Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Two by Dean Cadman Read Free Book Online Page A

moments before finally just nodding up river without a word. Lusam realised at that moment he could easily cross the river by riding a force-field similar to when he had lifted Neala on the riverbank a few months before, but he didn't want to upset Renn any more than he had already by telling him that he'd just thought about it now. So still smiling to himself he quietly turned and headed upstream to find the crossing point, leaving Renn to drip-dry a little in the meantime.

Chapter Seven

    Zedd and the other agent of Aamon had continued to pursue the boy mage relentlessly since entering the forest. Zedd knew that by now the agent he had sent back into Helveel would have met up with the rest of their forces there, and already be on the road to Stelgad, ready to intercept the boy mage if he managed to escape him in the forest. He had no intention of letting him get as far as Stelgad, and losing the opportunity to bring himself to the attention of Lord Zelroth and the council.
    Gaining rank within the Empire was not easy, and especially so if you were not well connected to the members of the council. It had been well known for countless centuries that the ability of parents to perform magic directly affected the chances that their children would also inherit their abilities. Several centuries ago Lord Zelroth had implemented a secret breeding program to create what would later become the Darkseed Elite. The program worked well in the early days and the newly formed Darkseed Elite became the new upper classes of the Empire. As the decades and centuries passed, the number of citizens with magical abilities grew rapidly. The citizens of the Empire who did not possess the ability of magic quickly became second class citizens in their own land. A few localised rebellions broke out within the Empire, but they were quickly crushed by the sheer number of its new magical force at its disposal. The non-magical citizens soon became nothing more than slaves to be used by the Empire, however it saw fit. It quickly became a rarity for a non-magical child to be born, and any that were quickly met their demise.
    The success of the Empire's breeding program was never in doubt, but the results bore its own problems. With so many powerful citizens now in the Empire, it was only a matter of time before a challenge came for the leadership of the entire Empire. A group of about fifty disenchanted magi banded together, some say led by a spy from Afaraon, others say he was just a parent of a non-magical child who'd been killed at birth by the authorities, and now wanted justice. Lord Zelroth had anticipated their attack and he had created the necromatic rings for his most powerful, and closest allies. The rings enabled Lord Zelroth to harvest the power of any mage who wore them within range, making him immensely powerful.
    When the attackers reached the inner chambers of the palace they were met by an already powerful mage, who now wielded the power of over a hundred other magi combined. The results were devastating for the attackers. Their shields failed them almost immediately, and having to put all their power into self preservation meant that they were unable to attempt a single attack in reply. The final few begged for mercy. None was given. Their broken bodies were put on display throughout the capitol and the rest of the Empire, as a warning to any others foolish enough to attempt seizing power from him.
    Later the rings were altered, the range of the rings was vastly increased, extra abilities and safeguards were also added, and many more created. Once the new rings were worn, they were impossible to remove without killing the wearer. Each new mage of the empire was classified by their ability to wield magic. The strongest among them became the elite guards of the palace. The next strongest became the commanders of his forces, and those later wore the silver chain Zedd now wore to distinguish their rank. The next level down became the mainstay