The Pogrom of Mages: The Healers of Glastamear: Volume One
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Michael and Diana took a couple of cushions from her house and walked along the causeway until they were alone. Michael cast winter blanket and they sat together and talked till dawn. Michael explained everything that had happened and ask her if she wanted to live in Southport.
“My dear, I expected to train as a healer and return to Rock Point as the only healer. With a hundred other healers, most with more experience than I, there’s nothing for me to do here. I’d love the chance to be involved in your merchant disguise and move to a different city.”
“There is still danger in trying to cure people in any location that has knight protectors. I have to keep you safe above all other considerations. I’m not sure you’ll be able to use your healing skills.”
Diana explained, “I’ve been thinking about how we could fight the epidemic without attracting attention. If we set up an apothecary shop and offered a cure that worked, we could cure hundreds of people a week. We wouldn’t need a real cure, just something bitter that had to be mixed and drunk immediately. That way we could use clear lungs right in the store while they were drinking our concoction. In addition, we could cure anyone we met on the street or at a party without even touching them. They would never know that they were saved by a secret cast of the clear lungs spell.”
“That’s brilliant my love. I need to get word of it to Lady Marsha in Snowport, but it would take two days for an eagle to fly there. It will have to wait until after the wedding.”
“If you’re really an elf-blood, you should be able to thought-talk across the distance between the stars. Reaching Lady Marsha in Snowport shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Why am I so stupid? All the old tales of elves say they could talk to anyone in the star cloud, but I never even tried to thought-talk at a great distance. I could have talked to you every night if I’d known.”
Michael reached Lady Marsha without trouble and passed Diana’s idea to her. This type of communication should be a great advantage in coordinating their future actions. Michael also reached Lady Barbara on Dragon Crag and asked her to send the Silver Trident to Rock Point to transport their group and any healer volunteers to Southport. It would take about a week to reach Rock Point and another week to return to Southport. He hoped they would be in time to prevent the epidemic’s onset in the southernmost city of Glastamear.
Six days later the whole community of Rock Point gathered in the largest cave above the town. Dressed in their wedding finery Michael and Diana repeated in unison the ancient vows, far older than the church of Perry Ascendant. The oath of union taught by Gripton to the first humans to marry on the planet Home under the star of Blue Haven.
“I will hold your hand and travel with you for all our livers. I will love and protect you for all our lives. I will nurture and cherish you for all our lives. This I pledge before Father God and all men and women present.”
The End
The spells of Glastamear
Healing
Amnesia release causes the patient to forget the past two weeks.
Calm soul reduces anxiety.
Cancer reach can remove cancerous growths.
Clear lungs cures contagious lung disease.
Detect all manna will show the presence of mages.
Detect life will highlight all nearby animals and humans.
Ease of passing reduces pain and suffering for terminal conditions.
Healing hands cures injuries.
Hear the heart murmur improves the hearing of the caster.
Heart stop will stop the caster’s heart permanently.
Knit bones is used to realign and repair broken bones.
Night surgery allows the caster to see in low light.
Perfect recall allows the caster to remember anything they read in the past.
Surgery sleep causes the patient to fall into a deep sleep.
Water
Float allows the caster to walk on water.
No stink removes the odor of the caster.
Open all locks can be used to open mechanical locks.
Quench fire magic causes fire mages to lose casting power for a time.
Shell skin strengthens the skin against insect bites and small cuts.
Still waters will block waves for a certain radius even in a storm at sea.
Submerge manna will hide the manna of the caster.
Transparency causes the caster to be invisible.
Water breath allows the caster to stay underwater for long periods.
Fire
Asbestos robe prevents fire damage
Fireless heat allows you to heat something like food without building a fire.
Torch provides light.
Winter blanket warms an area around the caster.
Earth
Copy metal shapes allows the caster to copy any metal shape.
Dwarfish strength allows the caster to carry very heavy weights.
Excavate digs a whole in the earth.
Fast travel allows for travel between dwarfish travel rooms.
