by Mike Wild
He gestured with his right hand and cancelled the silence spell he had placed on Emuel.
"Sing Emuel! Sing or we'll all die!"
Emuel looked up at Kelos and, for a terrible moment, the mage thought that the eunuch was going to defy him. But then, he stood.
"That's it retard, sing a lament for the death of your friends." The guard raised his sword. The sound that emerged from Emuel, however, stayed his hand.
The room shivered as the song reached out to the gem. The magical energy traced veins of midnight-blue fire in the stone and all in the room felt the ship shudder as it responded to the song. The tattoos on Emuel's body flowed as the song possessed him.
The Shadowmage stepped into the centre of the room and Kelos could see a dark warning in his eyes. He could almost taste the magic flowing from the stone now and, concentrating, Kelos called forth a thread of that energy. The mage below him realised what was happening too late. He tried to finish Kelos with a word but, before he could utter the syllable, Kelos concentrated the thread of energy from the stone and blasted it into the Shadowmage. The room filled with a searing light as his body burned.
Kelos dropped to the floor and lashed out with his sword. The stunned guard didn't even feel the blade enter his belly. All he felt was the song and its ethereal cadence as it followed him into darkness.
Kelos put a hand on Emuel's shoulder. "You can stop now. It's over."
As the Turnitia docks fell away, Dunsany nervously scanned the shoreline.
"Don't worry," Kelos said. "I've cloaked the ship."
Dunsany turned to look at his friend. Wisps of arcane energy surrounded the mage in a dark amber corona.
"Shouldn't one of us be piloting this vessel?"
"Actually, I am. And have you noticed something really strange?"
"Apart from your new hair-do and ruddy orange glow?" Dunsany looked around him and had to admit that everything was really strange. The sails billowed with the wind and were utterly silent, the rainbow sheen of the X'lcotl silk moving like oil on water as it reflected back the soft light of Kerberos. Around them the ship thrummed with magical energy, veins of which ran through every part of the Llothriall. The vessel cut through the sea with a sureness and ease that Dunsany had never before witnessed in a ship. "We're so still."
"Indeed, the ship should be furiously pitching beneath our feet and we should be staggering around like two drunks at the end of a wedding party. Instead, we have this unnatural serenity. Deceptive really, as the power of the Llothriall is so vast that it should feel like something is happening. And it is, look back at Turnitia."
Dunsany turned. The coast was dwindling rapidly behind them, almost imperceptible through the spray and the mist. On any other ship it would have taken them most of a day to leave sight of the peninsula and, even then, they wouldn't have been able to venture too far from land due to the vicious and unpredictable currents that surrounded Twilight. But the Llothriall was not at all affected by the pitch of the waves. Instead, it seemed to skim across the surface.
"And this is the least of the ship's abilities," Kelos said. "Do you know, that it is actually capable of sailing under water? We must try that particular feature out some time."
"I'm glad that we took this away from the Faith," said Dunsany. "I just hope that this hiding place you have in mind is as good as you say."
"Oh yes. And, once we reach Sarcre itself I can introduce you to our crew."
"And do they know that they are going to be shipmates on this mighty vessel?"
"Well, not quite. But once they see the Llothriall they're not going to take much persuading. Talking of ship mates, where's Emuel?"
"All sung out. Sleeping soundly below. You think that boy's going to be a problem?"
"He's terrified of everything and he's too timid to be a threat. Anyway, there's no way for him to get back to Makennon now."
The sound of Katherine Makennon's rage was so great that the Eternal Choir almost stopped singing. The congregation who sat with bowed heads looked up from their prayers for a moment as they sensed the anger that flowed through the many halls, chambers and chapels of Scholten cathedral from Makennon's quarters. At his pulpit the Eminence's hand was momentarily stayed from making the sign of benediction.
In her private chamber Makennon stood over the priest who had delivered the news of the Llothriall's theft and, for the briefest of moments, considered having him excommunicated. But decisions driven by emotion were not becoming of a leader of Twilight's true faith. Seating herself once more Katherine resumed her air of authoritative calm.
"Why is it that Old Race secrets and artefacts have a habit of slipping out of our grasp? Don't these people realise that we are merely trying to use the knowledge of our ancestors to unite the peninsula and spread our message beyond civilisation?"
