Bloodkings& Blacksmiths

The Kingdom City of Oshulle is run by the Five Markets, sects of the Underground that keep the Above and Below at a precarious balance. Kings and bloodkings must toe the line and play nicely, lest a civil war tear the city apart.

Asher, a blacksmith in the South Market, hides a profitable business in the Below--paralyzing guilt keeps him working to the bone to provide for his injured brother, and establish power and coin to keep everyone he loves safe. But the Markets are unpredictable, and don't take well to its prisoners attempting to be in control.

Prince Cayder has always lived in the shadow of his elder brother, as well as his own mistakes that have left him sickly and burdened by unseemly rumors. To help bolster his title and reputation, the King sends him on a mission in the Below Markets, to find a blacksmith and weapons dealer, so the Below Markets don't cause more political strife in the Above with the other two Kingdoms. Heavy with his own bitterness and grief from a recent loss, at least this gives him an excuse to leave the Sky Palace for a little while.

After a dangerous encounter with a rising bloodking in the West Market, and a siege on the harbor from a Smuggler crew back from exile, the two boys on opposite sides of their Kingdom's class system must find a way to ally themselves to the powers of the Above and Below to avoid a Market collapse--or worse, a War of Markets.

Welcome to the City Oshulle.