Wrath of a Mad God Read Online Free Page A

Great Ones scattered around the room.
    “We are here at the behest of an old friend, Miranda.” He stepped aside, letting her take his place. No one in the Great Hall needed to be told who Miranda was. Pug’s status as one of the Great Ones had been established even before Alenca had been born, and Miranda benefited from this association as well as being a powerful magic-user in her own right.
    “Kelewan is being invaded,” Miranda said without preamble. “At this very moment, a dome of black energy is being expanded in a vale in the far north. At first I saw it as a beachhead, much like the rift your forebears used to invade my home world.” The reference to the Riftwar was intentional. She knew that every student in this Assembly had been taught the entire tragic history of that ill-fated invasion in which the lives of so many had been spent in a bid of raw political power. The deadly “Game of the Council” had seen thousands of Midkemian andTsurani soldiers dead as a ploy on behalf of a political faction in the High Council. Several Black Robes had been party to that murderous plot, to establish the then Warlord and his faction in an unassailable position of power. Only the intervention of Pug, and the rise to power of a remarkable woman, Mara of the Acoma, had changed that deadly game.
    Miranda continued. “Each of you here knows why the Riftwar was conducted, so I will not lecture you on what you already know. This is not an invasion for political gain, wealth in booty, concessions in victory, or any sort of conventional war.
    “This is not merely an invasion, but the beginning of a colonization, a process that will end with the complete annihilation of every life-form on this world.”
    That brought a collective intake of breath and murmurings of disbelief. Miranda held up her hands and continued. “Those who have studied the Talnoy and the Dasati Deathpriest prisoner, I urge you to disseminate what you know to as many of the other members as you can.”
    She paused, looking around the room, making eye contact with as many members of the Assembly as possible. Then she said, “Here is what I know. The Dasati wish to remake your world. They will change it, utterly and completely, to resemble their own. They will seed every square inch of land taken with their own world’s creatures, from the smallest insect to the largest beast.
    “The water will become poisonous to drink, the air will burn your lungs, and the touch of even the least creature from that world will pull the life out of your body. This is no tale made up to scare children, Great Ones. This is what the Dasati are already doing under that black dome from which I escaped.”
    One of the younger members shouted, “We must act!”
    “Yes,” agreed Miranda. “Quickly and certainly, but not in haste. I suggest a group of those among us, who are most masterful in the arts of light, heat, and other aspects of energy, along with those of us who are masters in the arts of living beings—and perhaps we need the most powerful of the Lesser Path magicians we can contact, as well—must go at once to thatvalley to weigh and study the threat, and then we must destroy the dome.”
    “When?” asked the young magician who had spoken out.
    “As soon as we can,” said Miranda. “We must contact the Emperor, and we will need soldiers. The Dasati will not sit idly by, I fear, and let us destroy their dome. We are likely to face beings who are unafraid to die, beings who are able to counter our magic, and we will need strong arms and swords to deal with them.”
    Alenca said, “I suggest you break up into smaller groups and discuss what has been said and tonight we will reconvene here, after the evening meal. At that time we will discuss Miranda’s warning and choose the course of action most appropriate to this threat.” He slammed down the heel of his walking stick on the stone floor, emphasizing that the meeting was over.
    Miranda turned toward the