Caster fell to his knees on the frosty floor. He did not care about the cold. He did not care about his broken bones.He was so happy to see his old friend. He had been fighting alone for so long. He had carried the terrible weight of the world on his shoulders. He had made impossible choices. He had ripped his own soul into pieces.He looked up at the ghost with desperate, pleading eyes. He wanted validation. He wanted his wise mentor to tell him that he had done a good job. He wanted Eidric to smile and say, “You saved the city, Caster. I am so proud of you.”"Eidric," Caster sobbed, crawling forward on his hands and knees. "It is really you. I... I did it, Eidric. I stopped the explosion. The Ash Warden is dead. I banished the dark god. I saved the innocent people."Caster reached his trembling, dirty hand out toward the misty figure. But Eidric did not reach his hand back.Eidric did not smile. The old mentor floated slowly over to the heavy stone alchemy table. He hovered above t

The morning sun finally reached the broken streets of the capital city. Thin, bright rays of golden light pushed through the small, dusty windows of the Gilded Rose. The light fell down the broken wooden stairs and touched the cold stone floor of the basement.Caster Spellbound stood perfectly still in the dark corner. He had not slept. He had not closed his gray eyes for a single second. He was too terrified of the things happening inside his own body. Deep in his chest, the tiny golden seed of new magic hummed with a quiet, dangerous rhythm. Vzzzzzz. On the heavy stone table next to him, the three glowing purple batteries pulsed back. Thrum. Thrum. Thrum.The two magics were talking to each other. They were matching their heartbeats. Caster felt like he was trapped inside a ticking clock.Around his boots, the fifty people of the angry mob began to wake up.A fat merchant groaned loudly. He rubbed his head and rolled onto his side. A woman with a torn dress sat up, blinking in con

Caster looked down at the heavy paper pressed against his dirty shirt. The black ink at the top of the page was written in huge, bold letters.OFFICIAL WAR DECREE.MARTIAL LAW ENACTED.Caster’s eyes scanned the words quickly. His brilliant mind processed the legal trap instantly. His heart sank like a heavy stone."By the power of the Twin Moons Consortium and the High Council of Glassview," Verne recited aloud, making sure every soldier in the room heard her. "A state of total war has been declared against the Crimson Alliance. Under the laws of emergency martial law, all private property, all magical research, and all alchemical patents are hereby seized by the military."Verne lowered her hand, leaving the heavy paper stuck to Caster's chest by a tiny bit of magic."You do not own this shop anymore, Caster," Verne said coldly. She looked around the basement. "You do not own these brass pipes. You do not own those purple crystals. They are the official property of the Glassview Army

"The old High Council believed magic was an art," Vane said as they walked. His metal arms whirred and clicked with every step. "They thought magic had to be coaxed out of the earth gently. They thought you had to study for fifty years just to make a fireball."Vane led them to a set of heavy, thick glass doors."But magic is not an art," Vane said, pulling a heavy iron lever to open the doors. "Magic is just another resource. Like coal. Like water. And if you squeeze a resource hard enough, it gives you pure power."They stepped through the glass doors.Caster stopped walking. His heart stopped beating for a second. His breath caught in his throat.They were standing on a high metal balcony overlooking a massive, brightly lit room.This was the Containment Wing.The room was filled with hundreds of tall, thick tubes made of reinforced glass-steel. The tubes were connected to massive, heavy metal machines that looked like giant pistons.But it was not the machines that made Caster fre

Caster Spellbound stood in the middle of a vast, dry desert. The sun was hot. It burned down from a clear blue sky. This was the Red Canyon. It was a secret military testing site, located fifty miles south of the capital city. The ground was made of cracked red dirt and sharp rocks. There were no trees. There were no birds. It was a completely dead and empty place. But today, the canyon was very busy.At the edge of a high cliff, the Glassview Military had built a massive, safe bunker. The bunker was made of thick concrete and heavy steel. Inside the bunker, behind a wall of thick, clear glass, stood the high brass.These were the most powerful leaders of the Twin Moons Consortium. There were fat politicians in expensive purple silk coats. There were old generals with chests covered in shiny silver medals. They held crystal glasses filled with sweet, red wine. They were laughing and talking loudly. They looked like they were attending a fun party, not a military test.General Elandr