Lodestone Tales Series

Two friends. Two opinions. One dilemma. On fabled Navarys – the Atlantis of the North-lands – Liliyah studies energea as all thirteen-year-olds do, devoting her mornings to mastering the music that controls her magic. Afternoons, she hobnobs with the artisan crafters and shopkeepers who built the island city-state into the trade capital of the world. Her friend Mago faces struggles unsuspected by carefree Liliyah. His father, a renowned inventor, succumbs to irrational flashes of rage. His mother holds a lethal secret close. When the king's geomancer announces that a tidal wave threatens Navarys, every citizen on the island springs to action. Amidst the uproar, the aeromancer Palujon steals Mago's father's latest invention: unique lodestones with the potential to revolutionize life as the Navareans know it. Mago vows to make good his father's loss. But Liliyah questions Palujon's motives. Why would a man of his stature break the law? Is he truly a dastard? Two friends. Two answers. Life and death hang on their choices. The Lodestone Tales In the years that came before the ancient days of the North-lands, a brilliant inventor fabricated the lodestones – powerful artifacts that concentrate magical force. And while men and women walk the earth but a short while, the lodestones persist through centuries and millennia. When they fall into the hands of mortals, history changes. Follow the lodestones down through the ages as adventure follows adventure, and ordinary folk rise to meet extraordinary challenges. (Although the Lodestone Tales form a rough history, each story stands alone. You need not read them in order.) Skies of Navarys (1) The Tally Master (1.5) Resonant Bronze (2) Rainbow's Lodestone (3) Star-drake (4) Excerpt from Skies of Navarys "Energea stones are safer than they've ever been," Liliyah insisted. "Except the ones that go untested." Did Mago sound glum? Liliyah was tired of being patient with him. "There are no untested stones! My father sees to that!" she snapped. "Oh, yes, there are." "Do you just enjoy being sad and mad or something? 'Cause I don't! What's wrong with you, Mago?" "I prefer being accurate over illusory happiness" – an unbearably superior tone – "as you clearly don't, Demoselle Lykos. Fine! Be glad and ignorant. I don't care. You're only a baby anyway. With a nurse." Speechless, Liliyah jerked to her feet. About the Author J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands. Look for her novels and novellas at your favorite bookstore - online or on Main Street.

On a whim, the rainbow's child falls to earth, where a cruel adversary takes advantage of her innocence. Bereft of her thunder-swept heavens, she dwindles. The sky calls to her, but she cannot answer. This transcendent short story of J.M. Ney-Grimm's troll-ridden North-lands explores how inner freedom creates outer opportunities. Earth trumps heaven until ancient music plays. (This edition of Rainbow's Lodestone includes its sequel story Star-drake.) The Lodestone Tales In the years that came before the ancient days of the North-lands, a brilliant inventor fabricated the lodestones – powerful artifacts that concentrate magical force. And while men and women walk the earth but a short while, the lodestones persist through centuries and millennia. When they fall into the hands of mortals, history changes. Follow the lodestones down through the ages as adventure follows adventure, and ordinary folk rise to meet extraordinary challenges. Skies of Navarys (1) The Tally Master (1.5) Resonant Bronze (2) Rainbow's Lodestone (3) Star-drake (4) Although the Lodestone Tales form a rough history, each story stands alone. You need not read them in order. Praise for Rainbow's Lodestone and Star-drake "...almost "Tolkienesque"...the stories feel like they're happening on the Earth we know, but long before our recorded history... Despite the fact that it deals with a grim act of mischief, [Rainbow's Lodestone is] a delightful read. The enchanting thing about it is the personification of the Rainbow, and the general attitude she has towards her fate... All in all, these are wonderful stories...Ney-Grimm's unique blend of Nordic fantasy and fairy tale mentality is a refreshing take on the genre, and [her] poetic style of writing (whichever tone she uses) adds a special sheen to the work. I read a lot of fiction, and I can honestly say I've not come across anything quite like this." – James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes Excerpt from Rainbow's Lodestone She did not see him, but a rainbow's child might not. The sky was her realm - air and light and wind - with brief visits to earth and the creatures of earth. She pranced and leapt and whirled. She tossed back her head, tresses swirling, and flung her arms skyward. She bent and bowed. She rejoiced in this highland dell. He threw the lodestone. It caught the hem of her gauzy gown of light, pinning a sapphire panel to the ground. Pain. Terror. Shock. Her face registered all these and more. She tried to straighten, tugging at her dress. It dragged her downward, trapping her against the ground. She looked up, eyes dilating, pleading in the gesture of one hand. Now she was seeing him. About the Author J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands. Look for her novels and novellas at your favorite bookstore - online or on Main Street.

