Morgan Rice - A Sky of Spells

As Gwen stood and prepared to leave, she accidentally knocked over a large, heavy book, and as she did, a smaller book, previously hidden, fell out from it, onto the floor, in a small cloud of dust. It was a tiny, scarlet, leather-bound book, and as Gwen picked it up with curiosity, she turned the pages and found them brittle. This curious volume was so old, its pages had turned brown with age.

As Gwen glanced at the ancient language it was penned in, she was surprised to see what it was: Sodarius’ Book of Prophecies . She had heard of it her whole life, but was never even certain if it truly existed. She’d heard rumors of it, but no one she had ever met had ever actually laid hands on it. It was supposed to contain the most fantastical predictions for the future of the Ring, some of which were accurate, and some of which never came to pass.

Gwen’s hands trembled with excitement as she realized what she was holding. She turned the pages quickly, combing through, until she came to the prophecies that addressed her time and place. She stopped, her breathing shallow, as she came upon her own name.

The seventh and final ruler of the MacGils will be the greatest. She will lead her people through their greatest victory. Yet she will also lead them through their greatest downfall. Gwendolyn will be her name.

Gwen stopped, hands shaking, hardly able to believe what she was reading. She hesitantly turned the page:

Gwendolyn will lead her people to—

Gwen looked down and saw with dismay that some of the pages were burnt, cut off mid-sentence. The remainder of the book only showed snippets of phrases, all of them cut off, broken mid-sentence. She turned pages frantically, desperate to know what will happen. She scanned, looking for keywords, and she could not believe it when she stumbled upon Thorgrin’s name:

Her husband Thorgrin will die, too, and his death will come when—

Gwen turned the pages, anxious to see the exact predictions, her hand shaking. She felt sick to her stomach as she read the dates. It couldn’t be.

Gwen took the book and threw it across room, smashing it against the wall, and she burst into tears.

She told herself it was all nonsense, the writings of a hack from centuries ago. Yet despite herself, Gwen could not help but feel it to all be true.

“My lady?” came a frantic voice.

Gwendolyn spun to see Aberthol’s concerned face at the doorway, peaking into the room.

“I’m sorry,” Gwen said, “I didn’t mean to throw the book—”

Aberthol shook his head.

“That is not why I have come,” he said. “I have just received urgent news. Terrible news, I’m afraid. My lady, you must go at once. Your mother is dying.”

Gwendolyn felt a jolt at his words.

She jumped up from the table and ran from the room, past Aberthol. She felt an awful pain in her stomach as took the stone steps three at a time, and continued running down the hall.

She burst out the front door, into the fresh air, wiping tears away, trying to push away morbid thoughts. She ran through the fields, heading for her mother’s castle, desperate to get there fast enough.

Her mother dying. How? she wondered. She had been meaning to spend more time with her. Every day she meant to, but she had been so busy with affairs of court.

Gwendolyn ran and ran, not wanting to miss her mother’s final breath, pushing herself harder and faster.

Suddenly, a horrific pain ripped through her stomach. Gwen collapsed in the middle of the fields, all alone, screaming. She lay there, looking up at the sky, as her stomach hurt her more than she could say. She could hardly breathe, as she felt supreme cramps rushing over her in waves, one after the other. The baby flipped like crazy, the pains so intense she could not move.

Gwen leaned back and shrieked to the heavens, lying there, alone, utterly alone, experiencing an agony beyond what she could describe. She wanted someone to come to her. But she knew no one would, not out here. It would have to happen here, in this place, with no help. She was flooded with panic as she wondered if the baby would survive. If she would survive.

But nothing could stop it now. Gwen leaned back and shrieked and shrieked, until her cries were met, high up, by the cries of a bird, high in the sky.

Her baby was coming.

“A breathtaking new epic fantasy series. Morgan Rice does it again! This magical sorcery saga reminds me of the best of J.K. Rowling, George R.R. Martin, Rick Riordan, Christopher Paolini and J.R.R. Tolkien. I couldn’t put it down!”

In A SEA OF SHIELDS (BOOK #10 IN THE SORCERER’S RING), Gwendolyn gives birth to her and Thorgrin’s child, amidst powerful omens. With a son born to them, Gwendolyn and Thorgrin’s lives are changed forever, as is the destiny of the Ring.

Thor has no choice to but to embark to find his mother, to leave his wife and child and venture away from his homeland on a perilous quest that will have the very future of the Ring at stake. Before Thor embarks, he unites with Gwendolyn in the greatest wedding in the history of the MacGils, he must first help rebuild the Legion, he deepens his training with Argon, and he is given the honor he has always dreamed of when he is inducted into the Silver and becomes a Knight.

Gwendolyn is reeling from the birth of her son, the departure of her husband, and the death of her mother. All of the Ring gathers for the royal funeral, which brings together the estranged sisters, Luanda and Gwendolyn, in one final confrontation that will have dire implications. Argon’s prophecies ring in her head, and Gwendolyn feels a looming danger to the Ring, and furthers her plans to rescue all of her people in the case of a catastrophe.

Erec receives news of his father’s illness, and is summoned back home, to the Southern Isles; Alistair joins him on the journey, as their wedding plans are put in motion. Kendrick seeks out his long-lost mother, and is shocked at who he finds. Elden and O’Connor return to their home towns to find things are not what they expect, while Conven falls deeper into mourning and towards the dark side. Steffen unexpectedly finds love, while Sandara surprises Kendrick by leaving the Ring, back for her homeland in the Empire.

Reece, despite himself, falls in love with his cousin, and when Tirus’ sons find out, they set in motion a great treachery. Matus and Srog try to keep order in the Upper Isles, but a tragedy of misunderstanding ensues when Selese discovers the affair, right before her wedding, and a war threatens to erupt in the Upper Isles due to Reece’s inflamed passions. The McCloud side of the Highlands are equally unstable, with a civil war on the verge of breaking out due to Bronson’s shaky rule and Luanda’s ruthless actions.

With the Ring on the verge of civil war, Romulus, in the Empire, discovers a new form of magic which may just destroy the Shield for good. He forges a deal with the dark side and, emboldened with a power that not even Argon can stop, Romulus embarks with a sure way to destroy the Ring.

With its sophisticated world-building and characterization, A SEA OF SHIELDS is an epic tale of friends and lovers, of rivals and suitors, of knights and dragons, of intrigues and political machinations, of coming of age, of broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is a tale of honor and courage, of fate and destiny, of sorcery. It is a fantasy that brings us into a world we will never forget, and which will appeal to all ages and genders.