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A magical collection of 17 original stories by an amazing list of contributors—including a Dune story by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson!

The primordial waters, full of algae and unicellular organisms...not quite how one would imagine the end of the world, is it? The goal is to evolve and reach the land. Use your teeth, claws, stings, and whatever else you deem appropriate to take down your opponents and survive in the New World.

Beset by nightmarish creatures from the caverns below, Jason’s tribe is slowly being whittled away. He dreams of joining the glorious Shadowfront and battling the enemy known only as the Void. But, as a lowly Pastfinder, he is denied that path - until he chances upon the ruins of a long dead civilization and discovers a forgotten form of cultivation, one fueled by the ghosts of centuries-lost history and powerful, forbidden knowledge. If his fellow tribesmen learn of his new power's cursed origins, the Void will be the least of his concerns.

Working as a quality-assurance grunt in the gaming industry sounds like fun, right? You get to play the coolest new games before anyone else. And all you have to do is to find, reproduce, and report bugs before the last pixel is locked in and the games are launched to an eager public. Sure, there’s the unpaid overtime, the office politics, and the ever-present threat of layoffs. But you get to game!

A coronation in the Crimson Realm gives Arik the best chance he's had yet to find and rescue his sister. But before he goes there, he'll need to head to the birthplace of the original War Priest to find the Demon Charm of Katano. No matter his control over chi, the charm may prove too much for Arik to handle. This leaves Arik with the ultimate dilemma: push his power to the limit and unravel the conspiracy that has led to a continental betrayal, or start a new journey, one that could change the very nature of his world from the ground up.

Headmaster. Exile. Gladiator. Backed into a corner, Artorian must play fast and loose with the laws of the land. To gather what he needs to progress, he will need to sacrifice what he’s gained in order to get this far. With his new school and friends facing their most deadly challenges yet, Artorian finds an opportunity to keep them safe. The cost of it may be access to the new home he’s built, but that was never intended to be for him.

Foster and Zola head east to Antietam, a battlefield the old necromancer hoped never to return to, while Beth and Cornelius must journey into the Shadowed Lands themselves. The hunt takes Sam down the trail of an old Civil War raid where restless spirits stir. But not even the threat of the dark-touched will keep Sam from her brother. Unrelenting, the Eldritch close in on Rivercene as the extent of Nudd’s twisted madness is exposed. When the battle fades, nothing in their world will ever be the same....

It isn't easy being the oldest boy in a house run by women - especially for Jerin Whistler. The grand-matriarchs of his clan are descended from soldiers, spies, and thieves. That's partly what's kept their family alive in the wilderness. But it also means Jerin's doomed to marry the girls next door - a fate he's convinced is worse than death. But Jerin gets in even worse trouble when, in the process of a daring rescue, he falls in love with a royal princess who's as high above his station as it's possible to be.     

After vanquishing Tantalus and freeing the dragons, newly married Alex Rogers was looking forward to some time alone with Cassie, his wife. The two even talked of a little getaway for a honeymoon before he returned to his duties as Lord Protector of Windfall. Unfortunately, the forests and cities of his old home was not the destination he hoped for. Awakening in the same woods that had seen him transported to A'nland, he was in the company of his three companions, however none spoke a word he understood. In a land without magic, Alex must find a way to get his wife and friends home.

Old sins cast long shadows even Death can't hide from. It's been a year since Lazarus went to Hell to free Emma's soul. With Loki gone, things are finally starting to settle down for the Pale Horseman. At least until a dangerous supernatural virus forces New Orleans to grind to a halt. With thousands of innocent people infected, Lazarus must find the source and shut it down before it becomes a global pandemic.

