Chapter 54; Thine doom revealed

Characters of the chapter

Flavius Commander in the 5th expeditionary legion of Tevinter

Iustinius Soldier of the Tevinter Imperium

Tiraen Tasvius, Magister of the Tevinter Imperium, ambassador to Meereen, commander of the 5th expeditionary legion of Tevinter, formerly apprentice to magister Cato Argos

Tiraen put one foot in front of the other, ascending the slope before her, then stopped and looked behind her at the exhausted faces of the rest of her team. At long last they had reached the mountain and were now climbing it in search for the door she had seen. Here the power she had sensed permeated everything. Soon she would know what that power was. Soon it would be in her hands and they could start the journey home. And odds were she would need that power if she ever wanted to get out of Valyria alive.

Using her magic to save her crew had had an unintended side effect. That much power had attracted a great number of spirits, looking for her no doubt. Only the amulets had kept them from being discovered by the horde. But remembering that the amulets could not protect them from possessed creatures or detection at close ranges, she had concluded that getting back through all of the creatures unnoticed was unlikely. Using her powers again to drive them away was dangerous and would only attract even more spirits, but without them her people were unlikely to win against so many. Their only chance now was to hope that he power inside this mountain could be harnessed by her and used to protect them on the way home.

She had kept these thoughts to herself, but she suspected that the smartest of her crew had caught on anyway, because all the talk about turning back had died down. Even Iustinius, the most reluctant of the bunch, had shut up and done his job without further complaints. That was not to say that this final stretch had not been hard on them. The veritable eternity spent in this miserable dead land had brought every one of them to a breaking point. Now her soldiers followed her commands with tired mindlessness, because they still clung to their desire to live, and knew her way was the only one where survival might be possible. But the good thing was that they were close to their objective now. Now they just had to find that damn door.

The search continued for a time longer and Tiraen sent Flavius and a few others ahead to look for the entrance. As they went on ahead she could not shake the feeling that they were being watched. That feeling had been there for the past several days. At first she had attributed that feeling to the tide of demons at their heels. But now she was starting to think that didn't quite sound right. Then again, maybe she was just being paranoid. Certainly enough had happened lately for that to be the case.

"My Lady! Over here! It's here!" Flavius called from a higher vantage, bringing her thoughts back to the here and now. She motioned to the soldiers around her and they rejoined Flavius's group. There she saw what he had seen. A stone door leading into the depths of this shattered volcano.

"At last." She said, a wide smile on her lips. "What we seek is somewhere inside. I will go first in case there are leftover magical defenses. What we have seen implies that this was a place of magic wielders after all. Stay close and…" She said before suddenly stopping, eyes scanning the surrounding landscape.

"What is it?" Flavius asked, noting her sudden alertness.

"Movement. Something trying to hide." She simply said. That statement brought weapons to the hands of every Tevinter.

"Demons?" Iustinius asked.

"I'm not sure. But I think demons would not bother trying to stay out of sight. Their kind either come straight at you or make themselves part if the scenery. Or mess up your mind so they don't appear dangerous." She said, staff in hand.

"But what else could it be?" He asked.

"Anything." She said with a shrug.

For a time there was silence as they sought to find the source of the movement she had spotted.

"There!" One of her soldiers shouted, pointing. That was the last thing he had time to say before a trio of arrows pierced his chest. More arrows began flying at the Tevinters, making them seek cover. Seconds later a blast of blue energy melted the stone next to the one she was hiding behind, making her curse. The barrage continued, slim figures emerging into view.

"Elves." She realized. Elves in finer looking armor than she had ever seen their kind wear, armed with bows, with curved swords at their hips. One of the elves carried a staff as well, marking him for a mage. There were slightly more of them than there were living Imperials currently, perhaps fifteen all told,

"Just what kind of elves were these?" She thought. It was not entirely out of the question to see a band of elves fighting. She had fought elven insurgents back home and heard of Dalish clans. But neither of those two groups fit the description of what she was seeing now. And how on earth had elves managed to come to this forsaken place where none but her team was supposed to be able to survive!?

The barrage of arrows and spells continued on relentlessly, pinning the Tevinters down. They could not advance, and neither could they return fire. Even if they did have chance of taking aim most of her crew had expended their arrows already.

