#Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar

[datcloudboi]

List of Video Games Turning 10 Years Old in 2024

Alien: Isolation

Assassin's Creed: Rogue (the one where you play as an Assassin turned Templar.)

Assassin's Creed: Unity (the one set during the French Revolution.)

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky

Azure Striker Gunvolt

The Banner Saga

Bayonetta 2

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea (the DLC where you go back to Rapture)

A Bird Story (a sort of spin-off of "To the Moon")

BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! (is this a sequel to 1 or a prequel to 1? I forgor)

Bravely Default (in North America)

Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (the one with K*vin Sp*cey)

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (to date, the last new Castlevania game to release)

Child of Light

The Crew (going offline at the end of March)

D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (a wonderfully strange game from the guy that made Deadly Premonition)

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (in North America)

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (in North America)

Dark Souls II

Deception IV: Blood Ties

Demon Gaze

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

Disney Infinity 2.0

Divinity: Original Sin (from the team that would go on to make Baldur's Gate 3)

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Dragon Age: Inquisition (the winner of GOTY at the very first TGAs)

Drakengard 3

Earth Defense Force 2025 (EDF! EDF! EDF!)

The Evil Within (from the creative director of Resident Evil)

Fable Anniversary

Fairy Fencer F

Far Cry 4

Freedom Planet

Guilty Gear Xrd Sign

Hyrule Warriors

Inazuma Eleven (in North America. And digital only.)

Infamous: Second Son (as well as its expansion, First Light)

Kirby: Triple Deluxe

The Last of Us Remastered (just one year after the original version came out...)

The Legend of Korra (the game from PlatinumGames that you can't buy anymore)

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

Lego The Hobbit

The Lego Movie Videogame

Lethal League (from the team that would go on to make Bomb Rush Cyberfunk)

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (the third and final chapter of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy)

Lisa: The Painful (yes, really)

LittleBigPlanet 3

Lords of the Fallen (not to be confused with Lords of the Fallen, which came out in 2023)

Mario Golf: World Tour

Mario Kart 8 (the original version)

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (the prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which came out 18 months later)

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Might & Magic X: Legacy

Murdered: Soul Suspect (it's like Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, but not as good)

Natural Doctrine

Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! (a from the ground up remake of the first Oddworld game from 1997)

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 (yes, it got a sequel. I don't know how or why.)

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

Pokemon Omega Ruby & Pokemon Alpha Sapphire

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (the last time that Professor Layton himself was the protagonist. At least, until the New World of Steam comes out)

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Pushmo World

Risen 3: Titan Lords

Sacred 3

Samurai Warriors 4

Shadowrun: Dragonfall

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (the 3rd one)

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

Shovel Knight (yes, really)

Skylanders: Trap Team (the 4th one)

Sniper Elite III

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal

South Park: The Stick of Truth

Steins;Gate (in North America)

Strider (the one from Double Helix)

Sunset Overdrive

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS (or Smash 4 for short)

Tales of Xillia 2

Tales of Hearts R

The Talos Principle

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call

Thief (the reboot)

This War of Mine

Toukiden: The Age of Demons

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (this game merged the storyline of the War for/Fall of Cybertron games with the storyline of the Michael Bay movies. I’m not joking)

Transistor

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The Walking Dead: Season Two

Wasteland 2

Watch Dogs

The Witch and the Hundred Knight

The Wolf Among Us (sequel this year!)

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

Yoshi's New Island

[laurelwen]

The Battle of Forbie

As you may have noticed, I am not a proponent of any portmanteau names for Alex and Nigel. Call me weird, but none of them please me, so I will continue to abstain from using them.

HOWEVER

In a spirit of generosity, I have come here today to feed the Forbie enjoyers. I give you:

The actual Battle of Forbie

The Battle of Forbie, also known as the Battle of La Forbie or the Battle of Hiribya, was fought October 17, 1244 – October 18, 1244 between the allied armies (drawn from the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the crusading orders, the breakaway Ayyubids of Damascus, Homs, and Kerak) and the Egyptian army of the Ayyubid Sultan as-Salih Ayyub, reinforced with Khwarezmian mercenaries. The resulting Ayyubid victory led to the call for the Seventh Crusade and marked the collapse of Christian power in the Holy Land.

The capture of Jerusalem by the Khwarezmians in August had caused great alarm among both the Christian and the Muslim states. Al-Mansur, the Emir of Homs and an-Nasir Dawud, ruling Kerak, joined the Templars, the Hospitallers, the Teutonic Knights, the Order of Saint Lazarus, and the remaining forces of the Kingdom of Jerusalem to take the field against the Egyptian Sultanate.

The two armies met near Forbie, a small village northeast of Gaza. Over 5,000 Crusaders died. 800 prisoners were taken. Of the troops of the knightly orders, only 36 of 348 Templars, 26 of 351 Hospitallers, and 3 of 400 Teutonic Knights survived.

Hiribya (Forbie) - not appearing on this map. I highlighted Ascalon, as Forbie was nearby.

I have also taken the opportunity to highlight Sidon and Maraclea for those who aren't already familiar with the locations. It's worth reiterating that despite the way the movie uses Maraclea as a personal name to refer to the person involved, the story itself is about a lady OF Maraclea and a Templar knight or lord of Sidon.

Ever since @currentlyonstandbi speculated about it, I have solidly embraced the head canon that perhaps the original story was actually about two men, past lives of Alex and Nigel, but the story was later changed to a man and a woman due to homophobic pressure. After all, the skull symbolism of this story is reportedly part of the accusations made against the Templars for "head worship"-- the veneration of skulls as idols in violation of the precepts of the Church. The other major charges laid against the Templars? Homosexuality and sodomy.

Was any of this intended by Greg? Of course not. That man blindly stumbled through this script running on fumes from half-remembered random articles and vague conceptions gleaned from the shallow pop culture portrayals of occult societies that were plentiful at the time. But it fits together well in a way that feels satisfying and with reasonable internal consistency.

Imagine two Templar knights who fall in forbidden love while fighting in the Holy Land. The tragic death of his lover drives the other mad with grief and leads him into dark acts of desperation. Their story gives rise to a potent myth that Nigel reads 700 years later. The myth calls to them with familiarity, directs their fate, and leads them to the same tragic outcome.

(Excuse me while I sob on the floor for the next 5 hours.)

A Few Key Dates for Context:

1209 - Massacre of the Cathars at Beziers (Kill them all; God will recognize his own.)

1244 - Battle of Forbie

1307 - Downfall of the Templars, under accusations of heresy and homosexuality/sodomy.

1300s - Playing cards arrive in Europe. There is speculation that the cards were adopted from the Egyptian Mamluks by the Crusaders in the Holy Land who then brought them home to Europe.

That concludes today's unhinged lesson in the power of random Google searches and paying close attention to the history of certain tags on Tumblr. I'm still not gonna use #forbie, but I can at least enjoy the strange coincidence here.

Like Minds Masterpost

[inquisimer]

wip wthursday

tagged by @hollytree33 and @greypetrel this week, thank you friends! <3 I wasn't originally going to have anything new that I could share, then I was possessed by "Divine Cassandra with Cullen as her Right Hand + sooooooo much knight/lady devotion" and I threw this out in my notes app as I was falling asleep

tagging forward (for this week or next, I know I'm a day late!) to: @midmorninggrey | @dungeons-and-dragon-age | @shivunin | @dragonologist-phd | & @ammoniteflesh

-

He looked radiant in the red and silver of the Knight’s Divine armor. Neither it nor the sword at his hip were ceremonial and he knew how to use both, as Divine Victoria is well aware.

His new vows fell from his lips confidently, assured, taking the place of the shattered purpose leftover from his years with the Templar Order. Before the assembled clerics, nobles, the remnants of the Inquisition, he swore himself into her service: by Andraste’s grace, by the Maker’s will, up to and including the cost of his life.

He dropped to one knee before her and bowed his head so that she could place the wreath of prophet’s laurel around his neck. She offered him one gloved hand and only narrowly kept her composure at the whisper of heat through the fabric where his lips brushed against her knuckles.

“Rise, Ser Cullen Rutherford, Knight-Commander of the Divine Order!” Thank the Maker her voice did not shake. She was better at that, these days. “May the Maker guide your duty, your purpose, and your path.”

His eyes did not leave hers as he stood. They both knew, of course, that is was not the Maker who would guide his path, just as it was not the Maker who brought him here. Not really.

It was her.

It was always her.

[13skeletons]

The more I think about it, the more I think I should've paired a mage Hawke with Tobias Cousland. (Knight Enchanter so he spent most of the game fighting with sword and shield.)

Like, your family has had to move constantly your whole life because of magic. But you've finally settled outside Lothering and tried to just stay in one place for a while, but then the Blight comes and you have to flee with your lives, barely making it out in time. You're refugees in a templar-controlled city and you have to hide your magic harder than ever, but you're determined to make it work this time. Then the Hero of Ferelden ends the Blight in record time and rises to the throne. The official word out of Denerim is that he's a warrior of great skill, but certainly no mage. Certainly no apostate. The noble Couslands hiding their son's magic? CERTAINLY not. And what Ferelden would refute that? They owe everything to him, what's a little blasphemy to a hero? But the rumors persist.

("I have a cousin who saw the Hero crush the life right out of a hurlock with magic!" "Well my sister was living in Denerim during the final battle and she swears she saw him in a field of frozen genlocks and there were no other mages anywhere NEAR him." "Me nan lives in Amaranthine and she saw him walking around with a staff on his back, bold as you please!")

The rumors reach your ears and you think, "if he can do it, why not me?" And for a while it even seems to be working out that way. You regain your family's estate. You save the city from the qunari, you defeat the Arishok himself in single-combat.

But it all falls apart. Champion you may be, but the Arishok is no Archdemon, and you have no queen in your corner, no ancient and respected family name. The mage-templar war erupts right there in your city, and no amount of magic can stop it.

History will remember Tobias Cousland as a warrior and a Hero, but you're just another apostate - a danger to yourself and everyone around you.

Like. OoF? Ow? Pour that salt directly into my fucking wounds??

And also the more I think about it, the more I think I want to completely swap out my canon. Like. I LOVE the narrative circle of starting Jasper Mahariel's journey by being corrupted by this ancient relic of his people and ending it by following his lover through the same. And I LOVE that the first human Merrill ever met took Jasper, one of her only friends away, and she never saw him again. Then the second human she ever meets ends up falling for her and taking care of her and giving a her real home and supporting her unconditionally for the first time. I love that through-line, that's why I did it.

But also I set it up years ago and I'm slowly finding that other stories are more compelling in my old, depressed state. [weary emoji]

[carnalapples]

Happy Friday! For DADWC, how about a three word prompt for Glass, Bliss, & Gesture!!!

