In this epic fantasy adventure debut, a young mage unknowingly becomes a pawn in a dangerous plot to obtain forbidden magic. Primidia is a land steeped in ancient history and filled with exotic races. Within these lands is a powerful force known as the Aether . . . Wizards, spellblades, and other adepts spend their days studying the Aether at the Arcane Academy, also known as the Azure Towers. The Overmage Delsimar Pheric is the leader of the academy. His secret machinations use the school’s resources to help him search for a lost reliquary of forbidden magics known as the Vault of Sages. Delsimar will stop at nothing to attain such ultimate power. In this school of higher arcane learning, the student Jhona Kroenen stands out as an intellectual savant. Unwittingly set on a path by Delsimar to find the Vault, he is soon surrounded by secrets and plots made by many powerful—and sometimes unseen—enemies. Will his power be enough to stop the Vault from being opened and save them from the darkness-before it devours them all?

The Outcastia Campaign Setting Adventurer's Handbook is for tabletop gamers that want to add some more flavor to their d20 (version 3.5) campaigns. Every adventurer about to go out into the world to make his mark needs something to help in his quest for greatness and this revison of the accessory will help you in that endeavor. Inside this second revision of the Adventurer's Handbook you will find updated descriptions for many things to liven up your d20 gaming experience. It has been edited and revamped from top to bottom to adhere to d20 3.5 rules more efficiently. Among the entries offered to you are: Many races, including a slew of new half-breeds, Updated and interesting player classes, lots of updated spells and a few new schools of interest, equipment, weapons, and armor to fill your backpack, some Prestige Classes to amaze you, and much more in this almost 200 page volume. Don't go out into the adventuring world ill-equipped. Grab your Adventurer's Handbook and trek out into the unknown prepared

Old Testament prophecy and wisdom are two of the main themes with which Norman Whybray, formerly of the University of Hull, has concerned himself in his highly productive and innovative scholarly career. In honour of his seventieth birthday,a distinguished international group of scholars have expressed their personal and professional admiration for him with essays that Are particularly rich And significant. The roll-call of contributors reads: Brenner, Brueggemann, Cazelles, Clements, Clines, Coggins, Crenshaw, Eaton, Gelston, Gordon, Goulder, Grabbe, Jeppersen, Knibb, Mayes, Mettinger, Soggin and Williamson.

The path of wisdom from Solomon to Jesus and from Jesus to the churchIn the early Jesus movement, wisdom in the person of Jesus was believed to have returned to heaven, exalted to the right hand of God, and to reign from there. But Jesus as wisdom had left both his legacy and his influence behind. The sayings of Jesus recorded in the Gospels reflect not only the influence of the Israelite wisdom traditions, but also the tradition of the personification of wisdom.In this provocative volume newly available in paperback, Ben Witherington provides both an introduction to Israel's wisdom traditions and insight into how Jesus and his sayings fit in that tradition. Beyond this, he demonstrates the on-going significance and influence of these traditions on other New Testament writings. He concludes that Jesus may be viewed primarily as a prophetic sage emphasizing instruction, insight, and humor in a vein counter to the dominant culture.

In this fresh, accessible, and beautifully illustrated book, his third to examine an aspect of Roman visual culture, John R. Clarke explores the question, "What made Romans laugh?" Looking at Laughter examines a heterogeneous corpus of visual material, from the crudely obscene to the exquisitely sophisticated and from the playful to the deadly serious—everything from street theater to erudite paintings parodying the emperor. Nine chapters, organized under the rubrics of Visual Humor, Social Humor, and Sexual Humor, analyze a wide range of visual art, including wall painting, sculpture, mosaics, and ceramics. Archaeological sites, as well as a range of ancient texts, inscriptions, and graffiti, provide the background for understanding the how and why of humorous imagery. This entertaining study offers fascinating insights into the mentality of Roman patrons and viewers who enjoyed laughing at the gods, the powers-that-be, and themselves.