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He was Tiger, born of the desert winds, raised as a slave and winning his freedom by weaving a special kind of magic with a warrior's skill. Now he was an almost legendary sword-dancer, ready to take on any challenge--if the price was right... or the woman pretty enough.

She was Del, born of ice and storm, trained by the greatest of Northern sword masters. Now, her ritual training completed, and steeped in the special magic of her own runesword, she had come South in search of the young brother stolen five years before.

But even Del could not master all the dangers of the deadly Punja alone. And meeting Del, Tiger could not turn back from the most intriguing challenge he'd ever faced--the challenge of a magical, mysterious sword-dancer of the North.

The Place of Swords. It was here that Del and Tiger -- she among the greatest of Northern sword masters, he a Southron warrior of legendary skills -- must make their way to free Del from the life curse under which she traveled. For this was where she had slain her own sword master long before to blood her magical blade with the kind of power she needed to avenge the cruel destruction of her family. Outlawed by her action, she now had only a year to return to the place of Swords to stand in sword-dancer combat and either clear her name and honor or meet her doom.

Tiger, who had stood by Del through so many trials, would not forsake her now, and so, together, they began the journey North. But between them and their rendezvous with destiny was a vast land replete with dangers of both sword and spell. And behind them stalked an unseen and deadly presence intent on stealing away the very heart and soul of their sword-dancer's magic.

Sword-sworn to track down the hounds of hoolies, yet inescapably haunted by his memories of Del Tiger, now master of Northern and Southron sword skills, is relentlessly following the trail which will lead him to Ysaa-den. Yet before him wait perils far deadlier than any hounds. For in Ysaa-den he is hailed as a champion come to stop the force which has been wreaking destruction upon the villagers, a force which many claim is a dragon of unimaginable strength.

As the trail of hounds and "dragon" now seem intertwined, Tiger has no choice but to climb the mountain to the place known as Dragon's Lair. And it is here that he comes face to face with a challenge which may prove beyond even the mastery of Southron and Northern sword magic--the challenge of Chosa Del, a wizard out of legend with the power to unmake all that opposes him.

Accused of murdering a man the Southron tribes believe to be their messiah, but who is actually the slayer of Del's family, Tiger and Del flee across the deadly Punic' desert, hunted by religious zealots and sword-dancer assassins. But evading death by assassins' blades is only one of the challenges they face. For Tiger's sword, Samiel, has been possessed by the spirit of the deadly sorcerer, Chosa Dei -- a wizard out of legend with the power to unmake the entire world, a master of evil who seeks to mold Tiger into his ultimate weapon of destruction.

Tiger and Del have only one hope left-to find and gain the help of Chosa Dei's equally powerful counterpart and sworn enemy, Shako Obre. But Shako Obre has not been seen in the world for hundreds of years, and it may be beyond even the combined magical abilities of Tiger and Del to find this wizard who is their only chance for salvation.

It has been three years since Southron sword-dancer Tiger and Northern sword-singer Del's first fateful meeting. Now these mismatched companions have become true partners: their alliance forged by blood, magic, danger, adventure...and something more.Exiled from both the North and the South, the two have set sail to search for Tiger's homeland. But no journey is ever without complications for Tiger and Del. Ship wrecked, nearly drowned, abducted by pirates, bedeviled by magic and those who would use the pair to their own ends, the two finally do arrive at their destination. But before their quest is over, Tiger must face a truth about himself which may prove more dangerous than any sword-dance.

Southron sword-dancer Tiger and his sworn partner, Northern sword-singer Delilah, leave the island of Skandi and travel to the desert of Punja, following a series of dream-manifestations that are the result of Tiger's newfound magic. Together, they confront the secrets of their past and the dangers of an uncertain future.

For the first time in years, life seems settled for Tiger and Del. They run a school for sword-dancers in the South. They're raising a two-year-old daughter. They collect income from their interest in a thriving cantina. Occasionally Tiger must dance against sword-dancers bent on killing him for forsaking the oaths and vows of the circle, but for the most part it's an idyllic life. Until Tiger's twenty-five-year-old son accuses him of being "domesticated."

Thus challenged by his own flesh-and-blood to reclaim his legendary status, Tiger, accompanied by Del and his son, embarks on a journey northwards that will test his sword skill and resolve, and lead him and Del into danger from an old enemy. Though Tiger had forsaken his magic years before, he now faces the choice to reclaim it, and to wield it, in order to save those he loves.

A return to the vivid fantasy world of the highly popular Sword-Dancer saga, featuring iconic characters Tiger and Del.

Sword-Bearer marks a return to the vivid world of Jennifer Roberson's highly popular Sword-Dancer saga, featuring iconic characters Tiger--the South's most famous and gifted sword-dancer--and Del, a Northern-born woman and expert sword-singer.

Tiger and Del have settled into semi-retirement to raise their daughter, establishing a school for those who wish to become sword-dancers, part of a highly ritualized rite in which specially trained sword-fighters are hired to settle feuds among rich and powerful desert princes. Death-dances are few and far between; the goal is simply to win within the confines of "the circle."

But Tiger is an outcast, a man who attained the highest level of achievement at the training school he attended faster than anyone before him, only to voluntarily break all oaths in order to save Del. By doing so, he made himself a target of men formerly his colleagues, now sworn enemies. He is constantly challenged to death-dances where rules, and oaths, no longer apply.

Now, with the world around them falling victim to a malignant Northern-born magic, Tiger gathers Del and his adult son, Neesha, to end the magic threatening the world--and discovers, along the journey, yet another element of magecraft within himself. Yet even as Tiger learns more about his gifts, Del comes face to face with the daughter she left behind so many years before.