A Crucible of Souls: Book One of the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence
Mitchell Hogan
Language: English
Pages: 512
ISBN: 0062407244
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
An imaginative new talent makes his debut with the acclaimed first installment in the epic Sorcery Ascendant Sequence, a mesmerizing tale of high fantasy that combines magic, malevolence, and mystery.
When young Caldan’s parents are brutally slain, the boy is raised by monks who initiate him into the arcane mysteries of sorcery.
Growing up plagued by questions about his past, Caldan vows to discover who his parents were, and why they were violently killed. The search will take him beyond the walls of the monastery, into the unfamiliar and dangerous chaos of city life. With nothing to his name but a pair of mysterious heirlooms and a handful of coins, he must prove his talent to become apprenticed to a guild of sorcerers.
But the world outside the monastery is a darker place than he ever imagined, and his treasured sorcery has disturbing depths he does not fully understand. As a shadowed evil manipulates the unwary and forbidden powers are unleashed, Caldan is plunged into an age-old conflict that will bring the world to the edge of destruction.
Soon, he must choose a side, and face the true cost of uncovering his past.
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Amulet to the last apprentice, then returned to his desk. “All amulets are to be accounted for, by me, at the end of each class. You’ll be allowed to use them during the class, but at the end of each session they are to be returned, no exceptions. Needless to say, the penalties for anyone caught stealing one of these craftings will be severe.” A few of the apprentices nodded. Why anyone would want to steal an amulet was beyond Caldan. Well, no . . . why someone would was obvious; why they’d.
Work. The sooner you are finished, the sooner you can make it back here.” Amerdan held his hand out, palm up. Caldan handed him the coins and scooped up the handkerchief with his crystals inside. “Thank you,” he said. “I’ll be sure to mention your shop to other apprentices. I wasn’t expecting to find the minerals I needed all in one place.” “It seems this has been a good day for both of us.” Caldan nodded. “Thank you again, sir. I’ll see you in a week.” AMERDAN WATCHED THE young man’s back.
Mock sorrow. “I guess it was too much to hope you wouldn’t get this far. A pity. I do hate to kill unnecessarily. Such a waste.” Simmon stood straight, hands by his sides. “By the power invested in me as a Protector, I am arresting you for the use of destructive and coercive sorcery. You will be given a fair trial, and you had best come quietly.” Coercive sorcery? wondered Caldan. “Tsk, tsk. A fair trial? A quick death is what I’ll have at your hands. No, I think not.” Caldan fingered his.
And together we’ll make it out of here. We’ll need your help.” Simmon grasped Caldan’s arm. His eyes shone with determination. “Help with what? Betraying you and everything I’ve ever believed in? No—leave me a blade and run. Get away from here. Someone must survive.” He released his grip and sank back to the floor. “Get to the capital. The other Protectors must know.” For a long time, Caldan stared at Simmon lying there, chained to the wall. Simmon had given up. He was . . . broken. They.
The flickering light, Dotty winked at him. His sisters could see him evolving. He laughed again, pleased. With a roar, he threw his head back and shouted to the heavens through the stone above him. The muscles on his arms and torso, veined and bulging, strained to their limit, shiny with sweat. “Again I suffer and survive!” he yelled. “Again I drink and receive what I require.” His arms stretched to the ceiling, one dripping a scarlet ribbon of blood. “I am bound.” His heart pumped wildly in.