Existing within a virtual world shared across millions of users while they sleep, the online game, Carpe Noctem, offers a life of magic and adventure. For a scruffy gunslinger like Max, and a snarky fairy like Kira, it’s home. Unfortunately, Noctem’s creator, and unhinged genius, has been fired. On his way out, he slapped a doomsday button to bring the system crashing down and send the global economy into ruin. To save their second home, Max and Kira will need to assemble a party of misfits to conquer a quest of nightmares, and discover the secrets that lurk within the game.

The Junzi - also known as the Four Gentlemen - are a set of ancient weapons fashioned from remnants. Dragons refer to them as the Four Storms, and Hisoka Twineshaft believes they will make a difference in the hunt for the rogue. But someone else is interested in gathering up these crystal masterpieces. The so-called Gentleman Bandit is responsible for two thefts already, and Hisoka is concerned for the Bamboo Stave. So he deploys an elite taskforce to guard the treasure. And to catch a thief.

Digby Graves, a deceased medieval peasant with delusions of grandeur, is trying to figure out how the hell he ended up in Seattle eight hundred years after his death. Also, why does he have necrotic magic coursing through his zombified body? Added to that is the fact that he made a terrible first impression the moment he woke up by lunging at the first person that came into biting range. Now, the curse he unleashed is loose in the world.

After Lucas dies during a freak explosion, divine intervention sees him brought back to life with the power to control a new dungeon. There are just a couple of issues: his old body is bound to his dungeon, and the craziness of what he thought was his final act is only getting weirder. When he sees newbie adventurers entering his dungeon, though, he decides to help them survive and complete their quests. After all, adventuring is a process, and someone needs to guide the rookies.

Summer skill camps provide opportunities for the elite to train with the best. And by longstanding tradition, for teens of the In-between to evaluate the compatibility of their peers. Glint Starmark's reputation as a matchmaker has been holding true for millennia. At 17, Mikoto Reaver is the youngest headman in Wardenclave's history. He's had very little time to adjust to his new role before their close-knit community opens its doors to children of pedigree, the specialists who will mentor them, an allotment of battlers, and a celebrity or two.

Artorian has seen better days. Chased by demons, hunted by the Red Inkquisition, on the run as a fugitive...and he’s spent barely any time in Eternia. Stuck as a tiny noodle dragon and formed into a crown to decorate the heads of Nobility, he is forced to rely on his friends instead of fixing the issues of the world himself. Luckily for everyone else, the plucky grandfather does not know how to quit. If all Artorian can do is wiggle, then he will wiggle fiercely! By unearthing the secrets of the deity system, he’ll find what it takes to make the true tools of victory.

Long Wu Ying has been banished from the Verdant Green Waters Sect for defying the orders of the Elders. Forced to prove himself in the outer world before he is allowed to return, Wu Ying begins a journey that will have him visiting old haunts and a new kingdom. Amidst new cultivators, new politics, and new challenges, Wu Ying must find the center of his dao and rise to the challenge. Or be forgotten on the steps to immortality.

Rakefang finds Tupper Meadowsweet a young man by Flox reckoning, but he no longer fits in with his own people. Wild hair, stealthy grace, and foreign fashions make it obvious that he’s lived with Pred since boyhood. For three years, he’s been on the lookout for someone brave enough to follow him onto the legendary Moonlit Mountain. The last place he expected to find her was at Pennyflax & Quince. Meanwhile, Master Freydolf faces the challenge of shaping his masterpiece.

In the Prime Kingdoms, the system dominates everything. It dictates one’s strength, skills, and power. It spawns dungeons and guides the actions of their monsters. But every system has its limits, and it’s about to push four oddball adventurers to theirs.

Kellen and his Mana Beast, Vex, have taken their first steps to greater power. Unfortunately, in Oras, there’s no rest for the weak. Across the land, the power of the great totems is failing. Fanatical cultists are on the warpath for the first time in a thousand years, spreading chaos on a crusade of vengeance. Seeking answers and a place to hone their mastery of mana, Kellen and Vex face their greatest trial yet: the Storm Totem. Danger lurks at every step inside the colossal structure.