The New Fire

Imagine a land blending the geography of California, the technology of medieval Spain and the theology of pagan Rome. Isolated by distance and slave-hunters, the community of Iktalan has diverged from its Hispani roots. Then a rich gold find upsets the community and incites the greed of more than one enemy.
Sakela has been raised in Iktalan to defend justice and charity. War tears her away from her safe orderly life. She struggles against her fears to preserve the independence of Iktalan through a fragile alliance.
Francisco leads the army that comes from the old country. He is trained in war, but Sakela's passion for protecting her people inspires him. He urges her to bring her influence to the new territory, and then challenges her in a different way when he touches the heart she thought buried beyond any living man's reach.
Though the urgencies of war re-ignite Sakela's courage, the ensuing peace brings the hardest test.

Sakela and Francisco fight another kind of battle in The New Sword.