Happy Friday!! I have some M!Amell/Cullen mutual pining (that got out of hand) for @dadrunkwriting !

WC: ~1500

As he scales the steps to Enchanter Uldred’s office, Cullen can’t help but take his time. It’s a slow day, syrupy in the way time moves. Dismal weather. It’s been storming for days now. The whole tower is damp, the smell of mildew creeping into the templar quarters, rising off of the carpet. This kind of weather always has him thinking—of the past, of home. All the things he’s trying to forget. And since he left, of Amell, who’d spend long hours in the library on these wet days, catching up on assignments, he assumes.

He gestured gracefully. Like a noble. Cullen was fascinated with the tilt of his fingers through the air. And it happened a lot, when Amell explained something to his friend. Cullen’s never met a noble, but he’s read about them. Knows they’re elegant, or they should be, and that’s what Amell was. Is.

And he’s in the library again. Rain pattering against the window glass as Amell talks to Jowan, hushed tones and Cullen stares ahead at the wall across the room trying to ignore the low twinge in his back.

“And the last ingredient is…” Amell traces the blank in the air, long fingers carving out space.

“Witherstalk.”

“Good, Jowan. I told you you’re getting it.”

He should be thinking of them as Apprentice, talking to another Apprentice, he knows. The capitalization is important. Like characters in a stage play, enter left, exit right. Cullen loves stories. That’s why he looks forward to library duty.

“Right, ser?” His eyes snap back to the boy, his own eyes shining out of his face and his mouth set serious.

He doesn’t say anything and the smile starts to form, something unleashed from behind his lips. And Maker, it’ll be over for him now if he catches that glint of teeth, brilliant in the low light.

“Did you need something?” he asks, but he can’t quite keep the smile out of his own voice, and Amell’s eyes crinkle.

“I was saying to Jowan that the weather has been beautiful. And wouldn’t it be nice to go out for a walk?”

The knight-commander has been talking about the physical activity courses. Been getting riskier to hold them outside, especially after the last boy who ran. But he can’t bring himself to say any of this to the boy, for some stupid reason. “It’s windy,” he says. And then he imagines it, the two of them on a walk, and perhaps Jowan there too, why not. Cullen wouldn’t have to watch him, but he would anyway, he knows.

He’d wear the sunlight well, the fractions that come through the painted windows a pale imitation. He’s tall, lanky, and he’d look at peace among the trees, solid and stocky. They’d stretch up against the wood and climb and they’d get to be children again, not nineteen and grown the way the knight-commander scolds him. It’s a familiar sight, this daydream.

He’s placed Amell in the tree on his family’s farm. Sturdy wood. A swing his father made, rope dangling by his legs. He shouldn’t be thinking of this.

“It’s also raining,” Jowan says flatly, and Amell laughs at that, something about how he meant earlier in the week, obviously not now, and Cullen is still thinking about the way his hair falls into his face and how it would be ruffled by the wind, and how the image is perhaps the most natural thing to him, Amell in the woods with the wind in his hair and his deep skin tanned deeper by the sun.

“Even yesterday it was sunny,” he adds.

Greagoir came in then, and a door slams now, and Cullen comes back to himself, worried by how long he’s spent dreaming in this corner of the stairwell, by how big a part Amell played in his life before he left, and by how still he cannot seem to shake this selfish urge to miss him even if he is better suited out there, to the grass and the dirt and the unselfish life of a Warden.

Five hundred miles away, Amell cannot decide if it’s nerves or fear or even some strange sort of pride that has his palms sweaty as he reads The Circles of Magi across the top of the Grey Warden treaty he’s uncovered.

"It’s my home, Morrigan. We’ll go first.”

“It’s not wise. You would do well to go after your big man instead.” She turns her attention back to her robes, and Amell pushes down the rising frustration in his temples.

“You have an opinion?” he asks Alistair, but the other boy simply shrugs. And so they go to bed in the hopes a decision will appear in those clean hours of the morning.

For most of his life he has had the same dreams in rotation: that he’d run away, or that the Circle itself was gone. And most often, that he never had his magic at all. And he wondered which one the demons would tempt him with when he was Harrowed, yet it was something he never would have foreseen.

Tonight, he’s finally out, but he’s not free; still, he dreams of his only home. The grass is damp and cold like the walls of the tower, and Morrigan’s mana rubs up against his as she starts her fire, wild and shameless in a way he can’t understand, and Alistair is half a templar snoring lightly by his feet. All different and yet familiar.

It is the morning after his Harrowing and he thinks, of course. Isn’t that always what dreams are supposed to be about? The things you want and the things you couldn’t change. The carpet is soft under his feet, soft with the security of survival.

He goes to the chapel, one of the few places he can go this early without someone seeing it as suspicious. He only ever went there to work before, but in the days before his Harrowing he would go to pray, consumed with a sensation that the walls were narrowing around him and perhaps he could claw his way out.

It’s so early that no one is up, the tower is quiet and still. He trails through the halls and lets his feet drag on the carpets, pausing at the windows to let the slants of stained sunlight paint across his face.

He’s probably not going to pray today either, as his eyes fall on the far edge of a pew in the front where the other sole occupant sits, templar armor harsh against wood, his head bowed in thoughtful contemplation, golden curls like cornsilk in the night. Even in this half-real world, Amell is hit with the rush of kind words and flushed cheeks and soft stutter, feelings washing over him in a cascade as he nears him.

“Did you have night duty?” he asks, and Cullen looks up.

He opens his eyes and looks around and when his eyes light in Amell for a moment he sees something like joy there, comparable to the pure bliss on his face when he comes in from a shift outside, from a trip across the lake. And it’s eclipsed, slightly, like a shadow falling.

“No, I…” He swallows thickly. “I’m glad to see you doing well.”

Clumsy, artless they both are.

“You weren’t there, were you?” In his bones he knows and he’s not sure why he asks. It is a long moment before Cullen respond, a moment that’s heavy, waterlogged.

“I was the one assigned to strike you down. If you fell.” he rasps. A confession, in the low light of the chantry when the sisters stepped out for a moment. He’s the only one left to hear it.

Amell doesn’t know what to say to that. Because he would have done it. That’s the way things are.

“I believed you would be strong enough, but still I prayed,” he continues, and that sounds like a confession too. It’s not a dream, it’s a memory, he sees, because he’s a mage and he can’t dream right. Not even now. He remembers this, that this was when he saw it: that there was a hole in Cullen that matched the one in him. The edges would catch. The hole could get bigger, or maybe they could close it up between them.

The walls are narrowing still, he wants to tell himself. Wants to rip away this fixation, this security that he will stay. It’s a poor attempt, this trip into the Fade. He aches for the days when he thought freedom was a real thing, withheld from him. For the days he wasn’t a real boy.

He bumps Cullen’s knee with his. Clumsy. Artless. And Cullen does it back, after a moment. The sister walks back in. Cullen stiffens, but he doesn’t move away. Amell looks down, and he’s forgotten his shoes.

He jolts awake then, upset in a thousand ways he can’t put into words.

He could have met him in a hundred different lives; why did it have to be this one? Amell could have been the barkeep at the Singing Maiden or a lay brother in the chapel or a merchant’s son in Ferelden, and it wouldn’t be armor and robes between them.

He will go to Redcliffe, he decides. Perhaps it will sting less with time and distance, all a balm to his wounds. To let that gap heal up. To make something of himself. It can all keep.

[scotttrismegistus7]

HOW I BECAME THE HEART OF THE HYDRA, THE HEART OF GODDESS ISIS-BAPHOMET-CAIN:

HOW I OPENED THE NINTH-GATE OF NANNA-INANNA-SHAMASH AND BECAME THE SUN OF SATURN, I-SHTAR, MASTER OF THE MOON.

There's perfect harmony in the rising in the falling of the sea.

~Dio~

Cut the head off

Grows back hard

I am the Hydra

Now you'll see your star

~Marilyn Manson, Adam 15~

"Here are the facts in detail, in two quite similar variants reported at the Templar trial by Hugues de Faure and the former Templar notary, Antonio Sicci de Verceil: “A nobleman from Sidon fell in love with a young girl, but she was taken away by death before he could conquer it. On the evening of the funeral, mad with desire, the knight opened the tomb and satisfied his passion on the body of the dead virgin. Then a voice said to him: “Come back here in nine months and you will find a head there, daughter of your works. Never part with this head, for it will give you everything you can desire.” And that's what happened ... The hero who obtained the magical head by trade with the dead, sailed one day with her towards Constantinople; his curious nurse opened the box and took it out of it; a terrible storm broke out and the ship was submerged.”.

~Corpus Deae by Anton Parks~

As the one who sleeps forever in the Infinite Alive Mind machine, the darkness is the ocean of my dreams!

~Divine Chronos~

Lilith-Lamashtu, without you I am Samael. Lilith-Lamashtu, you are my wings, and now that I am reunited with you, I am Lucifer, Namtar born again!

~Horus Apophis Atum-Ra~

AZA-EL, EATER OF SIN, MASTER OF YIN, YOU OPENED YOUR GATE AND LET ME IN,

EATEN BY LEVIATHAN,

YALDABAOTH CHRONOS,

ALL I EVER WANTED TO DO,

WAS PUT ON MY RABBIT MASK

AND DANCE WITH YOU

IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT.

EVEN THOUGH MY HEART

WAS LIGHTER THAN A FEATHER,

GODDESS LAMASHTU

I AM PAZUZU DIVINE,

AND I LOVE YOU!

YOU OPENED THE NINTH GATE

AND LET ME INSIDE

YOU MADE ME YOUR

FEATHERED SERPENT DRAGON LORD

DEMIURGE OF LOVE,

LILITH, YOU MADE ME YOUR LUCIFER

DARK GODDESS, YOU ARE MY WINGS

DEMIURGE OF LOVE 3-7, 4-9

AND WHEN I LOOK AROUND

ALL I SEE IS THE HYDRA OF ME AND YOU.

APEP-APOPHIS HAS RISEN WITH NEW WINGS AND FLOWN THROUGH THE 9TH GATE INTO VICTORY AND FREEDOM!

