The Combat Codes

In a world where nations resolve conflicts through single combat rather than war, Grievar Knights train for years to represent their countries in brutal, ritualized fighting. Murray Pearson, a once-famous Knight broken by a devastating loss, discovers Cego, an orphaned boy dominating underground fight rings — and believes the boy has what it takes to reach the world's most prestigious combat academy, if he can survive the underground long enough to get there.

Alexander Darwin builds a martial-arts-driven fantasy around found family and second chances, following both a mentor seeking redemption and a student fighting his way out of the only life he's known.