When the Fates attack Yoran, the Chain Breaker must fight back.After establishing an uneasy truce with the constables, Gavin has settled in Yoran to offer protection to his friends and the remaining magical element in the city. When a job reveals a dangerous new threat in the city, Gavin must take action. This time the target isn't Gavin, but the city itself. Magic was banished a generation ago, but the Fates have returned. They bring a dark magic Gavin has never seen before-and might be helpless to control.It will take more than an assassin to stop the Fates.It will take magic the Chain Breaker barely understands and can't control.

An assassin with no rival meets a magic he cannot defeat. The Chain Breaker Series begins.Trained to kill from a young age, Gavin Lorren finally escaped that life. No more killing innocents. No more working alone. The jobs are still dangerous, but at least he can choose.Now an old friend has invited him to the city of Yoran where the work is plentiful. The Roasted Dragon tavern is rough but cozy. The regulars are seedy but welcoming. The owner Jessica is fond of him. It's almost too good to be true.His good fortune is fleeting. Gavin finds himself facing a new enemy, fast and deadly El'aras warriors-an ancient race with innate magical talent. By the time he learns sorcery is involved, he's in too deep. To succeed, he'll have to uncover parts of his past that he'd hoped to forget. It will take an assassin without equal to survive.It will take the Chain Breaker.

A new magic threatens to destroy Gavin--or change him forever. Gavin has secured the city, preventing the deadly Fates from bringing their terrible sorcery back to Yoran, but Tristan remains at large. Their fight had been a test, and Gavin knows he can't fail the next one. When a strange attack pushes him to reveal the depths of his magic, Gavin knows Tristan has returned to finish what he started. This time, he's working with a power greater than any sorcerer--and something Gavin has never faced. A friend's abduction forces Gavin to take action he never would have considered in order to save them and stop Tristan. He must use all his connections in the city, but even that might not be enough to save them--or stop a plan that's been in play for years. The Chain Breaker will not be enough. He must find a way to become something more than he'd ever trained to be.

A dark sorcerer with a deadly plan attacks Gavin's adopted city. The Chain Breaker Series continues.After capturing the sorcerer called the Apostle, Gavin decided to remain in the city of Yoran where he's become comfortable. Work that had been plentiful has dried up and comfort becomes complacency. While new friends help to find jobs, they're not the kind of jobs an assassin trained to be the Chain Breaker should take. He's trained to kill, not track down relics in a city that long ago banished magic.When pushed to save a young boy, Gavin finds himself dealing with much more than he bargained for. A sorcerer known as the Mistress of Vines has come to Yoran. In order to stop her, he must come to understand a part of himself he was trained to ignore. It will take an assassin without equal to stop the Mistress of Vines.Only this time, the Chain Breaker might not be enough.

A dark power that attacks Yoran leads Gavin on a dangerous journey. Gavin remains in Yoran while struggling to master his El'aras abilities. With the power of the strange ring that grants him even more power, he knows he has to learn control, otherwise he'll destroy the city while trying to protect it. When the hyadan, creatures of dark sorcery, come to the city, Gavin has to make a choice between staying to learn control over his power or helping Imogen. For him, that's no choice at all. Chasing the hyadan leads them deeper into Imogen's past, and challenges Gavin more than he thought possible. The price of failure is greater than only one city. If he can't learn to control his El'aras magic--and the power of the ring--the dark power will spread and destroy all magic in the world.

Community ecology is the study of the interactions between populations of co-existing species. Co-edited by two prominent community ecologists and featuring contributions from top researchers in the field, this book provides a survey of the state-of-the-art in both the theory and applications of the discipline. It pays special attention to topology, dynamics, and the importance of spatial and temporal scale while also looking at applications to emerging problems in human-dominated ecosystems (including the restoration and reconstruction of viable communities). Community Ecology: Processes, Models, and Applications adopts a mainly theoretical approach and focuses on the use of network-based theory, which remains little explored in standard community ecology textbooks. The book includes discussion of the effects of biotic invasions on natural communities; the linking of ecological network structure to empirically measured community properties and dynamics; the effects of evolution on community patterns and processes; and the integration of fundamental interactions into ecological networks. A final chapter indicates future research directions for the discipline.

When Professor Morishima's book Why has Japan 'Succeeded'? (1982) was published, Japan was still a country of 'capitalism from above'. For the past ten years the country's economy has faltered and declined. It is turning towards 'capitalism from below' despite Japan's weak democracy. This directional change is investigated through a variety of standpoints, using an in-depth knowledge of the Japanese ethos, national history, educational background, as well as the sociology of the Japanese economy and business world. The author offers a long-term forecast for the future of Japan.