Spellslinger (Book)

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## Spellslinger

### Publisher

Hot Key Books

**Spellslinger** is the first book in the series of the same name by Sebastian de Castell. It was first published in May 2017 by Hot Key Books.

## Blurb

> "*MAGIC IS A CON GAME.*"
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Kellen is moments away from facing his first mage's duel and the start of four trials that will make him a spell caster. There's just one problem: his magic is gone.

As his sixteenth birthday approaches, Kellen falls back on his cunning in a bid to avoid total disgrace. But when a daring stranger arrives in town, she challenges Kellen to take a different path.

Ferius Parfax is one of the mysterious Argosi - a traveller who lives by her wits and the three decks of cards she carries. She's difficult and unpredictable, but she may be Kellen's only hope.

## Plot

### The First Trial

> "*There are three requirements to earning a mage's name among the Jan'Tep. The first is the strength to defend your family. The second is the ability to wield the high magics that protect our people. The third is simply to reach the age of sixteen. I was a few weeks shy of my birthday when I learned that I wouldn't be doing any of those things.*"
> ― Kellen, on the Trials of the Jan'Tep
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#### The Duel

Kellen of House Ke is about to begin his first mages trial, a duel of magic against Tennat, the class bully, despite his lack of magical ability. While his friends attempt to persuade him to back out of the duel, Kellen plans to bluff Tennat into failing, having seen his friend Panahsi injure himself by turning his spell on himself after losing concentration. He pretends to be confident in the duel, and lies about having found a power animal - which would allow him to use magic without having sparked his bands. Tennat's uncertainty about Kellen's power, combined with Kellen pretending to be unaffected by the pain of Tennat's attack, causes him to lose concentration and harm himself, forcing him to concede defeat. Although Master Osia'phest appears to hold suspicions about Kellen's victory, he is willing to let him pass the trial, until Kellen's sister Shalla, an incredibly powerful initiate, accuses Kellen of cheating.

#### **The Betrayal**

Shalla proceeds to reveal Kellen's trick, before attempting to inspire him into magical ability by attacking him with a 'gut sword' spell. Despite Kellen's attempt to fight back, Shalla stops his heart and he collapses.

#### **The Grey Passage**

As Kellen begins to die, he recounts the Jan'Tep ideas of death, such as reincarnation, and judgement at the grey passage. Osia'phest attempts to keep Kellen from dying by using a preserving spell, while Nephenia tries to calm Kellen. The stress of the preserving spell causes Osia'phest to pass out, and a woman arrives, sprinkling a powder over Kellen's face before restarting his heart through CPR. The chapter ends with Kellen's father arriving in a rage.

#### **The Thunder**

Ke'heops warns Kellen not to show weakness while helping him up, before asking the woman, Ferius Parfax, to come back to their house. Osia'phest comes to, and Ke'heops dismisses him to rest, before sending the rest of the initiates back to their houses. After trying to support himself again, Kellen passes out.

#### **The Stand-Off**

While returning to Kellen's house, Ferius antagonizes Shalla and Ke'heops and claims to be a cartographer. Kellen realises that they are taking a back-road through the Sha'Tep slums, rather than the Way of Ancestors. Ferius warns them that they were being followed, although Ke'heops and Shalla dismiss the warning. The people following are revealed to be Ra'meth and his sons, Ra'fan, Ra'dir, and Tennat. Ra'meth accuses Kellen of cheating in the duel, before Shalla pointed out that technically Kellen hadn't broken any rules. Ra'meth, angered at being questioned, turned on Shalla and pointed out she had duelled Kellen without sanction, which was legally an attack, and would be punished with counterbanding. Ferius points out Ra'meth's hypocrisy and dismisses his threats, causing the four mages to prepare to attack. Ke'heops warns them that they would be breaking an edict of the clan prince, but Ra'meth informs them that the clan prince had died that evening.