Iustinius got an arrow through his head when he peeked out of cover for a split second too long, and Tiraen cursed again. This would not do. Focusing her mind she once again removed the amulet from around her neck. This time she was expecting the surge of voices and pain that followed and was able to regain her focus far more quickly. Still, she was surprised at how much easier it was this time. Perhaps she was adjusting to this place, or maybe there were less spirits in the vicinity, making it easier to endure.

She placed the amulet into a pouch on her belt and focused her magic to creating a sphere of energy from which arrows and spells bounced off of. She expanded the barrier outwards until all her soldiers were protected within it.

"Move close to me!" She shouted, and her troops gathered around her, allowing her to shrink the barrier to a more easily manageable size. Then she stood up and began to walk towards the enemy, her troops moving close by. As they neared she shrunk the barrier a little more to ensure the elves remained on the outside of it. As the Tevinters moved closer the elves backed way but would not depart. Instead they fired with everything they had to pierce the sphere. She felt every impact against the barrier as a sort of twitch in her mind, straining her focus. But she persevered and moved forward, keeping the shield up. Very soon her group was close enough for only a short dash to bring them to melee range. Seeing this the elves began to draw their swords.

"Attack!" She shouted, then made the barrier explode outwards, knocking most of the elves off their feet. The elven mage however performed some counterspell and remained standing. Then her people charged and engaged the still prone elves. Tiraen for her part felt that maintaining the barrier had drained her mana reserves somewhat. She required more power. Fortunately there was an ample supply within her reach.

She extended her free hand and the closest six elves began screaming as streams of red light left their bodies, drawn into her palm. Their bodies shriveled and dried up as blood was vacated from their veins. At the same time red light climbed out from the depths of her eyes until they shone like stars. Drained of blood the empty husks of the elves lay crumpled on the ground.

"NO! YOU MONSTER!" The elven mage shouted in horror, flinging a bolt of energy at her, which she deflected with a wave of her hand, smirking. She pointed her staff at him, lighting erupting from its tip, tracing a glowing line on the ground. The elf stepped out of the way and made stone grow at her feet. Before she could react she was encased inside a stone statue in her likeness, unable to move or breathe. Then a shockwave tore the statue apart as she broke free, scattering shards sharp as knives in every direction. She waved her hand, using force magic to send a cloud of them at her opponent, but the elf simply threw up a barrier of his own, deflecting the shards.

Then Tiraen suddenly stopped in her assault. She stood there, grinning, eyes still glowing with red light. She raised her arm, palm pointed towards the sky, as if offering to take the elf's hand. Unnoticed by him, some of the shards that had ended up behind him floated off the ground, hovering in the air.

The elven mage stared at her, his confidence apparently not shaken in the slightest. "You are strong in you magics, shemlen, but there is no way that you could possibly – HURK!" He said, cut short when she closed her hand into a fist and the shards pierced him from behind. He swayed, then fell on his back, the shards further piercing him as he fell on them.

Tiraen turned her head and saw that the fight elsewhere had also come to an end. The battle had been a brutal one for her people, the elves proving themselves excellent fighters. Aside from her only Flavius and two others were still alive. If not for her magical endeavors the Tevinters might have been overwhelmed altogether.

Calmly Tiraen placed the amulet back around her neck, then walked to where the elven mage lay on the ground, still barely alive. As she neared she was surprised, to see no defensive means like the amulet she wore on the elf. Since to her mind being in this place without protection was simply impossible, she concluded that he must have simply lost his means sometime during the fight. Not that it mattered to her in the end.

"You really ought to watch your back during a fight. You'd live longer. Though I suppose the opportunity to learn has passed you by." She mocked as she knelt beside him, her eyes returning to their normal appearance as the magic abated.

"Where did you people come from? Who sent you here and what for?" She then asked.

The elf gave her a contemptuous look and said nothing.

"Not going to respond, eh? Apparently not the talkative type then. That's alright. I can already guess your motive if nothing else. You are here for the same reason we are. The power that is here… you feel it as well do you not?"

The look in the elf's face told her everything she needed to know.

"Yes. I see that you do. Too bad for you then I guess. You lost. Now this prize belongs to the Imperium." She said with a smirk.

"You have no claim to it, usurper! The power within that mountain belongs to the elvenkind!" The mage finally protested.

Tiraen laughed. "Elves? That is who you fight for? Their future?"

