Master of Evil — David C. Smith

The signs are everywhere. Great flocks of frantic birds plunge headlong into the restless sea, drowning themselves beneath the surging waves. Wild dogs run rabid through the crowded streets of Athadia, attacking without warning. The sacred oracle of Mount Teplis lies forever mute in a pool of blood.

Thameron -- a zealous young priest in the ancient city of Erusabad -- abandons the cloth for an apprenticeship with a sorcerer. He successfully halves the magic stone of Guburus and is rewarded with powers yet undreamed by mortal imagination, while the entire First World lurches toward the apocalypse.