The heavy purple sky inside the cavern collapsed into a million sharp glass splinters under the weight of his gaze.High Mage Vane stumbled backward across the cracked marble floor, his long silver beard trembling as he held both hands high, pouring every drop of his remaining magic power into the massive gravity field above their heads. The dark purple light hummed like a thousand angry hornets, pressing down on the stone pillars until deep cracks split the solid granite.You cannot defeat the supreme magic of the imperial court, Vane screamed, his voice cracking with wild, desperate panic as sixteen elite shadow mages formed a tight circle around him. Increase the pressure now. Crush his bones before he steps out of that circle.The sixteen shadow mages slammed their heavy iron staffs into the ground at the exact same second. A dense wall of dark purple gravity energy surged downward, aiming straight for Logan’s head like a falling iron anvil.Logan did not even ra

The grand imperial banner fell into the mud before the horse even came to a full stop.Princess Aurelia pulled hard on her silk reins, her heavy gold armor clinking as her black warhorse reared back on its hind legs in pure terror. Behind her, three thousand heavily armed imperial knights, fifty solar mages, and a line of iron siege wagons ground to a complete halt along the high ridge path.By the sun, what happened to the peak? Commander Drake gasped, reining his armored charger in beside her, his hand flying to his sword hilt as his eyes widened in total disbelief.Where there was once a thousand-foot mountain of solid granite holding the ancient northern vault, only a massive, smoking crater of white glass remained. The high stone peaks were gone, leveled flat into the earth as if a giant fist had smashed the mountain from the sky. Thick golden smoke rolled slowly across the ruined valley, carrying an intense, suffocating heat that made the horses sweat and panic in

The sky above the southern highway turned bright orange as thirty shadow-less desert skyships dropped out of the clouds, their brass hulls glowing like fresh embers.Kassia pulled her longbow tight, her eyes wide as she stared up at the massive flying vessels hovering silently over the head of the New Vanguard army. Those are not imperial war galleys, she yelled, stepping in front of Logan with her arrow pointed straight at the lead vessel's bronze bowsprit.Hold your bow, Kassia, Logan said, gently lowering her wooden arrow with a single finger. Look at the banners hanging from their wooden rudders.Long golden silks embroidered with blazing suns flapped in the warm sea wind. Down from the main deck of the largest skyship drifted a thin, silver rope ladder. A young man wearing light bronze scale armor, dark leather trousers, and a crimson cape swung down the ropes, landing on the dusty road with absolute grace.I thought I would find you marching toward the capital