Discover the intricately plotted, action-packed, animal-based fantasy series that New York Times #1 bestselling author KELLY ARMSTRONG calls “A thrilling tale.” Scion of the Fox: The Realms of Ancient, Book 1 Roan Harken considers herself a typical high school student — dead parents, an infected eyeball, and living in the house of her estranged, currently comatose grandmother (well, maybe not so typical) — but she’s uncovering the depth of the secrets her family left behind. Saved from the grasp of Death itself by a powerful fox spirit named Sil, Roan must harness mysterious ancient power… and quickly. Zabor lies in wait in the bed of the frozen Assiniboine River, a snake-monster hungry for the sacrifice of spirit-blood in exchange for keeping the flood waters at bay. Thrust onto an ancient battlefield, Roan soon realizes that to maintain the balance of the world, she will have to sacrifice more than her life in order to take her place as Scion of the Fox. Children of the Bloodlands: The Realms of Ancient, Book 2 The dazzling second book in S.M. Beiko’s Realms of Ancient series follows Roan and her four friends as they part ways to fight new battles across the globe. A wicked monster called Seela has risen from the ashy Bloodlands and is wreaking havoc on the world while children in Edinburgh are afflicted by a strange plague; Eli travels to Seoul to face judgment and is nearly murdered; Natti endures a taxing journey with two polar bears; Phae tries desperately to obtain the key to the Underworld; and Barton joins a Family-wide coalition as the last defense against an enemy that will stop at nothing to undo Ancient’s influence on Earth — before there is no longer an Earth to fight for. Darkness, death, and the ancient powers that shape the world will collide as our heroes discover that some children collapse under their dark inheritance, and those who don’t are haunted by blood. The Brilliant Dark: The Realms of Ancient, Book 3 In the final installment of S.M. Beiko’s thrilling YA fantasy trilogy, Roan Harken must decide if she’s willing to pay the ultimate price to protect the family she’s found. But nothing is ever that simple. The Brilliant Dark is the final, thrilling chapter in this series about gods, monsters, and the people who must decide if they’re willing to pay the ultimate price to protect the family they found… in a world that may not be worthy of saving.

Concepts of heaven and hell are among the oldest, most widespread religious beliefs in history. In Western literature, they are frequently embedded in stories of underworld explorations and celestial journeys--stories examining the nature of the universe, life on earth and the existence of the gods. The author analyzes tales of wonder in both ancient and medieval European literature. Other-worldly narratives appeared in literary contexts in the ancient world, including mythology, poetry and philosophical writings. In medieval times, they remained a popular form of literary expression. These stories are primarily religious in nature, describing fantastic worlds filled with miracles and supernatural beings.

Welcome to Ancient Realms! This is a complete collection of 6 Ancient Realms Collection novelettes and 17 bonus stories. Viking magic is real, not all knights are honorable, and Ancient Magic comes with a price in these incredible epic fantasy tales. BONUS! Included are 17 Bonus Stories not available anywhere else! Bringing this collection to over 400 pages of incredible storytelling! Including but not limited to: The Last Oracle An award-winning Viking tale of the Draugr King and the Last Oracle. Misguided Knight of the Onyx Order No one crosses the Onyx Queen and survives. The Lunar Clash The World Ends Every Thousand Years. These tales don't have a happy ending... dark, gritty, fantasy at its finest.

Between AD 900-1600, the native peoples of the Mississippi River Valley and other areas of the Eastern Woodlands of the United States conceived and executed one of the greatest artistic traditions of the Precolumbian Americas. Created in the media of copper, shell, stone, clay, and wood, and incised or carved with a complex set of symbols and motifs, this seven-hundred-year-old artistic tradition functioned within a multiethnic landscape centered on communities dominated by earthen mounds and plazas. Previous researchers have referred to this material as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC). This groundbreaking volume brings together ten essays by leading anthropologists, archaeologists, and art historians, who analyze the iconography of Mississippian art in order to reconstruct the ritual activities, cosmological vision, and ideology of these ancient precursors to several groups of contemporary Native Americans. Significantly, the authors correlate archaeological, ethnographic, and art historical data that illustrate the stylistic differences within Mississippian art as well as the numerous changes that occur through time. The research also demonstrates the inadequacy of the SECC label, since Mississippian art is not limited to the Southeast and reflects stylistic changes over time among several linked but distinct religious traditions. The term Mississippian Iconographic Interaction Sphere (MIIS) more adequately describes the corpus of this Mississippian art. Most important, the authors illustrate the overarching nature of the ancient Native American religious system, as a creation unique to the native American cultures of the eastern United States.

The last volume in a trilogy, following The shards of heaven, and The gates of hell.