Guild Mage: Eld

Guild Mage #2

by David Niemitz

For Liv Brodbeck, magic has changed everything.

Cel, the ancestral word of power inherited from her father, now slumbers in the back of her mind. After years of study, the ancient magic of the Old Gods is hers to wield, from brutal, cutting shards of ice, to frozen, immovable walls. No longer a mere scullion, she is now an apprentice of the Watchful Guild of Magim, under her teacher, Master Grenfell.

Her peaceful days of training are cut short by the Day of Blood, when monstrous, living orbs of viscera slaughter innocent people across the Kingdom of Lucania. The king calls a great council, and Liv must accompany Baron Summerset and his family to the capital of Freeport. Overwhelmed by the bustle of the city, she, the bastard daughter of a castle cook, is thrust into the schemes and machinations of the royal court.

But while Liv fights to prove herself amidst the intrigue of Lucania, across the sea, on the western continent of Varuna, another foe builds their power. Ractia, the resurrected Lady of Blood, is gathering her forces, which will make the chaos of the Day of Blood only the first taste of the goddess's return.

For in the wake of the Lady of Blood's coming, rifts across the world erupt more frequently than ever before...

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Litrpg, Fiction, Young Adult, Elves

385 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2025

About the author

Dave Niemitz is a writer and teacher; he lives with his wife, son, a black cat named Charlie, and a Pug named Duncan.

Reviews

[Luke Neff]

Finally some good fucking food

[Thorsten]

Excellent continuation of the story; this series is hitting all the right notes for me. Mostly slice-of-life with little adventures, and we see the overarching storyline take shape. The family reunion was heart-warming, and I loved that her father's reaction was so normal and relatable.

Diving into the next one immediately.

[Dragos Macelaru]

Excellent!

VERY well written fantasy; the characters are well fleshed out and believable. A very nice variant of the ugly duckling story.

[William Howe]

still

Still moving at SoL pace, though there are some mild time skips. A few big events in cut scenes, but the narrative continues to remain focused.

Going to buy 3 now.

[Seth Veale]

Eld is really part 2 of a single larger volume begun by Apprentice. The subsequent books are self-contained.

The emotional payback in this book is rather wonderful. Yes, it is gushy YA fantasy but, hey, that's why we're here folks. We all know Cinderella for a reason.
While I am relatively new to YA books, and am a middle aged man who is a bit over reading "good" books, I find that David Niemitz weaves the world building and power-progression fantasy into a building progression of adolescence - and ends up writing a better book.

He uses Liv's unusual circumstances to provide compromised wish fulfilment that ultimately teaches her and causes her to evolve. Instead of deluded privilege, her compassion and intelligence lead her, and the reader, to see others having similar experiences around her. She realises, with eventual relief, the many lessons we learn while becoming adults.

I don't want to spoil anything, and there are a right-sized amount of other character perspectives told throughout the series as well. In all cases, David Niemitz uses the world and its mechanics to develop characters and relationships.

Compared to Sanderson, while also using a magic system to develop characters, Niemitz weaves in culture, society and relationships equally - and has not attended the church of therapy, which is a great relief for a non-American reader (still haven't finished the most recent Stormlight book).

Relative to YA series like Shadowhunters and Cradle, it isn't a candy ride. There's real substance and we learn the real stakes alongside Liv. For example, Liv might win a major payoff but then, as a reader, we are more invested in the party afterwards, as is she. I've experienced that in life many times, but never in a book and it is wonderfully humane.

Compared to any number of "good" books - these tend to require that everything be significant and fundamental to the author's intent, and usually lack humour and humanity. Good authors draw us in with their craft and we forget what is missing, and how limited the perspective on offer really is.

Eld is the book where I understood what Niemitz was going for - a holistic yet readable experience that cares for its reader. Yes, wishes are fulfilled, but finding out that you have a place in the world eclipses the dreamiest of lovers and being able to relax and party with genuine friends frames motive far better than any philosophy or triumph.

Lastly, the jarring inaccuracy of reviews criticising a man writing a female character that I encountered when deciding whether to read this series became ironic in this book. Because David is a man, he provides the dreamy lover while also rendering them human, to give one example. There are many others and I really think this book benefits from a male author who can write a woman. I would cite Ursula le Guin's Earthsea as a great example of the inverse. I was so annoyed that I almost didn't read this because of those reviews!!

