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Authors: Michael J Sullivan

Rise Of Empire

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RISE OF EMPIRE
 

Royce watched the courier ride out of sight before taking off his imperial uniform. Turning to face Hadrian, he said, “Well, that wasn’t so hard.”

“Will?” Hadrian asked as the two slipped into the forest.

Royce nodded. “Remember yesterday you complained that you’d rather be an actor? I was giving you a part: Will, the Imperial Checkpoint Sentry. I thought you did rather well with the role.”

“You know, you don’t need to mock
all
my ideas.” Hadrian frowned as he pulled his own tabard over his head. “Besides, I still think we should consider it. We could travel from town to town performing in dramatic plays, even a few comedies.” Hadrian gave his smaller partner an appraising look. “Though maybe you should stick to drama—perhaps tragedies.”

Royce glared back.

“What? I think I would make a superb actor. I see myself as a dashing leading man. We could definitely land parts in
The Crown Conspiracy.
I’ll play the handsome swordsman that fights the villain, and you—well, you can be the other one.”

B
Y
M
ICHAEL
J. S
ULLIVAN

The Riyria Revelations

Theft of Swords

Rise of Empire

Heir of Novron

COPYRIGHT
 

Published by Hachette Digital

ISBN: 978-0-748-13136-5

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2011 by Michael J. Sullivan
(
Nyphron Rising
© 2009 and
The Emerald Storm
© 2010)
Map by Michael J. Sullivan

Excerpt from
Heir of Novron
by Michael J. Sullivan
Copyright © 2011 by Michael J. Sullivan

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

Hachette Digital

Little, Brown Book Group

100 Victoria Embankment

London, EC4Y 0DY

www.hachette.co.uk

To Robin, for breathing life into Amilia,
giving comfort to Modina, and saving
two others from death

To the members of goodreads.com and
the book blogging community, both of which
have supported the series and invited
others to join the adventure

And to the members of the Arlington
Writers Group, for their generous support,
assistance, and feedback

C
ONTENTS
 

Rise of Empire

By Michael J. Sullivan

Copyright

B
OOK
III

Nyphron Rising

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

B
OOK
IV

The Emerald Storm

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Glossary of Terms and Names

Extras

About the Author

Heir of Novron

Chapter 1: Aquesta

K
NOWN
R
EGIONS OF THE
W
ORLD OF
E
LAN

Estrendor: Northern wastes

Erivan Empire: Elvenlands

Apeladorn: Nations of man

Ba Ran Archipelago: Islands of goblins

Westerlands: Western wastes

Dacca: Isle of south men

N
ATIONS OF
A
PELADORN

Avryn: Central wealthy kingdoms

Trent: Northern mountainous kingdoms

Calis: Southeastern tropical region ruled by warlords

Delgos: Southern republic

K
INGDOMS OF
A
VRYN

Ghent: Ecclesiastical holding of the Nyphron Church

Melengar: Small but old and respected kingdom

Warric: Most powerful of the kingdoms of Avryn

Dunmore: Youngest and least sophisticated kingdom

Alburn: Forested kingdom

Rhenydd: Poor kingdom

Maranon: Producer of food. Once part of Delgos, which was
lost when Delgos became a republic

Galeannon: Lawless kingdom of barren hills, the site of several great battles

T
HE
G
ODS

Erebus: Father of the gods

Ferrol: Eldest son, god of elves

Drome: Second son, god of dwarves

Maribor: Third son, god of men

Muriel: Only daughter, goddess of nature

Uberlin: Son of Muriel and Erebus, god of darkness

P
OLITICAL
P
ARTIES

Imperialists: Those wishing to unite mankind under a single leader who is the direct descendant of the demigod Novron

Nationalists: Those wishing to be ruled by a leader chosen
by the people

Royalists: Those wishing to continue rule by individual, independent monarchs

BOOK III
 
N
YPHRON
R
ISING

 
C
HAPTER
1
 
T
HE
E
MPRESS

 

A
milia made the mistake of looking back into Edith Mon’s eyes. She had never meant to—she had never planned on raising her stare from the floor—but Edith startled her and she looked up without thinking. The head maid would consider her action defiance, a sign of rebellion in the ranks of the scullery. Amilia had never looked into Edith’s eyes before, and doing so now, she wondered if a soul lurked behind them. If so, it must be cowering or dead, rotting like a late-autumn apple; that would explain her smell. Edith had a sour scent, vaguely rancid, as if something had gone bad.

“This will be another tenent withheld from yer pay,” the rotund woman said. “Yer digging quite a hole, ain’t you?”

Edith was big and broad and missing any sign of a neck. Her huge anvil of a head sat squarely on her shoulders. By contrast, Amilia barely existed. Small and pear-shaped, with a plain face and long, lifeless hair, she was part of the crowd, one of the faces no one paused to consider—neither pretty nor grotesque enough to warrant a second glance. Unfortunately, her invisibility failed when it came to the palace’s head maid, Edith Mon.

“I didn’t break it.”
Mistake number two,
Amilia thought.

A meaty hand slapped Amilia’s face, ringing ears and
watering eyes. “Go on,” Edith enticed her with a sweet tone, and then whispered, “lie to me again.”

Gripping the washbasin to steady herself, Amilia felt heat blossom on her cheek. Her gaze now followed Edith’s hand, and when it rose again, Amilia flinched. With a snicker, Edith ran her plump fingers through Amilia’s hair.

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