pitted against hardships they can neither anticipate nor ignore. As man and snow and beast alike rise up to block their path, it seems almost as though the North itself has woken to wage war against the Monster. And yet, Raz's greatest challenge still looms ahead. Far to the north, like a plague beneath the trees, Gûlraht Baoill, Kayle of the savage mountain tribes, leads his armies further east with each passing day. He has set his hungry gaze upon the reaches of Cyurgi' Di, the High Citadel, and desires nothing more that to see it razed from the face of the world, offering it and its blasphemous "false-prophets" up as sacrifice to his Stone Gods. Syrah Brahnt, the High Priest's adopted daughter and protégé, has found him out, discovering his plan to lay siege to her home, cutting her and the rest of the Laorin off from the world. As it is, though, there is little and less that she can do, and when the first of the Kayle's generals reaches the base of the mountain pass, Syrah is left with only one option. In the end, she will have to face the wrath of the tribes herself... Little does she know that the Monster is coming, riding hard to lend her his blades.