The warriors of Torbellai brought back a prize in the night, and young Paitra wants to see it. Even hidden away in the armory, the artifact changed the whole mood of their mountain citadel from dread foreboding to hope. And Paitra's people need hope to turn the tide in their long war against the troll horde. Might this small triumph presage a mightier victory? But the warlord hid the fighters' plunder for good reason. Forged by trolls and radiating magic, it presents grave risk to the soul and spirit of any who approach it. Sneaking past the weapon smiths into the armory with his brother, Paitra still believes his home a safe place for boy's mischief. But bronze hammered by trolls is anything but safe. Opportunity cloaked within its lethal enchantment awaits the right unlocking key. Could Paitra wield that key? And will he survive his curiosity? Through death into magic and sound, Paitra confronts . . . resonant bronze. The Lodestone Tales In the years that came before the ancient days of the North-lands, a brilliant inventor fabricated the lodestones—powerful artifacts that concentrate magical force. And while men and women walk the earth but a short while, the lodestones persist through centuries and millennia. When they fall into the hands of mortals, history changes. Follow the lodestones down through the ages as adventure follows adventure, and ordinary folk rise to meet extraordinary challenges. (Although the Lodestone Tales form a rough history, each story stands alone. You need not read them in order.) Skies of Navarys (1) The Tally Master (1.5) Resonant Bronze (2) Rainbow's Lodestone (3) Star-drake (4) Praise for J.M. Ney-Grimm "...Ney-Grimm paints a vivid, lush picture worthy of the Peter Jackson treatment." — D.J. Gelner, Amazon review of Troll-magic "Extremely fascinating and insightful..." — Paty Saternye, Amazon review of Livli's Gift "Ney-Grimm's unique blend of Nordic fantasy and fairy tale mentality is a refreshing take on the genre... I read a lot of fiction, and I can honestly say I've not come across anything quite like this." — James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes review of Rainbow's Lodestone "Her work compares favorably with Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip ...I'm really pleased to have discovered her!" — Mira, Amazon review of Troll-magic Excerpt from Resonant Bronze Something had changed the previous autumn in the Battle of the Falling Waters. The Ghriana warriors poured into the valley between the lake and the cliff, high-couraged and fell, sweeping the troll horde onto the precipice, pushing them over its brink where the waters tumbled. Victory seemed near—the next in a string of crucial victories—when a low, resonant throbbing disturbed the air and shivered the earth. The Ghriana faltered, suddenly weak at the knee and hollow at heart. The troll horde recovered and, under Regenen Carbry's command, seized the field. The Ghrianan death toll grew grievous, and every conflict since had featured troll dominance, Ghrianan rout, all accompanied by that hideous throbbing groan on the breeze and rumble through the ground. But, now, now, something had changed again. Why? Paitra wanted to see the bounty brought in by the victorious warriors. What was this prize, that its capture should bend the current of the war?

Gefnen—troll-herald and hound for Koschey the Deathless—hunts life across the moors of the far north. Not deer, not pheasant, not meat for the table. His master eats choicer fruits. When the piercing scent of youth tingles his senses, Gefnen focuses his chase. The prey—a boy—lacks guardians strong enough to best a troll. Swift triumph awaits. But other seekers tilt the chances of this game. Spirit of storm, poignant memories of a sea-prince, and something more ancient than memory or the wind shape the looming tumult. Gefnen hunts victory, but a darker victory hunts him. (This edition of Star-drake includes its prequel story Rainbow's Lodestone.) The Lodestone Tales In the years that came before the ancient days of the North-lands, a brilliant inventor fabricated the lodestones—powerful artifacts that concentrate magical force. And while men and women walk the earth but a short while, the lodestones persist through centuries and millennia. When they fall into the hands of mortals, history changes. Follow the lodestones down through the ages as adventure follows adventure, and ordinary folk rise to meet extraordinary challenges. (Although the Lodestone Tales form a rough history, each story stands alone. You need not read them in order.) Skies of Navarys (1) The Tally Master (1.5) Resonant Bronze (2) Rainbow's Lodestone (3) Star-drake (4) Praise for Star-drake and Rainbow's Lodestone "...almost "Tolkienesque"...the stories feel like they're happening on the Earth we know, but long before our recorded history...[Star-drake] has a deep sense of importance to it, of destiny...written very much in a storyteller's fashion, you can imagine it being told around a campfire in the snows of the North, but it has a satisfying sort of weight... All in all, these are wonderful stories... Ney-Grimm's unique blend of Nordic fantasy and fairy tale mentality is a refreshing take on the genre." —James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes Excerpt from Star-drake On horseback, Gefnen inhaled, long and lingeringly. He could smell them—his prey—somewhere ahead, warm and live and vibrant. My lord Koschey will be pleased with this catch. Pure and piercing amongst the scents of the elders came the perfume of the young one. Gefnen would secure him first, then the others as chance permitted. But Koschey's deathless essence would expand threefold on the boy's vitality alone. Gefnen glanced at the star patterns in the black sky. Moonrise would come before he reached the travelers' camp, but no matter. His troll blood gave him an advantage in the dimness of starshine, mapping his surroundings by smell alone, while his human foes blundered in the dark. But they were little better under lunar light. And they would not be expecting him. He felt his lips stretch in a not-smile, their dry surfaces cracking at the center points, oozing fluid. His sweeping tongue caught the droplets before they stained his chin. Slightly salt, strongly metallic. He frowned. About the Author J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She reads Robin McKinley and Diana Wynne Jones and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.