"Actually, that does make a kind of sense, given the composition of your group." She mused.

"But really, has anyone ever heard of a more pathetic cause than that of the elves? Your race is done for. Humanity's supremacy crushed your decadent little empire two thousand years ago. Now this is our world, whereas you are just fading echoes, relics of a bygone age no longer relevant, doomed to slide into oblivion and vanish from existence. One day your people will be but a memory, then not even that. The privileged among you may be permitted to be our slaves, before joining the rest of you in silence." She ridiculed him.

"You understand nothing, usurper! Of your past or your future. Your ignorance is matched only by your innate cruelty! But the Dread Wolf shall correct this world, restoring what was sundered, cleansing scum like you from our world. There will be none of your kind left. Enjoy the taste of your victory, usurper, for it is fleeting, and will soon turn to ashes in your mouth. Claim you victory for Tevinter, and know your barbaric nation shall soon face annihilation." The elf countered.

"The Dread Wolf? That is what you call your master? How dramatic. I shall remember that name, should it come up later. Thank you for giving it to me." She said.

"And you say he brings a great cataclysm? A day of annihilation for humanity? Who knows? Perhaps you're right." She said in a tone that said she believed it not at all.

"Well, be that as it may…" She said, standing up and placing her boot on his throat. "…you won't live to see it!" She finished and broke his neck, savoring the crack of breaking bone.

With the final elf dead she turned her attention to those of her group that had survived… and those that had not. The gleeful savagery she had felt on killing the enemy mage was replaced with a look of sorrow as she took note how many of her own had fallen. But that mood only lasted for a brief while before being replaced by a look of steely determination.

"Come. There is nothing more we can do for the dead and we cannot stay here. The amount of magic tossed about in this fight, not to mention all these deaths… it will attract more spirits in hordes." She told the others.

"What can the four of us do against all of them?" Flavius asked.

"On our own? Nothing. Our objective has not changed. One last hope remains for us, somewhere beyond that door."

Then she proceeded to enter the volcano, what was left of her team following behind her. They found themselves within a large circular hall with more doorways to staircases leading up and down everywhere. At a glance it looked vaguely familiar to her, but she did not have time to observe it further. They had just passed the threshold when they were hit by another vision. What they saw was two men entering through the door they had just come through.

"Proceeding with this plan of yours now… I can't support that. Soon, but not yet. I'm sorry my friend." One of the two men said.

"I hardly need you approval. Enough of the others have already given me their support. The gathering of the Mountain of Sorcerers sides with me." Said the other.

"Think about this Verkhantys! We do not know enough about the artefact. We do not know what it is or what it does. We know it is Elven, recovered by our expedition into the Elven Mirror Network. We know it is immensely powerful and so potentially incredibly dangerous. That is it. " The first one said.

"It is indeed powerful, which is exactly what we need Mernegar. Have you forgotten the peril the Freehold is in? Valyria is dying. The world doesn't know it, thankfully. And our rulers will refuse to believe in the possibility until the end is upon them. But even so it is true." Verkhantys countered angrily.

"With the shroud having damaged our spellcasting we can no longer weave draconic essence to that of our people. Without that capability each time a Valyrian produces a child with a foreigner dragonic essence becomes more diluted in the blood of their child, degrading our people's ability to control dragons. Amongst the commoners the ability is already lost, at best leaving them the Valyrian features and nothing else. Often not even that. Careful intermarrying between the noble houses may have bought us time, but in every generation there are a few disobedient ones that marry from the outside, having children with corrupted lines or even foreigners. The remaining pure bloodlines become more and more broken as closer and closer relatives are made to marry. The Targaryen family may have gone too far in marrying brother to sister, driven to desperate measures after their political failures made them an unpopular prospect for marriage with the other houses. But the other houses will be driven to the same soon enough, mark my words. And as the surviving bloodlines become more broken we are saddled with more and more defective births, half dragon abominations that do not live a day, further diminishing the stock of the pureblooded." Then explained in a tirade.

"You don't need to explain that to me. I know this well." Mernegar said, annoyed.

