Water Myths

Visitors from every land and province are traveling to Toresz for the new king’s coronation. Crown Princess MaudeLyn of Censarra arrives early. A day early, in fact. Forcing her way into the dress rehearsal, she delivers shocking news: according to the arcane laws governing royal marriage and succession, Rhees and the princess are betrothed! Solace and Rhees part on bitter terms. Homeless and heartsick, Solace begins the arduous journey back to her father’s house. Yet at every stop along the way, the people hail her as the Water Witch Queen.

What magical beings inhabit Earth’s waters? Some are as almost-familiar as the mer-people; some as strange as the thing glimpsed only as a golden eye in a pool at the edge of the Great Desert Kalarsham, where the mad god Geljdreth rules; or the unknowable, immense Kraken, dark beyond the darkness of the deepest ocean, who will one day rise and rule the world. Here are seven tales from the remarkable storytellers Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson. Vividly imagined and written, they transform the simple element of water into something very powerful indeed.

The race to save Hagwood has begun! Wicked queen Rhiannon, High Lady of the Hollow Hill, is more intent than ever on finding the enchanted casket containing her heart. Made immortal through evil sorcery, she has ruled the land of Hagwood heartlessly for far too long. If someone can discover the lost casket and destroy the beating heart within, her terrible reign will end. The werlings Finnen and Gamaliel - in possession of the golden key that will unlock the High Lady's casket - race to find it first.

Three months have passed since the eccentric Hermit agreed to take Roy and Aika on as students. Now, the time has come for them to leave the forest and return to civilization. Neither Roy nor Aika know what to expect in the Itachi capital, but with their powerful teacher by their sides, they reluctantly agree to venture into the city. With all the time that has passed, they don't know how many powerful players are now on the board, nor the looming threat posed by a gathering of monstrous Beasts.

Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict—and 18-year-old Mererid 'Mer' is well-acquainted with both. As the last living water diviner, she can manipulate water with magic—a unique elemental power many would kill to possess. For years, Mer has been running from the prince who bound her into his service—and forced her to kill thousands with her magic. Now, all Mer truly wants is a safe, quiet life, far from power and politics. But then Mer's old handler—the king's spymaster—returns with a proposition.

When eight-year-old Kirstie brings home a strange egg from the Scottish shore, her family never expects it to hatch. But the next day, Kirstie discovers a baby sea monster swimming in her bathtub! Part horse, part toad, part turtle and part crocodile, he's the oddest-looking creature Kirstie's family has ever seen. Only Kirstie's grandfather knows what the beastie really is: a Water Horse! This lovable creature is the perfect pet. The only trouble is, he can't stop growing.

When Jessie found a secret door in her grandmother's garden, she was amazed to find it led to the magical world of the Realm. She's had plenty of adventures since that day, but there's always more excitement!

One of America's most beloved storytellers tells of spirits that have nurtured her in these four tales: "The Accidental Angel", "Wilbur Martin: God's Maintenance Man", "The Water Lilies", and "Angels in Disguise". Jackie Torrence, a frequent headliner at the National Storytelling Festival, is known to audiences nationwide as The Story Lady. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, Wolftrap, the International Children's Festival, and Lincoln Center.

In this strange and wonderful book, thirty elders of the ancient Hopi tribe of Northern Arizona—a people who regard themselves as the first inhabitants of America—freely reveal the Hopi worldview for the first time in written form. The Hopi kept this view a secret for countless centuries, and anthropologists have long struggled to understand it. Now they record their myths and legends, and the meaning of their religious rituals and ceremonies as a gift to future generations.

Why do nine out of 10 children raised in Christian homes leave the Church? Why do many professing Christians show little or no evidence for their faith? Why do 80-90% of those making decisions for Christ fall away from the faith? For decades, the world's most popular gospel message has been drawing the lost by promising God's wonderful plan for their life.

In this Chinese folktale, an unhappy young bride named Shui-mu must do all the chores in her mother-in-law's household, until a gift from a mysterious old woman brings change. This Cinderella-like story of overcoming cruelty and rewarding generosity is the origin of the revered Water Mother legend.

The plan worked, its execution flawless. Tip and Marshalla are hunted no longer. With the living essence of the chronodragon Anieszirel safe within Tip, the pair look to a brighter future within the Shimmering Tower, eager to put the nightmares behind them at last. There are those for whom Tip and Marshalla's misdeeds can never be forgiven, however, let alone forgotten, and from the shadows, these vengeful few weave a web that will see the pair dead and their allies broken.

A year after the events that killed her sister and turned her into a siren, Vanessa is desperately trying to put her family back together and reclaim a “normal” life. But no matter how many times she swims, or how much salt water she drinks, she can feel herself getting weaker and weaker. She has no idea how to survive as a siren and she doesn’t want to know the truth about her newly discovered identity. It’s just too horrifying.

Ephraim Appledore-Smith is an ordinary boy, and up until his father's stroke he lived an ordinary life. But all that changes when his family moves to the Water Castle - their ancestral home in the small town of Crystal Springs. Mallory Green's family has always been the caretakers of the Water Castle - and the guardians of its secrets. She has been raised to protect the legendary Fountain of Youth, hidden on the estate grounds. But ever since her mom left, she's stopped believing in magic. Will Wylie's family has been at war with the Applegates for generations, all because of the Water Castle's powerful secrets.

A Julio Serrano le encantan las historias, especialmente las que van pasando de abuelos a nietos, de una generación a otra. De las muchas que conoce, escogió seis y las convirtió en los cuentos que podrás leer en esta colección. En las orillas del Lago de Atitlán, ciudades mayas conviven rodeadas de volcanes activos, corrientes de agua subterránea, un paisaje de asombro y muchas historias.

When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he’s in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it’s clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him. One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story - a Water Monster - in need of help.

In the last days of the world, the walls of Viyara are still falling, and the dead are rising faster than ever. Juliet is trapped - ordered by Lord Ineo of the Mahyanai to sacrifice the remaining members of her family, the Catresou, to stave off the end of the world. Romeo is tortured: Finally aware that his true love is alive, he is at once elated and devastated, for his actions led directly to the destruction of her clan. The only way to redemption is to offer his life to the Catresou to protect and support them, even if it means dying to do so.

Princess Erica can't live under the ocean, and Ari can't live above it, and yet they are destined to be together, bonded by magic. With circumstances keeping them apart and magic bringing them together, they find themselves living impossible lives with no way around it. Snatching time together here and there is one thing, but when Erica's father becomes ill and with Erica due to ascend to the throne, even that has to stop.

Asim's field trip is freaking him out! His class is on a boat, exploring the Salish Sea, when he sees a pale, scowling woman staring at him from under the water. Asim's friend Rokshar thinks it's just a seal. She always finds a scientific explanation for the strange things that happen in town. But when Asim's dad hears otherworldly music coming from the water, he feels so drawn to it that he tries to throw himself in! Could a fairmaid—a mermaid from Guyanese folklore—be to blame? Find out . . . if you dare! Don't miss this new series based on ghost stories from Guyana.

A tragic accident on the eve of her 18th birthday leads Princess Erica to a chance encounter with a mysterious man on the beach. When he turns up at her birthday party and whisks her off her feet, she knows she has to find out everything about him, but why won't he speak and where does he keep disappearing to? Ari knows he's crossed a line by mingling with the land humans, but how can he resist the beautiful princess whose life he saved? He must decide whether to stay on land and become like her, or continue to live without her in the depths of the ocean.