Shaman's Crossing

Nevare Burvelle is the second son of a second son; destined from birth to carry a sword. The wealthy young noble follows his father - newly made a lord by the King of Gernia - into the cavalry; training in the military arts at the elite King's Cavella Academy in the capital city of Old Thares. Bright and well educated; an excellent horseman with an advantageous engagement; Navare has a future that appears golden. But as his Academy instruction progresses; Nevare begins to realize that the road before him is far from straight. The old aristocracy looks down on him as the son of a "new noble;" and unprepared for the political and social maneuvering of the deeply competitive school and city; he finds himself entangled in a web of injustice; discrimination; and foul play. In addition; he is disquieted by his unconventional girl-cousin Epiny - who challenges his heretofore unwavering worldview - and by the bizarre dreams that haunt his nights. For twenty years the king's cavalry has pushed across the grasslands; subduing and settling its nomads and claiming the territory in Gernia's name. Now they have driven as far as the Barrier Mountains; home to the Speck people; a quiet; forest-dwelling folk who retain the last vestiges of magic in a world that is rapidly modernizing. From childhood Nevare has been taught that the Specks are a primitive people to be pitied for their backward ways - and feared for the indigenous diseases; including the deadly Speck plague; which has ravaged the frontier towns and military outposts. Then Dark Evening brings the carnival to Old Thares; and with it an unknown magic; and the first Specks Nevare has ever seen.