Darkness Within Saga Series by J.D. Franx

Yrlissa Blackmist has been a high ranking assassin in the Broken Blades Guild for longer than most family lines have existed. A long life of death and fighting will wear on anyone. When Cassel brings light to a lonely life of darkness, she can no longer resist the temptation. But Yrlissa is not a typical assassin, and her past life, long forgotten, will threaten her present.

Book 1 from Amazon Bestselling Author JD Franx's Darkness Within Saga! DeathWizards have been the scourge of Talohna for over 5000 years; they are executed at birth or hunted to the death. There are no exceptions. Pulled by magic and blood sacrifice into a world he can't possibly begin to understand, Kael Symes soon finds himself the focus of a Talohna-wide manhunt... moreBook 1 from Amazon Bestselling Author JD Franx's Darkness Within Saga! DeathWizards have been the scourge of Talohna for over 5000 years; they are executed at birth or hunted to the death. There are no exceptions. Pulled by magic and blood sacrifice into a world he can't possibly begin to understand, Kael Symes soon finds himself the focus of a Talohna-wide manhunt. Desperate and trying to stay ahead of ArchWizard Giddeon Zirakus's execution squad, Kael soon discovers that Talohna's ArchWizard may be the least of his worries. An ancient witch coven is also on the hunt for Kael, and they'll stop at nothing to find their messiah first. Trapped far below the earth inside the long-lost Dwarven prison of Arkum Zul, Kael has few allies he can trust. After months of torture and suffering, he is quickly running out of time to recover what was stolen from him: The magic of the DeathWizard. It's his only hope for escape. less

Book 2 from JD Franx's epic new saga! Few people survive the suffering that Kael Symes has experienced. Hot steel, demonic magic, and the loss of those he loves. After escaping the horrors of Arkum Zul, Kael and his companions survive a terror-filled night on the ocean only to find themselves shipwrecked and stranded in the Wildlands. With forest tribals on the warpath and old enemies roaming the forest, Kael struggles to come to terms with what he is slowly becoming—a killer. A DeathWizard... moreBook 2 from JD Franx's epic new saga! Few people survive the suffering that Kael Symes has experienced. Hot steel, demonic magic, and the loss of those he loves. After escaping the horrors of Arkum Zul, Kael and his companions survive a terror-filled night on the ocean only to find themselves shipwrecked and stranded in the Wildlands. With forest tribals on the warpath and old enemies roaming the forest, Kael struggles to come to terms with what he is slowly becoming—a killer. A DeathWizard. In the fight against the evil that threatens to consume him, Kael learns that the Dwarven Mountains far to the north may hide an ancient monolith that holds the answer to the corruption that flows in his veins. But trekking across Talohna is a dangerous prospect. It is a world that holds its secrets close. The cost of uncovering them may very well be his soul and quite possibly his life. less

Warning: 18+ Only. Contains scenes of an adult nature. Threatened by an Elloryan invasion reinforced by the Ancients, the sanctuary Ember and Max sought in DormaSai after Kael’s burial is at its end. A civil war rages in Cethos, and the threat of Wildland tribal attacks in the Blood Kingoms is imminent. They can offer no help to their Southern neighbors, leaving DormaSai as all that stands in the Ancients’ way... moreWarning: 18+ Only. Contains scenes of an adult nature. Threatened by an Elloryan invasion reinforced by the Ancients, the sanctuary Ember and Max sought in DormaSai after Kael’s burial is at its end. A civil war rages in Cethos, and the threat of Wildland tribal attacks in the Blood Kingoms is imminent. They can offer no help to their Southern neighbors, leaving DormaSai as all that stands in the Ancients’ way. When the peace conclave crumbles and the Ancients are forced from DormaSai by unexpected allies, Ember and Max turn their attention to preparing for the Ancients’ inevitable return. One year after Kael’s death, the Ancients return for the Human Animus seal, and with them, comes the full might of Emperor Mero’s Elloryan military machine. On the dawn of war, startling information from the North reaches the DormaSai military camp as King Kohl’s spies return from Corynth. They bring tales of a DeathWizard restoring the rightful Bale heir to the Cesthosian throne and freeing Talohna’s only ArchWizard from the clutches of the DragonKin. Ember, Max, and Yrlissa are convinced that only one DeathWizard would have cause to do either—Kael. As war with Ellorya erupts, their hope that Kael is somehow back from the dead must be set aside. The war that all of Talohna has dreaded for so long is about to begin, and hope is a rare commodity during any war. less

