Savage Empire

Lenardo, one of the most powerful Readers in the Aventine Empire, can read thoughts and sense details about objects and people miles away. His abilities are crucial, since the Empire is being attacked by savages with immense psychic powers. When he discovers that one of his former students, Galen, has turned traitor, he's sent on a mission to retrieve the turncoat. Instead, he encounters Lady Aradia, who dreams of ending the conflict. But most of the savage Adepts are allied with Lord Drakonius, whose only interest lies in conquest.

Torio, a renegade Reader, has broken his oath and taken his powers of telepathy to the Savage Lands. The Savage Adepts have driven back the walls of the Empire, using their mysterious gifts of sorcery. Now, with the Readers in their midst, their powers - to tumble walls, to sink ships, to cause the earth to swallow entire cities - can reach into the very heart of the Empire.