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Back Copper Chain Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. CONTENTS
  5. MAP
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. 48
  54. 49
  55. 50
  56. 51
  57. 52
  58. 53
  59. 54
  60. 55
  61. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  62. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

‘He is bold,’ Palemon muttered. ‘To come himself.’ His lip curled in distaste. ‘But he is part monster. How could they make him their king?’ He shook his head. ‘So much has changed in the Realm. The eldren have reclaimed Sindara. A half-breed rules in Xanthos. Control of the three seas is fragmented, subject to constant war. Humanity has become primitive . . . These people think our weapons and armor are advanced!’

‘That ship is advanced enough,’ Kyphos said.

Zara shook her head. ‘It is indeed large, and powerful for the current era. But the Solaris was far more sophisticated.’

‘Can we expect war?’ Kyphos asked, looking up at Palemon.

‘Xanthos is far from Malakai,’ the king said. ‘No, I would think not. But we will need to make our next move swiftly. Making enemies is inevitable if we are to get the ships we need, but we will doom ourselves if we don’t have the strength to defeat them.’

Palemon scowled, gazing out the window. The trireme was already making speed as it left. Tearing his eyes away, he turned to the sorceress. ‘Zara, your search for artifacts . . . Please tell me you’ve found something.’

‘I came because I have something to show you.’ She nodded, and then gave a small smile. ‘I arrived just in time, it seems.’

‘What did you find?’ Kyphos asked.

Zara shook her head. ‘I’m sure you have work to do,’ she said, pointing her sun staff at the hunchback. ‘This is for the king alone.’

8

8

Palemon followed Zara out of the palace, only realizing when they were in the streets that neither of them had thought to ask for an escort. He smiled to himself. Now that he had a palace, it appeared he needed to be escorted everywhere he went. The trappings of power, he supposed. An escort was utterly unnecessary. Only a foolish enemy would challenge the sorceress.

As they walked side by side through the city streets, turning into one of the longest avenues, he saw that she was taking him to the Sky Tower.

‘You have solved the tower’s secret?’ he asked.

Still clutching her sun staff, she glanced over at him. ‘It was the first place we looked, of course, but aside from the fact that its design is odd to say the least, our initial search turned up nothing. Nonetheless, after exploring the city and talking to the priests, everything pointed here. It became obvious that during the reign of Aleuthea it was a place of importance, even if today’s priests have only been using it for ceremonies.’

The tower grew ever larger as they approached until it dominated Palemon’s vision. A tall, perfect cylinder, it was so large that it would take a man a reasonable amount of time to walk around the perimeter. The huge blocks it was made of were a pale stone, not as beautiful as marble, but evidently able to stand the test of time.