When her cousin is slain by an unknown assassin, Ariel Behn becomes the sole heir to a family legacy: a sinister cache of manuscripts that thrusts her into the deadly center of international intrigue--and an age-old enigma that spans the centuries. Whoever assembles and interprets the cryptic clues of this ancient mystery will possess the power to control the fate of the world. What strange powers lie hidden within the manuscripts? Splashed against a lavish backdrop that sweeps from the rise of the Roman Empire to the fall of the Berlin Wall, THE MAGIC CIRCLE finds one woman standing at the center of it all: Ariel Behn. As she races across continents to reveal the dark secrets buried in her family's past, she begins to unlock the chilling truth of the coming millennium. . . .
Three female academics devote themselves to the study and design of daring games based on the history of Columbia University's neighborhood, but the games go too far when the mysterious brother of one of the girls gets involved.
The purpose of this unique book is to outline the core of game science by presenting principles underlying the design and use of games and simulations. Game science covers three levels of discourse: the philosophy of science level, the science level, and the application or practical level. The framework presented will help to grasp the interplay between forms of knowledge and knowledge content, interplay that evolves through the action of the players. Few scientists have witnessed such a radical change in their area of research and practice as those who engaged in play and gaming since the 1950s. Since that time game scientists from a whole variety of disciplines started adopting gaming and simulation methods in their research. Rapid advances in information technology and computer science are producing a tool rich environment for the design and use of games, and for humanities studies of games as digital arts and interactive narratives. Game science is advancing through these waves of change, driven by the digital computer game industry, enhanced through computer and information science, as well as through advances in professional gaming such as in education, public and business management, policy development, health care, eco-systems management, and so on. When asking game scientists about the core of their science, one should expect to hear diverging answers. The common questions about the core of game and play are not new. They refer to: What is the meaning of game and play? What is real and what is virtual reality? How could we build simple and effective games from complex social systems? Are we able to bring forward a general theory of games? Are we able to help players (social actors) to find smart solutions and approaches to complex issues? How do games enhance learning and how do they improve our thinking capacity and action repertoire? Current answers to these questions are scattered and inadequate. This book offers a frame-of-reference that will enlighten the characteristics of particular games and simulations from a common perspective. The author pays less attention to instrumental reasoning than on theoretical and methodological questions. Answers will provide a suitable context for addressing design science and analytical science approaches to artifact design and assessment, and theory development and testing. Due to the high diversity of approaches that game science has to accommodate the author chooses an interdisciplinary and where appropriate a meta-disciplinary approach.
Four young misfits find themselves living in a strictly disciplined temple community where they become friends while also learning to do crafts and to use their powers, especially magic
Rituals from 2006 that were hosted at The Magical Circle SchoolCelebrate the Esbats and Sabbats with us.In these pages you can find 16 original rituals:Advice From Our AncestorsBe Happy and Come Out Of Your Shell RitualGiving ThanksGratitude RitualHandfasting of the Green Man and the May QueenHarvesting and Letting GoHealing and Love of Mother EarthPeace and JusticePersonal GrowthPersonal Re-GrowthReleasing the Past and HealingScrying for the Coming YearSowing the Seeds of FriendshipTriple Goddess RitualUnconditional LoveYuletide CelebrationBright Blessings to all!www.mistresskalpanasrealm.com
Briar is a plant mage - he can distill medicines and grow a garden in the blink of an eye. But learning how to channel your power is vital. Evvy is a street urchin who doesn't even know she has stone magic, let alone know how to control it, and Briar's empathy with nature can heal - but it could kill just as easily. Ages 10+.
Sandry can weave magic like thread. Her skill leaves others in awe, although controlling and channelling her power is second nature by now. And this is why she is horrified to find that an untrained boy, Pasco, is dancing complex magic - with no idea that he is doing it ...
When Daja is cast out of the Trader community, she makes her own family with her fellow mages-in-training. But when danger faces the Traders, it is up to Daja to save the people who turned her away.
