EJCarlson author

Secrets of the Sorcery War by Elise Carlson

Secrets lie across the seas. Having vanquished the damars, Heir Ruarnon thought they'd secured the safety of Umarinaris' eastern seas. But Nartzeer's murderous creatures are back, their handlers are more worrisome and both bar Ruarnon's path to new allies needed to recover their abducted parents. The handlers are Linh’s chance to confirm that her gateway home (to Australia) —and that sorcerers able (and hopefully willing) to operate it— lie in Umarinaris' dangerous West. In pursuit of allies and answers, Ruarnon and Linh clash with evolving, ever more dangerous damars. They learn magic is still wielded on Umarinaris, that some of the Sorcery War’s deadliest weapons survived and that Nartzeer has his own plans for those weapons. Nartzeer's forces threaten to sink Ruarnon and Linh's ship, and their hopes with it, yet he may not be what he seems...

Manipulator's War by Elise Carlson

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All roads lead to war. Nonbinary Ruarnon is determined to prove their worth as heir to Tarlah's perfect King. But when their parents are abducted, Ruarnon must rule Tarlah in the face of unreliable allies, a brutal expansionist neighbour, and binary male warriors who doubt the lead of a bookish enby youth. Neighbouring King Kyura faces opposition, as peace-loving ruler of warmongering subjects who dream of expanding their empire. Ruarnon is vulnerable in the absence of their allies, but when Kyura rejects calls to conquer Tarlah once and for all, assassins threaten his family and mutiny threatens his reign. Trapped in Ruarnon's world, Linh is desperate to return to her family in Australia, and isn't above using her host’s belief that she's a figure from local myth to achieve it. But her gateway home lies on the far side of a brewing war, and her only transport is Ruarnon’s absent allies, sailing to Tarlah’s aid. A new breed of creature threatens them all: a plague of monsters sailing towards Kyura and Ruarnon’s lands. Linh’s monster observations could save Kyura and Ruarnon’s people, ending the war between them, and clearing Linh’s homeward path. But the strategy’s price is dear; Linh must risk her life aiding Ruarnon. And to secure peace with Kyura’s unruly subjects, Ruarnon’s ultimate test as heir risks betrayal and Tarlah’s bloody defeat.