SWORD-BORN:
The South had always been Tiger's home. Left as an infant to die in the desert, his real origins were unknown. When he won his freedom from the tribe who enslaved him by slaying a deadly sandtiger, he joined the elite brotherhood of Southron sword-dancers, swearing a lifelong oathto abide by their code of honor.

With Del, one of the most deadly sword-singers in the North, Tiger had forged an unlikely partnership of equals, sharing adventures, danger, and eventually love. But when Tiger forfeited an important dance to rescue Del, he broke his sworn code of honor–and his sentence was death.

Fugitives from both the North and South, Tiger and Del flee to the distant island of Skandi. Tiger has been told he resembles the people there, and now he seeks his true heritage. But Skandi provides no safe haven . . .


SWORD-SWORN:
Abducted by priest-mages in Skandi, altered in mind and body, Tiger is forced to acknowledge that he possesses his own special brand of magic. A personal magic that carries its own price: Tiger will have only ten or twelve more years to live.

As Tiger and Del struggle to escape, his long-dormant power begins to manifest. He falls victim to visions he cannot dismiss, dreams of a dead woman liring him into the crystal sands of the Puja, the South's deadliest desert. ‟Find me,” she bids him, ‟and take up the sword.”

Though he fights it, Tiger can't deny the compulsion in his own blood. He must accept his magic and his fate. Yet can Tiger avoid paying the terrible price that they threaten to extract?

And will he finally prove himself the best sword-dancer in the South, when he meets in the circle his most dangerous opponent?