Schooled in Magic Books
Emily is a teenage girl pulled from our world into a world of magic and mystery by a necromancer who intends to sacrifice her to the dark gods. Rescued in the nick of time by an enigmatic sorcerer, she discovers that she possesses magical powers and must go to Whitehall School to learn how to master them. There, she learns the locals believe that she is a "Child of Destiny," someone whose choices might save or damn their world... a title that earns her both friends and enemies. A stranger in a very strange land, she may never fit into her new world... ...and the necromancer is still hunting her. If Emily can't stop him, he might bring about the end of days.
After completing her first year of learning magic at Whitehall School, Emily accepts an invitation from Princess Alassa to accompany her on her progress back to her home country of Zangaria, where the princess may meet her future husband. For Emily, it is a chance to relax and explore a world very different to Earth, meet new people and come to terms with her reputation in the Nameless World. And yet, as she sees more of the countries surrounding Whitehall, she feels more and more out of place. Even her friends are strange to her eyes. But dark forces are at work, plotting to capture the Princess, take power in Zangeria ... and undo all of Emily's work. As all hell breaks loose, Emily may be all that stands between Zangaria and a return to the dark ages of brute force.
Brimming with new ideas for magical research, Emily returns to Whitehall School for her Second Year of magical education, looking forward to returning to her studies. And yet things are different; her new roommates harbor their secrets, her old friends are becoming distracted by sports and games and one of the teachers seems to dislike her. As she starts new classes, she discovers she has to work far harder to keep her place in the school. But her second year will be far more adventurous than her first. When it becomes clear that there is a murderer - and a spy - in the school, Emily will be the only one who can save the school from a plot aimed right at the heart of the Allied Lands themselves. And yet her curiosity may very well prove her undoing.
In the summer between Second and Third Year at Whitehall, Emily accompanies Lady Barb on her rounds of the Cairngorm Mountains bringing magical help to the locals and searching for new magicians. For Emily, tired and broken after the events of Study in Slaughter, it should be a chance to relax as well as a visit to a new part of the Nameless World, to put her responsibilities aside and just be herself. But the locals aren't quite what she expects, with problems of their own, while Lady Barb is a different person away from Whitehall. As children start to go missing and evil things are abroad in the night, Emily discovers that a deadly plot is slowly bringing the mountain community to the brink of disaster ...and that her oldest enemies are about to make a very unwelcome return.
Mountaintop Academy, sister school of Whitehall, has secrets, deadly secrets - and its MageMaster is dying. When he finally leaves the mortal world, it will trigger a power struggle that may tear the school apart. When a cabal within Mountaintop plots to kidnap Emily and seduce her to their side, she is asked to go undercover into Mountaintop in the hopes she can uncover some of their secrets before they explode out into the open. But when Mountaintop's Administrator begins to introduce her to entire branches of forgotten or forbidden magics, Emily finds herself torn between her love for knowledge, her sense of what is right and wrong... and the mission she agreed to undertake. And when she comes face to face with the dark secret at the heart of the school, it may kill her... or leave her corrupted with a darkness that will never leave her soul. Praise for Lessons in Etiquette "...Emily and Alassa are strong female heroes, remaining composed in the face of danger and asserting themselves when necessary. The book speaks to those who wonder how much developed nations should interfere in the cultivation of a developing society...." San Francisco Book Review.
The Magical Families of Ashworth and Ashfall have been feuding for countless years, ever since something happened to split one family into two. Now, they have been invited to Cockatrice Faire... when no other magician would dare invite them both. And when it becomes clear that the Ashworth Heir and the Ashfall Heir have fallen in love with one another, Emily finds herself caught in the middle between two powerful families, each one capable of destroying her once and for all... Praise for Lessons in Etiquette "...Emily and Alassa are strong female heroes, remaining composed in the face of danger and asserting themselves when necessary. The book speaks to those who wonder how much developed nations should interfere in the cultivation of a developing society...." San Francisco Book Review.
After a brief visit to the Blighted Lands, in hopes of recovering something useful from Shadye's Dark Fortress, Emily returns to Whitehall for her fourth year, bracing herself for the exams that will determine her future. But as she resumes her education, she discovers that the shadows of the past are hanging over the school. A teacher wants to break her, some of her friends are acting oddly and, worst of all, a boy intends to court her. As Emily struggles to cope with new challenges and to overcome the demons in her past, she becomes aware of a deadly threat looming over Whitehall, a curse that threatens her very soul. And when she makes a tiny yet fatal mistake, she finds herself facing a fight she cannot win, but dares not lose... Praise for Lessons in Etiquette "...Emily and Alassa are strong female heroes, remaining composed in the face of danger and asserting themselves when necessary. The book speaks to those who wonder how much developed nations should interfere in the cultivation of a developing society...." San Francisco Book Review.
