Grey Riders

On the borderlands of the kingdom of Deran, a young scout fights off an attack by goblin raiders and stumbles across the scene of a massacre. Swearing to bring justice for the slain and driven by a family secret, Dar Cabot strikes out into the Wilderness with a band of allies. Together, they uncover the plans of the shadowy Ja'al cult and its inhuman lackeys, who seek a secret weapon hidden near Whitehorse Peak. Dogged by an ancient prophecy that seems to call them out by name, Dar and his companions discover friendship, romance and startling revelations as they race against time to find the secret before the Ja'al. As they fight their way through the dark caverns and green woodlands of the frontier, they are repeatedly forced to choose between Light and Darkness, love and hate, friendship and isolation. Their final confrontations with evil test their resolve to the limit.

Fresh from their victory over the evil Ja'al cult in Whitehorse Peak, Dar Cabot and his friends set out to unravel the meaning of the mysterious prophecy of the Song of the Grey Riders, a poem that predicts heroism, calamity, and a clash of Darkness and Light - One Dark Rider fighting Seven of Grey. However, their efforts are interrupted by new dangers linked to events from their pasts: Andyn's husband's murder and the betrayal of Buck Bydecy by an old friend. Pursued by sinister dark elves allied with the Ja'al, the Grey Riders have to find a way to clear Buck's name and defeat Andyn's nemesis. Meanwhile, Megan and Brandawyn Alenar, sent on a secret mission to the south, run into problems of their own in tracking down ancient secrets that could lift the oppressed people of their homeland of Torosc out of tyranny... But lurking in the shadows, the undead sorcerer-princess, the Dark Rider, waits, her shadowy plots and plans designed to doom them all.

Now that they have cleared Buck Bydecy's name and brought justice to the man, who made Andyn Eleandir a widow, the Grey Riders fly their pegasi to the eastern wilderness, seeking clues to the prophecy that seems to direct their path and predicts a climactic battle between Light and Dark. Yet the specter of the Dark Rider, Zhinia Margoth, haunts their steps - they know Margoth gathers her forces to conquer the Northlands, regain her ancient kingdom and begin a new reign of terror. With the beloved Alenar sisters on a secret mission to the evil-dominated lands to the south, Dar Cabot and his friends race to find the mythical Helm of Shadows before Margoth does, knowing it is a key to her plans for conquest. Great peril awaits as they travel through trackless forests and crumbling ruins, battling Margoth's troops, undead horrors and dark dragons alike, seeking the clues they need. But time is running out... If they do not find a way to defeat Margoth, all the lands and their people could fall to her hateful wrath...

Now that they have cleared Buck Bydecy's name and brought justice to the man who made Andyn Eleandir a widow, the Grey Riders fly their pegasi to the eastern wilderness, seeking clues to the prophecy that seems to direct their path and predicts a climactic battle between Light and Dark. Yet the specter of the Dark Rider, Zhinia Margoth, haunts their steps, they know Margoth gathers her forces to conquer the Northlands, regain her ancient kingdom and begin a new reign of terror. With the beloved Alenar sisters on a secret mission, to the evil-dominated lands to the south, Dar Cabot and his friends race to find the mythical Helm of Shadows before Margoth does, knowing it is a key to her plans for conquest. Great peril awaits as they travel through trackless forests and crumbling ruins, battling Margoth's troops, undead horrors and dark dragons alike, seeking the clues they need. But, time is running out...If they do not find a way to defeat Margoth, all the lands and their people could fall to her hateful wrath...

Freelance sell-swords no longer, the Grey Riders are elevated to rank and title for their role in the defeat of the Lich Princess in Helm of Shadows, but they have some unfinished business. Eric Indidarc is driven to atone for the evils of his parents, leaders of the Crossed Swords Assassins Guild. He leads the Riders on a perilous mission to bring them to justice. Meanwhile, the Alenar sisters infiltrate dangerous lands, seeking remnants of ancient royal families who could bring freedom to the oppressed people of the south. In their quest, they discover an ominous plot by the evil Ja'al cult that could mean disaster for the civilized world. Yet, it is the missing Grey Rider, Hlerv the gnome, keeper of the evil Helm of Shadows, whose solitary quest for vengeance could hold the key to it all. Bonded by faith and friendship, the Riders will be sorely tested as they seek to solve the mystery of the Ja'al end game before it's too late.

With the vanquishing of the murderous Crossed Swords Guild in "Assassin Prince", no one would blame the Grey Riders for resting on their well-deserved laurels. However, the evil Ja'al cult is not done with them, nor, indeed, with the rest of the world of Damora. The Riders fly their pegasi to far-flung locales, seeking to destroy the Skull Gates, portals to hellish lands that are rumored to bring in daemons intent on mayhem and destruction. However, a sinister plot lurks in the background with catastrophic implications. And, unknown to them, two absent Riders, the beloved Alenar sisters, have been captured by the Ja'al-they have a crucial role to play in the Gates and their dark purpose. The Riders must focus their efforts on finding and destroying the Skull Gates before they can be employed to wreak havoc, all the while dealing with tremendous loss and sorrow. They will need all their reserves of faith, hope and love for each other to thwart the Ja'al plans for total world domination.

Having vanquished the murderous Crossed Swords Guild in "Assassin Prince", no one would blame the Grey Riders for resting on their well-deserved laurels. However, the evil Ja'al cult is not done with them nor with the world of Damora. The Riders again fly their pegasi to far-flung locales, seeking to destroy the Skull Gates, portals to hellish lands that are rumored to bring in daemons intent on mayhem and destruction. However, a sinister plot with catastrophic implications lurks in the background. Unknown to them, two absent Riders, the beloved Alenar sisters, have been captured by the Ja'al and are being forced to undertake crucial roles in the Gates' dark purpose. The Riders must focus their efforts on finding and destroying the Skull Gates before they can be employed to wreak havoc. They will need all their reserves of faith, hope and love to deal with tremendous loss and sorrow, while thwarting the Ja'al plans for total world domination… A route to fantasy fiction through the aerospace industry may seem an odd one to take, but PG Badzey has been writing stories since grammar school and has never stopped even though his path took an unconventional turn for someone interesting in writing. A trained systems engineer, he kept up with creative writing and coursework throughout a career working on the C-17 airlifter, the International Space Station, the Delta IV Rocket and the James Webb Space Telescope. He has enjoyed and been influenced by JRR Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Katherine Kurtz, Christopher Stasheff, Terry Brooks and C. Dale Brittain, to name a few. Previous publications include short stories published in Dragonlaugh, an online fantasy humor magazine, and the publication of the first three novels in the Grey Riders series, Whitehorse Peak, Eye of Truth and Helm of Shadows. PG Badzey has studied martial arts for many years, helps mentor a world-class high school robotics team, and is active in his parish community. He lives in California, is a member of the Orange County Writers Guild and has taught seminars on fantasy writing in Orange County Libraries. A coming-of-age story set in a world of epic fantasy, the Grey Riders series follows the lives of a band of young freelance sell-swords who find their courage, their destiny and their fates as they battle the forces of evil on the World of Damora. Backed by a science-based magic system and replete with detailed world-building and complex character relationships, the Grey Riders novels mimic the lives of real-world young adults trying to strike out on their own. Its timeless themes of friendship, bravery, love, sacrifice, forgiveness and faith echo in an adventure fantasy in a world like no other.