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.

Of four roommates with interwoven stories, Cleve Polken takes focus as a hostile warrior who feels more comfortable in a duel than a conversation. Never getting past his parents' death, Cleve has developed a crippling fear of psychics, for some may have the power to resurface the torment he buried within himself upon his parents' passing. Cleve's forced to face this fear head-on when he discovers that not only is one of his roommates a psychic, but that he has an overwhelming attraction to her, which he quickly attributes to a psychic spell, nothing more.

By the time an army of savage, reptilian men called Krepps become involved in the war, all hope of resolution without battle is shattered. In this powerful army, one born with the inability to smell doesn't have the same feeding urges as his fellow Krepps and is outcast because of it. He finds himself with an unlikely ally in the middle of a crossroad, trying to find a way to reunite with his sister. Little does he know how much his choices will twist the fate of the war and alter the lives of the four human roommates forever.