With Princess Alassa's wedding to Jade fast approaching, Emily returns to Zangaria to play her part in the wedding ceremony and say goodbye to her friends as they leave Whitehall School. But with a demon's warning echoing in her ears, King Randor dangerously unstable and meddling in her relationship with her boyfriend, junior aristocrats scrambling for power, society dames demanding bigger roles in the ceremony, social unrest in Zangaria reaching its peak and her own magic no longer reliable, the wedding ceremony will be anything but relaxing. As Emily is drawn into a maelstrom of political turmoil, no longer certain who she can trust, one thing is certain. Alassa's wedding may turn into hell. And when an old enemy returns, Emily may find herself confronting a choice between doing the right thing... ...And losing everything she's built over the past four years.
Emily returns to Whitehall, only to discover that things have changed. The new Grandmaster doesn't want her in his school - and is only willing to accept her as a probationary student. If she wishes to remain at Whitehall, she must work for Professor Locke as an assistant while managing her studies and her growing relationship with Caleb. And, as if that wasn't enough, she is also expected to mentor a bunch of younger students. Her time is no longer her own. But when Professor Locke starts opening the tunnels under the school, hunting for the lost secrets of Old Whitehall, he triggers off a series of catastrophes that threaten to tear the school apart. As the staff and students struggle to survive, Emily is forced to solve a disturbing mystery... ...And figure out what it has to do with her private research.
Their past is not what they think it is... Thrown back in time after the spells binding Whitehall School together nearly collapsed, Emily finds herself in the days of Lord Whitehall. But everything she knows about the past is a lie. The Whitehall Commune is in hiding from a great and terrible foe, while some of the legendary founders bicker like children and others call on deadly and untrustworthy entities with agendas of their own. Desperately seeking a way back to her own time, her mere presence a boon and a curse to established history, Emily is drawn into a conflict against both rogue wizards and a mysterious force intent on exterminating all magicians before the future school can take shape. But as deadly powers converge on the castle, her time is running out... ...And, deep beneath Old Whitehall, something dark and dangerous is about to be born.
The Nameless World Goes to War! The necromancers have finally resumed their assault on the Allied Lands, sending a mighty army across the Desert of Death and into the Kingdom of Tarsier. Countless farms, villages and towns have already been destroyed as the host makes its way northwards, striking deep into the kingdom's most vulnerable lands. Hundreds of thousands have been killed, thousands more will be killed when they are sacrificed for power. If the necromancers win the coming battle, it may be the beginning of the end... When Sergeant Miles invites her to join the coalition force, Emily reluctantly accepts. The necromancers have to be stopped, even if it means taking time off from school to serve as the sergeant's apprentice. But with arguing aristocrats, reluctant soldiers, fearful civilians, shadows from her past, a dangerously-sane necromancer and treachery in the ranks, stopping the invasion may cost Emily her life...
The war is over. But the scars remain. Emily's New Learning has been good for Beneficence. In the years since she arrived on the Nameless World, the city has been at the forefront of technological advancement and social development. Thousands of newcomers are moving to the city, railways span the gorge and drive into Zangaria, the first steamboats are plowing the ocean wave and a whole new banking system is reshaping national and international trade. A true golden age appears to be on hand. But all is not well. The city's largest businessman may be on the verge of collapse, the city guilds are weakening, religious fanatics stalk the streets, and there are rumors that one of the Great Gods has returned to judge everyone. The streets are on edge. No one knows which way to turn. Emily returns to Beneficence for Casper's funeral before she goes back to school. But, as she is drawn into a political, social and religious meltdown, she finds herself dealing with the darker consequences of her innovations, people who blame her for the problems facing the city, religious fanatics, her boyfriend's family... ...And a deadly plot from the dark past that may lead the Nameless World to utter ruin.
Laughter Academy is in trouble. The student witches are growing increasingly reckless, preying on the mundanes below the mountains as their tutors plot and scheme to take advantage of the chaos. And no one seems to know why. Emily is in no condition to intervene. But she cannot refuse. Heading to Laughter, Emily finds herself dragged into a world of schoolgirl games, staffroom politics and a deadly plot aimed at the heart of the Allied Lands themselves...
A brutal uprising in the Kingdom of Alluvia has shaken the Allied Lands - and Emily finds herself accused of starting it. Desperate, all too aware the kingdom is on the verge of becoming a vortex of chaos, Emily travels to Alluvia in the hopes of calming both sides long enough to secure peace... ...Unaware that the uprising is merely the first step in a plan to shatter the Allied Lands beyond repair.
