Imagine yourself being the powerful, magical and now legendary creature which has been recognized world-wide throughout history as most likely the most powerful being whom has ever existed. Used to being the top of the food chain and even having had dominion over these upstart human beings for all of the time which they have called Mother Earth their home. You have seen many of their kind make somewhat valiant attempts at the creation of a life that would be in tune with that of the "mother" within this world for innumerable of their lifetimes, only to see them fail at every important crossroad with which they were faced. Now imagine that you have seen these humans remove most of the Magic from the world that you love and have called home for time longer than they can even begin to realize how to measure and that they are causing the ending of the existence of many of the beings that have existed here since times untold, who were all vessels which truly contained the strong essence of the old magic that was once so fully saturated this lovely world, but their advancements and the Technology of which they were so very capable of creating had now begun to unchangeably, possibly negatively alter the world which you had called home for such a very, very long time. Yet imagine as well, that you the Piasa, possibly the last of dragon kind had discovered within these humans, something that was quite possibly some new sort of Magic one which you had never seen before, called love; which at first you had been unfamiliar with, but now that you had experienced it through relationships with several of these unique beings felt that it was the one and only hope for us all?

Black Shell, an exile banished by his people for cowardice, prepares to lead a small band of warriors to kill the Kristianos, while explorer Hernando de Soto tricks the ancient Nations into slavery through his lies and ambition for gold.

Award-winning archaeologists and New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear begin the stunning saga of the North American equivalent of ancient Rome in People of the Morning Star. The city of Cahokia, at its height, covered more than six square miles around what is now St. Louis and included structures more than ten stories high. Cahokian warriors and traders roamed from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. What force on earth would motivate hundreds of thousands of people to pick up, move hundreds of miles, and once plopped down amidst a polyglot of strangers, build an incredible city? A religious miracle: the Cahokians believed that the divine hero Morning Star had been resurrected in the flesh. But not all is fine and stable in glorious Cahokia. To the astonishment of the ruling clan, an attempt is made on the living god's life. Now it is up to Morning Star's aunt, Matron Blue Heron, to keep it quiet until she can uncover the plot and bring the culprits to justice. If she fails, Cahokia will be torn asunder in warfare, rage, and blood as civil war consumes them all. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

When Europeans first arrived on this continent, Algonquian languages were spoken from the northeastern seaboard through the Great Lakes region, across much of Canada, and even in scattered communities of the American West. The rich and varied oral tradition of this Native language family, one of the farthest-flung in North America, comes brilliantly to life in this remarkably broad sampling of Algonquian songs and stories from across the centuries. Ranging from the speech of an early unknown Algonquian to the famous Walam Olum hoax, from retranslations of ?classic? stories to texts appearing here for the first time, these are tales written or told by Native storytellers, today as in the past, as well as oratory, oral history, and songs sung to this day. ø An essential introduction and captivating guide to Native literary traditions still thriving in many parts of North America, Algonquian Spirit contains vital background information and new translations of songs and stories reaching back to the seventeenth century. Drawing from Arapaho, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Cree, Delaware, Maliseet, Menominee, Meskwaki, Miami-Illinois, Mi'kmaq, Naskapi, Ojibwe, Passamaquoddy, Potawatomi, and Shawnee, the collection gathers a host of respected and talented singers, storytellers, historians, anthropologists, linguists, and tribal educators, both Native and non-Native, from the United States and Canada?all working together to orchestrate a single, complex performance of the Algonquian languages.

Lightning Shell marks the dramatic conclusion to the People of Cahokia sub-series by bestselling authors W. Michael and Kathleen O'Neal Gear. Spotted Wrist’s squadrons are about to launch an assault on Evening Star Town. Meanwhile, the new Keeper’s loyal squadrons have taken control of central Cahokia. Blue Heron’s enemies have declared her dead, a supposed victim of the fire that consumed her palace. She’s alive and in the end it will be her wits, Seven Skull Shield’s licentious cunning, and a desperate gamble that determine who lives and who dies in Cahokia. Meanwhile, in the distant east, a desperate three-way race is underway. Walking Smoke—the Lightning Shell witch—hastens to make his way back to Cahokia, understanding that the cure for his impotence lies atop Morning Star’s Mound. Night Shadow Star means to stop him before he can get to Morning Star. Following in her wake, Fire Cat is merciless. He will stop at nothing to ensure that it is he, not Night Shadow Star, who pays the ultimate price. The final showdown will shake Cahokia to its roots, and nothing will be the same again. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

"Search for lost Mayan cities and books of gold, discover an ancient canal system in Arizona, climb gigantic pyramids in the Midwest, explore megalithic monuments in New England, and join the astonishing quest for the lost cities throughout North [and Central] America"--Amazon.com.

