Are you new to The King's Swordsman? The world of Oberrot lies adjacent to ours, but Earth is just a myth to them, a fairy story for children. The fabled denizens of Earth are so beautiful they can make people fall in love with them instantly and their blood can be used to fuel powerful magics.
Map of the world of Oberrot
Magic is commonplace in Oberrot, with about a tenth of the population being able to bend the forces of nature to their will. Magical affinity will usually be toward one or two elements, but how they use it and what they can do with it is up to the imagination and intelligence of the wielder.
Oberrot City Map, created by the cartographer Andrés Aguirre Jurado
However, magic is dangerous and can get out of control, particularly if the mage (female) or mancer (male) becomes upset. Magic users need to stay in control of their emotions at all times, and are trained to do so in the magical Academy under Oberrot City.
Oberrot City, viewed at dawn
To counter rogue magic users, the so-called “mundanes,” those without magic, have a particular branch of the army called Special Forces. They train to take down magic users by working together.
One final element of the world that makes it different to ours: soul companions. Spirits are born separately in order to live a full, rich experience of extremes in each lifetime. A soul companion is not a lover, but they do form bonds with the other half of the spirit to help balance each other out. Think of it as a best friend who will always have your back!
Previous books in the series and the characters
I've presented the full blurb of The Tenets in the Tattoos below, but the rest have slight spoilers, so I will only include a teaser image and a few reviews!
Book 1: The Tenets in the Tattoos
Breaking the tenets of Special Forces means one thing. Death.
Thorrn has his life mapped out – be the best swordsman in the king’s army and become Captain one day. What doesn’t fit in with his plans is some short, unimpressive waif claiming to be his soul companion, the platonic other half of his spirit.
But when the king demands that he hand Evyn over, Thorrn is confronted with a choice: protect Evyn and keep her secret from the magical community who would drain her for the power resonating inside her, or turn her over to save his career, family name, and reputation.
When a powerful mage moves against the kingdom, Thorrn and Evyn will have to summon all their courage and find allies from unexpected corners – including different worlds and times. For alongside the realms of Oberrot and Earth are the multiverses, and one of them should surely be able to help…
“James has created a unique, new twist on soulmates that was refreshing and genius! James’ world building is exceptional as it sucks you right in and is executed perfectly.” - J.A. Culican, USA Today Bestselling Author
Book 2 The Bind of Blood and Bonds
"What are you doing if you aren't reading this goddamn masterpiece." - My Fair Fiction
"It's a world I want to be immersed in a lot longer, and I can't wait to see what else Becky James can come up with!" - Brey's Reviews
Book 3 The Limit of the Lonely Man
“It's rare that I find myself so invested in the fate of a character that I sigh and practically want to give a hug, get irritated and want to smack someone, or cheer them up, generally hanging onto every word and keeping my fingers crossed all will go down well. I did all that for the characters of this book here.” -The Magic Book Corner
Book 4 The Tempered Turns of Time
“I think Tempered is one of the books that hurt me the most in this series. And why? Because it made me realize how many times I wanted to change events so I could eliminate people from my life because that way it would be easier to live. I'm always thinking about why I didn't do things differently back in the day and that doesn't bring me anything positive. So yes, this book is powerful.” - Goodreads reviewer
Book 2: The Bind of Blood and Bonds: from my shop here or from https://books2read.com/bindbonds
Book 3: The Limit of the Lonely Man: from my shop here or from https://books2read.com/lonelyman
Book 4: The Tempered Turns of Time: from my shop here or from https://books2read.com/turnsoftime