R. L. Keck

Splinter of Asgard: Part I: the Cost of Magic R. L. Keck

Splinter of Asgard is the story of Torval, a Norse youth of sixteen who dreams of the high-seas adventurous Viking life of his father, brother, and uncle ? but fate has limited him to being an apprentice shipwright. That all changes when Torval awakens an age-old magic and must accept the responsibility for returning a lost relic to Asgard ? home of the gods, from where it came. Together with his younger cousin, Ästa, Torval must not only brave the hazards encountered during their travels, but they must also stay one step ahead of Malik, a demon of Outworld, who has perceived the magic and would have it for his own. As Torval and Ästa try to evade their pursuers they meet up with others who join their company and lend their unique strengths to the growing band of travelers. Torval must learn to control the wakened magic with which he has been entrusted, while his cousin attempts to understand a dormant power of her own that is beginning to stir ? one that is beyond her imagination. Nearly disabled by feelings of doubt and inadequacy, Torval must overcome these personal weaknesses and lead his friends across a forbidding landscape that tests them at every turn as they seek to fulfill their quest: return the Splinter of Asgard to the Rainbow Bridge. Theirs is a tale of how love, hope, and trust struggle against hate, despair, and betrayal to heal an age old wound and protect the world in which they live.