Poker is a game of chance, strategy, and sheer luck. Rick Warren said, “Life is like a game of poker; you have to play the hand you’re dealt. A wise player can play a weak hand and win the game.” That was the inspiration behind this new art for The Last Magus: Dragonfire & Steel. Thanks to Christine Forster (GfxChristine00 on “X”) for the incredible artwork depicting the heroes and villains of my award-winning steampunk and fantasy novel.

The Ace of Spades – Wilguens Jean-Pierre is both a necromancer and a Hogun, using dark magic in combination with his religious practices in mysterious ways. He is the defending champion of the Helios Arcanum Magical Arts Tournament and has his sights set on repeating as the top magic caster in Attlain. However, Marcus Gideon, the Last Magus of Attlain, is entered in the tournament and steadily moves up through the competition. His staff contains the stolen souls of his victims. Wilguens has a bad habit of gambling his winnings away before he even earned the coin.

The King of Hearts – Marcus Gideon is the Last Magus of Attlain, able to cast spells like any sorcerer and summon magical weapons from a cache known as the Armory of Attlain, wielding them like a seasoned warrior. The Magus were once the guardians of magic, now considered outcasts and traitors across the land. Gideon hopes to redeem the name of the Magus by winning the Helios Arcanum Magical Arts Tournament, but Gideon’s goal is two-fold. He also wants to win to prove his worth to the king in order to win the hand of his one true love, Princess Wren.

The Queen of Hearts – Princess Winifred “Wren” Levian, the First Princess of Attlain, also known as the “Inferno Princess” because of her incredible fire magic. She met and fell in love with Marcus Gideon while attending the Basilon Magical Academy. Now that she has returned home to Celestrium by the Sea, the capital of Attlain, Wren waits for Gideon. Her life at the palace is dull and boring. She wants more than the standard royal affairs. Wren wants to be with Gideon and will do anything to be with him, even if it means defying her parents.

The Jack of Clubs – Prince Rolf Csadar of Ishtar is an enigma to Attlain. He comes from an ancient enemy of Attlain, proclaiming the opportunity to build better relations between the two countries. Secretly, Csadar is the Ulbrecht Domo, the Shadow Lord of Ishtar. His secret police, the Blackguard, keep the people of Ishtar in line. They also infiltrate and gather intelligence on Attlain. His identity is unknown to the masses, lurking in the shadows to plot his schemes. Marcus Gideon has gotten in the way of his plans and needs to be eliminated in order for the Shadow Lord to succeed.

The Ten of Diamonds – Hoshi is a Mourne Wolf and the familiar of Marcus Gideon. Mourne Wolves are known as the “Travelers of the Stars,” always running as they follow the sun and stars around the world. They can change their size in order to break through any obstacle that lie in their path. Gideon saved the Mourne Wolf’s life on the precipice beneath the Castle of the Storm Giants, abandoned by his pack after a landslide. Hoshi owes his life to Gideon and now acts as his familiar, fighting side-by-side with the Magus.

The saga of Marcus Gideon, The Last Magus, continues on his journey, destined to restore the dignity of the Magus. After graduating from the Basilon Magical Academy, Gideon sets off for his master’s homeland. Plodoro is an isolated city in the far north of the Skjem-Tur mountains. Surrounded by giants and blanketed in an endless winter, Gideon travels to the far-flung region to fulfill a final request of his master and return a sacred weapon to his people. He must finish this task to return to his true love, Wren.

The First Princess of Attlain fell in love with Gideon during their time at Basilon. Now, to win her parents’ approval, Gideon must win the Helios Arcanum Magical Arts Festival. This celebration showcases the best magic casters in Attlain, and Gideon is the first Magus to compete in over a hundred years. As he fights for his life and reputation, a dark shadow looms over him as the Ulbrecht Domo―the Shadow Lord of Ishtar―has other plans for The Last Magus.

The Last Magus: Dragonfire & Steel, the stunning sequel to the award-winning The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart is now available from Curious Corvid Publishing on Amazon and the Curious Corvid Shop.

Mark Piggott is an award-winning independent author of several fantasy/steampunk novels and short stories. A 23-year U.S. Navy veteran, his stories will take you from the shores of eternal Avalon to a dystopian steampunk future and other fantastic worlds as he weaves through a myriad of flights of fancy in his tales.

The Forever Avalon fantasy book series—including Forever Avalon, The Dark Tides, and The Outlander War—are available online at Amazon and other booksellers. His fantasy steampunk novel, The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart, is available through Lulu and other booksellers.

Cross over The River of Souls in a fantasy novella, take flight in the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates, and the saga continues in The Last Magus: Dragonfire and Steel, and his first YA fantasy, Gwen Iver and Pendragon’s Puzzle from Curious Corvid Publishing. The Prometheus Engine: Book Four of the Forever Avalon Series and A Dance of Darklings and Demons are coming soon from Curious Corvid. Stay tuned for new fantastic stories from the imagination of Mark Piggott.