Hide blades allows an elfish sword to become undetectable.
Stone armor provides the caster with the equivalent of steel plate armor.
Stone dome builds an impenetrable dome of force around the caster.
Forest
Alter form allows the caster to assume the form of any animal.
Alter weight allows the caster to reduce their weight.
Animal communicate allows the caster to communicate with animals.
Become a Ki is a spell that allows Michael to assume the form of an eagle.
Forest Vapor allows a fairy to pass through small holes.
Speed crops is a fairy spell that makes plants grow faster.
Take animal form is a fairy spell that allows the caster to take an animal form.
Characters in order of appearance in the Pogrom of Mages
Michael is an apprentice healer and mage who is also known as Michael Son-of-Williams when he pretends to be a merchant and Michael Elf-Blood the hero of Gripton’s ancient promise.
Great King Justin is the recently murdered King of Glastamear, who along with many of his relatives was poisoned at the most recent Perry’s Day feast.
King Richard the Vengeful, previously known as Richard of Ash Tree Ford, is officially King Richard the Twenty-seventh. He ordered the pogrom against all mages in Glastamear because he claimed that they murdered King Justin.
William of Hearthshire Town was murdered in the pogrom against healing mages. He was mentor and teacher to Michael and a member of the healers’ High Council.
Arianna of the naiads of Black Sand Beach Pod is a friend to Michael who helped to save his life from the knight protectors who chased him through the Great Black Thicket.
The Red Dragon, Firebreath is the dragon who gave the male descendants of Perry the Bagger Chief the power of fire magic nearly two thousand years earlier.
Obert is the chief shaman of the Black Sand Beach Pod of naiads who teaches Michael water magic.
Gripton is shaman of the Great Elves who traveled the star sea, and who in ancient times, helped in the bioengineering of humans, naiads, dwarves, fairies, and many other creatures of the planet Home under the star Blue Haven.
Lord Hampton is the Master of the Healers’ Guild and head of the High Council.
Guild Bursar Childs is the treasurer of the Healers’ Guild.
Diana of Rock Port is the stunningly beautiful healer apprentice who Michael falls for when he first rescues her.
Arthur is manager of Westport Hospital who is forced to flee with other Westport mages when word of the pogrom reaches the city.
Steven the Fifteenth, the Most Holy Son of Perry Ascendant, is the highest official of the Church of Perry Ascendant and the most powerful fire mage in Glastamear.
Arthur of Stone Lane is the most prosperous merchant of Westport. He becomes the banker and friend of Michael when Michael assumes his merchant identity.
Lady Agnes of Ice Castle
is a member of the healers’ High Council who Michael rescues in Westport. She becomes a mentor to Michael.
Sir James Neville is the son of the Baron of the Red Marshes and a fellow healer who is Michael’s best friend. Michael rescues him with Lady Agnes and two apprentices Herb and Gail from below the Great Temple of Westport.
Trucha of Snowport and Otto of White Plains are two healers rescued by Michael at an inn on the Snowport Road.
Tobias Howardson is a merchant of Snowport who is a member of the same banking syndicate as Arthur of Stone Lane. He assists with the relocation of the Snowport healers to the refuge at Rock Port.
High Priest Carson is the senior church official in Snowport. He allows all the healers in Snowport to escape. He’s a good and devout man much loved by the people of Snowport.
Eric Goodfriend is captain of Michael’s line-fishing boat, the Diana, and he is the brother of Lady Marsha, leader of the Snowport mages.
Christy of the White Mountains is the Snowport healer who mistakes Michael for a fire mage and knocks him unconscious with a rock at Snow Troll Fiord.
Lady Marsha is senior healer of Snowport and sister of Captain Eric Goodfriend.
Sid is the owner of the Inn of Restful Repose of the Kindly Merchant at Sand Point, a small hamlet south of Snowport.
Peter of Southport is a merchant that Michael meets on the road to Briarton. When they are attacked, Peter learns that Michael is actually a healer disguised as a merchant.
