Delver Magic Series

Ryson Acumen battles frustration and fatigue as another struggle unfolds before him. A growing conflict threatens to engulf Uton from the western shores to the eastern plains. Illusions abound after the magic from an erratic sorceress alters the corridors of life and death, and the delver faces internal doubts as well as horrific monsters. A treacherous creation first hunts the dark creatures of a nightmare realm, but the danger quickly falls back upon Uton. Forced to choose between divergent paths, Ryson must rely on others to defend the person he cares about the most. He can only hope his friends are able to defeat a new menace that revives old fears. While the delver ventures into the Lacobian Desert, cliff behemoths vow to protect his wife, Linda, just as the elf guard, Holli Brances, leads spell casters against an unknown and dangerous foe in the abandoned town of Pinesway. Even the powerful wizard, Enin, enters the clash in hopes of ending the conflict before too many lives are lost. It is ultimately up to Ryson Acumen to defeat his inner demons and to find the answers that will save Uton and all its inhabitants.

The Sphere of Ingar has been destroyed, but a growing wind of rebellion leads to a new threat. The dwarf queen, Yave, declares war on the algors. Ryson Acumen attempts to intervene as the algors fight for their very existence and the elves threaten to unleash their own weapon of sheer terror. The overriding need that brought the races together is gone, and the land of Uton fractures into chaos.

A rolling tremor passes through the land of Uton signaling a return of long absent magic as well as an ancient evil that accompanies it. Ryson Acumen, purebred delver, senses the changes and begins his explorations to discover the source behind the upheaval. In his investigations, he learns that legends he considered fables hold more truth than fantasy. The delver encounters elves and learns the Sphere of Ingar, a talisman that captured all magical energies long ago, is free from its tomb in Sanctum Mountain. As violent, evil creatures return to shred the very fabric of reality, the sphere gains awareness and chooses to spew corrupted magical energies to obliterate all life. The sphere must be destroyed, but it rests within Sanctum, a hollow mountain with a single path to its center. The way to the sphere remains defended by devices created long ago, forged by members of each race to thwart entry to the mountain's core. Those that wish to defeat the sphere must not only overcome these barriers, they must conquer the mistrust which has flourished during the long period of separation. Human, elf, dwarf, algor and delver must reunite to defeat the obstacles that now protect the sphere. Once inside Sanctum, representatives of each race face the secrets of the ages that once undone will change their lives forever.

The western cites of Uton are overwhelmed by a massive exodus from the Great Valleys. Pressed from their homes by a growing distress, humans flee across the central plains in hopes of finding refuge from the suffocating fear that swells with each passing day. As the wizard Enin tries to maintain control in Connel, he works with dwarves and humans to quell the growing crisis. He sends Ryson Acumen along with Holli Brances to investigate the strange occurrences reported by the displaced farmers and merchants. While exploring the eastern valleys, the delver and the elf uncover bizarre circumstances that contradict their understanding of rational behavior. Each mysterious revelation adds to an ever expanding puzzle. Goblins have infested the cities and the farmlands, but not by force. With the consent of local authorities, dark creatures inundate the eastern lands, taking ownership of farms and claiming residence within human towns without outward conflict or apparent treachery. As humans and goblins are forced to coexist throughout the region, order is enforced by half-demons, but a tense apprehension grips the citizens of nearly every village and city. Many decide to escape the valleys. Farmers abandon their fields and merchants leave their shops. The flow of refugees grows, putting a greater strain on the western towns of Connel and Burbon. Ryson and Holli continue their search for answers only to meet with opposition from local councils, town guards, and a powerful regional steward. They struggle against goblins and half-demons and even attempt to enlist the aid of dwarves from the underground city of Sterling. Throughout their efforts, goblins continue to pour into the valleys just as more humans abandon their homes. A twisted plan of deceit gradually takes shape as Ryson and Holli follow a chain of bargains meant not only to remove all the people from the valleys, but to destroy the entire human race.

Pure Choice is the sixth book in the Delver Magic Series and Ryson Acumen faces his most personal struggle. His hometown of Burbon is attacked by river rogues and goblins. While fighting off the dark creatures, his deeply held beliefs create a conflict with Burbon's Captain of the Guard, Sy Fenden. An argument leads to a fracture in their friendship, and the delver must choose a new direction in offering his services to Uton. Ryson's troubles are quickly compounded by a mystifying encounter with his wife, Linda. Her immunity to magic leads to a surprising discovery just as it attracts the attention of creatures with malicious intentions. With personal difficulties mounting, the delver places his focus on the disappearance of elves from Dark Spruce Forest. Allies of the delver become aware of the growing turmoil. Holli, Jure and Enin assist Ryson in his investigations and help bring order and direction to the chaotic situation. The perilous events merge into one decisive encounter with a powerful sorcerer and pure magical energy. Ryson and his friends come together in a realm of darkness to fulfill their purpose in a larger clash influenced by the choices of each individual.

