This is a fantasy novel written by my son Karl and me. In this world — a classic fantasy world of magicians and armies and a moster or two — the basic concept of “Lifemagic” is that the power to perform acts of magic can only be gained from killing. As Dolan the Wise said, “There is only one magic, and that is the magic of life.” But killing in order to do magic means that there is a certain moral ambiguity to all Lifemagic, even when Mages seek to follow the Rule of Dolan. And clearly some Mages do not care how they gain their power.
In the Broadlands, the ineffectual king Beltran II and the Council of Nine that is supposed to oversee the proper uses of Lifemagic have become otiose. And into the vacuum a secret Mage has arisen who seeks to overthrow the king while mustering an army of barbarian Northmen. Deception and war are waged against Rayk Fallheim and those military men who take their call to loyalty and their valor in arms seriously. At the same time, a young, talented, but wholly inexperienced Mage, Roland Argarian, has just discovered his natural abilities with Lifemagic, and barely trained by Master Paulus, he must go to the capital to face the usurper who wields Lifemagic powered by the taking of human life.
You can buy Lifemagic: The Traitor’s War at Amazon.com for about $15. Karl and I are reworking the final draft of a sequel, Lifemagic: The Invaders’ War, and a third volume is also in a second draft. Though some characters reappear in the sequels, each story is independent. See lifemagicnovels.com to keep up on our series.