There is much I want to talk about how it is all done but I also don't want to spoil it. Easy 5/5

[Chetana]

4⭐️

This series is just getting better. I was worried the momentum built up from the last book would be lost but this one was as fast paced and still had elements of slice of life too. There was more angst and action in this book as Liv is growing up and learning her magic and also learning about the world around her. I am loving the build up towards the conflict that is coming. The pace might seem slow but it isn't for me. What with Liv growing up so slowly, the major arc is also progressing at that rate. I am looking forward to seeing Liv at Coral Bay to see what is in store for her next and also to see the havoc she will bring to the people there as trouble seems to follow her wherever she goes.

[Nathan]

mountain girl in the big city

A fast moving speed run through the intrigue of the crown, made more difficult thanks to a wicked stepmother.

Then onto a reawakened goddess (where is the Trinity?), some learning and manabeasts and always feeling one step in two worlds, neither human nor eld.

There’s a theme of dying magic: humans are hundreds of generations removed from the gods, and forget much of the deeper secrets. Eld are longer lived but each child is rare and precious. Liv is the first grandchild of her family in twelve hundred years.

Will Liv settle down and spawn a crowd of children? Considering the difficulty Lady Julienne had with Matthew, can healing magic help childbirth? Is it her duty to the future to keep magic alive?

[Gary]

High fantasy world with two main races, humans and (thinly reskinned) elves. The MC is a half elf child of a castle cook, and some people are mean to her, as she slowly grows to adulthood.

Well sketched characters, great world building, and descriptive writing.

Three issues: 1. for both the first book and this one, everything moves at the speed of snail. 2. the main character is overpowered, even as a 28 year old in what would be the body and mind of a 14 year old human. and 3. to counteract her overpower status, the author will have her freeze or do stupid things to drive tension or excitement.

[Adam Roberts]

Thoroughly enjoyable!

A nice follow up to book 1, with plenty of emotional moments for our MC, and also some interesting hints for the future. Also I was a bit worried about how long things would take to get to the mage college, but there are several well done time skips that happen to make things progress nicely. Also the background world building and consequences for actions are rather unique in the progression fantasy style genre and I've very much enjoyed them..

[Elaina Myers]

An excellent story that pulls you into the characters' lives

It is interesting to see the challenges Livara faces as a half human half Elden, as she's physically aging at about half the rate of humans. She'll finally get to college in the next book! The flip side, of course, being that most people she knows are getting older.

Aside from that, there were a lot of challenges in this book and we're introduced to some new threats. There are also several bright points as well. :)

[Les]

Great sequel

Livara continues learning magic , she accompanies the Baron and his family to the capital for a meeting of the great council , a rare event, her time in the capital is hectic between duels and murder attempts he meets her birth father for the first time and makes a few friends. Excellent second book.

[Mark Katerberg]

Solid continuation. Keeps me invested in the characters while leaning towards the next plot. Broadens the world without collapsing the previous one. The magic of this world is super interesting and I can feel the pantheon of gods becoming more impactful!

[Lucas Lima]

Another great book in this very charismatic series. You can say that it is an slow burn one, but is very cool to follow the political intrigue in it, the marriage plot and relationship between characters. Until an all out battle in the end, as we learn how Liv is or she can be. Let's continue it.

[Corrin Waller]

love it

A great continuation. More world building as the main character moves beyond her home to the bigger world. I highly recommend

[Roberto Flores]

a bit slow, but very fun. almost like a slice of life but with more story

[Horty]

Good mix of SoL, politics and action.

[T'sani]

Phenomenal writing.

[Topher]

I'm reading this on RR, but will likely transition over to adding it to my KU list instead at some point (very likely starting with #5).

[Tony Hinde]

Pacing was inconsistent. There was an extended section in the middle with no conflict aimed at the protagonist. Without that tension, my interest waned.

[Chris]

Fantastic read

Great follow up, can’t wait to read the next book. The only thing I’m afraid of is that I’ll read through it too fast!

[Frank]

Very similar in quality to the first book. Still a bit slow paced, but it is always going somewhere.

[DJ DC]

enjoying this series so far.

[Dominique]

This one went on for quite some time and sometimes I didn't realize how much time had passed. Still good tho