A new progress bar is pending. There are more check boxes now, yo
Genre?
Fantasy (epic?) Technically it is Book 1: The Exile, in what is hopefully a series.
What is it about?
It's about three young men, 'friends' who live in one of the city states, Azar, and what they get up to. One of them wants to become a war-mage, but is currently a towel boy. Another'd like to stop being a slave but he's also a child-gladiator from another city, and the third isn't so happy about being the most gifted priest-student in a generation, but he's probably smarter, stronger and quicker than anyone else in the city.
Setting?
It's set in a the desert-wastes of Ur (Or Mazerkeen, or Gehenna, depending on who you ask), an area speckled with city-states that all owe fealty to the immortal God Emperor. The Gods themselves skip all over the place, in the air, giant disks not unlike the moon, that move erratically and hover over important events- their movements being continuously interpreted by the holy men of each city. It is an oral based culture, as no mark, whether on paper or with a stick in the sand, remains after the count of sixty- they unravel of their own accord.
Magic?
Make just the right symbol and a magical effect can occur. From healing, to pillars of flame, to beams of light. Water and food summoned in the desert. The power to affect the mind. These symbols are propriety. Without writing, if you kill the person who has the knowledge, the knowledge is lost.
Why is it awesome?
I'll post a prologue...
Spoilers follow
You can spoil things- what is it really about?
It's about how these three young men are exiled from the only home they have ever known, and are then set to travelling an exiled waste walker with a pretty fucked up agenda.
Tell me more about the main characters
A bit of an ensemble, but the main three are Rometh- a passionate, patriotic and perhaps naive citizen of Azar. Mal- a hardened child gladiator given as a prize to Azar to avoid a war. Kyokrow- who is training to be a 'tender of the flame' in Azar; a priest class, and is both gifted and somewhat mischievous. There are a host of other characters.
Why is it awesome?
It might not be. But here's one of the prologues.
Tender? Gods? EH?