Bøger af Daniel Schinhofen

Doc left Furden behind after six months in the capital of the Coalrud Territory. A lot had happened in that time span- there'd been a lot of new business deals, personal accomplishments, and Doc made great strides toward bringing the name of Luck to the world. He'd made a solid ally with David Roquefell, who helped him set the stage for equality in Furden. Their friendship had led to something even greater: David became the Voice of Trade. Now, there were two goddesses working together to drive the Darkness from the world. David went on to secure business that would empower the two of them, allowing them to make a stand for their goddesses in the future. His plans centered on Doc's knowledge from Earth, which included the telephone, the telegraph, and several other new, innovative ideas. Besides that, David would work on gaining the ear of the congressional leaders so they could have political backing later. Not everything went smoothly in Furden. Doc made an enemy of Michael Strongarm, a wealthy businessman tied heavily to Western Expansion, the company behind the telegraph and mail delivery for the nation. Their conflict came to a head with a duel on Boxing Day, with Doc using his gifts from Luck to best the arrogant man. Beating Strongarm raised the morale of the bestials and the downtrodden of Furden to new heights. With new homes in a community devoted to equality named Aurora, the formerly-oppressed peoples knew hope for the first time in their lives. It was a trend that Doc had started in Deep Gulch and seemed determined on continuing. Even on the high note after the duel, Doc knew that staying in Furden would be dangerous. The church wouldn't ignore him forever, and he had more work to do. Despite knowing that, he found it difficult to leave- Fiala had asked to stay in Furden so she could work on the burgeoning makeup business she'd started, but also to have their child. When it came time to leave, his heart ached. Staying would endanger her, their unborn child, him, and everything he was working toward. He accepted the hard path, leaving his beloved first wife behind to go west. On the train leaving Furden, he came to a decision: he had mines to set up in Vedana, and even all the way up into Kanata, though it would take the dwarven clans and elven tribes coming together to make that happen. His goal was to unite the west into a place where everyone was equal. Two things could make a huge difference if the church of Apoc ever came for him; communication and transportation. With David working on communication, Doc made plans to control transportation, all while working on ensuring they had the money to pull it off. His rail-laid plans would hinge on his trip west. It might all crumble down in ruin, but he had faith. After all, he was beloved by Lady Luck.

Sean had long waited for his chance to avenge his friends from Oakwood- when the time finally came, it was with several unlikely allies: High Lady Minerva Queensblood, who felt her family owed Sean for helping her son, Commander Queensblood. Advisor Mackenzie Earthfoot, who had to walk a thin line to not favor Sean too much, lest she earn the Queens' ire.With his friends and allies, Sean time and again thwarted Lord Truestrike and his minions. He even befriended his daughter, Dame Trisha Truestrike, giving her hope that she might one day see Darragh again. It was when Sean brought down the Greater Vampire, Luka, that High Lady Queensblood pushed for the duel Sean had long sought.During the duel, Truestrike's treachery was revealed when he summoned a Life Bonded dragon to kill Sean. Sean almost died a few times, but even a dragon bowed before him at the end. Ironically, it wasn't Sean who finally killed Lord Truestrike. No, it was Trisha, who slew her father to avenge her lover, Darragh.With Lord Truestrike's death, Trisha was destined to take over the Truestrike House and have her son returned to her from her father's grasp. That ended in tragedy, as the spoiled brat struck her down for 'stealing his birthright.' His reign only lasted as long as it took the guard to remove his head from his shoulders.But more bad news was waiting- the scribes had sent messages to the Queens. Both Winter and Summer were coming, and Sean wouldn't be able to avoid them. That put him on the clock to pull off what the stories had said he would do: find the Huntsman.To manage that, he'd need to figure out how to open a portal back to Earth. If he did, Sean would likely find an old enemy waiting for him; Thor hadn't forgotten the slights against his name, and he wanted revenge.Time was ticking away, and Sean had to work fast. His wives, especially Fiona, were counting on him. Sean had never backed down from a challenge, and he wasn't about to start now. He'd either figure out how to create a portal, or he'd end up facing the Queens on less than diplomatic terms.