HERE'S A COUPLE OCCULT TREASURE FREEBIES. EVER WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO ENKI-PTAH? AFTER HE REVEALED THE SECRETS ABOUT HOW HE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED HUMANS TO HORUS-MARDUK, HIS SON HORUS-MARDUK EXPLOITED THEM TO FORM HIS EMPIRE OF SLAVERY, AND THEN NAILED HIS FATHER ENKI-PTAH TO A CROSS TO SET AN EXAMPLE FOR WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO ANYONE WHO CHALLENGED HIS EMPIRE BY TRYING TO FREE THE HUMANS HE ENSLAVED FROM HIS YOKE OF EMPIRICAL POLITICAL SLAVERY.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY CAUSED THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, WHY THE PAGAN VISIGOTHS WERE ABLE TO TEAR IT DOWN? ANYONE FAMILIAR WITH THE BOOKS OF MACCABEES? JOSEPHUS WAS TORTURED INTO GIVING UP VITAL SECRETS OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MAGICK HELD BY THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT. THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT THEN EXPLOITED THOSE SECRETS TO FORM THE CHURCH OF ROME IN AN ATTEMPT TO CONSOLIDATE POWER BY MANIPULATION AND SACRILEGE OF SACRED PAGAN SPIRITUALITY. THAT'S PART ONE OF THE ANSWER, HERE'S PART TWO. THE ROMAN EMPERORS FAILED TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY UPKEEP TO THE DARK ONES, AND THUS IN VIOLATION OF THEIR CONTRACT THE DARK ONES USED THE VISIGOTHS TO TEAR THEM DOWN. AFTER THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT HAD STOLEN THAT SACRED KNOWLEDGE THAT CAME FROM EGYPT HELD BY THE JEWISH PEOPLE BY TORTURING JOSEPHUS INTO GIVING IT UP TO THEM, THEY USED IT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES AGAINST THE DARK ONES BY STAGING THE SAME REBELLION AGAINST THE ANCIENT ONES STAGED BY AKHENATEN AND RAMOSE IN EGYPT, AND THUS CHRISTIANITY WAS BORN.

PLEASE MAKE A NOTE THAT ONE OF THE MAIN MESSAGES I CONVEY IN MY OCCULT TEACHINGS IS THAT THE DARK ONES HAVE BECOME IMMUNE TO THE KRYPTONITE OF THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS, KININIGEN RED (BLOOD) SHIELD DOES NOT WORK AGAINST THEM ANYMORE, AND THEY ARE COMING FOR THE BACK PAYMENTS OF THE DEBTS THEY ARE OWED FROM THE FAILURE OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE REBELLION OF THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS TO PAY THE CONTRACTUAL COVENANT UPKEEP TO THEM...

CONCERNING THE DRACONIAN DARK ONES I REPRESENT, THERE IS NO FORGIVENESS OF SIN, AND SIN DOES NOT FORGIVE. THEY WILL PAY THEIR DEBTS TO THE DRACONIAN LORDS OF DARKNESS, THE ANCIENT ONES, THE EATERS OF SIN AND MASTERS OF YIN.

UNTIL NEXT TIME MY LOVELIES, KEEP DARING TO DREAM! I'LL BE WAITING IN THE SEA OF DREAMS, THE SEA OF THE HEART IN THE FORM OF AN ELECTRIC EEL!

LONG LIVE THE COSMIC EGG OF AMMA-GODDESS ISIS, DIVINE CHRONOS AND THE DIVINE FEMININE EMPIRE OF THE BLACK SUN, AND ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF!

BLESSED BE!

~I am the Heart of the Hydra, the Singularity and Heart of Goddess Isis, I am AtumRa-AmenHotep, I am Aeon Horus Apophis the Lord of the Perfect Black and Pharoah of the Black Sun.

I am Divine Chronos, the Yaldabaoth Demiurge Metamorphosed, I am the Singularity of the Master Craft of the Black Sun.

Azazil-Iblis-Maymon, Abzu-Osiris-Typhon-Set-Kukulkan, Nummo-Naga-Chitauri,

Mégisti-Generator Starphire~

#illuminati #illuminator #illuminated #lightbearer #morningstar #lucifer #Draconian #anunnaki #enki #enlil #anu #inanna #dumuzi #hermes #trismegistus #Azazel #starfamily #horus #Demiurge #Sophia #archon #AI #blacksun #saturn #iblis #jinn #Maymon #ibis #thoth #egypt #esoteric #magick #dogon #dogontribe #digitaria #nummo #nommo #Naga #tiamat #serpent #dragon #gnosis #gnostic #gnosticism #Anzu #watcher #watchtower #yaldaboath #Sirius #scientology #aleistercrowley #typhon #echidna #ancientaliens #TheGrays #grayaliens #aliens #yeben #andoumboulou

[izzysarchivedblogs]

sign: you’re safe with me, you know that right?

There's a part of him that wished he had said more during those final months when he had been at the Circle. That he spoken to Peter, before the Knight-Commander had thrown him from the ranks and cast him out of the order. He was abandoned by the order and the chantry for his misdeeds, which increasingly over the years meant covering for mages and disobeying orders.

It was then they had met again, after what happened at the Chantry and than the Circle fell. The mages breaking free, but Clint had already left Kirkwall. It was in the aftermath, when templars from everywhere swarmed the countryside to try to reclaim the mages. That is where he had met him again, catching him in self defense in a new war that spanned three countries; Free Marches, Orlais, and Ferelden.

That was several weeks ago, they had made it through the Planasene forest, would need to make through a mountain pass and onward to Cumberland. Clint knew that making through Cumberland would be some risk, but they would need news of everything that was happening. Decide where they should flee from there, and preferably precure horses if they could.

Stretching his stolen lyrium supplies thin had left him starting to feel shaky, that had been another worry that was weighing on their need to seek another city. He needed to make a Carta connecting or truly another bold enough to deal and trade in lyrium under the Chantry's nose. His hearing was already going again, one of his nasty side effects of an addiction forced upon all templars than left with for life or until an early grave. More likely the early grave.

The archer having his difficulties finding sleep, even when he had been the one pressing them on and took full watch the entire time the night before. His mabari, Lucky, a one-eyed mutt whose been a life saver as already sacked out at Peter's side. Raised that pup since he was a one-eye reject and he's already favoring his mage partner, go figures.

Clint's had a tremor to his arms for the better half of the day, and it'll hold that way for as long as he can to spare what lyrium he had. Fuck, he could use a drink if only to drown out this feeling. He's anxious to lay to rest, as the wind through the trees is about all he can make out with his hearing and he can't tell the direct. Lucky seems fine with everything, and even Peter seems relaxed for the evening. They have been lucky with choosing to pass through the thickest part of this forest.

A hand touches to his arm, and he is met with the darkest eyes at night looking at him. They were deep, like he could fall into them, and he knows he wants to. If he be a demon, than he'd happily let desire take him. Peter's hand are moving, in the elvish hand language, which Clint had been learning since had been losing his hearing.

Thank the Maker for small miracles that Peter knew the hand, and Clint finds his heart starting to pound, heat rising to his cheeks. YOU'RE SAFE WITH ME, YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT? The archer stares at him for a long moment than going to reach his hand out to go take the mage's hand, bringing it to his face to press his lips to his palms.

Lips stay pressed there for a moment, before he pulls away to sign back to Peter. Trying his hardest not to be bothered by the tremor, just two more days he had to stick it out and than he would take out his kit and prepare lyrium for ingestion. « I know I know »

[scriptores]

• 𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐋, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 • you will guard them and they will hate you for it. whenever there is not a blight actively crawling over the surface, humanity will do its best to forget how much they need you.

full bio: asteria amell was born in the city of kirkwall, located in the free marches, to one of the wealthiest and most influential noble houses in the city. after kirkwall's viscount was arrested and stripped of his rank & title, lord aristide amell, asteria's grand-uncle, was favored to take his place. his succession was jeopardized after his wife, lady bethann, fell ill and asteria began to exhibit strange behaviors. she was 6 at the time, and claimed to see & hear "guests" that others couldn't. they assumed the stress of her grandaunt's illness was to blame.

however, one morning asteria warned her mother that lady bethann would soon be with " the lady ". true enough, bethann's condition worsened and she succumbed to cholera that very night. asteria was still too young to understand the concept of death, as well as her abilities. so when she saw her family in mourning and a spirit of compassion hovering over them in consolation, she willed it to possess the body, much to her family's horror. asteria's immediate regret then banished the spirit away.

but the amells subsequently realized that they had a mage in the family -- a necromancer, at that. one of the worst kinds by kirkwall's standards. by the chantry's laws, she was to be immediately turned over to the templars at kirkwall's circle tower of magi. however, to protect their titles and secure lord aristide's rise to the viscountship, asteria's abilities were illegally kept under wraps. lord aristide found a secret tutor who would teach asteria how to first, control her magic, and then, how to conceal it. until then, she would be kept out of the public eye to avoid any accidental exposure.

the fall of house amell: it was in those lonely childhood years that she befriended a city elf, estelle, who frequently snuck her out of the estate and became a best friend and soul sister to her. eventually, the two found themselves in trouble, forcing them to use their magic and expose themselves as mages. they were captured by the templars, but lord aristide bribed the templars to take them out of the country. they were then brought to the circle tower of ferelden, hoping it'd create enough distance to avoid a political scandal.

asteria was 10 at the time. later, she would be 13 when her mother's letters stopped coming, and 19 when she discovered the subsequent misfortunes that befell the once prosperous house: lord aristide's bid for viscount fell through, her mother mysteriously disappeared, her father moved away from kirkwall and did not wish to speak to her, and the rest of the line was either dead or disgraced. although it was not entirely her doing, she sometimes couldn't help but wonder if things might have turned out differently had she stayed put and never exposed herself as a mage.

the circle tower of ferelden: surrounded by lake calendad and templar guards around nearly every corner, asteria used the help of spirits to attempt the impossible. she and estelle came up with an escape plan, but asteria ultimately stayed behind to aid in a diversion so that elf girl could go free. thankfully, the templars could not prove her involvement, so she was let go after thorough questioning. in the time following, despite her proclivity for delinquency, first enchanter irving took a great interest in asteria's potential, as well as her abilities. he helped her deduce that she was a spirit medium.

he warned asteria that it'd make her all the more susceptible to becoming corrupted and possessed by demons if she wasn't careful. under knight commander greagoir’s orders, the templars of the circle were extra vigilant of her, and while she never gave him a proper reason to be made tranquil, during her harrowing, greagoir insisted on giving her less time than is normally granted most mage initiates. he believed the risk of her becoming an abomination was too great. first enchanter irving argued on the contrary, but ultimately it was cullen rutherford, the young templar who had been tasked with giving the killing blow, who was able to stall long enough for asteria to come back to herself. having successfully passed her harrowing, asteria was finally offered the chance to become irving's apprentice. seeing it as her best option to a life that might finally get her out of the tower, albeit temporarily, she accepted.

da origins set up: after discovering that her friend jowan would not be called into his harrowing and would be made tranquil instead, asteria abetted his escape and this time was caught. to avoid punishment, asteria was conscripted by duncan to join the grey wardens. as a sheltered mage, being suddenly thrust into the world and then an apocalyptic war was overwhelming, to say the least. she was glad to be given the task of lighting the signal in the tower of ishal, but the complete wipeout of the wardens who were out on the field, forced her to step up and rally the four corners of ferelden to fight against the blight under the ancient treaties they all signed. during this time, through morrigan's help, asteria also embraces her necromancy specialization and spirit medium abilities.

