Here’s a little sneak peek at Volume 3 of my Chattenberg Saga. The manuscript currently stands at over 70,000 words and will soon be going through its second round of editing.

The book will be published on 31 October 2026 in German at Amazon. The English translation will follow shortly afterwards.

Spoiler alert: Please only read the two chapters that have been released if you have read Volume 2, “The Crystal Acolyte”.

Ferron

Ferron stood at the window of his study with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the wispy clouds. He hadn’t seen any over Chattenberg for a long time. This was thanks to the Air and Water Mages, who had been channelling moist air masses towards Europe for weeks. But the swallows were circling far too high. He would still have to wait for the rain to relieve the drought-stricken land.

There was a knock at the wooden door and he flinched. The corners of his mouth turned upwards. “Come in.” Glandera’s shy expression softened the moment their eyes met. As he looked into her large brown eyes, his heart beat faster. She was the love of his life and he thanked Allah every day for having found her.

“Good morning, Master Ferron.”

“Good morning, Acolyte Glandera. Please sit down. We have a few things to discuss.” His voice sounded more formal than he’d intended and he cleared his throat. How he would have loved to pull her into his arms, but in his role as her Master, he kept his distance.

Her eyebrows furrowed. “You look so serious. Has something happened?”

He kept his expression impassive as he walked over to the visitor’s chair and held the backrest until she sat down. She mustn’t sense the storm raging inside him. “No. I simply have a lot on my mind and have decided to hand over responsibility .”

Glandera stared at her right index finger and rubbed the spot where Terrasia’s Mastress Ring usually sat. “Why am I being expelled from the Collegium Arcanum?”

Her tone was unmistakably accusatory, but Nereida’s instructions were clear: the details of his mission were too sensitive. No Acolyte was to find out anything. “It was for organizational reasons,” Ferron said curtly, walking around the desk and sitting down. “I called you here to talk to you about the gold mine. Thanks to you, we’ve been able to continue gold extraction in Chattenberg without interruption. You know the area just as well as I do, and you’ve been down the mine with the miners. You’re even friends with the forewoman. That’s why I wanted to ask if you’d like to take over management of the mine.”

“I’m to manage the mine?” Her face lit up. “Yes, I’d be delighted. I’m honoured.”

Ferron was relieved that the new responsibility was taking her mind off things. “The job will be a breeze for you. You might even do it better than I can.”

“Thank you for your trust.” Glandera reached for the amulet hanging from her necklace.

“You can ask me for advice at any time.” Ferron found it difficult to keep his voice sounding cheerful. He watched her lovingly as she tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “Why have you taken off the Mastress Ring?”

Glandera held out her hand and looked at the bare spot. “Tomorrow, Dorianna and I are visiting my family. I want to finally tell them that I’m an Earth Mage. My mother would call the ring a trinket and let it distract her.”

His heart warmed. How I’d love to shower her neck with kisses. “Are you sure the time is right?” he asked gently.

“Yes, it’s just… I’m worried about how Gladis will take it,” Glandera explained, her voice sounding uncertain.

“I can understand that.”

“Hopefully Dorianna’s right and Grandmother will remember that they used to be friends.”

“I wish you both the best of luck and will be thinking of you. How far have you got with the encyclopaedia?”

“I’ve read through Chapter 4.3 on the Mage Academy’s rest periods,” she replied. “You can test me on it.”

“I won’t do that.”

Glandera stared at him for a moment. “But … you did say I should recite the text.”

“I’m sure that’s unnecessary, as you now know my rules. It would be foolish to disappoint me again by pretending you know what’s in it.” Ferron gave her a serious look. “We can save ourselves the time. I need to prepare for a mission and work out some complicated calculations. I have a lot of work piled up from last week.” He picked up his leather-bound notebook and turned to the next blank page.

Her lower lip stuck out. “Do you want me to leave?”

The glass clinked softly as Ferron opened the inkwell. He dipped his quill into it and stared at the blank sheet of paper. His colleagues had asked him to plan the upcoming mission down to the last detail. “If you were just my Acolyte, I’d agree, but you’re the woman I love, the one I’ve been waiting for my whole life. I want you by my side always.” Ferron drew in a deep breath, but he didn’t feel any less tense. “You’ve completed the lesson. I’ll have Terrasia’s crystals brought to you straight away so you can examine them in your room.”

