Rise of the Immortal (Book 15)

## Description

The Snow Panthers will have to take on their biggest challenge yet. One that can kill them and half the continent.

A new powerful enemy is trying to return to the world of the living after a thousand years in an ice prison.

This one is not like any other enemy that the Panthers have confronted.

This enemy is a Dragon.

An inmortal king.

Will they manage to survive this new and incredibly powerful enemy? Will they save Tremia from it?

## Plot

Egil and the other Snow Panthers meet with Count Malason and Count Eriksen, and Egil tells them to hunt down the ancient dragon spirit that has returned to Norghana and destroy it before it can complete its reincarnation. Egil also tells them to wait to intervene in the matter of the royal wedding, since it is likely another country will do something to prevent it first.

The Snow Panthers then report to Gondabar, who can scarcely bring himself to believe their story about the dragon spirit. In the end, he sends them on a secret mission to get undeniable evidence of the dragon spirit's existence. Gerd rejoins the Snow Panthers, telling them that Annika and Sigrid have decided he is well enough to return to his duties. The next morning, Lasgol takes Gerd to see Camu and Ona, who are in the Green Ogre Forest with Eicewald.

Then the Snow Panthers split into several groups: Egil and Gerd go to get information, Lasgol stays with Eicewald to help train Camu, and the other Snow Panthers follow up on some leads provided by the Western League. Camu has developed a magical ice claw ability that allows him to cut through wood. Eicewald works with Lasgol and Camu on developing new abilities and amplifying the abilities they already have. Nilsa spies on Heulyn, and is caught by Valeria, who tells her about her life after being banished. Nilsa finds out that the royal wedding will take place in the spring (it is winter at the start of the book).

Meanwhile, Eicewald experiments with Camu, and discovers that he has a passive anti-magic defense system. Lasgol develops the skill to create a magical barrier that appears like stones, branches, and vines clustered together, that protects him from physical and magical attacks. Egil and Gerd meet with the Guild of the Collectors of the North, a group of spies. Then they go to the city of Bilboson, which is located on the river Bilbo. It is a city mainly for steel production, and four large bridges cross the river Bilbo from the northern section with the forges to the southern residential section.

Eicewald shows Lasgol and Camu a talisman called a Learning Crystal, and reveals that these are often traded between Mages for other magical items, and that there is a whole network of trade between Mages. Eicewald also tells them about the Limer Method for measuring magical power compared to potential, developed by Raput Limer. Eicewald has reached the eighth level on this scale, while Lasgol has reached the fifth level and Camu the third level.

Egil and Gerd discover some Defenders of the True Blood digging a massive pit in one of the giant forges in Bilboson and lining it with steel and silver. They are attacked by the Defenders, and manage to capture one of them briefly. Egil interrogates him but the Defender kills himself before telling them anything. Ingrid and Viggo travel to the city of Denmik in the south. Viggo goes into a house to find information and is ambushed by many Visionaries, but he manages to defeat them all. He also fights a warlock Visionary named Zirken, who jumps out of a window but is knocked out by Ingrid while trying to escape. Lasgol and Camu learn the spells to create a guiding light and to make fire.

Astrid and Nilsa go to an abandoned fortress that has been taken over by the Visionaries and Defenders of the True Blood to capture Vingar, a warlock Visionary. Nilsa finds Vingar using a diamond claw talisman to turn more people into the preachers. Nilsa and Astrid fight Vingar and the Visionaries and Defenders at the fortress. Vingar escapes, but Nilsa and Astrid bring the prisoners who were being turned into preachers to the capitol as proof for Gondabar. Eicewald tells Lasgol that Thoran pardoned Maldreck, the Ice Mage who stole the Star of Sea and Life, and let him back into the tower where the Ice Magi live. He also warns Lasgol and Camu never to try to alter time with magic. Camu develops the skill of ice breath, and Lasgol develops the skill to turn regular arrows into Elemental Arrows.

Then the other Snow Panthers return to the capitol. Astrid tells them that she learned many of the prisoners at the fortress were skilled with weapons, indicating the followers of the dragon spirit wanted to use them as soldiers. In addition, the type of magic the warlocks used in battle, magical roars that act like strong blows when they hit a target, is very rare. The next morning, Gondabar and the First Ranger summon the Snow Panthers to the dungeons, where they order them to track down the leaders of the two sects and bring them in for questioning. Eicewald goes to hide the White Pearl from Irinel in the Green Ogre Forest and tells the Snow Panthers to watch and make sure Maldreck doesn't follow him.

The Snow Panthers next go to the Visionaries' main camp. They find Xoltran, Vingar, Drugan, some other Visionaries and three hundred slaves. The Visionaries' group leave the camp and march to the sea, where they meet Viggen and some Defenders of the True Blood on board several large cargo ships. Egil, Lasgol and Camu hide on board one of the ships, using Camu's Extended Invisibility Camouflage to hide them. Egil guesses that they are going to the Reborn Continent, a small continent to the northwest of Norghana and Rogdon. Gerd, Astrid and Nilsa go to Copenghen, where Astrid guesses the ships came from, to search for information. Viggo and Ingrid remain behind to scout the area.

When the Visionaries and Defenders ships arrive at the Reborn Continent, Egil and Lasgol discover another White Pearl with an active portal, where Drugan and Viggen are leading their slaves. The Visionaries and Defenders make the slaves go through the portal, but then they leave. Egil guesses that they are going to bring more slaves. Then after the Visionaries and Defenders leave, Egil, Lasgol and Camu try to return by using the White Pearl, but Camu can't activate it at first. Eventually Lasgol uses his Aura Presence skill to detect the aura of the Pearl and then transmit it to Camu so he can activate it. Camu experiments with the Pearl over the next few weeks and finds out how to change the Pearl's destination.

Then the Visionaries and Defenders come back with more slaves, and the other Snow Panthers are following them stealthily, having got to the Reborn Continent by a Norghanian warship that Gondabar assigned to them. The Snow Panthers reunite, and watch as Drugan, Viggen, their followers, and the slaves go through the portal. The next day, the Snow Panthers follow them through the portal. On the other side, they arrive in an exotic jungle on an island, which is the place that the dragon orb showed them at first. Egil guesses that this place is Cinders Island, a large island south of Tremia.

They follow the tracks of the Visionaries and Defenders, which lead towards the volcano on the island. The Snow Panthers catch up to the caravan of Visionaries and Defenders, but decide to wait until they reach the volcano, since the dragon spirit will probably be there. While they are waiting, natives attack. The Snow Panthers fight them off, but they attack again later, and Gerd is wounded; since the natives use poisoned darts, the Snow Panthers have to take special care when treating his wound.

Then they enter the Visionaries and Defenders' base in the volcano, a large cavern. Inside they find slaves digging a giant pit, and covering the sides with massive blocks of steel and silver. The dragon spirit comes in with Drugan, Viggen and some natives, who are in league with them, and the dragon spirit casts a light spell that reveals a dragon fossilized in amber. At the same time the slaves open some pipes and start filling the pit with lava. The dragon spirit starts to use the dragon's body to reincarnate itself, and Drugan, Viggen and their followers kneel before it. The dragon spirit sends out a magical pulse that detects the Snow Panthers, and sends its followers to attack them. Next, the dragon spirit uses a powerful spell to move the piece of amber containing the fossilized dragon into the lava. During the battle, the Snow Panthers manage to wound or kill Viggen, Xoltran, Vingar, and Drugan. The dragon spirit enters the body of the dragon and reincarnates, then bursts through the roof of the cavern to escape. The cavern starts to collapse, but the Snow Panthers and most of the slaves escape, and then they go back to Norghana by ship.