Creatures from hell are breaching the human world like never before and it's up to me and the rest of The Guild to figure out why. Which means one thing: the world is screwed. When Headmistress Alleva arrives on campus, my life at Headquarters is thrown upside down. After sightings of werewolves close to Guild boundaries have everyone up in arms, recruits are thrust into apprenticeships with prominent teams to help move along graduation rates and get them into the field as soon as possible. While this sounds good at first, I'm starting to figure out that being a protector isn't what I always thought it would be. At all. Increased attacks, mixed with a creepy research lab that is anything but trustworthy, leaves me desperate for answers. And if that doesn't sound difficult enough, the members of Team Six are making my life miserable and complicated. If the monsters don't destroy me, Atlas, Wade, Declan, and Eli just might finish the job first. Kicking ass? Easy. Navigating my new role within The Academy and deciding who can be trusted? Damn near impossible. ◆◆◆ Forging the Guild is book two in The Protector Guild series and it does end on a cliffhanger. Max's story is a slow-burn why choose / poly / reverse harem urban fantasy series. Get ready for action, spice, and intrigue. ◆◆◆

Gifted with metahuman powers in a world full of capes and villains, Tori Rivas kept away from the limelight, preferring to work as a thief in the shadows. But when she's captured trying to rob a vault that belongs to a secret guild of villains, she's offered a hard choice: prove she has what it takes to join them or be eliminated. Apprenticed to one of the world's most powerful (and supposedly dead) villains, she is thrust into a strange world where the lines that divide superheroes and criminals are more complex than they seem. The education of a villain is not an easy one, and Tori will have to learn quickly if she wants to survive. On top of the peril she faces from her own teacher, there are also the capes and fellow apprentices to worry about, to say nothing of having to keep up a civilian cover. Most dangerous of all, though, are those who loathe the guild's very existence. Old grudges mean some are willing to go to any length to see the guild turned to ash, along with each one of its members. Even the lowly apprentices.

Millions of people play massively multiplayer online (MMO) games like World of Warcraft every day. Many of those players belong to guilds, organized groups whose members play together in order to defeat difficult bosses, compete with rivals, or undertake special challenges. Leading a guild is not a trivial matter, but many players dive into this challenging role completely unprepared. Scott F. Andrews has been helping guild leaders and officers since 2007 through his weekly column for WoW.com, Officers' Quarters. In The Guild Leader's Handbook, Andrews offers a complete guide to conceptualizing, establishing, and maintaining a successful guild. The book will help readers decide what sort of structure and focus their guild should have and covers fundamentals like recruiting, managing officers, creating and enforcing reasonable policies, and handling the interpersonal drama that threatens guild harmony. Andrews gives sage advice on how leaders can prepare their guilds for successful PvE (Player vs. Environment) dungeon crawls and raids and explains guidelines for fairly distributing the spoils of battle. He also covers how to assemble a competitive force in PvP (Player vs. Player) and how to lead a community of roleplaying specialists. The Guild Leader's Handbook is a comprehensive guide to guild creation and success, written by a recognized expert on the subject.

Enter New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s darkly beautiful world of archangels and immortal power, as a pact is sealed between two souls bound by blood, stirred by desire, and driven by vengeance… With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered in the jewel-studded palace that was his prison and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late. Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price—Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through the Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster. With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmare… and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion that threatens to drench them both in blood.

"There are few sensations I prefer to that of galloping over these rolling limitless prairies, with rifle in hand, or winding my way among the barren, fantastic and grimly picturesque deserts of the so-called Bad Lands." —Theodore Roosevelt He was born a city boy in Manhattan; but it wasn't until he lived as a cattle rancher and deputy sheriff in the wild country of the Dakota Territory that Theodore Roosevelt became the man who would be president. "I have always said I would not have been president had it not been for my experience in North Dakota," Roosevelt later wrote. It was in the "grim fairyland" of the Bad Lands that Roosevelt became acquainted with the ways of cowboys, Native Americans, trappers, thieves, and wild creatures--and it was there that his spirit was forged and tested. In Forging a President, author William Hazelgrove uses Roosevelt's own reflections to immerse readers in the formative seasons that America's twenty-sixth president spent in "the broken country" of the Wild West.

As with most empires of the Early Modern period (1500-1800), the Ottomans mobilized human and material resources for warmaking on a scale that was vast and unprecedented. The present volume examines the direct and indirect effects of warmaking on Aleppo, an important Ottoman administrative center and Levantine trading city, as the empire engaged in multiple conflicts, including wars with Venice (1644-69), Poland (1672-76) and the Hapsburg Empire (1663-64, 1683-99). Focusing on urban institutions such as residential quarters, military garrisons, and guilds, and using intensively the records of local law courts, the study explores how the routinization of direct imperial taxes and the assimilation of soldiers to civilian life challenged and reshaped the city s social and political order.

Drawing on an unusually rich empirical base, this timely and compelling book examines how environmental values are constructed and legitimized within the policy process. It trains the spotlight on four environmentally significant countries - China, Japan, India, and the United States - representing a wide diversity of cultural, social, economic, and political characteristics. Through a combination of case studies and comparative analysis, the contributors illuminate cultural assumptions, standards, and analytic techniques that shape environmental actions and policies around the world. "Forging Environmentalism" provides valuable direction regarding what can be done to secure public support for environmental policies. Incorporating expert legal, economic, philosophical, sociological, and political perspective points the way toward the possibilities for a convergence of environmental norms and values across diverse cultures

After her apprenticeship was done and a place in the guild of villains secured, Tori's life was supposed to get simpler. Unfortunately, a poorly timed errand sees Tori caught in the debut of a new team of capes, one wearing an all-too-familiar name. Thrust into the spotlight, Tori will have to navigate her unwanted fame as well as the suspiciously superheroic new neighbors down the hall, all while keeping up with her own villainous enterprises. With the guild no longer a secret, Hephaestus needs to grow as strong as possible to face her mounting threats. Ambitious gangs, battling against mechanized traps, and brawling with capes are only the beginning. Behind the scenes, a hidden enemy works to settle an old score, one that has burned for decades. This secret scheme will not only endanger Tori, her friends, and the guild, but the very world itself.

Want to create diverse civilisations for your world, but don’t know where to start? Need help designing societies that feel real and vibrant? Forging Worlds provides clear and insightful information to help you shape unique societies for your world. This mini guide offers a deep dive into the creation of distinct civilisations, helping you craft cultures that feel authentic and alive.This guide will help you to: - Understand how environments, values, and power dynamics shape different societies - Design civilisations, from nomadic tribes to powerful city-states, that stand out in your world - Explore the unique challenges and opportunities each type of society faces - Build cultures rooted in their histories, beliefs, and politics Discover the key elements that make fantasy civilisations feel real and engaging. With this concise guide, you’ll gain the knowledge to craft vibrant societies that breathe life into your story. Get Forging Worlds today, and start building civilisations that will shape the future of your world.