With their initiate year over, the Pettit family dispersed to their separate adept postings: Jenn would be on the border with Krogga, defending against incursions. Yukiko was to patrol near Alturis, giving her the chance to see Gregory's home and childhood friends. Mindy was going back to Grackle to help their younger friends with their troop training. Gregory was headed off to the far northern end of the empire, going to what was known as the most dangerous patrol for an adept magi. Gregory was sure that Sage Laozi Windfoot had set his posting there to make sure no one said he'd played favorites, but it made him worry for his men- it would take months to get to the town of Coldwood, and his year wouldn't begin until he relieved the current adept. That would make it closer to a year and a half before his family could gather together in Krogga. To get there, Gregory would need to use his foresight and knowledge to survive. It wasn't just the bane beasts that would make the post dangerous, but the eurtik who lived in the north, too. The free eurtik were hunted by slavers, but were also known to attack slavers and magi guard units alike to try to free their kin. If that wasn't enough, Gregory would also need to play politics while in the twin towns of Coldwood and Icelake. Both had magus-tier magi posted to them, as incursions of eurtik and bane beasts were common. They were probably the worst kind of magi: those who loved eurtik slaves, or would willingly profit off helping the slavers. Gregory would need to make hard choices for his adept year. What would he let happen around him while posted to the most dangerous part of the empire? Was it better to turn a blind eye to get by as easily as possible, or would he stand in the way of the powerful people there?

Finally settled into Accord, Sean's work had barely begun. The plan was to take away Lord Truestrike's powerbase, then move against him, with Hallie working to strengthen their ties with the nobility. Sean knew better than to get involved with that side of things, knowing he'd just say the wrong things to the wrong people. While Hallie worked on alliances, Sean focused on healing, bringing the conflict with Truestrike to the fore- the Lord tried to use his influence to push Sean out of the healing guild. The attempt failed spectacularly, as not only was Sean not thrown out, he ended with the majority of the guild siding with him. Having the healers behind him helped Sean do more. Truestrike's plots to injure the city guard kept being thwarted, and with the healers on his side, Sean was able to save the majors being targeted. His actions in stopping every attempt to destabilize the guards earned him goodwill with Commander Queensblood. Beyond helping the guard, Sean also enforced a broken Agreement, bringing him before Advisor Mackenzie Earthfoot. He was meant to explain why he'd cost a noble his hand, but Sean did what he always did: he proved his innocence by helping someone. Giving Mackenzie her foot back put her into debt to him, giving him powerful allies just as the gala began. The gala was a night of politics. Sean healed those his friends brought him to and tried to not react when he finally met Truestrike. The conflict that happened wasn't with Lord Truestrike, but his daughter, Trisha. After asking Sean for a dance, the Dame accused Sean of killing Darragh back in Oakwood, then shoved him and stormed off the dance floor. With the gala over, Sean wondered what was going to happen next. He'd made more allies, been recognized before all of society by the Advisor, and his clash with Truestrike was known. The only thing he was sure of was that the Queens would learn about him, and now, his time was running out before they came to Accord.

