Lance VanGundy – författare

"e;Eyes to the horizon,"e; were the last words the king had spoken to his wife before the abrogator channeled dark power and murdered them both. Their deaths activated an enchantment that concealed the identity of their two sons and allowed the king's brother, Kaellor, to escape with the heirs to the Southlands.For twelve years, Kaellor raises the boys in relative anonymity. Without explanation, the barrier concealing their identity frays. The abrogators renew their hunt, and the three begin a journey fraught with otherworldly dangers.How will they react to the trappings of destiny? What hope do two teenagers and a middle-aged map maker have against those aligned with the forces of the underworld?When you strip everything from a man not once but twice, what are the limits to his vengeance?Far to the north, Karragin ascends to leadership among the elite paramilitary group known as the Outriders. Political intrigue threatens her family at every step. She survives one assassination attempt but discovers that something even more sinister threatens the kingdom.Between them all, Laryn struggles to find her path in the Valley of the Cloudwalkers. Fate binds her to the others, but first, she must survive trials at the summit of the Korjinth Mountains.Enter book 1 of the Rune Fire Cycle.

"e;What kind of home are we returning to that a man has to be able to defend himself with the sword?"e; These heavy thoughts preoccupy Bryndor, who is trapped in the Valley of the Cloud Walkers. Violent supernatural storms devastate the summit of the Korjinth Mountains, insulating and isolating any in the valley. He uses the time to train with the sword, to understand his wolvryn companion and something of his place in the world.In Aarindorn, Karragin leads Outriders on missions against grotvonen. But something else lurks among the hordes under the mountains, something that hints at the resurgence of an evil thought long ago vanquished.Not all challenges rise from the arcane. The regent of Aarindorn struggles to hold together a kingdom threatened by dark forces without and the Lacuna within. His scribe, Ksenia, bears witness to the growing tide of unrest. Despite her desire to remain above the politics in Stone's Grasp, she finds herself steeped in its controversies.When all of these forces collide, who will survive the devastation? Can the runes of the prime channel enough zenith to shape the future of Karsk?

Sometimes the Giver gives, and sometimes the Taker takes. On the Borderlands, Kaellor and Reddevek reunite, but their plans to thwart Tarkannen already face several obstacles. Before returning to Stone's Grasp, they must determine if it is possible to reconcile with Savnah and Dexxin's treasonous affiliation with the Lacuna. Laryn offers a plan to mitigate the damage the circle breakers have sewn in the kingdom, but Kaellor wonders if her solution is more risky than a wager with the Taker. Despite the dangers, they lift their eyes to the horizon and press on toward Callinora. In Stone's Grasp, the regent, Therek Lefledge, cultivates unusual resources to combat the growing Lacuna menace. He relies on the steadfast counsel of Vice Regent Chancle Lellendule and presses Ksenia Balladuren into clandestine service. Their reactions to the ever-increasing political pressures will shape the kingdom's future, for better or worse. Warden Reddevek enjoys the company of his ward, Ranika. He protects her secret and comes to rely on her growing power. But she is just one of the abrogators gaining strength on Karsk. Volencia coordinates with a unique umbral, the shamans of the Brognaus clan, and even grondle to see her dark plans come together. Can the royal family and those loyal to the old ways stop Tarkannen before he breaks free from his confinement in the Drift? Even if they contain the rise of the abrogators, can they survive the tensions that threaten to destroy the kingdom from within?

In the high mountain country of the Oomfast, danger waits in the low places where the snowline breaks and the fen begins. Hunters know the old proverb: Beware the golden‑eyed grenderling and its taint upon the soul. But the seasoned hunter Eiger ignores tradition and chases a legendary gelspar buck into the dusk, he discovers too late that some creatures of the fen do not fear men — they hunt them.His survival comes at a terrible cost. The tribe's mystic, Vaden, draws the grenderling's poison out of him, taking the taint into herself. As the venom spreads through her body and the moons shift in the sky, Vaden's life hangs by a thread. Only two things can purge the corruption: fresh gelspar antler or the heart of a winter wolf.Sixteen‑year‑old Kallidu, Vaden's daughter and heir to the mystic's mantle, refuses to let her mother slip away. Armed with a heartwood spear, her grandmother's bone‑shard dagger, and the whispered guidance of the dead, she joins the hunters on a perilous quest. But the Oomfast do not trust howlys — those who hear spirits on the wind — and Kallidu must fight not only the creatures of the fen, but the prejudice of her own people.When Vaden's consciousness unexpectedly surfaces inside Eiger's mind, Kallidu learns the truth: the grenderling's poison is spreading faster than anyone feared, and the hunt must turn north, toward the shadowed slopes where the snowline runs low and the fen's monsters rise early.As the void moon rises, ancient powers stir. The golden‑eyed grenderling prowls the mountain, drawn to Kallidu with a hunger deeper than flesh — a pull upon the soul itself. To save her mother, protect her sister, and claim her place among the Oomfast, Kallidu must embrace the mystic's path, and face a creature that cannot be killed by the weapons of men.A tale of courage, ancestral magic, and the bond between mothers and daughters, Kallidu and the Golden‑Eyed Grenderling blends atmospheric wilderness fantasy with heart‑driven stakes. Perfect for readers who love fast-paced short stories, lunar-born, ancestral magic, dangerous folklore, and heroines who rise from doubt into destiny.

The blue moon rises, and with it, a legion of fell creatures marches as the High Abrogator, Tarkannen, gathers his forces in the west. Standing in opposition, the Baellentrell princes, freed from their binding mantle, unleash rune fire in defense of Aarindorn. When these colossal forces collide, who will remain standing in the ashes?For some, the true battle lies within. Ranika, the first natural-born abrogator in centuries, must master her gift without the warden Reddevek's guidance. Will her quest for vengeance find redemption or ruin?Far to the east, a lone outcast holds vigil, waiting for the chance to balance the scales. The wolvryn mature, the Outriders muster, and the regent sets his eyes to the horizon as destiny teeters between the Giver's blessing and the Taker's grip.