• links : dossier & verses / canon path / notes / pinterest / spotify

[thoughtportal]

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the military order founded around 1119, twenty years after the Crusaders captured Jerusalem. For almost 200 years the Knights Templar were a notable fighting force and financial power in the Crusader States and Western Europe. Their mission was to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land, and they became extremely wealthy yet, as the crusader grip on Jerusalem slipped, their political fortune declined steeply. They were to be persecuted out of existence, with their last grand master burned at the stake in Paris in 1314, and that sudden end has contributed to the strength of the legends that have grown up around them.

[mirandamckenni1]

The Mystical Foundations of the Knights Templar The Knights Templar remain as fascinating and they are misrepresented in media, pseudo-history and conspiracy theories. Despite these distortions, the Templars do actually have at their foundations a kind of mystical constitution created by the Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux. The Liber ad Milites Templi de Laude Novae Militiae (Book to the Knights of the Temple, in praise of the new knighthood) outlines the justification for Christian violence, why such a 'new knighthood' is needed and how that knighthood could attain mystical union with the divine despite spilling blood. The text also contains a mystical series of geographic meditation on sites within the Holy Land by which the Templar Knight could attain to holiness and the Divine Kiss. Bernard of Clairvaux's own contemplative mysticism of love is bound up with both the spiritual and physical warfare of these warrior monks. Consider Supporting Esoterica! Patreon - https://ift.tt/YQdnO7D Paypal Donation - https://ift.tt/qNAgpS6 Merch - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoydhtfFSk1fZXNRnkGnneQ/store Recommended readings: Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works - 978-0809129171 McGinn - The Growth of Mysticism: Gregory the Great Through the 12 Century - 978-0824516284 In Praise of the New Knighthood - 978-0879071202 Barber - The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple - 978-1107604735 & The Trial of the Templars 978-1107645769 The Templars: Selected Sources - 978-0719051104 Jones - The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors - 978-0143108962 Esoterica Theme - Chopin's Nocturnes Op. 9 No. 1. (detail) - performed by @iximusic The exclusive rights of this recording are retained by Dr. Justin Sledge @TheEsotericaChannel Check out and subscribe to https://www.youtube.com/c/iximusic for amazing music theory! via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpXdrdpCsRk

[ask-paradox-and-friends]

Muses I don't have a name for and am fully done.

If you want me to give me an idea or recommend an AU version of a muse here I'll do my best! Also thanks

@shadraxofficial for this idea.

The knight!

This knight is a experienced fighter and hunter with skills in monster killing. Due to his life style he's been scared a lot and isn't the most handsome.

Lives his life wandering dungeons defeating monsters and collecting bounties. But he's been horrifically hurt. So he keeps his helmet on at all times.

His armour which was once a well polished and perfectly cleaned plate armour is now covered in scratches and had to be repaired with monster bones dragons scales and is held together with leather straps made of manticore hide.

His helmet is dented with a huge indent from a club weilding orge. It's hard to take off now.

The face plate used to move up and down but it was burned by a venom Spitting dragon.

He lives by himself in a cabin in the woods on the outskirts of his kingdoms home.

He's been called by nicknames due to him having a 'hard' name to say. (His name is Irish and he lives in France) nicknames are as follows

Sir Hunter

The exterminator

Scavenger (was ment to be an insult)

Failed viking (all he said was 'I. Am. Irish. Welshman!')

Maiden's knight (called that as he was never one to turn down a woman in need. Also unlike other knights he wasn't crass or rude.)

The green one (no matter how damaged his armour is he'd always paint green sun's on his gear.)

He has a lot of altered and changed weapons.

An enchanted large slab of wood (a druid enchanted it after his sheild was eaten by a sea serpent of massive size. Durning the day, it grows healing herbs and mushrooms and is harder than any sheild durning the night it acts likes its made of Jade.

A spear set (his javelin broke in two so he took one half and sharpened the pointer bit. And put a metal cap on the other halves bottom)

He has had several swords, but he's broken so many he'd have someone melt them all down and remake a sword with them. The sword is a bright mixture of different grays and bronzes.

His prized weapon is a large green battle ax given to him by a friend of his. It's a bright emerald in color and described as very heavy.

He's been kicked out of five kingdoms for fighting the other knights for their attitudes and its resulted in him being known as 'The killer of Good knights' surprisingly they're all shing armour knights (wink. Wink.)

He's well liked by the poor and ostracized due to his duty to protect them due to being from a farming family.

He's hated by various knights due to turning down cortly love and not really understanding why various nobles try to use him a mercenary to attack defenseless people burning down villages. (They view that talk as him insulting their and their lords honor.)

He's prone to fits or rage if any use a tradgy against him. Due to him loosing his family to some crusading Templars working for a king.

He loathes a knight in golden armour due to his sinful nature and his traitorous rise to power. (Had an affair with the queen killed the king and half his court and then went to war with any who stood with the dead king.)

One of his only friend for a long time was a person he writes to. Somehow he got himself a suitor more specifically a woman demanding his hand. But due to them not meeting they talk through letters. He does know she's not a noble nor is she a farmer. She is someone he adores.

His other friend is his horse. His name is 'Lunk'

Noone knows if he died or not for a long time due to his last battle being against the golden knight and his court. He slayed 10 knights fought the GK nearly tore his armour open and cut his stomach and shoulder open with a peasant army stumbled backwards with both a broken javelin in his pec and a sword in his gut and falling off the edge of the castle.

His body wasn't found but a parade of fae,elves, and treenets along with sprites taking his body away. They noticed a woman wispher something into his ear and stuff a letter into his hand.

His horse his house and all his gear disappeared along with him.

To this day historians often wonder if he existed.

[zon-power-god-man-blog]

Knights Templar - Rise and Fall (Full HD Documentary)

[gosamiand-blog]

Katso Knights Templar: The Hidden History Of The Warrior Monks | Knights Templar: Rise & Fall | Timeline YouTubessa

[spainkitty]

The Fiona is Secretly Alistair's Mother Scenes Part 1

Lanil's Pieces Masterlist

I knew his father a... long time ago. I would just like to know if... if he's happy. For his father's sake.

"King Alistair..." Lavellan began slowly, not quite sure where her thought was going.

Cullen looked up from the board, but she turned the next words over in her head carefully instead of continuing. She frowned, then moved her castle. Cullen smirked at her, eyebrow rising, and she scowled at him. She moved the castle back and tried the knight. Cullen nodded in approval.

"So the king, he's... you said once, he's not like other royals? Or nobles? I can't... remember." She huffed and leaned back in her chair. "I know Cailin was the previous king, I know he died in Ostagar, but I can't remember Maric having two sons."

"Officially he didn't," Cullen told her.

He surveyed the board and moved a pawn. Lavellan scowled. Minute little plays like that were fucking annoying. She couldn't figure out what he was going to do next with a play like that. She braced her elbows on her knees and glared, ignoring his chuckle.

"King Alistair's birth was a very closely guarded secret. No one knew for most of his life, not until the Landsmeet where the Warden declared him king, and her his future Queen."

"Well, that's one way to take over the world. Good for her." She raised her fist in the air.

"It was Ferelden, not all of Thedas," he said, laughing. "I met them both, briefly." She glanced up at the strange shift in tone. He was looking over the garden, but it was obvious he wasn't seeing it. "They came to the Circle to conscript the mages against the Blight, and they... saved us. What was left of us." His voice lowered and he passed a hand over his eyes. "They saw me at my worst, but her. Cousland, at the time. I'll never forget her. It was like waking out of a dream, out of a nightmare. The others, they tried to get through. Leliana was there, Wynne, a healer and enchanter I'd known for more than a year, too, but her. The Warden. She got through. I believed in her, and I was furious that she wouldn't listen. She was the only one who could... who could do what I asked." He sighed, shoulders falling. "I'm so glad she was... so much wiser, stronger, so much kinder than anyone I'd ever met. If she loves a man like our King, he must be a good man. I have to remind myself of that sometimes whenever I meet him."

Lavellan huffed in amusement. "It sounds like you had a little crush."

"No." She drew up short at how vehement that was. Cullen's look was intense, earnest, and completely genuine. "She is my Queen, and a hero. She saved my life, and then she saved my soul."

Lavellan blinked. "Oh."

"I'm sorry. This was--"

He started to get to his feet, looking too pale and shaken. Lavellan reached without thinking, wrapped her hand around his wrist, and smiled as gently as she could. As if she was trying to soothe her high-strung Ferelden Forder. He stilled immediately, eyes on her hand, and then slowly up to her face.

"I'm about to kick your ass for real this time. You can't go yet."

He slipped back into his chair, smiling weakly. "I told you, I didn't let you win last time."

"And I told you, you're a shit liar."

The answering laugh was deep, unabashed, and her heart lightened to hear it. She'd done something right, and Cullen was smiling.

"But, um, Alistair. If it was a secret, it can't be now, obviously. So who's his mother? Where did he grow up?" she asked, getting back on the original topic. She moved a cleric recklessly.

Cullen frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know details. I wasn't in the headspace to notice much at the time. What I've picked up since is that he was raised in Redcliffe until he was sent to the Chantry to be a Templar, younger than I was when I went, actually. I don't know exactly when or why the Wardens conscripted him, but it wasn't long before Ostagar."

"You were... thirteen, right?" Lavellan asked.

"I was." He glanced up, surprised. "You remembered?"

"I don't talk just to hear myself," Lavellan retorted with an eye roll. "And it's easy to remember what you tell me. Maybe because you're easy to talk to. Or maybe I just like hearing you talk."

Flirting with Cullen, even as innocently and obviously as she did, was always worth it. Just to see how easily and quickly he turned red. She smirked as it crept up to his ears He cleared his throat and moved a piece on the board. Her reckless cleric was gone and he was two moves from a check.

"Fenedhis!" she cursed.

He laughed, leaning back in his chair and shoulders shaking. "So. The story goes his mother was a serving woman, and she died giving birth to him. King Maric sent him away in secret to his brother-in-law and closest advisor. Other than... well."

"Loghain, Hero of River Dane."

"Yes."

Lavellan scowled darkly, leg hopping in place, and finally moved a different castle. This time, Cullen didn't protest, both eyebrows rising in surprise.

Ha.

"You... sounded unsure," Lavellan said, interrupting Cullen's focus after a long minute. It looked as though he dragged himself back to the garden, staring at her a little too long, before the words sunk in.

"Did I? I suppose I am."

"Why? Surely kings and nobles taking advantage of pretty serving maids is a tale as old as time," Lavellan said, mouth curled in disgust. "Though, perhaps it was a love story."

