Darkwolf Descending: Book II of The Darkwolf Saga (Volume 1)

Volcanic salamanders worshipping the daughter of a murdered volcano god, they plan to turn Pele into a goddess and use her to conquer the Mystical Isles and unite the surface dwellers, and even the merfolk under the waves, into their fabled Earthseasky Kingdom. A magical and chaotic land where it’s forever both spring and yet also autumn, where whirlpools, waterspouts and storms erupt without warning and supernatural beings lurk inside trees and rocks, this will not be easy. Isles seized by a breeding frenzy known as ‘amorka’ during certain lunar alignments, much of the populace consists of blends of unruly species, everything from mist panthers and hill giants to sea lions and gnomes. The rest are saorsain like pixies and gryphons, ‘free beings’ who bend a knee to no one. Trapped on the Earth until dusk falls, Darkwolf Descending begins with Brian Easterling dreaming his way back to the wonderful world of Yooba where he’s a potent wizard instead of a bored high school student. Armed with enchanted daggers and able to flit from shadow to shadow with his shadowdragon hide cloak, he uses his native English to cast spells. Stumbling on this golden opportunity by accident, he’s making the most of it. Fears confirmed, his forest nymph lover Lotus has thwarted an assassination attempt by two mephit, supernatural beings made of flame. Whether they were hired by the Iomairt, the crime syndicate he’s trying to eradicate in these fog shrouded Mystical Isles, the storm giantess Tabitha who looks after the residents, the volcanic demigoddess Pele or the demigod Buulthur whose forces he defeated back on the mainland, remains unclear. Dubbed the Darkwolf by the diverse locals known as Ymir, a mix of everything from sea elves and badgerkin to satyrs and kodiaks, he has their support. While he manages to strike a deal with Tabitha, thus forging a federation of species to thwart ruthless starfarers seeking to colonize the Isles, the Iomairt dispatch a lovely assassin whom none would suspect. On the mainland, Buulthur and his moon goddess aunt Lirali plan to unite the Badlands’ savage centaurs and the Fertile Forest’s clever humans into a single kingdom, then invade. Even as Brian is forced to use his dreamwalking to spy for the government and commit corporate sabotage back on Earth, Lotus, Tabitha, the Darkwolf and his Ymir struggle to protect the Mystical Isles from conquerors both otherworldly and domestic.