After the death of Sokn’s High King and the theft of volatile bloodstone runes at the hands of rebel Ama Taugr necromancers, Jarl Engier War-Blood unites the northern clans in an effort to defend a rundown fortress situated over the last Sokn bloodstone mine. The rare mineral is the only source of power known to raise the dead and when the necromancers come for it, Engier and his allies quickly find themselves cornered and outnumbered by an army of walking dead... moreAfter the death of Sokn’s High King and the theft of volatile bloodstone runes at the hands of rebel Ama Taugr necromancers, Jarl Engier War-Blood unites the northern clans in an effort to defend a rundown fortress situated over the last Sokn bloodstone mine. The rare mineral is the only source of power known to raise the dead and when the necromancers come for it, Engier and his allies quickly find themselves cornered and outnumbered by an army of walking dead. During the height of battle, Sokn is hit by a series of earthquakes strong enough to break the land apart. Engier and fellow Jarl, Brenna Kaesia, watch helplessly as the peninsula splits off from the mainland and drifts out to sea. With the undead silenced by the effects of the quakes, Engier is forced to lead the remaining clans up to the peaks of Freyja’s Grace to seek answers from the pariahs known as the Skeyth. A group of exiles with a questionable past and violent reputation, but who also possess powerful magic. However, even they can't stop Sokn from striking another landmass. Believing they have been cursed to wander the dimension of Utgard—the home of the giants, Engier and Brenna rally the last of their people in a desperate attempt to survive this new world. Unfortunately, the Northmen’s arrival has not gone unnoticed by the only race thriving in the chaotic weeks following the cataclysm. However, the Northmen are not the only ones to survive the journey from Sokn and when the Skeyth’s vile actions lead Engier and Brenna to war, the Northman find an ally in Talohna’s Guardian Pact. Together they must face a foe unlike any they have fought before. less

Separated from Ember and Max, Kael Symes turns to an old friend to help hide the afterlife tokens in Talohna’s most terrifying locales. After nearly two years and with one token left to hide, a powerful magical event hits Talohna and causes the failure of the most important spell Kael has ever cast. The horrific results leave him a wanted man and all of his efforts to form an alliance against the Ri’Tek fall apart... moreSeparated from Ember and Max, Kael Symes turns to an old friend to help hide the afterlife tokens in Talohna’s most terrifying locales. After nearly two years and with one token left to hide, a powerful magical event hits Talohna and causes the failure of the most important spell Kael has ever cast. The horrific results leave him a wanted man and all of his efforts to form an alliance against the Ri’Tek fall apart. With the tokens hidden at last, Kael wants nothing more than to forget the past and to spend time with his family, but knowing they will never be safe no matter where they hide, he recruits Treach in a bid to scour the Arcane Library catacombs for an answer. When the fallen god discovers the location of a legendary fortress thought to exist only in myth, Kael and his allies set out to find the hidden keep in the hopes of making it a home for the children born under the rays of the Black Sun. Unfortunately for Kael and everyone he cares about, myths in Talohna are often grounded in reality and when they stumble into the cursed grounds of Solikyr Fortress, Kael prays that the last five years have hardened him enough to protect his loved ones from the gauntlet of horrors that have infected the fortress and its massive castle. Kael and his companions press further into the fortress and deeper into the curse, only to discover one of Talohna’s oldest and most dangerous secrets. One that will leave its mark on them all. less