Master Bradley of Briarton is the Business Manager of the Grand Hospital of Briarton. Michael rescued Bradley and his six apprentices in a cave near Briarton.
Sir Gregory of Briarton is a successful merchant and banker in the prosperous city of Briarton, which is located in the most fertile agricultural area of Glastamear. He is the agent for King Richard, and his wife is the king’s cousin.
Claude the Builder is manager of the construction site at the ruins of the Great Hospital of Briarton. Michael hires him for the new construction at the site.
Baron Joseph Wheaton is the High Priest of Briarton who becomes a business partner with Michael and Sir Gregory in their new construction project.
Morgan of Fay Woods is the leader of the Fairy Folk who teaches Michael forest magic.
Grand Master Gwen is head of the Great Hospital of Briarton. Michael meets her and the thirty-six other healer refugees from Briarton in Fay Woods.
Kate is a senior healer who hid from the pogrom at theGray Mountain hamlet of Iron Pick. Michael gave Kate a submerge manna ring when she decided to stay and help the locals.
Sir John Neville of the Red Marshes is the brother of Michael’s best friend Jim Neville. He decided to secretly practice healing at the town of Swamp Ford where High Priest Carson had been exiled.
Isabelle age 12 and Anna age 13 are from the village of Azure Falls. Michael rescues the young healers after they are abducted from their home by knight protectors.
Jacob and Roger, and their non-healer older brothers Peter and Gregory are known as the brothers of Oxbow Narrows. They are rescued by Michael at the town of Broken Arrow on the road to Southport.
Toby the monster child is the child healer priest who is responsible for the torture of the brothers of Oxbow Narrows while they were captives at Broken Arrow.
Kevin the Massive is the armorer for old King Justin. At his shop in Broken Arrow, Michael buys armor for the Oxbow Brothers and Jim Neville, which he enchants to make it much stronger.
Timothy Son-of-Timothy is Michael’s banker in Southport. They become partners in the purchase of the Southport Hospital building.
Carolyn is the wife of Timothy of Southport and very active in his businesses.
Sir Julian is the king’s agent and an important merchant in Southport.
High Priest Simon is the leader of the Southport clergy who allowed all of the local healers to go into exile while reporting to his superiors that he had them killed by drowning them at sea.
Lady Master Barbara of Southport is the most senior healer of southern Glastamear. She led the healers of Southport to exile on the island of Dragon Crag.
Howard Stonemaster is the well-regarded builder hired to convert the Southport hospital building for other uses.
Jake, David, and Marin are three healers at the refuge at Dragon Crag who are also experienced sailors. They man the cargo ship that Michael purchased and filled with supplies for the island refuge.
Books by Charles Williamson on Kindle
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Mysteries:
The Dead Priest of Sedona: Book One of the Mike Damson Mysteries
The Dead Chef of Santa Fe: Book Two of the Mike Damson Mysteries
The Murders at El Tovar: Book Three of the Mike Damson Mysteries
The Victim at Vultee Arch: Book Four of the Mike Damson Mysteries
The Arson at Happy Jack: Book Five of the Mike Damson Mysteries
The Dead Man at Doyle Saddle: Book Six of the Mike Damson Mysteries
Oil Town: Book One of the Howard McAlester Mysteries
Time Travel:
Temporal Foam: A Novel of Accidental Time Travel
The Argonauts of Phoenix: The Second Adventure in the Temporal Foam
Science Fiction:
Black Dot: Jack Dunn, Cyber-Detective Volume One
Green Glow: Jack Dunn, Cyber-Detective Volume Two
Blue Haze: Jack Dunn, Cyber-Detective Volume Three
Fantasy:
The Pogrom of Mages: The Healers of Glastamear, Volume One
Coming in early 2016:
The Mages’ Winter of Death: The Healers of Glastamear, Volume Two
The Mauling at Kinnickinick Pueblo: Book Seven of the Mike Damson Mysteries