High Medieval

Late December, 1389. Ordered to undertake a grueling three-day journey to bleak Whitby Abbey in the Far North of England in a bid to purchase the Abbey's priceless holy relic - a lock of St. Hild's hair, said to be 700 years old - Hildegard of Meaux and her three companion monks arrive to find the abbey a decidedly unwelcoming place, a place of strange customs and practices very different from their modest lifestyle at Meaux. Nor, as Hildegard discovers, is she the only visitor intent on acquiring the relic.

In the final installment of the Tales of the Otori, the young Takeo meets his destiny, fulfilling the prophesy: "You were born into the Hidden, but your life...is no longer your own."

"Magic and other races really add to the magnificent story!" –Auburn, Vine Voice "Great dark fantasy!" -Vine Voice "If you love Tolkien, as I do, you will love this book." -Veronica Richards "Fantasy done right!" -Kindle Reviewer Ancient evil crawls from the dark. The great river of magic threatened. An epic struggle to prevail. Wielding the strongest magic ever known to Astura, Crystalyn faces the hooded man’s ruthless determination to annihilate a peaceful race dwelling within the vibrant beauty of an ancient vale. Ultimately, she faces a desperate choice: hunt down a former dear ...

Falstaff is both a comic and tragic central protagonist in Shakespeare's three Henry plays. He is companion to Prince Hal (the future Henry V), who loves him, goads him, teases him, indulges his vast appetites, and commits all sorts of mischief with him. Award-winning author and esteemed professor Harold Bloom examines Falstaff with the deepest compassion and sympathy and also with unerring wisdom. He uses the relationship between Falstaff and Hal to explore the devastation of severed bonds and the heartbreak of betrayal.

Absolution of the Morning Star: Books I–III Dawn of the Lightbearer – The Mourning Son – Noonday in the North In a land where gods have fallen silent and kings die faster than they can be crowned, survival demands more than a sword—it demands the sacrifice of your soul. Lucardia is a realm shattered by ambition and scorched by betrayal. Light is a lie, and every oath is a blade waiting for your back. In this box set containing the first three volumes of the Absolution of the Morning Star saga, follow the rise of Erikson Gray—a blacksmith’s apprentice whose bond to a cursed sword...

The next world over is still a world away. Almost a year ago, 12 year old Tommy Brinn ran away from Katy in the park as they were about to have their first kiss. That was the night she disappeared. While being bullied in the park on the way home from school, Tommy, his bully Matt, and his would be protector Peter are all transported through a portal in the largest tree in the park. On the other end they find a world different from ours, where people are enslaved to only an elite few. Each boy is challenged physically and mentally in this land, tentatively forming an alliance to find a way ...

'Terrible Apart' - Separated by fate and circumstance the Fitzwarren brothers find themselves on very different missions. Trouble is brewing on England's border with Scotland, and rebel Protestant Scottish nobles are begging Elizabeth to help them throw off French rule. One man can help to unite Scotland, and that man is John Knox. Denied entry to England, hated by Elizabeth and excommunicated by the church Knox is not a man to be associated with. Lord Burghley tasks Richard Fitzwarren with delivering him to Scotland, knowing full well that he can deny any involvement should things not go ...

It is three centuries after the Shaper Wars, a conflict involving magic so powerful that it altered all of humanity. That magical legacy remains in the form of a handful of young women every generation – so feared that they are cursed and locked away from childhood. But fate promises that their ability will again change the world, for good or ill. As prophecies of a great doom converge, and an ancient race that desires the destruction of all human life arises, those in power attempt to control the legacy of the Daughters of Vae.

Best-selling author Richard E. Rubenstein brings the past to life in this engrossing story of social, religious, and scientific revolution during one of the darkest periods in European history. When a group of Dark Ages scholars rediscovered the works of Aristotle, the great thinker's ideas ignited a firestorm of enlightened thought. This is the endlessly fascinating account of the pivotal period in history when the modern era took root.

Is the Voice Lisa’s Protector or a Predator? When her father Alexander is murdered, Lisa’s safe, carefree world unravels. At 16, her only escape is to flee from the mayhem and chaos that promises to come crashing down on her very being. From her wicked mother. From her drunken stepbrother. And from the greedy church. The year was 1,000 AD. Bright and clever, she becomes the eyes and ears of her papa’s many enterprises. Lisa is his confidant and the son he desires as an heir. Afraid for his own daughter’s future, Alexander shares a plan to her to follow upon his death. Within days of...