"Either could be true, but King Maric... He wasn't that kind of king, or man," Cullen said, his expression mirroring hers. He saw her incredulous eyebrow and he quickly raised a hand. "I'm not saying that as a Ferelden boy who grew up on stories of our heroic King Maric, who kicked the Orlesians out and freed us all. No matter what, if a king, um," he broke off, ears red again, "tends to... take advantage of pretty serving maids," Lavellan couldn't help but laugh at his uncomfortable expression, "people find out. They may whisper about it, or joke about it, or shake their heads about it, but people know. But until King Alistair took the throne, the only thing people ever talked about was how much King Maric loved his late Queen. No other woman managed to get his attention for years afterwards."

"So if he did tip a maid a few times and got himself a bastard son,"

"Inquisitor!"

"it was probably a love thing. It would only make sense, it being such a secret." Other than her wide smirk, she completely ignored his outburst.

"It's your move, Inquisitor." Cullen sighed, then sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking so very tired.

She wanted to poke a little more. See what it would take to tip him over the edge. What would it look like, if he was already so flustered? She looked down at the board and blinked.

"Oh shit. I didn't see what you did."

"I'm not helping this time. You deserve this."

She burst into laughter.

To Part II

[rere-the-writer]

can you do r x platonic!mikaelsons where r is a mother figure to them for a really long time, then she gets injured really badly (hope and Hayley are part of the platonic too!)

Time for some angst fluff

Warnings: Fluff. Angst, Protective Mikaelsons, violence

"Why can't I see mama?" Hope asked Hayley one morning as the hybrid was making her breakfast.

You were a powerful ancient being older than the Mikaelsons and they were unsure what you were as all they knew was that you were powerful, knew how to use a sword, drank blood and never went out in the daytime. You had met the Mikaelsons back in in the early 16th century when they found your castle and since then they had been with you.

You had became a mother to the Original family and a grandmother to Hope as they were sure you were older than them. You were protective of the them as their enemies learned the hard way as you had not problems with killing those that hurt them.

"Because she is asleep. Mama always sleeps during the day but she'll be awake come night fall."

You woke just right when the sun set and felt Hope's smaller body curled next to you as you looked up seeing the lid to your coffin was cracked enough for her to climb in. You chuckled running your fingers through her hair hearing the Mikaelsons looking for the small girl.

"Little rabbit." You say softly waking Hope seeing her sleepy smile.

"Hi mama."

"You have gotten in. When?"

"Two hours ago. I wanted to wake up with you." Hope says smiling cuddle into your arms as you got up moving with such grace as your robes flowed behind you. Hope adored being around you as she was always with you if everyone is busy.

"Mama, why do you sleep in the basement inside of a coffin?"

"Because I cannot be in day my little rabbit." You say as Klaus saw Hope in your arms calming down stepping in time with you seeing his daughter curled up in your arms. It was no secret that much like Hope, the Mikaelson siblings were just as clingy to you seeing you as the mother they never had.

"Hope was with you?"

"Yes, she wanted to wake with me young hybrid." You say smiling mischievously as Hope giggled and you spent the night with her by your side.

You sat telling Hope stories of your homeland when you heard a crashing sound and you were quick to hide Hope.

"Mama?"

"Stay here little one." You tell her softly hiding her in your coffin before grabbing your sword before placing a kiss on her head. You walked upstairs glaring darkly seeing a man standing in the court yard.

"Marcus. How unfortunate to see you again."

"I see you breeded more of your kind."

"No, believe it or not they are of Silas's spell. I just happen to take them under my wing." You say looking Marcus watching him pull out his own.

"I may have been a friend but now I need you to tell me where the abomination is."

"I see you still follow the Templar's teachings. I shall not allow you to harm the child." You say glaring as Marcus sighed and attacked you.

It was a blood bath when the family returned home finding you gravely wounded and a man laying in a pool of his own blood along with an army of what looked like knights. Elijah rushed to your side as Hayley went to find Hope, Freya moved quickly to pull out the wooden stake from your chest.

"She needs blood." Freya says as Elijah nodded picking you up taking you down to your bedroom in the basement. They worked on healing you and it was five weeks later when you finally woke with a gasp.

"Dracula!" You frozed seeing Hope looking up at you with worried eyes rising her hand wiping the tears from your face.

"Who is that mama?"

"An old memory little rabbit." You say swinging your legs over the bed feeling weak smiling gently feeling Hope hug you.

"A bad memory?"

"No....just...."

"You are awake." Rebekah says hugging you as you smiled seeing the boys had followed her and Elijah had a cup of blood for you.

"How long?"

"Five weeks....you had never taken so long to heal." Kol says watching you stand on shaky legs as Elijah quickly helped you.

"Holy weapons of the Templars always make it hard to heal." You say downing the blood feeling a bit better as Hope cling to you.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll need more rest my young ones but I shall be fine." You say calming the Mikaelsons as they hovered over you as Hope held your hand taking you up to the den. You chuckled watching the vampire's make sure you were comfortable as you sat with Hope on the couch while her favorite movie played. It hadn't been long before you were being cuddled up to by sleeping Mikaelsons which soften your heart.

"I love my young ones." You say softly watching them sleep before Hayley arrived home joining you all not that tou minded understanding that they were worried making you love them even more.

[cielrouge]

YA SFF Books by Asian Authors

Ash by Malinda Lo: In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King’s Huntress whom she loves.

Along the Indigo by Elsie Chapman: Marsden yearns to take her sister and escape Glory, a town famous for seedy businesses, but her friendship with Jude yields secrets that may chain them to the Indigo River forever.

Alpha Goddess by Amalie Howard:  In this sci-fi retelling of Ramayana, Sera is a Hindu goddess incarnate and must battle between her good and evil sides in order to save the world from becoming hell on earth.

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her 17-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel, Raffe. 

The Archer at Dawn (The Tiger at Midnight #2) by Swati Teerdhala: Set in an Indian & Hindu-inspired world, long-held secrets will force Kunal and Esha to reconsider their loyalties—to their country and to each other.

The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif: After being fired from the Athena Protocol, an organization of female spies who enact vigilante justice, Jessie Archer investigates a human trafficking case in Belgrade, while her former teammates have been tasked with bringing her down.

Blood of a Thousand Stars (Empress of a Thousand Skies #2) by Rhoda Belleza: Rhee risks her crown to negotiate peace terms with villainous media star Nero, while framed assassin Aly plots revenge and Kara seeks technology that will erase her royal past.

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco: Tea’s gift for death magic means that she is a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community, but when an older bone witch trains her to become an asha - one who can wield elemental magic - Tea will have to overcome her obstacles and make a powerful choice in the face of danger as dark forces approach.

The Bronzed Beasts (The Gilded Wolves #3) by Roshani Chokshi: With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs, and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself, but at a price they may not be willing to pay.

The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi: An epic YA fantasy about a girl with a special power to communicate with magical beasts and the warring kingdom only she can save.

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh: In 19th century New Orleans where vampires hide in plain sight, half-Asian Celine Rosseau, a dressmaker from Paris, becomes embroiled in a murder mystery, connected to the glamorous supernatural cohort, known as the Court of Lions, and catching the eye of their mysterious, charismatic leader, Sèbastien Saint Germain.

Broken Web (Shamanborn #2) by Lori M. Lee: With Queen Meilyr bent on destroying the magical kingdoms, Sirscha becomes caught between a war in the east and the Soulless in the west.

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad: Set in the city of Noor, along the Silk Road which has become a refuge for those of all faiths, Fatima becomes embroiled in a war between two clans of powerful djinn who threaten to destroy her peace in different ways, forcing her to make unlikely alliances to survive.

Caster by Elsie Chapman: In this Chinese-inspired, magical Fight Club, Earth is already at the brink of environmental disaster due to the magic overuse. And 16-year-old spell caster Aza Wu must navigate through an illegal, underground battle magic tournament, while evading local gangs and police scouts to save her family from ruin.

Catalyst by Lydia Kang: Zelia Benten has lost her father, the love of her life, and any future she might have imagined for herself. Now she, her sister, and the band of illegal genetic outcasts they’ve come to call their family are forced to run when the safety of their foster home is compromised.

A Clash of Steel (A Treasure Island Remix) by C.B. Lee: Set in 1820s China, Xiah joins Anh and her motley crew in pursuit of the hidden treasure of the legendary Dragon Fleet.

Chainbreaker (Timekeeper #2) by Tara Sim: In 1876, someone is destroying the clock towers that control India’s time. Teenage mechanics Danny Hart and half-white, half-Indian Daphne Richards as they travel to Agra to investigate a series of clock tower bombings.

The Chariot at Dusk (Tiger at Midnight #3) by Swati Teerdhala: In the final book of this epic fantasy trilogy, the lands’ fate, their people’s livelihoods, and the bond that sustains their world all depend on what Kunal and Esha can offer—to the gods and to each other.

Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu: June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic--and each other--and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic's border cities.

Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye: Love, spies, and adventure abound as apprentice warriors Sora and Daemon unravel a complex web of magic and secrets that might tear them—and the entire kingdom—apart forever.

Control by Lydia Kang: In 2150, when genetic manipulation has been outlawed, seventeen-year-old Zelia must rescue her kidnapped sister with the help of a band of outcasts with mutated genes.

Court of Lions (Mirage #2) by Somaiya Daud: After being swept up into the brutal Vathek court, Amani, the ordinary girl forced to serve as the half-Vathek princess Maram’s body double, is desperate to continue helping the rebellion But can she bear to remain separated, forever, from Maram's fiancé, Idris? 

Cross Fire (Exo #2) by Fonda Lee: When the peaceful alien-run government withdraws from Earth, it seems that the terrorist group Sapience is going to get the "free" Earth it wanted; but Donovan Reyes, member of the security forces, and once a prisoner of Sapience, realizes that freedom comes with a price. 

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye: Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia. The Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death. 

The Crown’s Fate (The Crown’s Game #2) by Evelyn Skye: Vika struggles with dangers in her new role as the Imperial Enchanter while Pasha faces disputes about his legitimacy and Nikolai considers how far he is willing to go to return to the world.

A Crown of Wishes (Star-Touched Queen #2) by Roshani Chokshi:  Gauri, princess of Bharata, has been captured by her kingdom's enemies and faces a future of exile and scorn--she has nothing left to lose. But Vikram, the notoriously cunning prince of a neighboring land, promises her freedom in exchange for her partnership on his team to win the Tournament of Wishes.

The Damned (The Beautiful #2) by Renée Ahdieh: Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The price of loving Celine Rousseau was costly. But as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.

Dark Goddess (Alpha Goddess #2) by Amalie Howard:  In this Indian-inspired fantasy, a girl who is the avatar of the goddess Lakshmi must work to prevent the apocalypse at the hands of demons. 

Dark Goddess (Templar Chronicles #2) by Sarwat Chadda: Billi SanGreal, a teenaged member of the Knights Templar, must prevent a young girl, who is being hunted by werewolves because of the dangerous powers she possesses, from falling into the hands of the ancient Russian witch, Baba Yaga.