Doc left Deep Gulch behind him, setting out to Furden to continue spreading Luck's name. The trip to the capital of Coalrud gave him yet another opportunity to use his knowledge to start new business ventures. While the hot springs would take time to prepare- Doc had a vision for it becoming a tourist destination- that was far from the last thing he'd get involved in during his stay. The city had allies to make, the most notable being David Roquefell, whose family used to worship the Goddess of trade. The wealthy man quickly became a close associate and friend to Doc and his family. Together, Doc spun out other ways to make money, knowing he'd need them in the future. Along with Roquefell, Doc tied himself to the Ironbeard dwarven clan that made Furden their home. Becoming their shaman wasn't difficult, even with one of the older elders being uncertain of Doc's ideas. It wasn't all an easy, happy time for Doc, though- Furden also had its unsavory people. The sheriff, Donadin, was all too happy to take bribes, but wasn't as blatantly corrupt as Grange had been. Michael Strongarm, a local businessman, held a majority of the river property, using them as slums. It was clear that Strongarm thought little to nothing of the bestials that lived there. That grated on Doc, setting the two men up for a coming conflict. The most worrisome person there was the soulsmith, Richard Steward. Steward had been a little too eager to get his hands on soul stones for his own purposes. Doc found that the twisted man was using them to control the bestial women of the Iniquitous Den, taking away their freewill. That put the two men on a collision course that was coming quickly. With plans in the works with his allies and enemies aiming to remove him, Doc knew the future would be uncertain. Even if things turned deadly, Doc would keep pressing on, and even if the road became difficult, he'd keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Everything had changed for Zander Greaves over the last few weeks. He'd gone from being a private military contractor with his squad in the Middle East to being isekai-ed into a different multiverse. He lost his friends and his lover, Selda, in the same hour of his arrival, sparking in him the mission to kill every single Entoma he could to repay them for his loss. Luckily, an alien named Crish arrived to help Zander adjust to his new reality. His first few days were a chaotic mess as he tried to adapt, but it was his first day on board the ship Fractured Dreams that Zander discovered what his new life would be. He was one of the lucky one-in-ten-thousand: a person whose body accepted an AI of Antecedent technology. His AI, however, was special, taking on the memories and persona of his former lover, Selda Engel. With Crish's and AI Selda's help, Zander came up with a mad plan to displace the pilot leader, Shivatin the Rakshasa, and take over that position. He had experience staying alive as a mercenary, and used that to forge the fractured crew into a new, cohesive whole. As he was finally taking on the mantle of leader, Shivatin led a mutiny to take the ship from the captain and to kill Zander. The Rakshasa had no clue what he'd unleashed in doing so; Zander led his new team in a repelling action, killing the invading boarders, then pushing on to the bridge to take out Shivatin. Veldiami, the captain of Fractured Dreams, took it one step further, boarding the other ship that helped in the mutiny to claim as salvage. It only took killing four- including the ship's captain- to secure it as loot. Left on the other ship, the Righteous, to guide it to the nearest galactic hub, Zander made a deal with the remaining crew. They used the FTL drive to reach the hub that day, meaning Zander would find himself alone on MX Hub for two days before Fractured Dreams and her crew arrived. What trouble could a Human- completely out of his depth in a new universe and on an alien space station- get into before his crewmates arrived?

Things had changed a lot over the last few months for Pawsitively Irregular: Stern had proposed to his lovers, Trish and Cyra, who'd eagerly accepted. That prompted Cammie to stop stalling and admit her own feelings, leading to their new dynamic in a larger relationship. Stern set plans for their wedding, hoping that his fiancées would accept them. But that relationship wasn't the only one in their crew. They'd met and brought in the angelic, Jon Benderson, and his irregular wife, Nicole. The husband and wife had dealt with many of the same problems that Stern had, as her perk required that she keep her face covered by a mask all the time. Now a full crew, the six of them delved dungeon after dungeon together. Their joy over finally having a full crew was tempered by prejudice and hatred- a group of Walkers led by a couple of bigots raised their ugly heads. The two crews had a few minor clashes, leading to the antagonistic group being ejected from a city, further increasing the hatred between them. Stern and his friends didn't let that stop them from finding their own happiness. In the city of Blackwood, Stern's family had arrived and held a wedding for their son. It was then that people came to know that Stern was the son of legendary Walker Seamus Masterson, head of Darkhand and the lead crew of Rescue Squad. Stern found himself bemused to end up much like his father: a summoner of many perks, married to three lovely women. They enjoyed their extended honeymoon in Blackwood, but the time for pressing on again was coming fast. Nicole was still hoping to find her perk to be able to take her mask off, and Stern was beginning to doubt his initial goal to push through all the dungeons, no longer feeling like he had to speak to the Goddess. What would happen to the crew when they finally left Blackwood and continued being Walkers?

