"Just because you are a child of God, that doesn't mean you can act like a child!" O'Mary Saint Isaac is a fairy with a reckless thirst for adventure. Renaud is a battle-hardened swordsman with no time for fun and games. The two could not be more opposite in how they live their faith; while Renaud relies on his strength and his caution, Mary trusts in the Lord to deliver her from danger. When Mary wanders into the world of Shift, she finds herself with more adventure than she bargained for, and Renaud finds himself with more trouble than he can handle. Lost in a forest and surrounded by an army of ferocious trolls, Mary joins forces with the swordsman and his small band of adventurers. Soon the two are separated from their friends and faced with a desperate quest: to protect a group of helpless children from the marauding enemy. But there is more at stake than just rescuing the innocent and repelling the enemy, because behind this army of monsters lurks an even more dangerous foe. The Lucky and the Strong is the second book in the Tales of Vantoria series. In this adventure, Mary and Renaud discover how different two people's belief in God can be. Can Renaud protect his reckless companion from the perils of the forest? Will the differences in their beliefs divide them...or bring them even closer together?