Content Preview

 Contents   Title Page   Dedication   Copyright   Map   Chapter One - Fallow Fields   Chapter Two - Canyon Kingdom   Chapter Three - Riverboat Gamblers   Chapter Four - The Streets of Oldfort   Chapter Five - Night Raid   Chapter Six - An Unexpected Rescuer   Chapter Seven - In the Heart of the Enemy   Chapter Eight - The Demesne of Pitas the Younger   Chapter Nine - Story Time   Chapter Ten - Promises Kept   Chapter Eleven - Schemes and Goals   Chapter Twelve - An Army Assembled   Chapter Thirteen - Unexpected Answers   Chapter Fourteen - News from the Sican Front   Chapter Fifteen - Preparing for Departure   Chapter Sixteen - No Turning Back   Chapter Seventeen - Dream Dive   Chapter Eighteen - Sky Pirates   Chapter Nineteen - An Inescapable Dream   Chapter Twenty - Secret Roads   Chapter Twenty-One - A Preposterous War   Chapter Twenty-Two - Fort Maelstrom   Chapter Twenty-Three - Deadly Weapons   Chapter Twenty-Four - Hurry Up and Wait   Chapter Twenty-Five - The Calm Before the Storm   Chapter Twenty-Six - Final Approach   Chapter Twenty-Seven - The Last Echo of the Lord of Bells   Chapter Twenty-Eight - Off Balance   Chapter Twenty-Nine - Take the Plunge   Chapter Thirty - Find that Paper Mage!   Chapter Thirty-One - Messages Amidst Chaos   Chapter Thirty-Two - Brawling Titans   Chapter Thirty-Three - Clan Castis Chaos   Chapter Thirty-Four - Troop Movements   Chapter Thirty-Five - Hard to Digest   Chapter Thirty-Six - Long Awaited   Chapter Thirty-Seven - Unexpected Conclusions   Chapter Thirty-Eight - Streets Ablaze   Chapter Thirty-Nine - Shattered Swords   Chapter Forty - City Breaker   Chapter Forty-One - The Kindness of the Extinct   Chapter                The Last Echo of the Lord of Bells Mage Errant Book 7     John Bierce             This one’s for Mom, who should probably check and make sure she hasn’t locked the keys in the truck again.                                     Copyright © 2023 John Bierce All rights reserved.                CHAPTER ONE    Fallow Fields      ALUSTIN HABER, THE Last Loyal Son of Helicote, stood in a ruined village and hid his doubts. The Havathi town, not far east of the Skyreach Range, hadn’t been destroyed in battle— it had been torn apart by storms, walls battered down by wind, lightning, and flood. And before the villagers could finish rebuilding, it had been ravaged by drought. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of villages like this in Havath now, ruined by the climate-warping assault from the Coven. Alustin had been well aware of the consequences for months now, aware of the massive refugee crisis as villagers flooded into provincial capitals. Even with the massive granaries and medical corps of Havath, they were struggling to fend off famine and disease outbreaks. He hadn’t experienced it so closely before, and even with his hatred for Havath, it was hard to look at. And it would only get worse from here. Or, at least, it would if Alustin hadn’t been planning to destroy it all. He let himself, for a moment, try to delude himself into thinking his plan was a mercy, but even he wasn’t foolish enough to buy that idea. “You’re sure?” Casser Spellstorm asked, shaking him out of his reverie. The Tsarnassan Champion was Alustin’s