"Then doubtless you understand what will happen unless this state of affairs is fixed. Unless we find some source of power strong enough to overcome that of the shroud and allow us to resume essence weaving we will eventually lose our ability to command the dragons. If that happens, then the next rebellion raised against us will end us all. The freehold has made precious few friends, and millions of enemies. As soon as they sense weakness they will all strike at us. Our nation and all our accomplishments will be burned to the ground by the angry hordes. Our people will be made slaves as revenge for all those the Valyrians have enslaved. Tell me truly, my friend, is this what you want to see happen?" Verkhantys kept on talking.

"No. It is not. And…" Mernegar said before being interrupted.

"Then why do you fight me over this? For thousands of years, ever since the shroud appeared, we mages have labored in vain to find a solution. Once we unlock the power within this artefact we may finally have the answer to our question. And what do you do? You shy away and reject it. Why?" Verkhantys said.

"All I'm saying is that we should inform the Dragon Lords and the Senate of this attempt. They ought to be told, and we ought to do something like this only with their blessing." Mernegar said.

"I'm not willing to wait months or years as they debate over a decision that doesn't belong to them. The Dragon Lords like to think they run the Freehold, as does the Senate. But it is we mages who are the true caretakers of our civilization. It is our work that allows our people to command dragons, who in turn build our houses, create our steel and win our wars. Meanwhile our supposed leaders have endangered us all with their constant expansion and mistreatment of subjugated peoples. This choice belongs to us, and we have made the right one. The only one." Verkhantys countered.

Mernegar sighed. "At least allow me some time to make sure the unlocking process is safe. There is still much we do not know of elven magic. If we make a mistake with this much power involved the potential for devastation is substantial."

"You have three days." Verkhantys said.

"That's not quite enough. A week perhaps…" Mernegar said.

"Three days. That is how long it will take to set up the ritual. That is the only delay I am willing to tolerate. If you wish to prove an error in the process exists, that is your deadline. So I suppose you should get to work." Verkhantys said and left towards one of the staircases. Mernegar shook his head in frustration and went in the opposite direction, presumably to begin his own work. That was where the vision ended.

"Puzzling. So there really is an elven artefact here, the source of the power I sense. No wonder they were after it then. But what was all this talk about a shroud? I wonder if they were talking about the Veil? But that makes no sense. The Veil has always been a part of our world. Hasn't it? But they spoke as if… as if there had been a time before, a long time ago. Truly puzzling…" She mused.

"My Lady, we ought to keep moving. Do you know which way to go next?" Flavius asked. The whole time after the fight he had not sheathed his sword, probably expecting demons to jump out at them any minute.

Tiraen closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated. "Yes…" She said then, her voice scarcely above a whisper. Without another word she moved to a flight of stairs going upwards her people following.

The stairs seemed to go on endlessly, going higher, ever higher. Along the way they came across doors leading to what she guessed were the private studies of mages, full of books, as well as laboratories containing equipment, some of which looked vaguely similar to what her people might use in their studies, while others were strange things whose purpose she could only guess at. Tiraen wished they would have more time to study this place. The books were probably useless by now, so old they would crumble to dust if anyone so much as breathed at them. But the laboratory equipment might yield valuable clues to the magical learning of the Valyrians, perhaps even some items that might be directly useable once researched and their secrets unraveled. Alas, there was only one thing within this mountain that they had time for. And after they had it they would have to start their return home promptly. The Imperial supplies had been getting low, though now that the majority of her team had been killed that might no longer be a problem. Perhaps they might even make it to their ship without resorting to the water they had finally collected from the local ground pools. It had proven drinkable enough, but it tasted awful and brought bizarre, disturbing dreams which led to everyone staying away from it while normal water was still an option.

"My Lady, during the vision the Valyrian mages spoke of something they called the Elven Mirror Network. What do you think that was about? And how could they have knowledge of elves when the elven homeland is so far away and we only discovered these lands recently?" Flavius asked as they were walking.

"I believe that the mages were referring to the Eluvian network. If that is the case it can help answer your second question. Also to explain how there could be elves here now."

"The Eluvians?" Flavius asked, not recognizing the world.