Ra'meth and his sons prepare to attack, but Ferius intervenes, having been smoking a reed and intentionally blowing the smoke at them as a distraction, rendering the Ra'meth's sons unable to concentrate enough to cast spells. Ra'meth himself prepares to fight, but Ke'heops gives him an ultimatum and he leaves, warning Kellen that he will not receive a golden disk for his trial.

#### **The Household**

Kellen awakes in his mother's private chamber, where his parents spent many hours casting evocations to strengthen his magical ability. Kellen hears voices from downstairs, and manages to crawl to the door to eavesdrop on the argument between Ke'heops and Shalla, over Shalla's actions at the duel, with Ke'heops threatening to counterband Shalla. Shalla is sent to her room, and Ke'heops talks with his wife, Be'enemaat, about his mother, Seren'tia, who was shadowblack.

Ferius appears behind Kellen while he is eavesdropping and startles him. She mentions that after leaving him at the house and answering Ke'heop's questions, she left in search of a saloon that was open. Abydos enters the room with some food for Kellen and questions Ferius' intentions, before leaving. Ferius asks about Abydos' similarity with Ke'heops, and Kellen admits that Abydos is his uncle, but as a Sha'Tep is treated as a servant.

Kellen asks if Ferius had had a weapon when she threatened Ra'meth, and Ferius shows him her deck of playing cards, before teaching him the basics of some card games.

#### **The Cards**

Kellen and Ferius play cards for a while, until Kellen beats Ferius at his first game of Speared Jacks. Ferius then moves on to show him how to throw cards. Kellen tries, and realises he has a talent for it, although he dismisses it as "not real magic". Ferius demonstrates a simple card trick, flicking the three of shields into the air and changing it into the ace of spells as it lands. The door opens as Kellen throws another card, and he hits his father in the face, almost causing him to reflexively cast a spell.

Ke'heops offers Ferius payment for her help saving Kellen, though disparages her for being an Argosi. Ferius leaves, letting Kellen keep the cards as a gift, though Ke'heops tells Kellen to have a servant return them later that day. Kellen and his father have a disagreement over Kellen's use of trickery to win the duel, and Ke'heops leaves Kellen with a glow-glass ball to train with.

#### **Abydos**

Kellen spends the day in his room, trying to make the glow-glass ball light and becoming frustrated at his lack of progress. Kellen remembers his father calling him a thief and a trickster, and remembers Jan'Tep stories of Mahdek tribes stealing magic, and used potions to strengthen their powers.

Abydos interrupts Kellen with food, against Ke'heop's instructions that dinner should only be eaten at the table. The two of them discuss what it is like to be Sha'Tep, stories of initiates using concoctions to strengthen their power, Seren'tia having the shadowblack, and Ke'heop's plan to become Clan Prince, before they are interrupted by Shalla. Shalla and Kellen argue over Kellen becoming Sha'Tep, before Kellen plans to leave to deliver the cards to Ferius. Before he can leave, however, Ke'heops arrives with a summons from the palace, containing an Initiates disk, bearing the sign of the clan prince, which could only be used by the late clan prince and the dowager magus.

#### **The Dowager**

Kellen follows a guard into the palace grounds and wonders whether the summons was an ambush. The guard points out the dowager magus' hut, and Kellen enters.

### The Second Trial

> "*A mage's power either grows or weakens. Power never remains still and neither does the strength of a nation. Only those who can find new sources of strength may earn a mage's name. Those who cannot have no value to our people.*"
> ― The Jan'Tep ideology of power
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### The Third Trial

> "*To rely on those spells already known is to allow the enemy to know your weapons. Our magic cannot be stagnant, but must adapt and change to protect our people against those who would take it from us. Only those who can demonstrate the ability to devise new spells can be truly called Jan'Tep and earn a mage's name.*"
> ― The Jan'Tep reasoning for the Third Trial
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### The Fourth Trial

> "*The most powerful magics are those kept most secret. A Jan'Tep mage must be able to uncover hidden lore, but equally he must be able to discover the secrets of his enemies. Only then has he truly earned his mage's name.*"
> ― The Jan'Tep reasoning behind the final trial
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