Glandera slowly stood up and walked around his desk. She ran her fingertips through his short, dark brown hair. “You told me you had no secrets from me. Will you tell me what’s weighing so heavily on your mind?”

Her touch calmed his nerves and he closed his eyes. I don’t know how much time we have left. We could really make better use of it. “Be patient,” he whispered, lifting his eyelids. He inwardly cursed, knowing that this time he couldn’t hide the subtle nuances in his voice from her.

Her lips were warm and soft as she kissed him on the forehead. Cast aside his principles, he cupped her face in both hands and kissed her deeply. Glandera purred contentedly, and as his fingers stroked down her cheeks, she reached out to him. He savoured the moment and the fact that she wasn’t ready to pull away from him yet. As he did so, her fingertips traced the ring on his thumb, which she had been made especially for him.

“I’m glad I can find you with it. When are you going to explain to me how it works?”

It took him a moment to reply. “It’s actually quite simple. You switch to magical vision, extend your senses into the earth, and let your heart search for me.”

“And then?”

“…the artefact will reveal my location.”

“No matter where you are?”

“Yes, anywhere in the world.”

Her eyes widened.

Ferron swallowed, realizing the risks. “Remember that the teleportation network isn’t fully developed yet. The portal might appear a few metres above the ground. You won’t have a protective shield yet, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Glandera smiled. “I’ll stay in Europe, as you’ve allowed me to.”

“That puts my mind at rest.” He struggled to pull away from her. “I really must get on with my work now.”

“You’ll find me in my room.”

The corners of his mouth turned up, for the remark was unnecessary. As her Master, he too could always pinpoint her location via the bracelet he’d fitted her with at the start of her training. He watched her longingly until the door clicked shut.

Delicate blue-violet lines floated throughout Ferron’s study, broken only by the six columns supporting the ceiling. With his index finger resting on his chin, he stood at the edge and stared intently at the three-dimensional representation of the landscape. This helped him to visualize the two-hundred-kilometre-wide section more clearly. Ferron focused on Machu Picchu. Four faults converged beneath the mountain, forming an X-shape. “That was precisely why the Incas chose to build their sacred site at this very spot,” he murmured. Over the past few years, the pressure had been building. Ferron had no intention of waiting for it to erupt in a massive earthquake; he wanted to evacuate the population before the tremor struck. Yet from centuries of experience, he knew that even people doomed to die would not want to move their sanctuaries. Therefore, one thing was certain: if he failed, thousands would die.

He paced restlessly around the room. Nereida had instructed him to acclimatize to the high altitude over the coming days. It would be hard not to spend a night in his cave as usual. How on earth was he going to explain this to Glandera? Some of his colleagues had already started transporting gemstones and crystal steps to the site. His Acolyte could tell him how much energy they emitted in total, but he could not possibly let her know the full extent of his mission.

Ferron pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. After centuries, he had finally found the reincarnation of his soulmate and longed to spend his life with her. Although Concetto had promised to look after her in an emergency, if he were to die now, she would be left untrained. He knew Glandera was too strong to be broken by this, yet the mere thought of her impending fate broke his heart. As long as no new Earth Mages were born, I would surely be reincarnated. How many decades would it take the mages to find my next body? He felt sick. He could not fail.

The knock at his door snapped the Earth Mage out of his thoughts. With a wave of his hand, he made the magical image fade and closed his book before Glandera entered.

“Are you coming to lunch?”

“Is it that late already?” he asked, fiddling with his breast pocket. When he looked at his pocket watch, he was startled.

“It struck noon ten minutes ago. You look tired. What have you been working on?”

“Calculations. They’re exhausting,” he replied, evading her question. “What have you been studying?”

Glandera furrowed her brow. “You asked Levitos to fetch Terrasia’s crystals from the library for me, didn’t you? I’ve been examining them all morning and trying to read them. Unfortunately, I haven’t got very far.”

Ferron ran his fingers through his short, dark hair. Of course she wanted to study the books hidden within the crystals. How could I have been so forgetful?

“Do you perhaps have any ideas?”

