Rebel Elements (Seals of the Duelists Book 1)

Bayan’s life is busy but rewarding as he trains to take over his father’s successful farm, until the day his elemental magic manifests. Philo, a eunuch of the Waarden Empire, must follow the law and send Bayan to the distant Duelist Academy to hone his skills—where the empire will claim him as its own property for life.
Before Bayan can reach the Academy campus, he and Philo are attacked by bandits who leave behind a mysterious item. While Philo tracks down its true importance through ancient archives and noble manors, Bayan struggles to fit in at the Academy, where his anger at his situation gets him into as much trouble as his outlander appearance. Worse, his rage poisons his magic, tainting it.
To complicate matters further, an assassin’s strike leads Bayan and Philo to uncover a mysterious, deadly plot whose successful outcome would change the world as they know it. Bayan must choose between his new life as a duelist and the power of his own rage. Who will he save?