Around the room, the members of the Faithful looked at one another, wondering if an answer were required. One cleared his throat and seemed about to speak, but Makennon dismissed his words before he could form them with a wave of a hand.
"It was a rhetorical question Rudolph. I do not require your observations. However... do you know whether our guest has regained consciousness?"
"Our guest Anointed Lord?"
"Yes, the marine creature we recently acquired."
"Ah yes, I shall enquire right away."
"Thank you Rudolph."
Rudolph edged slowly from the room, making sure not to present his back to the Anointed Lord. Once beyond the chamber he descended through the many levels of Scholten until he was far below the foundations of the cathedral. In a corridor lined with cells he stopped at a particular door and slid back the viewing hatch. The stench that poured from the room beyond made him take a step back. For a moment he thought that the creature within had died, but then there was a wet sound as it left its water trough and approached the door.
"Prepare yourself to meet the Anointed Lord," Rudolph piously informed the prisoner.
He couldn't be sure but the sound that came in response sounded almost like a laugh.
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THE CLOCKWORK KING OF ORL
Mike Wild
The words of her mentor inspire Kali Hooper to explore the lost places of Twilight, unearth the secrets of its past and discover the fate of the vanished Old Races. But when an unexpected encounter in the deadly Spiral of Kos brings Kali head to head with Twilight’s all-consuming Final Faith, she finds herself in a race for the keys to the Old Races’ most terrifying secret yet – the mysterious construct known as the Clockwork King of Orl. Everything Kali knows is about to change. She’ll lose old friends, gain new ones, learn a devastating secret about herself, and come face to face with a threat she must stop at any cost. Because while the Final Faith believe what they are about to unleash is their true destiny, Kali knows it is not only their future but the whole of Twilight’s that hangs in the balance. She has seen the fires, the deaths. She has heard the marching. The marching that heralds a sea of blood ...
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CRUCIBLE OF THE
DRAGON GOD
Mike Wild
Hordes of a deadly and unknown species of predator swarm across Twilight, killing and destroying everything in their path. Where have they come from? Is there a connection with the Final Faith airship in the Drakengrat Mountains? What was 'the mistake'? Exactly what are the k’nid – and how can they be stopped?
New questions for Kali Hooper and her friends to answer – but doing so will prove far from easy. From a labyrinthine dwarven deathtrap to a besieged and battle-torn city, a haunted ancient limbo at the end of time and the aquatic lair of a vast serpent, Kali must battle her way to a place in the clouds that legend calls the Crucible of the Dragon God. There she must confront the past itself, for the Crucible holds a secret kept even from the Old Races – a secret so staggeri
ng that Kali is about to discover the true reason her world is called Twilight...
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THE CALL OF KERBEROS
Jonathan Oliver
Silus Morlader is a fisherman working the Nurn coast; a simple man leading a simple life. But there is more to Silus than even he himself realises. A mysterious man on the run from the Final Faith tries to persuade Silus to join him on an extraordinary voyage, and when an ancient and evil race bursts from the sea and tries to claim him as one of their own, Silus is forced to flee his home.
Soon Silus becomes a pawn in a deadly game played between ancient races. On the forbidding Twilight seas, Silus begins to discover the extraordinary truth behind his burgeoning preternatural abilities. As he battles alongside the crew of the magical galleon, the Llothriall, he will find out more about his world and his legacy than he could ever have imagined. Hearing the call of Kerberos, he will fight to save existence itself!
Twilight of Kerberos is an exciting sword and sorcery series following the adventures of a group of characters with extraordinary talents.
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NIGHTS HAUNTING
Matthew Sprange
Thief and Shadowmage, Lucius Kane, has found that his influence and power in the underworld of Turnitia has grown. The thieves' guild is prosperous, and his magical skills have proved a great asset to his peers. His prospects seem boundless, until the Empire of Vos descends upon the City.
Soldiers fill the streets and a new cleric has taken command of the souls of Turnitia's citizens. This strange priest has promised to eradicate the thieves' guild, as well as outlaw unlicensed magic - and the pagan Shadowmages are at the top of his list.
Lucius will come to realise that, once again, a war in the streets of his city must be fought...
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