Ten-year-old fairy-godmother-in-training Willow secretly uses magic to deal with a rogue garden gnome who interferes with the plants in her science project, but when her project is chosen to advance, she finds even greater problems at the state level of competition.
When Astrid's first space mission goes disastrously wrong, she realizes she needs a bit more training than she thought! Astrid is training to go to space! But as she builds her shuttle, cooks astronaut food, and practices floating in zero gravity, Dad tells Astrid that the ship's construction is too dangerous, she's too little to cook alone, and she's not allowed to flood the bathroom. That night, when Astrid dreams she's an astronaut, the challenges she encounters are overwhelming. Astrid realizes she isn't as ready as she thought. Back on Earth, Astrid turns to her loving and supportive Dad, who helps Astrid continue her astronaut training.
Although the spirit beings of the four elements of nature have been represented in literature, religion, and folk tales, descriptions of these creatures have been vague, and direct experience with them is quite rare. Yet each of the four elemental kingdoms offers great gifts to humanity, if we are willing to recognize that the psychological and spiritual qualities they embody are already inherent in human nature. Mermaids dwell in the oceans, lakes, and rivers. They offer love and sharing, a sense of wonder, beauty, and innocence. Sylphs roam the sky; they represent harmony, balance, and the attainment of freedom. Gnomes live underground. Their quiet inner wisdom banishes depression and sorrow. Salamanders dwell in volcanoes and vast caverns of magma beneath the earth. They offer the power of intense heat to refine, transform, and integrate. Who are these mysterious creatures of water, air, earth, and fire? Author William Mistele has devoted a significant portion of his life to finding out. Addressing the perennial questions Why are we here? What is the deepest purpose of life? What are our options?, Mermaids, Sylphs, Gnomes, and Salamanders takes the reader directly into the realms of these spirits, telling stories from their perspective. Weaving together fairy tales and poems, thoughtful analysis, and meditative exercises, Mistele illuminates the qualities these beings have mastered and humanity must begin to embrace: empathy, an inner peace with the universe, a divine level of sensuality, and a love that is everywhere in every moment.
The Island nation of Ma-Ural has long been a place of peace and prosperity, with vast deposits of precious gems and mythril ore—valuable for its magical properties and heavily sought after on the mainland—but perhaps its greatest resource is opportunity. It has always been a place of sanctuary and rebirth, and host to many adventurers seeking not only their second-chance in life but a chance at immortality, as they begin their pilgrimage to the hidden city of Mysrik. But times are changing. Ma-Ural’s long established peace has been crumbling, with tensions rising between the east and west, between races, and between simple magic users and one who is willing to stop at nothing to gain all the power of Mysrik for his own nefarious purposes. Standing in his way are an unlikely group of companions brought together by circumstance: Elaria, a naïve and virtuous paladin, hoping to make a name for herself and honour both her training and her oath; Hoots, a runaway gnome more powerful than her diminutive form would suggest; Trit, a half-elf bard looking for answers about his family; and “Carion,” a powerful demon-kin, haunted by a past so dark he might never escape it, even if he manages to live forever.
The definitive practical guide to improving your rock climbing technique, and making your movement more effortless and efficient. Fully illustrated with over 35 skills exercises supported by online videos. Suitable for rock climbers from intermediate up to elite in sport climbing, bouldering and traditional climbing.
Aunt May's funeral was strange, but things get stranger when fourteen-year-old Allie Thomas encounters Pettikin Periwinkle, a gnome with a love of sweets and a penchant for screaming, who is stranded on Earth after the death of its only Gatekeeper. To get Pettikin home, Allie must enlist the help of a powerful, yet unconventional, Guardian and prove to him that she has what it takes to be a Gatekeeper. With three alpacas to guide her, a month's supply of cookies, and zero training, she sets off with Pettikin through three secret realms. But there is a Contractor here working with the evil race of sslorcs to stop her. And on top of that, she just might be falling for the Guardian.
A single volume combines Gnomes and Secrets of the Gnomes, featuring a myriad of gnome lore, history, and lifestyles, along with drawings that record the full details of gnomes' lives.