A scarlet tide of Rondian legions is flooding in to the East, led by the Inquisition’s windships soaring the Sacred Heart, the bright banner of the Church’s darkest sons. They are slaughtering and pillaging their method across Antiopia in the name of Emperor Continuous. But the emperor’s very best treasure, the Scytale of Corineus, provides slipped through his fingertips and his ruthless Inquisitors must scour two continents for the artefact, the foundation of all marvelous power. Against them are the unlikeliest of heroes. Alaron, a failed mage, the gypsy, Cymbellea, and Ramita, once only a lowly market-girl, have pledged to end the routine of battle and restore peacefulness to Urte. East and Western have got clashed before, but this time around, as secret factions and cabals emerge from the shadows, the globe is going to discover that like, loyalty and truth can be forged into weapons as solid as swords and magic. “Locks tells his story with aplomb inside a apparent and concise prose.… Mage’s Blood is among the better [epic illusion] 1st installments I’ve read in recent years” staffersbookreview.com