Tiraen nodded. "The Eluvians are kind of mirrors. Magical ones. Commonly thought of as something originating in our homeland, but in truth of Elven make. The Imperium has known of these artefacts for some time and in the old days our Magisters used them to communicate over vast distances. But apparently communication was not their primary function. Perhaps not even an intended one. There have been those who suggested that the Elven Empire was a diffused realm. They claim that while the bulk of their nation existed within Thedas, small outposts existed in remote locations all over the world. Some have even spoken of pocket dimensions fashioned from the fabric of the Fade itself. Instead of roads the various corners of the Elven Empire were connected with these mirrors, allowing almost instantaneous travel between them. The sources that claimed this weren't entirely reputable, so at one time I didn't think much of it. But it was the Master's plan at one time to use one of these mirrors to reach the fade physically, so he could then go on to claim the power residing in the Black City. So I suppose those claims must be true." She explained.

"Hmm. That would explain a few things. And you believe the elves we faced used these mirrors to come here?" He asked.

"That is what makes most sense right now. But that creates a host of other questions. Like how elves of today could have the knowledge to use the Eluvians like this when even the magisters of old could not manage it? Something to ponder I suppose, though I doubt very much we will find the answer today." She said.

The staircase seemed to be leading them straight to the volcano's summit As the Tevinters climbed ever higher, the damage the mountain had taken became more obvious. In many places holes had been blown or melted into the walls, showing the world outside. In other places the stairs had been broken, making the Tevinters circle around or jump over gaping chasms. On the higher levels the staircase occasionally emerged into the open, with a wall of air on one or both sides. Tiraen was reminded of how the first vision they had seen had referenced an explosion that had happened at this mountain, one that had effectively brought the Doom upon Valyria. Whatever had happened back then had started here. She could feel that she was on the cusp of discovering the truth of what had destroyed the Valyrian Empire, and that it was somehow related to the power she had felt ever since setting foot in these dead lands, the power she was still feeling, stronger than ever.

Soon that power would be hers.

At last her team emerged to a hall of stone, carved from stone of the volcano itself, though the surfaces that remained intact were too smooth to ever have known a chisel or pickaxe. At one time this might have been an enclosed space, but now it opened to the skies, the jagged remains of the summit all around them. At the center of the hall there was a pedestal. On the ground around it there were peculiar scorch marks roughly in the shape of people. And on the pedestal itself…

It was an orb of black stone, roughly the size of a Qunari cannonball, its surface rippled with shapes akin to fingerprints in appearance. Green energy slowly swirled around it. To her mage-senses it emanated immense power, almost unbearably so. There was no question that this was the source of the power she has sensed.

She had seen an object exactly like this one, long ago, when she had still been a youth of perhaps seventeen years. Even so she had to squint, unsure if her eyes were telling it true.

"An Orb? Like the one the Master wielded?" She gasped. Then there was a flash of white light as yet another vision came upon them.

The hall was now whole once more, the walls lined with glowing marks. From their design Tiraen guessed they were meant to regulate the flow of magical energy, protection against a destructive overload of power. The orb lay on a silk pillow upon the pedestal, vibrating slightly, faint spears of light emanating from it now and then. Surrounding the orb were a group of people, on their knees, arms raised and magical energy glowing on their palms. She spotted Verkhantys there also, walking a slow circle around the others, his eyes locked on the orb.

"Yes. The barrier locking the artefact weakens. I can feel the power within starting to stir. And there is so much of it… more than we will ever need. The Valyrian Freehold is saved my friends!" He said with a smile.

"Great One, the artefact is beginning to respond to our ritual, pushing against the locking barrier on its own. A few moments longer and our participation will no longer be required for the unlocking process to finish." One of the kneeling spellcasters said.

"Excellent. Then we are nearly done. How are the protective wards doing?" Verkhantys said.

"They are holding for now, Great One. But the strain on them is very great. We ought to finish the process soon, else there might be issues." Another spellcaster reported.

"We will be. Continue on, acolytes. Just a few moments longer." Verkhantys reassured the others.

"Stop! Stop! Interrupt the ritual!" A haggard looking Mernegar shouted, running into the hall, a piece of paper in his hand. The acolytes lowered their hands, looking at Mernegar uncertainly. The orb on the other had continued to tremble ever more violently, the light coming from it glowing brighter by the second. None among the Valyrians noticed this due to the drama unfolding.

"How dare you interfere with a ritual in process!? Have some manners man!" Verkhantys said angrily.

"Mernegar, I know you had your doubt about this plan, but the time to change my mind about this came and went. Now…" he began to say.

