A Stranger to Command
by Sherwood Smith
This prequel to Crown Duel is about the early life of Vidanric Renselaeus, Marquis of Shevraeth, who as a courtly, well-mannered teen coached in the noble art of dueling, finds himself thrown into the infamous cavalry command academy in Marloven Hess. There, instead of reading theories about statecraft, he is forced to learn about command from the inside--and what it means to be king.