New York Times bestselling novelists W. Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear have long been considered the foremost chroniclers of early Native American life. Now, in a critically acclaimed, sweeping new series, they recreate the conflict-filled years following one of the first European invasions. Seen through the eyes of a courageous pair of Native Americans, Fire the Sky follows Hernando de Soto’s brutal expedition north from the Florida peninsula as the explorer plunders the heart of a complex and fragile civilization. An itinerant trader and outcast from his tribe, Black Shell was swept into the Spirit World and returned a transformed man. Now, carrying his white-feathered trader’s staff, he devotes his life to a sacred mission that only the tall, beautiful Pearl Hand—his lover, confidant and wife—truly understands. Black Shell has seen what the incomprehensibly violent, shining-armored invaders are capable of doing to his world and knows that if his people are to survive, he and his “Orphans,” a small band of fierce warriors, must kill as many Kristianos as they can. After being fought to a standstill by the courageous Apalachee Nation, de Soto has changed his tactics. He will employ promises of peace to accomplish what cannot be achieved by violence alone. Lured by a young man’s tale of gold and aided by an arrogant princess’s treachery, he makes his way through the beautiful southeastern landscape. One by one, the ancient Nations fall victim to his lies as rulers and commoners alike are tricked into enslavement. In spite of the price de Soto has placed on his head, Black Shell shadows the Kristiano advance and finds that his own legend precedes him. Some will heed Black Shell’s strategies of sacrifice and deception. Others will ignore him—and suffer unspeakable horrors as a result. In this moving, vivid portrait of a lost American civilization and a powerful love between a man and a woman, the Gears illuminate a little-understood time in our history, as this bloody conflict between two peoples hurtles toward an apocalyptic battle that may change the course of the war forever. . . .

“A slim, riveting tome dedicated to the haunts of the Mid-Missouri region . . . [This] book is chock-full of history” (Columbia Daily Tribune). There is some uncertainty about the exact borders of the region that surrounds the Boonslick Trail but little doubt about the palpable and unsettling presence of its history. Stir up Missourians from St. Louis to Jackson County with the mention of ghosts, and after a few minutes of demurring, you will soon have more stories than you can shake a sheet at. Attend to the haunting music of John “Blind” Boone or the otherworldly poetry of Patience Worth. Crouch down in Civil War battlefields, crowded taverns, or the uncomfortable saddle of a headless horse. Wend your way through Missouri’s haunted heart: the Boonslick. Includes photos! “The book covers a broad history of hauntings and unexplained occurrences since 1812. It is peppered with ghost stories that have very human explanations.” —Missourian “Mary Collins Barile gives a history of the area, and mentions that these ghost stories are ones that are unknown to outsiders, yet important to the history of the region.” —St. Louis magazine

The fourth novel in the Cahokian story cycle, Star Path is an evocative tale about America’s greatest pre-Columbian city by New York Times bestselling authors W. Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear How do you say no to a god? Cahokia recovers from a year of chaos following a near civil war and the god incarnate, Morning Star, has declared that his human sister Night Shadow Star and her slave Fire Cat must make a dangerous journey to far off Cofitachequi. For an old threat has arisen on the other side of the great eastern mountains - their brother, Walking Smoke, a madman who is convinced that he is the true deity destined to rule Cahokia. Night Shadow Star is also ruled by the Underworld Lord, Piasa, but this power dangles a chance of happiness in front of Night Shadow Star and Fire Cat – if they succeed with his agenda, they might become nameless, clanless, and worthless. And thus free. But the treacherous Tenasee River that they must travel holds its own perils. And at the end of the journey, Walking Smoke prepares to spring his trap. Star Path, the fourth book in the Gears’ People of Cahokia series, takes the reader out of the great city of Cahokia and into a land of rivers, forests, tribes, and exiled colonies, providing us with a rare look into the mystical underpinnings of Native American culture and the founding of Mississippian civilization. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.