The Necromantic Wars are over, but there is no peace. In the aftermath of the struggle, long-held grudges are boiling over and conflicts are breaking out. The monarchs want to settle border disputes, the aristocrats want to impose their will on monarchs and peasants alike, the commoners want freedom and justice and the magical communities want to rule all or else separate themselves from the mundanes. And most of this chaos is being orchestrated by Emily’s mentor, the sorcerer Void. He believes the only path to salvation for the Allied Lands is to make himself the undisputed ruler of the world. After discovering the truth - too late - Emily is on the run, blamed for the disorder by friend and foe alike. With a handful of allies by her side, Emily must find a safe place to gather herself and strike back before it is too late to save what remains of the Allied Lands. And yet, as she flees through lands plagued by civil wars and rebellious nobility, hunted by powerful sorcerers, aristocrats and rebels who want to kill her or use her for their own purposes, she is forced to accept it may not be possible to save everything and to realize, as much as she might wish to deny it, that her mentor might be right. And yet, she also knows the path to hell is paved with good intentions...
A hundred years before Emily, just after the fall of the Empire and the start of the Necromantic Wars, Void worked for the White Council as an agent of last resort, the sorcerer they called upon when no one else could complete the mission. But this mission may make or break him. Searching for a missing alchemist, Void is drawn into a deadly plot threatening the newborn Allied Lands, one that may send them plunging into ruin. And, as he starts trying to unpick the plot, he is forced to confront a truth that will change his life forever ...
Eight years ago, the Sorcerer Void saved Emily's life. To Emily, Void became, in so many ways, the father she'd never had. And yet Void kept a secret from her. To save the Allied Lands from themselves, to keep them from being destroyed by the necromancers or torn apart by their short-sighted rulers, he embarked on a plan to launch a coup and reunite the long-dead empire, a plan that can only end in total war or a permanent living death. He must be stopped. And now, all that stands between him and his goal is his adopted daughter, Emily herself. Gathering her allies, Emily prepares herself to return to Whitehall, to face the most dangerous opponent she has ever faced. But as she pits the new world against the old in a desperate bid to undo Void's work before it is too late, she is forced to confront a deadly truth... Is it possible that Void might be right?
Emily had hoped for some peace, in the wake of the war. A chance to sit down and relax and come to terms with everything that had happened over the last year. But it was not to be. The post-war world is in chaos, with mundane revolutionary factions clashing with magical supremacists, kings fighting to maintain what remains of their power, magitech changing the world and shadowy forces preparing themselves to take advantage of the coming conflict… all unaware of a growing threat rising from the long-forgotten past. The most dangerous collection of tomes of eldritch lore in the world lies buried under Whitehall, its existence known only to a select few. They hold secrets long lost, from foretelling the future to tapping into powers far beyond human ken; they show their owners how to summon demons and bend them to their will, if they are prepared to pay the price. Now those books have been stolen, forcing Emily to chase the thief across a world ruined by war and teetering on the brink of further conflict before the books can be opened, read, and used to unleash a nightmare … But it may already be too late. As dark powers start to stir in the ruins of the post-war world, and inhuman eyes watch from the shadows, Emily must find an answer to two impossible questions. How can she win against an enemy who can see her every move before she makes it… And what price will the entire world pay for the demon’s design?
The war is over, but a new world is fighting to be born. The Allied Lands exist in name only, with powerful kings throwing off the shackles of the alliance, powerful magicians scheming to go their own way and revolutionaries fighting for freedom, democracy, and a chance to stride into a brave new world. On a peace mission, desperately trying to hammer out a settlement that will keep the radicals and reactionaries from starting yet another civil war, Emily is attacked by Marah, a young woman rescued by her enigmatic master and turned into a living weapon to start the chaos. Seeing something of herself in the girl, Emily takes her as an apprentice, both to give her a better chance at life and to use her to track down her master, who appears to have plans of his own...
For generations, the Magicians of Celeste have chafed under at the limitations of the Compact, the treaties between the Magical and Mundane communities of the Allied Lands, and worked towards their abolition, envisaging a world in which magical supremacy would be established, allowing them to explore newer and greater fields of magic while keeping the powerless mundanes firmly under control. Their dreams were not taken seriously, until now. With the end of the Necromantic Wars and the Allied Lands in disarray, they have finally stepped into the light and taken control of their city, declaring independence from the Allied Lands and creating a nightmare for both mundanes and any magicians who refuse to toe the line. And they don’t intend to stop. It is only a matter of time before they export their new regime to the rest of the continent, crushing anyone who stands in their way. For Emily, who has traced the enigmatic Hierarchy to Celeste, there is no doubt that the new regime is an ally to a far older and darker threat. Millions of lives are at stake, thousands killed and tens of thousands more forced into slavery. The regime must be stopped, no matter the cost, before it imposes its own order on the entire world. But how can she prevail against an entire city of magicians, and a threat that has been decades in the making?