I guess I had better talk about the books.

The Last King's Amulet

The background to the book is from an idea that has been kicking around in the back of my head for a long time. A city that has access to the only known source of magic in the world. A simple enough base premiss but there are consequences socially and politically. The stones that are the source of magic are mined only here, so control of them will naturally become organised. The nobles use stone as a badge of rank. Stone is traded but there are laws about who can buy and sell it and to whom. I knew that I wanted a political situation similar to the Republic of Rome, which lends itself very well to this situation. The ruling class based on wealth and monitored by a sensor who determines those citizens who have sufficient to be admitted to the Council of Patrons (senate) where the real power lies, and from which the magistrates (including the sensor) are drawn. The political scene is simplified from the complex Roman model but is clearly recognizable. The Patrons are much more autonomous than the senators of Rome and all have the power to raise armies and prosecute wars in their own right. I imagined the city sitting at the heart of a network of Provinces, Client Kingdoms, and states with Friend and Ally status, very similar to Rome but where the Patrons are directly in control of those areas they and their ancestors took for themselves rather than a situation where the senate appointed governors annually. Were a family looses interest in a region or is ousted by a revolution, the Council of Patrons would not necessarily act in concert to re-gain control. Having said that, another Patron might take the place back at his own expense and increase his client base thereby. The influence of the city is far-reaching but grows and shrinks depending upon the nature of the individual Patrons of the time.

For the rest of the world I decided that some form of balance for magic should exist and created spirit magic for them. With this a shaman or priest summons a spirit dedicated to the shaman or religion of the priest and uses spirit magic to generate a specific effect. In this way the magic of the city is balanced, but in no way eclipsed, especially as the city takes a dim view of religion generally and some Patrons were assiduous in destroying temples, repressing religions and eliminating priests in times past.

Sumto Cerulian is the son of Patron of the city. He may have been born into a position of privileged but the city is in large degree a meritocracy; with wealth and power come duties and a Course of Honors that the privileged follow to greater power and influence within the city, culminating in the high offices drawn from the Council of Patrons themselves. The first step is military service, ten years by law before any political office can be held. But Sumto is lazy and has a healthy respect for the integrity of his own skin; he would rather drink wine, gamble, and idly read a good book than go to war. Still, he is the kind of man who naturally picks the path of least resistance and when his sister marries a man who will not tolerate being associated with such a wastrel relative he is forced to begin his career and join up. It is here were we pick up his story. How will an overweight, indolent, drunken, bookish layabout fare and where will this sudden change of direction take him?