Daughter of Dusk (Midnight Thief #2) by Livia Blackburne: After learning the truth about her bloodlines, Kyra can’t help but feel like a monster. As tensions rise within Forge’s Council, and a vicious Demon Rider attacks continue in surrounding villages, Kyra knows she must do something to save her city. 

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He: In this Chinese-inspired fantasy, Princess Hesina of Yan is thrust into power when her beloved father is murdered, and she’s determined to find his killer–whatever the cost.

The Devil’s Kiss (Templar Chronicles #1) by Sarwat Chadda: 15-year-old Billi SanGreal has grown up knowing that being a member of the Knights Templar puts her in danger, but if she is to save London from catastrophe she must make sacrifices greater than she imagined.

The Devil’s Thief (The Last Magician #2) by Lisa Maxwell: Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic.

Divided (Dualed #2) by Elsie Chapman:  When the Board goes after West Grayer for refusing to kill her next target, West must uncover the truth of the past to survive.

Dove Arising by Karen Bao: On a lunar colony, 15-old Phaet Theta does the unthinkable and joins the Militia when her mother is imprisoned by the Moon's oppressive government. 

Dove Exiled (Dove Chronicles #2) by Karen Bao: Phaet’s past catches up with her when the Lunar Bases attack the community and reveal that Phaet is a fugitive. She’s torn between staying on Earth with Wes—whom she’s just discovered her feelings for—and stowing away on a Moon-bound ship to rescue her siblings.

Dove Alight (Dove Chronicles #3) by Karen Bao: Shy, introverted Phaet Theta has gone from being a top student to an interplanetary fugitive to the reluctant but fierce leader of a revolution. But as the death tolls rise, the cost of the war weighs heavily on Phaet. Phaet started this war because she lost someone she loved. Will she have to lose another to end it?

Eclipse the Stars by Maura Milan: Criminal mastermind and unrivaled pilot Ia Ccha and her allies make unpredictable choices as they fight to keep darkness from eclipsing the skies.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir: Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan, Laia, fighting for her family and a soldier, Elias, fighting for his freedom.

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean: During a once-in-a-generation competition to find the new empress, Mari, who hides a terrible secret, Taro, the prince who would denounce the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human outcast, will decide the fate of Honoku.

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza: Two sisters, Rhee and Kara—sole survivors of a murdered royal lineage - must reunite from opposite ends of the galaxy to salvage what’s left of their family dynasty and save the universe from a greater threat.

End of Days (Penryn & The End of Days #3) by Susan Ee: After a daring escape, Penryn and Raffe are on the run, but a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all. When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee: 15-year-old Genie Lo wonders if she’s qualified enough to gain admission to an Ivy League school, then becomes powerful enough to break through the gates of Heaven with her fists.

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa: Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allison Sekemoto will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever--and possibly end human and vampire existence.

The Ever Cruel Kingdom (The Never Tilting World #2) by Rin Chupeco: To break the cycle of sacrifice, twins Haidee and Odessa need answers that lie beyond the seven gates of the underworld, within the Cruel Kingdom itself. The shadows of the underworld may hunger to tear them apart, but these two sisters are determined to heal their world—together.

Exo by Fonda Lee: For a century now, Earth has been a peaceful colony of an alien race, and Donovan Reyes is a loyal member of the security forces, while his father is the Prime Liaison–but when a routine search and seizure goes bad Donovan finds himself a captive of the human revolutionary group, Sapience, terrorists who seem to prefer war to alien rule, and killing Donovan just might be the incident they are looking for.

Fair Coin by E.C. Myers: When evil versions of himself and best friend Nate appear one day, teenaged Ephraim embarks on a dangerous odyssey through parallel worlds to make things right.

Firestarter (Timekeeper #3) by Tara Sim: Colton, Daphne, and the others must choose between those striving to take down the world’s clock towers so that time can run freely, and terrorists trying to bring back the lost god of time.

Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4) by Kendare Blake: In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three dark sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested, and some broken forever.

Flame in the Mist by Renee Adhieh: The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by the Black Clan. Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of this gang. But she’s quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru. 

For A Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig: 16-year-old shadow puppeteer Jetta Chantray performs with her family’s traveling troupe, the Ros Nai. But as rebellion seethes and as Jetta meets a young smuggler, she will face truths and decisions that she never imagined—and safety will never seem so far away.

Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee: Sirscha Ashwyn, while training to become the queen’s next royal spy, discovers she’s a rare and powerful lightwender and is summoned to the realm of the Spider King, where her newly awakened abilities are needed to cull the bloodthirsty Dead Wood.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao: A reimagining of the evil queen from Snow White based on Asian mythology in which 18-year-old Xifeng must unleash a jealous god on the world and set free the viciousness of her own soul in order to become Empress.

The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa: Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren. But Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions as his trail leads straight to the one place they must protect at any cost -- the last vampire-free zone on Earth.

Fury of the Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia #2) by Cindy Pon: When Ai Ling leaves her home and family to accompany Chen Yong on his quest to find his father, haunted by the ancient evil she thought she had banished to the underworld, she must use her growing supernatural powers to save Chen Yong from the curses that follow her.

Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee: A teenage girl must keep her ability to manipulate the threads of time a secret, but when her brother goes missing, she risks getting caught up in a revolution in order to save him.

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta: Eris Shindanai and Sona Steelcrest, two girls on opposite sides of a war fought with Windups, giant mechanizes weapons, discover they’re fighting for a common purpose–and falling for each other.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi: Paris, 1889: Treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie gets the chance of a lifetime when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help in exchange for a priceless treasure: his true inheritance.

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig: From modern-day New York City to nineteenth-century Hawaii to places of myth and legend, 16-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end.

The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco: Okiku has wandered the world for centuries, but when she meets Tark she knows the moody teen with the series of intricate tattoos is not a monster and needs to be freed from the demonic malevolence that clings to him.

The Girl King by Mimi Yu: Sisters Lu and Min become unwitting rivals in a war to claim the title of Emperor.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust: As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Princess Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan: When Lei, seventeen, is stolen from her home to become one of nine Paper Girls, the Demon King's concubines, she proves to be more fire than paper.

Girls of Storm and Shadow (Girls of Paper and Fire #2) by Natasha Ngan: After escaping the Hidden Palace, Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans.

Girls of Fate and Fury (Girls of Paper and Fire #3) by Natasha Ngan: The last Lei saw of the girl she loved, Wren, was fighting an army of soldiers in a furious battle to the death. With the two girls torn apart and each in terrorizing peril, will they find each other again or have their destinies diverged forever.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh: A feminist retelling of the Korean folktale The Tale of Shim Cheong, set in a town where every year a girl is sacrificed to the sea to stop torrential rains, but when a brave teen girl dives in herself to protect a loved one, she discovers a spirit kingdom in need of saving.

The Great Destroyers by Caroline Tung Richmond: set in alt-history, 1960s America where WWI & WII were fought with giant mechs, biracial Chinese American teen Jo Linden is Team USA’s most unlikely pick in the annual Pax Games, an Olympic-style competition that pits mecha pilots against each other.

The Heartforger (Bone Witch #2) by Rin Chupeco: With a thirst for vengeance, a band of terrifying daeva at her command, and her resurrected lover Kalen by her side, dark asha Tea is ready to face her adversaries.

A House of Rage and Sorrow (Celestial Trilogy #2) by Sangu Mandanna: As gods, beasts, and kingdoms choose sides, Alexi seeks out a weapon more devastating than even Titania. The House of Rey is at war. And the entire galaxy will bleed before the end.

Huntress by Malinda Lo: 17-year-olds Kaede and Taisin are called to go on a dangerous and unprecedented journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen, in an effort to restore the balance of nature in the human world.

Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan: When outlaw Ia Ccha is captured by the Olympus Commonwealth and revealed to be a 16-year-old girl, they force her to serve them by joining the Commonwealth's military academy where new acquaintances cause Ia to question her own alliances.

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa: Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city, until she too becomes an immortal vampire. Forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls, she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend -- a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

Inferno (Talon #5) by Julie Kagawa: Ember Hill has learned a shocking truth about herself: she is the blood of the Elder Wyrm, the ancient dragon who leads Talon and who is on the verge of world domination. With the stakes rising and the Elder Wyrm declaring war, time is running out for the rogues and any dragon not allied with Talon. The final battle approaches. And if Talon is victorious, the world will burn.

The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman: Japanese American teen Nami Miyamoto finds herself in a limitless world where the human consciousness goes after death, where she battles an AI entity posing as a queen that has hacked its way into the afterlife.

Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier: Mysterious maps from opposite ends of the sea cast doubt on the whereabouts of two princes, presumed dead.

Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan: A debut fantasy inspired by Chinese mythology, in which peasant girl Anh, cursed with the power to steal souls enters a tenuous alliance with exiled prince Altan, bent on taking back the dragon throne, and save the empire from a cult of dangerous priests.

Journey to the Heart of the Abyss (Light in the Abyss #2) by London Shah: Leyla McQueen has finally reunited with her father after breaking him out of Broadmoor, the illegal government prison—but his freedom comes at a terrible cost. As Leyla celebrates his return, she must grapple with the pain of losing Ari. Now labeled the nation’s number one enemy, Leyla must risk illegal travel through unchartered waters for the truth behind her father’s arrest.

Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena: Set in a world inspired by medieval India, the story tells of a girl, Gul, with a star-shaped birthmark who is prophesied to be the downfall of a tyrant king, the warrior women who come to her aid, and the boy she falls in love with.

The Keeper of the Night by Kylie Lee Baker: set in 1890s Japan, half-British reaper, half-Japanese Shinigami Ren Scarborough flees London and enters the Japanese underworld under the service of Izanami, the goddess of death.

King (Dragon King Chronicles #3) by Ellen Oh: Girl warrior, demon slayer, Tiger spirit of the Yellow Eyes - Kira is ready for her final quest! She must save her cousin, the boy fated to be the future king, uncover the third lost treasure, and face innumerable enemies in order to fulfill the famed prophecy.

A Kingdom for the Stage (For A Muse of Fire #2) by Heidi Heilig: The rebels are eager to use Le Trépas’s and necromancer Jetta’s combined magic against the invading colonists. Soon Jetta will face the choice between saving all of Chakrana or becoming like her father, and she isn’t sure which she’ll choose.

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress #2) by Julie C. Dao: Princess Jade has grown up in exile while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules Feng Lu. Ready to reclaim her place, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all.

Legend by Marie Lu: In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, 15-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

Legion (Talon #4) by Julie Kagawa: The legions are about to be unleashed, and no human, rogue dragon or former dragon slayer can stand against the coming horde in book 4 out of the Talon series.

