Read History
2025 | Score: 9
Not quite as good as the first book, but considering how different of a story it was it did a good job keeping the same tone and pace. Excited for what I assume will be the final book in the trilogy.
Format: Audible
Days: 18
Date: 11/12/2025 -> 11/30/2025
Summary
The Strength of the Few
James Islington
The Hierarchy #2
This book jumps between following the three different Vis Telimus’ / Diago’s. One (from the last book) on Res, the world we know from the first book that has Caten and Roman themes. This Vis lost his arm after the udequiem. The second on is on Obiteum, where Vis meets with Caeror and is given a scarab amulet vitirium to keep him alive, plus it provides him with will (This world is egyptian themed). The third one is on Luceum, where Vis does not even realize he is on a different world for most of the book (This one is Norse themed and he also lost his arm here).
Vis is synchronous, which seems to give him some unique powers such as the ability to take others will out of objects, as well as sense when his other selves are hurt. But Ka and many others do not want anyone to be synchronous, so they keep try8ing to kill him.
On Res, Vis learns from veridius that he is trying to prevent another cataclysm since they happen every 300 ish years. He says he wants to work for the censor (Callidus’ father) in Governance, causing a stir. He needs to be tested and touch an aurora columni to use will.
In Obiteum, Caeror also tells Vis about him and Veridius trying to stop a cataclysm, and warns him that someone named Ka is also synchronous and wants to kill him. He has bird humans called gleaners that patrol outside of his city (with a big pyramid). He takes vis to a group of rebelish people living outside the city.
In Luceum, Vis is taken on a boat by strange people who have bad intentions, a druid (called Dree) talks to him in Ancient Vitusian and says he will help him escape. They are on a boat.
In Res, when Vis goes with Ulsicor (apparently that is how you spell it) and Lanistea (the girls name) to the Aurora, she freaks out and tries to kill Vis, saying the phrase “Complete the journey warrior” over and over. She clearly has some compulsion to stop him being synchronous. The Aurora Columni are also getting brighter, probably has to do with the impending cataclysm. Lanistea gets imprisoned for killing guards and Vis is taken away. Next he has to be tested for aptitude, but first is visited by the man with a scar from the first book who seems to be working with the ANguis. He teaches Vis about the ability of Adoption, how he can take and use others will in objects. Vis uses this and his natural talent to do very well in his trials despite only having one arm. After his trials are done Tercius Decamus (Iro’s father and a member of religion) says that Vis should relinquish the title of Domitor to Indoll, since he is no longer the best. Vis says no so he gets talked into doing a chariot race with Aequa against Indoll and Iro, winner take all. This threatens the peace between religion and governance, Military is basically already hostile to them. Vis and Aequa barely win, and Iro is sent into a coma in the loss. Aequa’s father talks everyone into making her a quintus and Vis a Sextus.
Obiteum: Vis and Caeror experiment with his abilities while hiding out from Ka in this underground town. Their are dead bodies called Unqutee who can be controlled with obsidian blades. Since Vis is Synchronous he can override Ka’s control of these bodies (like half the population is actually dead people infused with will in this world). Not much happens here for a while, Caeror is super nice and friendly and they train
Luceum: Vis and the Dree run away, get to a village, but the people hunting them are right behind. The dree is confident he won’t be harmed (they are viewed as like messengers of god) and gives Vis his staff. He then gets beheaded. The father of a family dies saving Vis and he runs away with the mother and 2 children to the mother’s father house on a farm. He lives happily working with his new family and they all have a splendid time, until eventually another druid named keir or something finds Vis and says he needs to take him away. They go meet King Rourdon or something and Vis is told he will go to warrior school but many are mad he picked up a Druid’s staff. He has to fight the kings big ugly champion galgavar for some reason. He is told to pick up a spear and chooses one he feels pulses of will from. While they duel he is overcome by the will in his spear and condemns Galkavar for killing the kings ex-champion. Galkavar hits Vis very hard but then is exiled based on Vis’ claims. Vis gets sent to warrior school to make friends and train.
Res: Vis maintains his ties to his Telimus family, tried to discover who in the Anguis knew about the attack and thus caused Calidus’ death. Oh also Callidus’ sister lizzie is underneath Vis in his pyramid, she does not really like him. Vis goes to visit Viridius at the academy because Emeesa asks him to. Him, Iden, and Aequaa explore the ruins and Vis almost dies. Viridius tells them he wants to stop the cataclysm again. They leave. Vis meets with Acteliois or whoevber, the guy with the scar who can jump between worlds. He takes Vis to a military meetings of all of the highest ranks (princeps etc.) and they learn that they know the cataclysm are coming and won’t stop it. Vis and Diago (his alopie wolf he picked up at sola vargas) kill them all. Vis now has an alter ego wearing this metal mask and pretending to have an arm. He kills people routinely and starts a civil war in Caten. Everything gets murky. Ulcisor is somewhere who knows and him and Cadmus the dispensator run the household in the city.
Obiteum: Vis breaks into Ka’s city by letting gleaner stab him and carry him in. He frees a dead guy about to be made a gleaner and they are friends fora while before the dead guy kills himself. They meet an assassin noble woman Netifret who helps Vis break into the Nomark, the ruling dead body of the city 1 level under Ka.
Luceum: Vis and his friends learn of an attack by Galkavar and a rival king, they kill a scouting party and Vis spots his father. They leave to join the war and Vis gets taken by Keir the druid to go a different way to learn the Nazgan (will). Vis sneaks away and finds his father, a Unqtee dead guy sent here by Actelios and they are happy, but Vis denies his father and continues with the druid. He breaks the test in some city because he is Synchronous then gets captured by Galkavar and KLeir is killed. Vis is led to the siege of King Raounons castle in shame with a silver arm he took from a robot thing.
Res: Vis tries to save everyone. Aequa gets killed by Senator Tercius Decamus (Iro’s father_ because Iro is dead now. He also breaks Vis’ legs, but Vis uses his main character powers to make a cast and go into prison to save Lanistea. He learns ulscior also in prison. Sees Reluqia (Ulscor wife who works for the Anguis) but leaves her in the Sapper. Frees the other 2 and gets them out of the city. Then goes to save Iden. Tells him who he really is (diago and murderer ) to get him to come with him. They try to find Ka.
Obiteum: Vis flees the city, goes and gets a crook and flail from behind a magic synchronous door, and returns and kills and breaks a ton of stuff. Netifret helps him, he breaks into the central pyramid and presumably kills Ka (an old guy sleeping on a stone)
Lyceum:
Vis and King Raounon are killed, but while Vis sinks in a river his father appears and gives him a vitareum (Scarab amulet with will) to save Vis but it kills him since he needed it. The silver arm fuses onto Vis and he can control it. He swims back up, grabs Keir’s staff, goesinto a vision and talks to Kewir, Then challenges Galkavar and kills him so the other kings men flee. Go Vis!!!
Res;
Vis and Iden summon Ka, he sends a Unqee to guide them to the necropolis, but then under it to where Military hgave bee nstashing dead bodies for years. Iden says no but Vis is bad guy now, and presumably the only synchronous being capable of causing a cataclysm which is necessary to fight the concurrence. He now has an army of 80,000 dead and the will of a princeps. The dead include his mother, sister and Callidus.