Today, I'm pleased to have fantasy author L. Blankenship here as my guest. She's talking about the altered roles of nobility in her book Disciple. Check out her book and also her great contest at the bottom of this post.
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Nobles
by L. Blankenship
Throw a rock in a fantasy story and
you're bound to hit someone with noble blood. Every society has its "upper
crust" where the money and power collect to create a group of people with
something unusual in a pre-industrial world: spare time. Time they can devote
to education, warfare, or politics.
Its a more or less universal arrangement:
a concentration of money and power that's inherited within the structure of a
family, or transferred by way of marriage. Whether it's a duke, a thane, or a
daimyo, these are the land-owners, the power-mongers and the rich. They can
seduce humbly-born young women and break their hearts as they please.
In most worlds.
What's different about Disciple?
In Disciple's world, the highest
power in the land is held by a saint: someone who has ascended to ultimate
mastery of kir-magic and taken ownership of a fount, one of the few sources of
magical "fuel." All nobility and even royalty will answer to a saint,
since they are so rare and powerful.
Nobility in Kate's homeland are chosen
for their ability to lead in the battlefield, primarily. They must prove
themselves ready, willing and able to defend the kingdom and its saints. Their
kinship to the ancient noble houses is taken into account, but it's quite
possible for a title to skip an eldest son or daughter if the saints are not
impressed with them.
This applies even to the king, who is
held to a high standard of knightly honor and leadership. So when the crown
prince falls in love with Kate, he puts his entire future at risk. The prince's
marriage has already been arranged to seal an alliance against the invading
empire -- the kingdom's lead saint will not take kindly to objections and his
temper is well known.
Disciple Half-Omnibus
War is coming. Kate Carpenter is only a
peasant girl, but she’s determined to help defend the kingdom and its bound
saints against the invading empire. Her healing magic earned her a coveted
apprenticeship with the master healer; now she must prove herself ready to
stand in the front lines and save lives.
She’s not ready for the attentions of a
ne’er-do-well knight and the kingdom’s only prince, though. This is no time to
be distracted by romance — the empire’s monstrous army will tear through anyone
standing between them and the kingdom’s magical founts. All disciples must put
aside their tangled feelings and stand in the homeland’s defense.
The Half-Omnibus collects the
first three parts of Disciple.
Available at
Disciple, Part IV on sale March
10th! Get a
reminder!
Download Part I for free!
Smashwords (Kindle &
EPUB) • Nook
• and more!
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