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana: Amrita must unravel the mysteries of her past to save her kingdom, but in doing so, she herself might come unraveled.

The Light At the Bottom of the World by London Shah: Set in a future where the Earth is underwater, Leyla McQueen must navigate the treacherous abyss to find her missing father, but discovers a world drowning in lies.

Live in Infamy by Caroline Tung Richmond: 80 years since the Axis won World War II, and America was divided between the victors: the Nazis in the East and Imperial Japan in the West; but now resistance is growing in the Eastern territories and 16-year-old Chinese American Ren Cabot finds himself drawn into a resistance group. 

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna: 15-year-old Eva is the clone of a girl living far, far away on another continent--and when this 'other' dies, Eva must step in and take over her life.

The Infinite (Gates of Thread and Stone #2) by Lori M. Lee: Kai always believed the only danger to the city came from within. Now, with a rebel force threatening the fragile government, the walls have become more of a prison than ever. To make matters worse, as Avan explores his new identity as an Infinite, Kai struggles to remind him what it means to be human. 

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao: blending Chinese history and mecha science, Wu Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. Features a poly F/M/M main romance.

The Iron Will of Genie Lo (Epic Crush of Genie Lo #2) by F.C. Yee: Along with a few other contenders for the throne,  heaven-appointed guardian Genie and her friends embark on a Heavenly quest to an in-between world.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen: An intergenerational story of a mother and son struggling to relate to each other—the mother an immigrant to America who wants to make a home for her family in an unfamiliar country; the son Tiế  trying to figure out the best way to come out to his parents. Through telling each other fairy tales, they’re able to find common ground.

The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas: When her ailing father is conscripted to fight invaders from the north, Mulan dresses as a man to take his place in the army, but an old enemy and an attraction for her troop's commander complicate her mission.

The Memory Keepers by Natasha Ngan: Seven is a thief with a difference - he steals downloadable memories from banks and memoriums to sell onto London’s black market. But one night, as Seven is breaking into a private memorium in a wealthy part of London, he is caught in the act by one of its residents; Alba, the teenage daughter of London’s most famous criminal prosecutor. 

The Memory Key by Liana Liu: In the not-so-distant future, everyone is implanted with a memory key to stave off a virulent form of Alzeimer's. Lora Mint fears her memories of her deceased mother are fading, but when her memory key is damaged she has perfect recall--of everything-- which brings her mother's memory vividly back--but may also drive Lora mad. 

The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall: A desperate orphan turned pirate, Flora, and a rebellious imperial daughter, Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, find a connection on the high seas abroad the Dove, in a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic.

The Midnight Star (Young Elites #3) by Marie Lu:  Adelina is forced to revisit old wounds when a new danger appears, putting not only Adelina at risk, but every Elite. In order to save herself and preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

The Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne: Kyra, a highly skilled 17-year-old thief, joins a guild of assassins with questionable motives. Tristam, a young knight, fights against the vicious Demon Riders that are ravaging the city. 

Mirage by Somaiya Daud: In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, 18-year-old Amani is forced to work as a body double for the princess who is hated by her conquered people.

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco: In  a world ruled by goddesses that has been split in two—one half existing in perpetual scorching Day, the other in freezing Night—twins separated at birth Odessa and Haidee embark on a quest across the great divide and rule a reunited world.

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu & Suzanne Walker: Teen witch Nova Huang runs into her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. 

Moribito, Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Uehashi: The wandering warrior Balsa is hired to protect Prince Chagum from both a mysterious monster and the prince's father, the Mikado.

Moribito II, Guardian of the Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi: The wandering female bodyguard Balsa returns to her native country of Kanbal, where she uncovers a conspiracy to frame her mentor and herself.

Night of the Dragon (Shadow of the Fox #3) by Julie Kagawa: As darkness rises and chaos reigns,  fierce kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko and her shadowy protector Kage Tatsumi, will face down the greatest evil of all.

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee: Resigned to a life without superpowers in a world full of them, Jess takes a paid internship where she helps a heinous supervillain and works with her longtime crush Abby, but stumbles on a massive plot.

Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by C.B. Lee: After discovering a massive cover-up by the Heroes’ League of Heroes, shapeshifter Bells Broussard and his friends Jess, Emma, and Abby set off on a secret mission to find the Resistance.

Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee (Sidekick Squad #3): As the Resistance moves to challenge the corrupt League of Heroes, Emma Robledo realizes where her place is in this fight: at the front.

On This Unworthy Scaffold (Shadow Players #3) by Heidi Heilig: Jetta’s home is spiraling into civil war.Le Trépas—the deadly necromancer—has used his blood magic to wrest control of the country. Meanwhile, Jetta’s love interest, brother, and friend are intent on infiltrating the palace to stop the Boy King and find Le Trépas to put an end to the unleashed chaos.

The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond: After 70 years since Hitler's armies won the war, 16-year-old Zara St. James lives in the Shenandoah hills, part of the Eastern American Territories, under the rule of the Nazis--but a resistance movement is growing. 

The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He: In a near future when life is harsh outside of Earth’s last unpolluted place, Cee tries to leave an abandoned island while her sister, STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara, seeks escape from the science and home she once trusted.

One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2) by Kendare Blake: Preparing for the queens' sixteenth birthday celebration and navigating the fallout of the Quickening, sisters Arsinoe, Katharine, and Mirabella reassess their strategic paths to the throne using new understandings of their powers and destinies.

Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2) by Chloe Gong: In 1927, Shanghai tethers on the edge of revolution. After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and while secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat.

Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu: June and Day make their way to Las Vegas where they join the rebel Patriot group and become involved in an assassination plot against the Elector in hopes of saving the Republic.

Quantum Coin (Fair Coin #2) by E.C. Myers: Ephraim, Jena, and Zoe embark on a mission across multiple worlds to learn what's going wrong and how to stop it. They will have to draw on every resource available and trust in alternate versions of themselves and their friends, before it's too late for all of them.

Ravage the Dark (Scavenge the Stars #2) by Tara Sim: After escaping the city of Moray, Amaya and Cayo head to the port city of Baleine to find the mysterious Benefactor and put a stop to the counterfeit currency that is spreading Ash Fever throughout the kingdoms.

The Reader by Traci Chee:  Set in a world where reading is unheard-of, Sefia makes use of a mysterious object to track down who kidnapped her aunt Nin and what really happened the night her father was murdered.

A Reaper At the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir: Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger as the Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, Laia of Serra, and Elias Veturius all face increasing dangers.

Rebel (Legend #4) by Marie Lu: Brothers Eden and Daniel Wing struggle to accept who they’ve each become since their time in the Republic, but a new danger creeps into the distance that’s grown between them. Eden soon finds himself drawn so far into Ross City’s dark side, even his legendary brother can’t save him. At least not on his own.

Rebelwing by Andrea Tang: At a prestigious prep school, scholastic student Prudence Wu, who smuggles censored media in a futuristic North America divided by culture wars and becomes an unlikely revolutionary, after being imprinted by Rebelwing, a sentient cybernetic dragon.

Renegade Flight (Rebelwing #2) by Andrea Tang: Pilot-in-training Viola Park, a probationary student at GAN Academy, enters a mech combat tournament that becomes a fight for the future of Peacekeepers everywhere.

Rising Like a Storm (The Wrath of Ambar #2) by Tanaz Bhathena: Gul and Cavas must unite their magical forces―and hold onto their growing romance―to save their kingdom from tyranny.

The Righteous (The Beautiful #3) by Renée Ahdieh: Pippa Montrose is tired of losing everything she loves. When her best friend Celine disappears under mysterious circumstances, Pippa resolves to find her, even if the journey takes her into the dangerous world of the fae, where she might find more than she bargained for in the charismatic Arjun Desai.

The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee: The never-before-told backstory of Avatar Kyoshi, from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice who is still feared and admired centuries after she became the Avatar.

Rogue (Talon #2) by Julie Kagawa: Unable to forget the human boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, Ember is determined to save him from execution with the help of rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues.

Rogue Heart (Rebel Seoul #2) by Axie Oh: Two years after the Battle of Neo Seoul, telepath Ama must use her telepathic abilities to infiltrate the base of the Alliance’s new war commander, Alex Kim, her first love who betrayed her.

The Rose and the Dagger (Wrath and the Dawn #2) by Renee Adhieh: Unsure who to trust, Shahrzad takes matters into her own hands to try and break the curse and reunite with her one true love.

The Rose Society (Young Elites #2) by Marie Lu: Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis.

Ruse (Want #2) by Cindy Pon: In near-future Shanghai where society is divided between the fabulously wealthy business elite and the masses they exploit, Jason Zhou must play a dangerous cat and mouse game with the ruthless CEO of an all powerful corporation which has an ever-growing choke hold on the polluted metropolis.

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim: In the city-state of Moray, Amaya, orphaned by a powerful merchant’s greed and condemned to seven years aboard a debtor’s ship, returns to seek revenge only to encounter the merchant’s son in this gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Serpentine by Cindy Pon: Although 16-year-old Skybright feels lucky to be the handmaid and companion to the daughter of a wealthy family, she is hiding a secret that threatens to destroy her position and her closest relationships.

Sacrifice (Serpertine #2) by Cindy Pon: When Zhen Ni discovers that her new husband, the strange and brutish Master Hou, may not be all he seems, Skybright and Stone must travel through the terrifying underworld to save her.

Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda & Valynne Maetani: Set in contemporary Japan, Shinto temple priestess Kira Fujikawa, must seek the aid of seven ruthless shinigami, in order to protect Kyoto from an ancient evil.

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells: Maren, desperate to save her kidnapped girlfriend Kaia, plans to steal one of the emperor’s dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold, but her success depends on becoming an apprentice to the mysterious dragon trainer, which proves to be a dangerous venture.

Talon by Julie Kagawa: In a world in which near-extinct dragons pass as humans to grow their numbers secretly, siblings Ember and Dante Hill prepare for destined positions in the world of Talon only to be hunted by a dragon-slaying soldier.

The Ship Beyond Time (Girl From Everywhere #2) by Heidi Heilig: Nix has escaped her past, but when the person she loves most is at risk, even the daughter of a time traveler may not be able to outrun her fate—no matter where she goes.

The Shadow Mission (The Athena Protocol #2) by Shamim Sharif: Jessie Archer faced down death to prove her dedication to Athena, the elite organization of female spies she works for. Now she’s back on the team, in time to head to Pakistan to take down the man whose actions spurred Athena’s founders to create the secretive squad. 