Every year, the empire administers the rite of passage into adulthood. That rite serves to identify those blessed by Aether to become magi. The new magi are shipped to the academy to learn the arts of magic.The academy is a dangerous place; the tournaments held twice each year can cripple or kill the students, and the clans of the empire will go to great lengths to recruit the students they want. Gregory had one dream: to become a magi like the legends of old. Though he was ridiculed by the residents of the village and his unsupportive father, he never wavered from his dream. Would his age day bring the fruition of his dreams, or would reality come crashing down on him?

Alvin and his wives had been busy over the last few weeks. They'd gone out of their way to visit settlements they'd helped in the past, all while killing a string of mini-bosses across what had been the American west. Life looked good for Team Asshole... until the devs made a mistake. Without any warning, Sammi stopped showing up. At first, they brushed it off as her being too busy, or maybe in trouble. That changed when a new dev showed up and tried to assert his dominance. That man was killed twice- first by Alvin blowing his head off his shoulders, then by Mousie running him through with both of her swords. With the gloves off, Team Asshole started breaking things they'd left alone. They circumvented rules left and right, cheated fast travel, and did everything else they could. A third dev appeared and pleaded for a chance to explain. Sammi hadn't been fired, they were told. Instead, there was an unexpected development- Sammi was the first alpha tester. Now that they knew their friend was fine- and might even join them soon- Alvin and his wives backed off their shenanigans to give the new dev, Renato, a chance. It wasn't long after that that they received a message from Sammi. She was in New Orleans, stuck in the Superdome with a Loa named Erzulie, and she needed their help. With no hesitation, they loaded up their helicopter, Sky Blade, and set off to rescue Sammi and those with her. After barely pulling off the rescue of Sammi and half a dozen other women, Team Asshole returned to their base. In the aftermath, Sammi joined Team Asshole fully, accepted as another wife by Alvin and with Gothy's enthusiastic approval.

Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn were thrilled- not only had they won their first apprentice tournament, their friends finally joined them in Aether's Guard. Daciana, Nessa, and Victoria were only halfway through their novice year, but had made an impact during their novice tournament.Besides the three novices, more friends joined their clan: Ling and Clover. They'd studied hard and were eager to prove that they could help, too. It wasn't long before they had their chance, as the tactics tournament was held right after the winter solstice. The games proved the determination and resourcefulness of everyone in the group. The final game used tactics that Ling and Clover put forward, propelling them to the win.As the year drew to an end, it was time for Gregory and his growing inner circle to say farewell. Parting with the children was hard for all of them. Not only were Gregory and his wives leaving, but so was Elsa- Yukiko's parents were going to take her in, training her to be a maid.When the day finally came for Gregory and the Aether's Guard magi to leave for Buldoun, they said a final farewell to their novice clanmates, then followed Lightshield to the academy gates for a grand send off. They wouldn't be back for years, and Gregory felt a bit of melancholy as he considered all that had happened in the two years he'd been at the academy.What would Buldoun hold for Gregory, his wives, and their friends? Even Gregory, with his foresight, couldn't see what the future held, but he had a feeling that important events would unfold during the tournament.

