The Rhythm of Rivalry

By using the energy of the land, some humans have found they can develop extraordinary abilities. At the age of 17, these warriors, magicians, chemists, and psychics are allowed the opportunity to train at the Academy, increasing their opportunity for a well-paying career. But there's a catch. They must fight beside the Army if requested by their king. Most aren't concerned by this, as the current treaty has prevented battle for nearly 70 years...but that's about to change.

At just seventeen years old, Jek Trayden's power with Sartious Energy could be the greatest in the world, but that power comes at a price - a darkness within him that attacks while he sleeps, producing nightmares so real they leave him bruised and bloody. With the attacks worsening, Jek can't refuse an opportunity to end his nightmares for good when the King promises him a cure in exchange for a task.

Dragged to an unfamiliar continent transformed by war and monstrous creatures, Cleve's path home has never been less clear. With a place in a king's plot, a princess who wants to marry him, and the companionship of a brash Sartious mage, Cleve learns that--while some battles are won with a sword - others are played out through a more delicate dance. But Cleve has never been one for delicacy. Soon he's making tidal waves in every puddle he crosses on his path to return home.

After managing to anger the entire Academy during his introduction, Zoke learns that behaving like a Krepp makes him more of an outcast with his new allies in Kyrro than he was with his own race. With his sister Zeti on the opposing side as the gruesome events of war unfold, soon the only thing the siblings have in common is a waning hope that they won't see each other on the battlefield.

As the momentum of war builds, desperation to win dominates the whole continent. How far will each army go when honor becomes nothing more than a weakness? The final battle approaches, but not before a brutal betrayal is revealed that leaves even the Krepps in shock.

In this epic culmination of the series, Cleve returns to Greenedge in hopes of keeping the war from reaching his homeland. But he never expected what's happened in his absence. The four kings have been killed by an emerging army, displacing Jek and the Takarys - Cleve's only trusted allies. Desperate to find them, he turns to the very man responsible for their absence.