Meeting Nihena

Meeting Nihena, Ervin Agayan, 2018, Amazon Digital Services

First of a series, this novel is about Arsy and Zens, a pair of traveling thieves. They enter the city of Mozakon, the shining city on a hill (literally). They are there because a local sensei  is said to be the only person who can teach Arsy the martial art of cathastu.

Arsy has plenty of motivation to learn. Several years previously, he was an ally to a well-known outlaw named Erathos. Now they are on opposite sides. Maybe sooner, maybe later, the two will meet again. Without cathastu, Arsy is a dead man (again, literally).

Arsy is in love with Princess Parelia. She despises him, because of his past association with Erathos, and has made it clear that she never wants to see him again. While in Mozakon, Arsy and Zens run into Nihena, daughter of the city's Lord, and chief mercenary. Think of the human equivalent of a Tasmanian Devil. She is loud, brash, arrogant and with the fighting skills to back it up (which she is not afraid to use). She agrees to teach cathastu to Arsy, after the Lord withdraws official permission. Reports surface that Erathos is only a couple of days away from Mozakon.

There is a lot of dialogue, and not much sword or sorcery in this novel. The author almost, but not quite, reaches the level of writing an excellent story. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.