The Chronicles of Borea, The Making of a Bard -- Ciaccona; Book IV of a Grand Epic Sword and Sorcery Fantasy, by Joseph E. Koob II. A sweeping fantasy with intriguing plot twists interwoven in a moving fabric of a sensual and powerful writing style. A tale in the true sense of the word -- fun to read and captivating from one book to the next.Magic, Music, and Might - Thistle, now a powerful Wizardess, strives to understand the depths to which her use of energy can affect the good and evil ways of the world. Facing powerful forces, she discovers how precious life can be. Jared struggles to accept the ability he has that allows him to heal others through his extraordinary improvisational skills. Ge-or, owing a debt, finds himself in the southlands striving as a champion to win back a friend's leadership role in his tribe. These three become more involved in the powerful underlying currents of the Borean world, where evil is gaining strength guided by powerful forces in the west. The Chronicles of Borea -- Seven-Book Fantasy: Bk I, The Making of a Bard, Preludio; Bk II, Gigue; Bk III, Siciliana; Bk IV, Ciaccona; Bk V, IXUS, Corrente; Bk VI, Civil War, Tempo Di Borea; Bk VII, The Great War, Grande Finale. Magic: Thistle spoke one word.Suddenly, a powerful wave of pure energy seemed to explode from her all along the southern wall of the stockade... The next instant, the battlefield in front of the stockade's southern wall was wiped clean -- the black priests and Qa-ryks were obliterated. Every living thing, every trench, tree, rock, bush, log, and any other matter within three hundred paces of the main gates were gone, leaving only the earth itself, flat and unstained, behind. Music: Jared sensed something different. Through the haze of his anguish, it pushed into his mind forcing him to pay attention. "It is time. Sing. From your heart... From your heart!" "Nagama'a?" The tune, almost on its own seemed to migrate from one swell to another. The sensation of warmth intensified; then the music took complete hold and he was lost to it... It started as a simple tune, but as he played, it began to take on different forms, always somehow remaining true to the original melody, though it shifted this way or that, up and back upon itself, almost as if it reinvented itself at each turning. It seemed to permeate all. It was soothing, sensual, effervescent. It calmed; it caressed; it eased. And it did something else - it got deep within and seemed to change each individual in some way - giving each person a strength they did not know they had -- it awoke a force to counter what they had to deal with within their own bodies.Might: Ge-or's strength had always been fighting with bladed weapons. No matter the size or shape of the weapon, from the short sword to long, the bastard sword to the rapier, he had never been matched, ever. Now he would wield this cudgel like a blade. This meant his repertoire of strokes had just expanded tremendously, for with a blade one slashed, stabbed, parried and blocked, spun and thrust. His father had drilled him over and over on one key point about fighting - adjust. It was his way of urging him to be creative, to find ways to change things up that would surprise your opponent. Manfred had said, "It isn't sometimes a matter of life and death; treat it like it is always a matter of life and death." Ge-or had been better than even the best men with a sword because of this...The "Chronicles" is set in the fictional medievalesque world of Borea. Many popular elements can be found including: fighting with weapons from the period; a comprehensive system and theory of magic use derived from an elemental/energy-based foundation; a diversified collection of races including those which are standard to the genre (e.g. Human, Elf, Dwarf), as well as the evolution of others: Black Druids, Qa-ryks, Chatts, Gzks, Sea-elves, Ovietti, Drazzi, Aglimi, and many more.