The prophecy is no longer a dusty legend.
It is flesh, blood, and fire.
A thousand years after Emperor Labad sealed the fate of the world in words of power, the Promised Ones walk the land: Adam and Charity, twin heirs to a throne most believe never existed. But the dark sorcerer Gilgafed knows the truth?and he will burn empires to bury it forever.
Separated by war and treachery, the twins face their greatest trials yet.
Charity, captive in the gilded cage of the sadistic Earl Cloutier, must outwit a monster who believes her brother is dead and her future belongs to him.
Adam, guided by Milward?the last true wizard?and a pack of ghostly wolves, awakens to the terrifying gift of shaping: raw magic that can level mountains... or shatter the shaper's soul. Every spell brings him closer to the power he needs to save his sister?and closer to becoming the very thing the prophecy warns against.
Meanwhile, a zealot priest named Vedder drags a ragtag band of mercenaries on a holy crusade against dragons that may not even exist, proving that blind faith can be as deadly as any sorcerer's curse.
As armies clash, fire wyrms descend, and ancient barriers between worlds begin to crack, one question burns brighter than dragon flame: Can love and loyalty survive when destiny demands a price neither twin is ready to pay?
Old-school epic fantasy at its finest?swords that sing, magic that bites, and two kids fighting to keep their humanity in a world that wants to crown them gods... or corpses.
Autorentext
Robert Lee Beers (born 1951 is an author and an artist involved in graphic arts, illustration and fine art.
Originally from Eureka, California, Beers attended Arcata High School and Humboldt State College. He currently resides in Topeka, Kansas.
Bob was first elected to the Nevada Assembly in November 2006. As an Assemblyman, Bob Beers was nominated to be a recipient of the JFK Profiles in Courage Award.
Bob is a recipient of the Bank of America Award in Art and was the Humboldt-Del Norte champion in the high hurdles in 1969.
After leaving office, Bob Beers became a licensed mediator for the Nevada Supreme Court's Foreclosure Mediation Program. Upon retiring he was the most successful mediator of his type in the nation, compiling an agreement rate nearing 85%.
Bob continues to write, and to paint. His Tony Mandolin Mystery series has ten completed novels and several short stories. The first four novels were produced into full-cast audio dramas by Graphic Audio Publishers.As an artist, Bob is an accomplished painter of portraits, both human and pet, and in producing landscapes that capture the chosen scene with incredible depth and clarity.
Klappentext
Dragons were said to once rule the world, but in ages past the powerful creatures retreated to their mountain fastness to leave the younger races to their own devices. Then the magik war came and the dragons were forced to intervene to prevent the world's destruction. They succeeded but an emperor died and an empire began to slowly collapse into decay. Rifts in the fabric of reality were formed in the cataclysmic violence of that war--rifts that magik could penetrate if the wielder were either arrogant enough…or insane.
With the barrier between the world of men and shadow rapidly thinning, Adam and Charity have been separated by an unnecessary war.
Believing her brother has been slain, Charity begins to seek her own way in the world and finds two very unusual friends.
Adam, torn by grief, seeks out the wizard Milward. Together, the two begin their search for Charity...and Adam begins his apprenticeship at a time when magik and sorcery are in vehement conflict.