In a 2010 terrorist plot, Al-Qaeda hid a bomb in a FedEx shipment addressed to Reynald de Chatillon, a knight who had died centuries ago in the Crusades. A reviled figure in Islamic history, often portrayed as the very epitome of brutality, Reynald remains as controversial - and as vividly present in the minds of many in the Middle East - as the story of the Crusades themselves.

Everything hinges on the success of Dougray and Robbie, orphaned brothers and fugitives, to lead King Morgran’s soldiers on a wild goose chase to the Groaning Rocks, a place of demented souls. Attacked by a black dragon, they are rescued and given shelter by Alysam, an exile from Alpinia. But all is not well. Dougray is infected with dragon venom and begins to turn to stone. A desperate race for survival begins as the dragon pursues them through the underground passageways. Found by Navarre, last of the Healers, Dougray is restored to health and the brothers are then offered a place of ...

There are some things that even a song can't fix. Ever since Lucifer tried to ease his ache for Elaria by altering human women to look like her, there have been doppelgangers of the Spellsinger on Earth. Now, those Elaria-look-alikes are dying, murdered by assassins who are most likely after Elaria. But assassins are the least of her worries. Greek Gods are disappearing and it looks as if Apollo's warning of Poseidon conquering the Beneath might not be so farfetched after all. As doppelgangers start dropping like flies, the Spellsinger must find a way to save herself and the entire world. ...

As Kyre returns to Lordstown, what awaits him? If he can escape the riotous charms of Lind-on-Hill, will it be his Troop of high-born guerrilla fighters, bent of ridiculing him, betraying him, or begging him to lead them into battle again? Or will the lord's powerful, scheming wife, the Lady Delfindiana have tasks for him? Tasks that could break him, or make him a fortune in silver, or lord of a second province within the Lordlands? Is it violence and vengeance that await him in Sabri Province? And in Bati? Lost children; thieving travelling entertainers; a doomed wedding; meeting an old/...

Last seen in the bar at Bowfield Spring, warily surrendering to Kellimar Sord’s challenging invitation to go through the doors to the bedroom areas, Kyre felt akin to a sinking ship, recalling the Blood Eagle, the EagleWing that had been hovering over the buildings when he entered. ‘It wasn’t out there for no purpose,’ he was thinking. And now, he awakens, not knowing where he is, trying to piece together the happenings that almost killed him. If he recovers from his injuries, what might await him should he return to Lordstown? the voluptuous, but perfidious arms of the Rua ...

Profoundly poetic yet gloriously accessible, this is the best way to experience a work that has remained a centerpiece of Western civilization for 2,000 years. Fitzgerald's rendering speaks directly to the modern listener, inviting us to share the excitement, adventure, and human tears as Aeneas, the warrior hero, escapes from the burning city of Troy, embarks on a long and perilous journey, and eventually, triumphantly establishes a new nation: Rome.

Discovering that his Sheen lady has been sadistically killed, Kyre sets out to avenge her death, equally pitilessly. But will the quarrelling members of the ruling Volko family allow him to have his own way in anything? Is the path he treads a defiant whim, or the destiny his star has chosen for him? Can he find which of the stars is his? Or is he – as all tell him – truly from The Pit? The demands of the Rua Sisterhood mount up, and he has to find ways to satisfy them, while attempting to hold out against the massing enemies of the Lordlands realm – the rebellious provincial lords; ...

Two villains become heroes as their decaying empires clash. Two hundred years before the events of the Apócryfa trilogy, the fledgling Kingdom of Nevermore faces wild monsters and rebellious mountain colonies. As plague takes the realm, a rare knight defends an outpost and makes tough decisions to save her people while a young summoner shaman seeks power for her village from dark spirits at a steep cost. Both women, innocent yet guilty of causing devastation, will be transformed by their hard choices. Sacrifice changes all.

Here is the multi award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. This is a full-cast, unabridged performance, with comprehensive commentary and analysis, enabling students to fully understand and appreciate the play. Judge for yourself whether Lear is "a man more sinned against than sinning" in this moral tale that pits wisdom and age against ambition and youth. Experience and examine the power of Shakespeare's most cruel and violent tragedy.

Paris, 1393. A masquerade ball at the palace ends in tragedy, with four revelers burned to death. Was it an accident...or did someone deliberately hurl a flaming torch at the dancers? Convinced it was an act of murder and that the king himself was the real target, Queen Isabeau has asked Christine de Pizan to spend time at court in an attempt to uncover the identity of the would-be assassin.