Utilizing pure magic to overcome their treacherous nature, six serps form a council bent on obliterating peace and order across the land. They merge their manipulative abilities into a powerful force and develop a complex plot focused on raising tensions between the races. The mayhem begins with an ominous and grisly message. Captain Sy Fenden and Ryson Acumen immediately recognize the handiwork of the abnormally large goblin, Okyiq. The ghastly display, however, serves a much larger purpose for serp manipulation and launches a series of cascading calamities meant to envelop the entire region of Dark Spruce Forest. Great magical spells and horrific monsters crash down upon Uton in waves, causing great pain and tragedy. Demons terrorize humans and dwarves, even as Okyiq leads an army of goblins, shags, and bloat spiders through Dark Spruce Forest. Every misfortune is designed to foster fear and instability, and a war between the races seems like an impending certainty. Recognizing the sweeping influence of the serps, the protectors of Uton work toward defusing the crisis. Holli and Enin hope to stave off catastrophe while avoiding direct confrontation with the serp council. Jure joins with Ryson to take a more direct approach to bring peace between the races, but it's the delver who discovers that the only way to match the serps' influence is to move faster than they can scheme.

The Sword of Decree places horrific images in the mind of Ryson Acumen. Unable to determine the exact cause or extent of the potential disasters, he decides to investigate the history of the blade and the origins of its enchantment. Placing his hopes upon the power of transformation contained within ebony energy, Ryson seeks out a powerful sorceress capable of utilizing black magic beyond any other known spell caster. While attempting to examine the origin of the blade, the sorceress discovers a powerful influence linked directly to the delver. Following his instincts, Ryson travels to Dark Spruce Forest and then the underground dwarf caverns. Desperately searching for the means to prevent the visions from becoming reality, the delver confronts the elves regarding the significance of elflore. He works feverishly to develop the proper protections for the dwarf city of Dunop. Through his struggles, he discovers that his fate cannot be altered. He must look beyond the potential hardships and find a deeper meaning within the visions. He must accept his destined role in preventing total devastation even if it means facing personal tragedy.

Ryson Acumen is shown a secret caught within the history of the Sword of Decree. Unable to restrain his curiosity, he explores Dark Spruce Forest in hopes of finding additional clues regarding the mystery of the blade's enchantment. While he is gone, an army of goblins enters the land of Uton and threatens his home. When he returns from the forest, he realizes the secret of the sword was nothing more than an illusion meant to distract him. The treachery runs deep and jeopardizes more than just his life. The entire scheme is focused on destroying all hope across the land. His friends are threatened, and even the spirit of Sy Fenden faces absolute destruction. Realizing that escape is impossible, Ryson turns to an unexpected guardian and forces a confrontation with the spell caster who orchestrated the deception.

In the early morning hours, Ryson Acumen discovers his hometown is surrounded by elves. As roads are blocked and merchants harassed, it appears the town of Burbon is under siege. A swell of energy cascades over the village and creates a magical barrier which prevents any escape. The people of Burbon are trapped. When the town is completely isolated, the elves finally make their intentions clear. They demand the return of elf essence which is being held within the human wizard Jure. When the wizard refuses to release the energy, the elves vow to employ any means necessary to regain what they insist is rightfully theirs. Hoping to evade the elves, Jure enlists the help of the delver for a daring escape into the dark realm. Ryson utilizes his unique talents to conceal their trail. With speed, deception, and even magic, the delver manages to stay ahead of the persistent elves. As a costly confrontation draws near, Ryson and Jure attempt to find the one possible solution which will allow the wizard to retain his connection to the elf essence and to honor his memories of the past.

When Ryson Acumen discovers gaps in the magical flows around Uton, he begins his search for a magic caster capable of capturing the echoes of past spells. As he follows the trail through Dark Spruce Forest, the delver is inundated with conflicting messages caught without the exposed magic. He encounters spell casters, dark creatures, elves and demons. As his quest grows more complex, he begins to sense the corruption of the demon lord. Within Demonsheol, Rul Saattan takes the drastic step of separating himself from his realm. The beast allows a vengeful wizard to take control of events in Demonsheol. The chaos which ensues threatens to shatter the bonds of destiny and break existence into ripples of torment. Ryson realizes he must enter the demon breeding grounds for one last confrontation with Rul Saattan. If the delver fails, the barriers around Demonsheol will fall and all of reality will face the brutal tyranny of the demon lord.

