Rise of the Blood Royal
Volume III of the Destinies of Blood and Stone
Chapter One
Sometimes the way a man dies is more important than how he lived. -Vespasian
Augustus I, Emperor of Rustannica
He was born into a world filled with treachery, dark magic, and unresolved war.
His coming had been foretold, and his birth was a joyous event among the few
mystics considered worthy to witness it. As his mother gave him life, she and
her newborn were surrounded by an azure glow. Soon the glow faded to reveal the
crying child for whom the hopeful Pon Q'tar clerics had waited so long. They
named him Vespasian Augustus I, and it was he who was destined to lead his
country to final victory over Shashida, the southern nation that had for so long
threatened Rustannica's way of life.
Immediately after the child's birth, his mother and father were taken away. Five
veiled wet nurses would take turns suckling him, ensuring that no singular
attachment would form in his heart and perhaps mar his later devotion to the
clerics who would shape his life. The child was everything; the woman who
birthed him and the man w ... read full excerpt from: Rise of the Blood Royal ebook
