Advent Mage Cycle

Jaunten by Honor Raconteur follows Rhebengarthen, known publicly as the Advent Mage and privately as Garth, the first mage born in two centuries. Gifted with rare power that can reshape landscapes and shield entire nations, he becomes entangled in prophecies, royal politics, and the escalating threat of war. As kings and countries seek his aid, Garth must balance his immense magical abilities with personal loyalties, navigating both battlefield action and the quieter demands of friendship and family. This young adult epic fantasy blends large-scale conflict, high magic, and hints of romance around a strong male protagonist whose own account challenges the legends growing around him.

“That boy thinks the world of you,” Xiaolang murmured. “And…” he visibly hesitated, slanting a questioning look at me from the corner of his eye.

“And…?” I encouraged him. Xiaolang rarely hesitates in his speech. When he wanted to say something, he said it.

“He’ll be very important in the future,” Xiaolang murmured. “I’m not sure how to put this…” he paused, mouth rummaging for words. “Something will change very soon, Garth. Someone will be discovered who will change everything. When that happens, you need to trust Trev’nor like he trusts you. Much will be lost otherwise.”

I looked, really looked at Trev’nor. Trev’nor has always been special, a child prodigy in a life that had no child prodigies. My head was swimming with questions after Xiaolang’s revelation. Who was the boy we were to rescue, and why was Trev’nor so important for that boy?

“Good work, Balancer.”

I frowned at the title. “All I did was transport her here, Raile.”

“Yes, so you did,” he agreed in a tone that clearly didn’t agree with me at all. “Perhaps you don’t consciously realize this, Garth, but its little things like this that are restoring balance to Chahir. No task can be done in just one stroke of effort; it takes many strokes, and much sustained effort.”

He’s right. I started reviewing all of the things I had done over the past two years, memories flicking through my head almost too fast to follow. Each choice led to another; my choice to leave my home in Tobadorage and seek refuge in Hain led directly to my actions now, bringing a Queen into exile. And each choice, each action on my part, had started the chain reaction that was bringing magic back into Chahir.

Once upon a time, there was a dragon…Take one newly trained Fire Mage. Make him the first (sane) Fire Mage that’s been born in the past two hundred years. Have him leave home and venture into the Empire of Sol.Add one powerful, curious, fire-eating dragon. Fire Mage Haikrysen never imagined that he would be adopted out of the blue by a dragon. But then, he never thought he’d find a permanent home in the northern section of Sol, working as a firefighter either. Still, he likes his new home and adores his dragon companion—even if she does hoard jewelry and eats whole sheep for breakfast. But his peaceful days end abruptly when an arsonist starts torching the eastern section of the empire, his attacks becoming progressively bigger and faster. It’s beginning to look like he’s another insane Fire Mage on the loose. Krys, Kaya, and his partner Mari are sent to investigate, but they have no idea what the aim of the arsonist is, and very little knowledge of the man. Desperate, the three of them race against time to catch the madman before he burns a path across the whole empire, and everyone in it. Dragon’s Mage by Honor Raconteur, set in the Advent Mage world, features the returning character of Haikrysen, the first real Fire Mage of his generation.

Freezing mid-step, I stared in disbelief. There, standing very calmly in front of me, was a Gardener.
Copying what I’d seen Garth do, I slowly sank to one knee and held out a hand.
“Riicshaden,” he hailed in a surprisingly deep and clear voice, “I greet you.”
“Well met,” I responded shakily. Busted buckets, his voice and presence in my head was overwhelming. How had Garth done this? And several times to boot!
“We have a task for you.”
“Ahhh…” It was probably stupid, but I felt compelled to ask anyway. “You sure you want me? Not Garth?”
“We have a task for you,” he repeated patiently, a twinkle in his eye. “A young Weather Mage has awakened in Chahir.”
A thrill of pure joy and relief shot through me. A Weather Mage. A Weather Mage! YES! I’d feared I’d never hear that another would live.
“You are relieved to hear this.”
“I am,” I admitted, probably uselessly as he could feel everything I felt. “Chahir just doesn’t look right to me.”
“The land is not as it should be. We awakened a mage and have given her the task of restoring the land.”
“Wait, you said ‘her.’ The new Weather Mage is a girl?”
“Yes. She is lost. We task you, Riicshaden. You must find her. You must protect her. She is very precious and if she dies, there will not be another to replace her.”

Weather Mage Riicbeccaan has a plan. As plans go, this is a pretty good one. Officially, she needs to go into the Khobunter-Libendorf area to figure out what is messing with her weather patterns. Unofficially, since they are going that far north, it’s the perfect opportunity to get dragons. Sure, traveling that direction is dangerous, but with Trev’nor and Nolan going along, there isn’t much to worry about, as three full-trained mages can handle just about anything. But from the moment the three set foot in Khobunter, nothing goes according to plan. The whole world knows that Khobunter is a political mess, but there’s another, darker layer underneath it all that no one speaks of. The three prodigy mages are ensnared by it before they can fully comprehend what’s going on. Fighting against an entire country is not something that just three people can handle, even if they are mages. Becca, Nolan, and Trev’nor don’t have much of a choice, though. There is an abhorrent evil right in front of their eyes and they only have one of two fight or flee. Unfortunately for Khobunter, no one has ever taught them how to run.

Earth Mage Rhebentrev’noren never expected to be warlord of anywhere, much less Khobunter. For that matter, he never expected to receive orders directly from a Gardener, which is an experience and a half all by itself. Not that he can properly dwell on it, with everything else demanding his attention. In this harsh, desert land, the new warlords are missing half of the resources they require. They need to build their own magical academy, but sorely lack enough trained magicians to run it. They need to conquer the rest of Riyu without making the same mistakes they did at Alred Watchtower, but don’t possess the means to pull it off. Willpower, dragons, and magic can only carry them so far. They need more allies and time to gather them with. Unfortunately, the remaining warlords of Khobunter have no intention of giving them that time.

The Empire of Sol is satisfied that the new Warlords of Khobunter intend to be good neighbors. The problem is, neither Becca nor Trev’nor can rightfully claim to be warlords over all of Khobunter. They still have two pesky warlords to either charm into surrendering or take by brute force.

Becca doesn’t like her odds in conquering Von.

The last warlord in the north has made it very clear that the new warlords can take the territory over his dead body. And Von supports it by gathering every able magician he possesses into his stronghold.

It will take considerable magic and might to break through, and the potential for damage near catastrophic. Becca quickly realizes that they’re not going to breach the walls, not with the force she has available, but they don’t have the time for a leisurely siege. There’s only one option left to them—the very thing Becca swore they’d never do: call home for help.

And pray someone answers.