The Novice

Fletcher is a blacksmith's apprentice in a small village, and his life is ordinary until he finds he can summon demons from another world. The gift is rare, and it frightens him. Soon after, he is framed for a crime he did not commit and has to run from everything he knows.

The only companion Fletcher has on the road is Ignatius, the demon he has summoned. Together they make their way to an academy that trains people with this gift to become battlemages.

There the training is harsh. The Hominum Empire is at war with the orcs, and the academy exists to prepare its students for that fight. Fletcher must learn to control his power while dealing with a student body that includes both rivals and allies.

This is a fantasy novel that follows a young outsider from a village forge into a military school. It moves from flight to apprenticeship in a war setting, and the question driving it is whether the gift that made Fletcher an outcast could make him the empire's best chance against the orcs.