Sean had been through something close to hell- he'd taken out Klein Denmur and Knight Evan Sharpeyes, along with a few of Lord Truestrike's servants, but Chastity and Lilly died on the fields outside the city. At the end of that battle, he claimed Helga Helsdottir, Soul Bonding her and renaming her Helga Oathsworn. With a Valkyrie by his side, Sean hoped never to lose another loved one to death.His enemies were far from done with him, however. Attacks on the association and their families started, claiming lives and hurting Sean's friends. Finished with just trying to live his life, Sean made plans to take on his enemies directly.The turning point came when Sean confronted Denmur and his group outside the Golden Lion. Helga struck down Denmur's champion, Knight Mithrilarm, during the ensuing duel, causing Denmur to snap. The fight left Denmur, plus dozens of others, dead.Even that wasn't the end- the corrupt guards in Lord Sharpeyes' pay arrested Sean and Helga. As they were brought before Magister Amuret, Sean discovered just how far he'd pushed his enemies when he was attacked and killed in the courtroom.Death could not stop Sean while he had energy to invoke his gifts from the Tuatha. Pushing death away, Sean got back to his feet and killed the guards and magistrate who had tried to murder him. He was brought before the unusually reasonable chief magistrate, who found Sean innocent of any wrongdoing.Sean's Bond with Helga gave him access to new planes, including the Bog. That was where the souls of Sean's foes now went if they died while in combat with him. In an effort to find out more about who was directing the attacks against him, Sean paid a visit to the dead in the Bog. He was determined to end the troubles facing him, even if it meant finding a Noble Solution.

Gregory's life changed when his aether sparked to life during the Age Day ritual. He left his old friends and his old life behind, and was taken to the Magi Academy to start training to serve the Vela Empire. Suddenly alone and out of place, he prepared for the worst. When the beautiful novice, Yukiko Warlin, asked if they could be friends, his life changed again. After six months of duplicity from the people who they had thought of as friends, Gregory and Yukiko isolated themselves from all the other novices. Gregory chose a path considered impossible for his training, and Yukiko followed, pushing each other to strive ever harder. When Yukiko's betrothal was annulled, the two friends were free to express the deeper feelings that had developed between them. The first tournament for the novices was brutal on the two young lovers. Both of them were pushed to the absolute limit, but they endured. When they took the top two spots, their fellow novices dropped the pretense of friendship, when neither would bow to the machinations of their peers. Now, the rest of their first year stands before them. It's become clear that they should join a clan, but where can they find one that would treat them both fairly and equally?

Gregory was beyond happy when his second year in the Magi Academy began. Now married to both Yukiko and Jenn, Gregory had more love than he ever thought he'd find. It was also a time for friends. Daciana and Nessa, their novice friends, found another in Victoria, who also quickly became close with Gregory and his wives. Gregory found still more friends in Clover and Ling, two clanless apprentices who shared his tactics subgroup. The eurtik-blooded magi were earnest and eager to learn, so they were quickly taken under the Aether's Guard apprentices' wings. With so many friends around him, Gregory felt the year was bright. The hatred of the Eternal Flame still pressed down on them- although the clan seemed strangely quiet during the first half of the year, the threat of violence was still there. The friends trained hard to fight as a unit, intent on being the champions to raise the clan's name and reputation. The first tournament of the year came quickly, with a few surprises. The biggest was because of the merchant, Carlisle, belittling eurtiks. Hao Warlin suckered him into a bet that grew and grew until the merchant lost a massive amount of money. Hao took it gladly, using it to purchase gifts for Daciana, Nessa, and Victoria. Those items allowed the three novices to not only survive the remainder of the tournament, but also to emerge as the victors. Gregory and his wives fought honorably and hard to advance to the finals, where their last fight was against the Eternal Flame. With their rigorous training and communication, they managed to defeat the arrogant clan, letting them stand alongside their novice friends as champions. The excitement of being the champions wasn't the happiest part of their year, though. That came after the tournament, when all five of their friends- Nessa, Daciana, Victoria, Clover, and Ling- joined Aether's Guard. The apprentices weren't done yet, as they had other major events ahead of them. The tournament for their tactics class was first and, beyond that, the tournament against Buldoun.