Reiculf, the daokiln and ruler of Demonspawn, lusts for chaos and destruction, but the beast has always been barred from leaving his domain. Once a key enters his realm, the demon lord breaks free to spread fire, pestilence, and death throughout Uton. Manipulations of magic allow the fiend to force his energy into unwilling hosts, and the daokiln moves cunningly to overcome any obstacle which confines his ability to generate pain and destruction. Demons follow the will of their master, and calamity spreads through the gray curtains of Demonspawn. The guardians of Uton quickly learn of the monster's invasion into their land. As Ryson Acumen joins with both friends and adversaries to battle the encroaching evil, the delver struggles to comprehend the workings of demon magic. The elves of Dark Spruce Forest face the initial brunt of Reiculf's fury, but the daokiln quickly turns his rage upon the human towns of Burbon and Connel. Ryson and his allies fight against every imaginable horror as the full wrath of wickedness is unleashed against their homeland. The path to a final conflict is lined with both misfortune and treachery. Misery deepens as the daokiln's vicious attacks grow darker, but just as a key arrived in Demonspawn to set the demon lord free, a beacon of hope arrives in Uton to guide the delver to a greater understanding of his own existence. As he unveils the darker secrets of his foe, Ryson must look beyond the shadows of evil to find a way to defeat Reiculf and save his family and friends.

Ryson Acumen finds that his time of service to the land of Uton is not yet complete. Together with Holli Brances and Lief Woodson, they must work together once more to end a growing threat and to meet their own undeniable destinies. It is not without loss or sacrifice as they struggle to battle grotesque forces of malevolence. Enemies once forgotten return to hold sway over each ensuing conflict.

As a purebred delver, Ryson Acumen instinctively senses changes in the land of Uton. The alterations, however, are not limited to the delver's realm. In the breeding grounds of Demonsheol, the master of all demons has forged an altered existence, and the transformation threatens the standing of demon overlords. Primevals once obedient to their master begin to consider thoughts of rebellion. When Ryson learns a demon taskmaster has arrived in Uton, he sets out to find the beast, but his pursuit is delayed by a crisis with even greater consequences. In Dark Spruce Forest, a seemingly innocent experiment turns into tragedy. The elf camp is thrown into chaos, and the wizard Jure falls into a state of absolute despair. The delver must help Jure, stabilize the elf camp, and deal with a renegade primeval. When Ryson finally faces the demon, he discovers that far more is at stake than any territorial claim. The delver must find a way to pacify the renegade and overcome the lord of all demons. He struggles in a vicious battle only to realize that certain decisions are beyond his influence. In hoping to save the land, as well as his own conscience, he discovers the one possible solution is also a path to deliverance.

Ryson Acumen reflects on his past encounter with Reiculf, the lord of all demons, as he considers the overwhelming significance of witnessing his own soul. Upon returning to Uton, the delver's unquenchable curiosity blossoms, and Ryson begins a new quest to understand the spiritual mystery which takes substance in his mind. As he begins a journey to appreciate the depth of his inner essence, he meets an old adversary on a quest of his own. During the battle with Reiculf, Neltus lost his magical core. Without it, he is unable to embrace the crimson energy. Unwilling to exist as a coreless wizard, Neltus forges a path to regain what was taken from him. Without the delver's knowledge, he joins forces with creatures of far more wicked intent. From the desert to the western shores, Neltus leads Ryson through twisted passages of betrayal. Foes from the past combine forces to threaten every level of existence, and Ryson Acumen is forced to face a warped menace in a new realm of deceit. In one devastating wave of upheaval, demons are freed from the restrictions which held them within their breeding grounds. Colossal fiends capable of destroying entire cities are unleashed on the land, and the delver faces a whirlwind of treachery as he stumbles from one disaster to another. While the threats to Uton continue to grow, Ryson takes control of the battle and brings the fight back to the demons' breeding grounds. Returning his focus to his initial quest, Ryson breaks through new barriers and allows a growing enlightenment of his spiritual essence to guide him against his enemies. A new perspective of the soul offers the one path which may allow him to defeat the devious menace and save all of Uton.

Caught in a conflict between realms of suffering and oblivion, Ryson Acumen and his wife, Linda, battle against a surge of demonic brutality. The barriers surrounding Demonsheol have fallen and rebellion explodes across the lands of vengeance and hatred. Emboldened demons challenge the dominion of Rul Saattan, and the long-standing structure of authority falters under a wave of insurrection. Struggling against various threats, Ryson Acumen realizes that Linda's immunity to magic might hold the key to finally ending the demonic threat to all of Uton. The delver must race across the land to enlist the help of old friends and questionable allies. Together, they forge a plan to fight across multiple realms and within varying stages of existence. In a land where an empty void presses against the horrors of an ancient evil, the delver and his wife discover that deliverance is based on more than hopes and dreams. Even as oblivion threatens to take them both, they rally within the ruins of shattered intentions. Ryson and Linda Acumen must face torrents of anguish in order to accept the undeniable principles of duty, devotion, faith and destiny.