"You've made a mistake you fool! The energy of the artefact isn't merely hidden behind the lock-barrier, but constrained behind it, constantly straining to be released! Like water behind a dam! Your unlocking procedure is akin to taking a sledgehammer to the walls of that dam! Once the lock barrier-breaks…!" Mernegar shouted back in a panic, paying the other mages protests no mind.

"Do you think I was born yesterday? We have set wards. Any excess energy will be safely siphoned away." Verkhantys cut in.

"They won't hold! The energy release won't be released at a constant rate, but exponentially! A magical explosion that will tear apart anything in its path! It will destroy us all!" Mernegar screamed.

"Exponential release? Magical explosion? What kind on nonsense…" Verkhantys said before the Mernegar shoved the paper in his hands to his face. Irritated, Verkhantys snatched the paper and began to read it. Then his expression became one of horror. "No…" He breathed.

"Abort the ritual! Immediately!" He shouted at the acolytes.

"We cannot, Great One! The process has become self-sufficient! It's out of our control!" One of the acolytes screamed.

"It too late. We're too late…" Mernegar said in realization.

"Valyria… our people… What have we done? What have WE DONE!?" He said, collapsing into a sobbing ball on the floor.

"No! Use a failsafe! Destroy the artefact! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!" Verkhantys shouted in vain. Then a blindingly bright green light emanated from the orb, evaporating the pillow it was on and every Valyrian in the room. In the gale of light the marks on the walls began to flicker and die out, the ones farthest from the entrance failing first. Then a shockwave emanated from the orb, ripping open the hall. The surviving wards deflected a portion of the shockwave, the majority of its power projected in a single direction, sundering one side of the mountain utterly. The shockwave swept on to an immense city in the distance, reducing it to dust and rubble in an instant. Next green flame began rapidly spreading from the base of the mountain, wreathing the landscape in a firestorm. In the distance Tiraen spied a chain of other volcanoes erupting simultaneously, filling the air with smoke and ash. Shapes that could only have been dragons could be seen tumbling from the sky all around.

When the vision finally faded away the Tevinters were too stunned to do or say anything. They simply stood there, staring at the orb that had done all this. Tiraen was the first to move, slowly walking to the orb, continuing to look at it as if mesmerized. Once more she removed the amulet from around her neck, then raised her hand to touch the orb. When her hand brushed against its rippled surface she gave out a gasp of delight as the orb tuned itself to her magic, becoming an extension of her own power.

"It's active. The Valyrians did manage to unlock it then." She said, her eyes closed, a wide smile on her lips, her hand continuing to caress the orb.

"I see now. I understand the fate of the Valyrians. Their Empire was in decline, a rot spreading in its foundations. The world knew this not, nor did their own people. But the mages of their nation knew, and sought to stave off the destruction with this elven artefact they had uncovered. But when they tried to unlock it the same thing happened to them as happened with the orb we had during the Breach War. The magical energies contained within were released as a massive explosion that tore the veil asunder with it. What was supposed to be the salvation of the Valyrian Empire instead became the killing blow to finish it. In Thedas the explosion caused a chain reaction that could have unraveled the Veil in its entirety. But in this part of the world the Veil is stronger and must have been able to eventually contain the destruction on its own, preventing further tearing of the veil. But far too late for the Valyrian people. Meanwhile the orb, now unlocked, has awaited here all this time for someone to claim it. And now, at long last… someone has." She said in deep contemplation.

"Thank you, ancients of Valyria, ancients of Arlathan, for your tribute to us. Thanks to your sacrifice the Imperium will grow, will prosper… will flourish. And she will overcome all our enemies." She said then, removing the orb from the pedestal.

"My Lady, I know this is likely very fascinating and all, but I do not think this is the right time for a history lesson. The demons will be on us soon. If we don't have the means to defend ourselves by the time they find us we are all going to die." Flavius said, his attention turned towards the entrance, his voice tense.

"Do not be worried commander. From this point forward demons will be beneath our notice, no matter their numbers." She said, grinning as she turned to him.

The orb was now hovering above her palm, crackling with energy.

So here it is, book 1 of this story in its entirety. Now begins my work on book 2. Hope you have all enjoyed the journey. If you have thoughts of the story thus far you'd like to share, feel free to leave a review or PM me. Also if you know of anyone who might like reading this, feel free to spread the word.

Until next time.

Update: The first chapter of War of the Winds: Book 2 has now been Published. Enjoy!