Since Lady Luck had sent Doc to this weird, western world, a lot had happened. It started in Deep Gulch, a small mining town in what he would have called Colorado if he'd been on Earth. Doc hit the ground running, making enemies and friends from his very first day. With Luck beside him, Doc went to work improving the lives of those he counted as friends. Despite his enemies having both money and power, in the end Doc was the last one standing. When the dust settled, Deep Gulch was well on its way to becoming a beacon of progressiveness in the west. Before leaving the town of Deep Gulch, Doc found himself facing some difficult decisions; the most difficult was leaving behind potential children, just in case the worst happened and he died. If those children were born, they would give Luck the chance to continue freeing the world from the Darkness trying to kill it. His second decision was to ordain his near-adopted daughter, Posy, as a priestess of Luck. As a gift from the goddess, she gained the power to heal. Doc knew that she would be a bright point of hope in the town. The future was mostly unknown, but he had a destination to start with: Furden, the capital of the Coalrud territory. Getting there would also allow him to marry Sophia. She'd been a key part of his success in Deep Gulch, and he was looking forward to her joining their family. What would happen in Furden and the plans for what would come after were unknown, but Doc has Luck behind him, his family beside him, and a world that needs saving.

Life had gotten both better and more chaotic for Doc- he'd already been happy with Fiala and Sonya as his wives, but then Ayla and Lia joined his family. To top it off, he collared the willing dryad, Rosa. With five wives at his side, Doc had a full house of love. He was still in the town of Deep Gulch, needing to achieve the mission Luck had given him. When Sheriff Grange killed Mayor Goodman, it removed the least of Doc's troubles while showing that Grange was clearly a problem. Even with the Mayor out of the way, there was still plenty to take care of. The first annual poker tournament at the Lily was coming up. The cardsharp, Mr. Suez, was one of Doc's biggest roadblocks to freeing the town. He had a plan for him, but it would be a gamble... luckily, his patron goddess was Lady Luck. Even if he dealt with Suez, Doc would have to handle Grange as well. The sheriff wanted him gone so he could move on Lia. On top of that, the Church of Apoc was still a threat. In Deep Gulch, that meant Adam McIan, Preacher of Apoc, would have to be removed. Doc had managed to lie to and placate the preacher, but he knew it would come to a head soon. With all the troubles building, a dangerous gamble would have to be made. Doc knew he had allies of his own- some of the townsfolk; the Oresmelter clan in town; and of course, his lovely and talented wives. Trusting in his goddess, Doc embarked on his plan to rid Deep Gulch of the Darkness.

Since starting a crew- and a relationship- with Cyra and Trish, Stern was hopeful... and nervous. They'd officially registered their crew, Pawsitively Irregular, with their icon depicting a polydactyl cat's paw.Leaving Darkstone behind, they arrived in Waterrock, settling in to find more crew members. A lucky encounter introduced them to Cammie and Vulk, dwarven siblings. The two were hesitant, but agreed to a trial run through the local dungeon. That first run went well, and Cammie and Vulk signed on permanently with Stern's crew; however, the camaraderie was a little lacking, so they spent time in the city, training and getting to know one another.By the time they'd reached the town of Whitewater, they'd started to gel as a unit both inside and out of the dungeons. During their time together, Cammie and Vulk admitted that they were running dungeons to save their mother, who had been fractured when they were children.It was after a night out that Vulk met his future wife... and an old enemy came back into Stern's life. Victor Bloodcoin hadn't forgiven Stern for his son's death and, by using Vulk as a hostage, the old mayor forced a confrontation. Once the dust settled, Victor was dead, Vulk had been freed, and Stern had a goal: calling on his family, he had the dwarves' mother retrieved and reborn, then brought her to the city. The happy reunion allowed Vulk and his lover to settle down and marry.Cammie stayed on even though her brother had given up running, and the crew headed north toward Mistwood. The writing was nearly on the wall, and emotions were running high. They needed to find more crew members and see how that would affect them- they'd find out when they reached the next city.