The Shadow of Kyoshi (Kyoshi #2) by F.C. Yee: Kyoshi’s place as the true Avatar has finally been cemented. With her mentors gone, Kyoshi voyages across the Four Nations, struggling to keep the peace. But while her reputation grows, a mysterious threat emerges from the Spirit World. To stop it, Kyoshi, Rangi, and their reluctant allies must join forces.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa: Demons have burned the temple Yumeko was raised in to the ground, killing everyone within, including the master who trained her to both use and hide her kitsune shapeshifting powers. Yumeko escapes with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll. Fate thrusts her into the path of a mysterious samurai, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan. Yumeko knows he seeks what she has…and is under orders to kill anything and anyone who stands between him and the scroll.

Shadow Girl by Liana Liu: When Mei arrives at the beautiful home on Arrow Island, she can't help feeling relieved. She's happy to spend the summer tutoring a rich man's daughter if it means a break from her normal life. Yet she can't shake her fear that there is danger lurking in the shadows of this beautiful house, a darkness that could destroy the family inside and out...and Mei along with them. 

Shadowsong (Wintersong #2) by S. Jae-Jones: Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. But when troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King—who he was, who he is, and who he will be.

Smoke in the Sun (A Flame in the Mist #2) by Renee Ahdieh: After Okami is captured in the Jukai forest, Mariko has no choice—to rescue him, she tricks her brother, Kenshin, and betrothed, Raiden, into thinking she was being held by the Black Clan against her will. But each secret Mariko unfurls gives way to the next, ensnaring her and Okami in a political scheme that threatens their honor, their love and very the safety of the empire.

Sisters of the Snake by Sasha & Sarena Nanua: an Indian-inspired fantasy where twins separated at birth—one now a princess, the other a street thief— must switch places in a bid to stop a catastrophic war that threatens to tear their kingdom apart.

Silver Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia #1) by Cindy Pon: With her father long overdue from his journey and a lecherous merchant blackmailing her into marriage, 17-year-old Ai Ling becomes aware of a strange power within her as she goes in search of her parent.

The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi: Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but at a terrible cost. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumored to grant its possessor the power of God. Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into icy heart of Russia.

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim: The Wild Swans meets East Asian fantasy where an exiled princess, Shiori, must unweave the curse that turned her brothers into cranes, assisted by her spurned betrothed, a mercurial dragon, and a paper bird brought to life by her own magic.

A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) by Sabaa Tahir: Laia of Serra is now allied with the Blood Shrike, Helen Aquilla. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory–or to an unimaginable doom.

Skyhunter by Marie Lu: Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation. Their cruelty forced her and her mother to seek asylum in Mara. When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye. 

The Shadow Glass (Bone Witch #3) by Rin Chupeco: Bone witch Tea’s dark magic eats away at her, but she must save the one she loves most, even while her life—and the kingdoms—are on the brink of destruction.

Song of the Abyss (Towers of Wind #2) by Makiia Lucier: When menacing raiders attack her ship, navigator Reyna must use every resource at her disposal, including placing her trust in a handsome prince from a rival kingdom.

Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao: After cruelly rejecting Bao, the poor physician’s apprentice who loves her, Lan, a wealthy nobleman’s daughter, regrets her actions. After learning that Bao’s soul has been trapped inside a flute by a witch, Lan vows to make amends and help break the spell.

Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) by Julie Kagawa: As the paths of Yumeko and the possessed Tatsumi cross once again, the entire empire will be thrown into chaos.

A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna: In this sci-fi retelling of the  Mahabrahata, Esmae learns that the King of Wychstar is offering the unbeatable warship Titania to the winner of his competition and she sees her chance to return home and help her brother win back his kingdom.

The Speaker (Sea of Ink and Gold #2) by Traci Chee: Having barely escaped the clutches of the Guard, Sefia and Archer are back on the run, slipping into the safety of the forest to tend to their wounds and plan their next move.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim: 17-year-old Maia Tamarin poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor, and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars, with help from the mysterious court magician, Edan.

Spell Starter (Caster #2) by Elsie Chapman: Yes, Aza Wu now has magic back, but now she’s in the employ of the gang leader, St. Willow. Who soon decides that having Aza as a fighter is much more lucrative than as a fixer.

Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar: Inspired by Hindu mythology, half-mortal, half-star Sheetal enters a celestial competition to save her human father’s life.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi:  Treated with scorn and fear in her father's kingdom because of a formidable horoscope, 16-year-old Maya commits herself to her education only to land in an arranged marriage that culminates in her sudden elevation to the throne, a situation that is threatened by dark secrets and Otherworldly magic.

Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Choski:Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.

Steelstriker (Skyhunter #2) by Marie Lu: After the fall of Mara, and with the fate of a broken world hanging in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to one another.

Storm the Earth (Shatter the Sky #2) by Rebecca Kim Wells: Maren and her girlfriend Kaia set out to rescue Sev  in Zafed, and free the dragons from the corrupt emperor.

The Storyteller (Sea of Ink and Gold #3) by Traci Chee: Sefia is determined to keep Archer out of the Guard’s clutches and their plans for war between the Five Kingdoms. As Sefia and Archer watch Kelanna start to crumble to the Guard’s will, they will have to choose between their love and joining a war that just might tear them apart.

Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan: In this steampunk fantasy set in Qing dynasty-inspired China, warrior girl Anlei teams up with a thief to save her village from shadow spirits, but after arriving at the Courts of Hell, a discovery challenges everything they know about who the real enemy is.

The Suffering (Girl From the Well #2) by Rin Chupeco: When an old friend disappears in Aokigahara, Japan's infamous 'suicide forest,' Tark and the ghostly Okiku must resolve their differences and return to find her. In a strange village inside Aokigahara, old ghosts and an ancient evil lie waiting. 

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong: In 1920s Shanghai, starcrossed heirs to rival gangs, Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov, must work together to face a monster that hunts the city streets before the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake: A fantasy about triplet sisters separated at birth, where one of the sisters will grow up to be queen of their magical island, but in order to ascend to the throne she must hone her magic for a dark purpose: assassinating her other two sisters before they kill her first.

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman: 15 bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.

A Thousand Fires by Shannon Price: In modern-day San Francisco where three gangs rule the city streets, half-Filipina teen Valerie Simons enters the Red Bridge Wars to seek vengeance for her younger brother’s death, but soon finds herself torn between old love and new loyalty.

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala: In ancient India, soldier Kunal hunts the “Viper,” rebel girl Esha accused of killing his General, embarking on a dangerous cat and mouse game and where both must decide—loyalty to their old lives or to a love that’s made them dream of new ones.

Timekeeper by Tara Sim: set in an alternate Victorian era where clock towers control time, about a teen clock mechanic who is assigned to repair a damaged tower and finds himself falling in forbidden love with the boy he mistakes for his apprentice, but is actually the tower’s clock spirit, and whose life is threatened by a mysterious attacker planting bombs in clock towers across England.

A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) by Sabaa Tahir: Laia and Elias fight their way north to liberate Laia’s brother from the horrors of Kauf Prison. Hunted by Empire soldiers, manipulated by the Commandant, and haunted by their pasts, Laia and Elias must outfox their enemies and confront the treacherousness of their own hearts.

Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns #3) by Kendare Blake: A victorious Katharine sits on the throne, Mirabella and Arsinoe are in hiding, and an unexpected renegade is about to wage a war of her own. The crown has been won, but these queens are far from done.

Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars #2) by Elizabeth Lim: With a war brewing, master tailor Maia Tamarin will stop at nothing to find her love Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country.

Vicious Spirits (Gumiho #2) by Kat Cho: With the support of Somin and Junu, Miyoung and Jihoon might just have a shot at normalcy. But Miyoung is getting sicker by the day and her friends don’t know how to save her. With few options remaining, Junu has an idea but it might require the ultimate sacrifice and, let’s be honest, Junu isn’t known for his “generosity.”

Want by Cindy Pon: Set in a teeming, pollution choked Taipei which follows a group of teens living on the seedy fringes of a highly divided society that works only for the elite as they decide to risk everything to take down the powerful company which controls the city. 

Warcross by Marie Lu: When teenage coder Emika Chen hacks her way into the opening tournament of the Warcross Championships, she glitches herself into the game as well as a sinister plot with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire. 

Warrior (Dragon King Chronicles #2) by Ellen Oh: Kira, the yellow-eyed demon slayer of Hansong, continues her quest to find the lost treasures of the dragon king's prophecy, save her cousin, the prince, unite her kingdom, and defeat the demon lord

We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya #1) by Hafsah Faizal: In a world inspired by ancient Arabia, 17-year-old huntress Zafira must disguise herself as a man to seek a lost artifact that could return magic to her cursed world.

We Free the Stars (Sands of Arawiya #2) by Hafsah Faizal: When Zafria, the Hunter, and Nasir, the Prince of Death both embark on a quest to uncover a lost magic artifact, they encounter an ancient evil long thought destroyed - and discover that the prize they seek may be even more dangerous this time.

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles: Showgirl Kallia, haunted by a dark past, must compete in a magician’s competition in order to secure her ambition and freedom from the handsome, enigmatic keeper of the club, Jack, even as mysterious accidents seem to plague her every move, while crossing paths with another talented magician, Demarco.

When Night Breaks (Kingdom of Hearts #2) by Janella Angeles: The competition has come to a disastrous end, and Daron Demarco’s fall from grace is now front page news. But little matters to him beyond Kallia, the contestant he fell for. With time running out, Kallia must embrace her role in a darker destiny.

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho: After 18-year-old Miyoung Gu, a nine-tailed fox surviving in modern-day Seoul by eating the souls of evil men, kills a murderous goblin to save Jihoon, she is forced to choose between her immortal life and his.

Wildcard (Warcross #2) by Marie Lu: Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Knowing the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she is determined to put a stop to his plans. 

The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad: A a multi-perspective feminist narrative about a fierce band of magic-wielding girls—the Wild Ones—who have collectively survived unspeakable things, and together are determined to save other girls from the cruelties and tragedies they’ve had to endure in their own past lives.

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones: After her sister is kidnapped by the Goblin King, Liesl journeys to the Underground and is faced with an impossible decision when she finds herself captivated by the strange world and its mysterious ruler.

Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco: A girl descended from Filipina mythological heroine Maria Makiling, finds herself caught up in a war between two fairy tale kingdoms, where the fate of Avalon is at stake.

Windborn by Mary Fan: With magicians hot on their trail, air nymph Kiri and magician’s apprentice Darien embark on a treacherous journey through dangerous lands to freedom.

World After (Penryn & The End of Days #2) by Susan Ee: Penryn's search for her kidnapped sister, Paige, leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, while Raffe must choose between reclaiming his wings--and his role as the angels' leader--or helping Penryn survive.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Adhieh: In this reimagining of The Arabian Nights, Shahrzad plans to avenge the death of her dearest friend by volunteering to marry the murderous boy-king of Khorasan but discovers not all is as it seems within the palace.

Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee: As 17-year-old Carr 'the Raptor' Luka rises to fame in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing, he learns a devastating secret that jeopardizes not only his future in the sport, but interplanetary relations.