Montego

Twelve-year-old Montego al'Bou, an orphaned peasant, embarks on a journey to the capital after the death of his grandmother. Hoping for a better life with the influential Grappo family, he quickly realizes that the elite's disdain for his humble origins makes fitting in a challenge. As he dreams of glory in the Empire's brutal cudgeling sport, he must navigate a world filled with social barriers, cunning rivals, and the need for allies in order to succeed.