“As a Crystal Mage, you possess an intuitive gift. That should make it much easier for you.” After his deep concentration, he found it difficult to switch his focus so suddenly to the new topic. “Metals do have a crystalline structure, but delving into gemstones isn’t really my forte as a metal mage.” Ferron turned his hand and magically pressed the brass handle down. The patio door swung open. Unlike in recent months, the heat no longer shimmered in the garden. “Perhaps Terrasia could have taught me too, but she held back her knowledge. Your ancestor was a Master of mineralogy who made the books accessible only to those worthy of them. My gut tells me that either you’re not ready yet, as you can’t read the crystal, or you’re going about it in the wrong order. You’ll have to try different approaches until you succeed.”

Arminio

Dusk was falling over Sicily as Arminio dried the last plate and put it away in the kitchen cupboard. Behind him, Concetto wiped the sink with a towel and hung it up. After dinner, his mother Alessandra had set off with his sisters for an evening walk on Mount Etna, and Furio was pottering about once again. Before turning around, the Capitano instinctively checked once more to make sure no one was within earshot. “Something’s changed since the last few times we were at Nonna’s,” he said, breaking the silence. “For years you were suspicious. Are you just pretending, or do you really trust her?”

No one else would have noticed that his father had tensed his shoulders. He turned to face him and lifted his chin. “You became Capitano because of your excellent powers of observation, and we’re too much alike for me to keep anything from you. So I didn’t bother trying to hide it from you. I trust Aset.”

Arminio raised his eyebrows. “Since when?”

Concetto crossed his arms over his chest.

He’s dodging the question. Something’s not right. “What’s behind this change of heart? Why have you decided to tell me?”

“I can’t tell you that,” his father explained, his expression unreadable.

Arminio puffed out his cheeks and replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “For years I waited outside Nonna’s door until you left her prison. No one else knows where she is. And yet you don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s changed?” he snapped.

“Your mother has known for a few days,” Concetto corrected him in a low voice.

The Don never deviated from his principles. Arminio’s eyes narrowed. He tilted his head and waited. It was the same strategy his father had used during interrogations, so it was only a matter of time before one of them gave in.

Concetto’s jaw muscles tensed. “I volunteered to be the mission leader for Machu Picchu so that I’d be kept informed of Ferron’s movements.” His face took on a reddish hue, and he swallowed hard before continuing: “Aset prophesied that his next mission would be beyond his capabilities. I must prevent that.”

“Merda,” whispered Arminio, rushing over to his father. Concetto pulled him close and buried his head in the crook of his son’s neck. Ferron was a member of the family, the brother his father had never had. Arminio couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose a friend he’d known for over two hundred years. His chest tightened, but he refused to show any weakness. He felt dampness on his neck. The last time he’d seen the head of the family cry was when his sister, Gioconda, was born. This situation was unfamiliar to him. He gave Concetto time, and it was only when the church bells struck the hour that his father raised his head. He quickly turned his face away, took a handkerchief from his trousers, and blew his nose.

“That’s why you’re always on the move. Did she explain how you can avert it?” Arminio pressed.

His father shook his head. “It’s no use. She can see which souls are dying, but not how.”

“How frustrating.”

Concetto turned round. “At first, I thought she was trying to manipulate me. It wouldn’t be the first time. But the more I thought about it, the more I believed her.” His father looked him firmly in the eye. “I will never let a member of la famiglia run to their death. I wish I could speak to Ferron. But apart from you, there’s no one else I can confide in.”

“That’s true. They’d ask you about your source,” Arminio observed.

“That’s why I’m using every means at my disposal whilst carrying on with my life as usual.”

Arminio sighed. “How can I help you with this?”

His father took a deep breath and stared at the floor. When he looked up again, there was no sign of his helplessness, except for his red eyes. “I’ll let you know when something comes up. Until then, I want you to take history lessons from Aset.”

Arminio raised his arms and spread his hands out to the sides. “Don’t always treat me like a schoolboy.”

“No backtalk.” Concetto lifted his chin and stared at Arminio until he finally lowered his head. Then his father squared his shoulders, turned around, and went into his study.

Arminio watched him go. That prophecy explained why Father is so worried, but not why he’s suddenly being so friendly towards Nonna. Once again, he had skilfully changed the subject. What else is he hiding from me?