The Mask of Tamrel (The Magistricide)

For 2,000 years the land of Thevin has been sealed away from the savageries of the outside world, protected by the magic of a god-in-flesh known as the Gyre. Magic has been perfected and condensed into a sacred metal known as chromox; powerful mages control the elements, govern the weather, and construct great cities where the wealthy play at games of power. Outside the cities dwell the nithings, rural growers of food and tenders of animals, who work the land in exchange for the Gyre's blessing. It is a world of conflicting violence and complacency: Merchant-lords stage lavish battles to settle trade disputes, while commoner and mage alike serve on the Great Barrier, defending Thevin from the tides of mindless men, known as Aks, who breed in the desert beyond the Ilark Mountains. Kelrob Kael-Pellin is a child of privilege. Born to a laird of the Rolling Lands and trained as a magister from a young age, his life has been one of sheltered study. Chosen to train in the mind-warping Mentatis Discipline, his studies have veered from the teachings of his Masters, and he travels north in frustrated disgrace. A dubious detour leads him to the House of the Setting Sun, where he meets Jacobson, a drunken sell-sword intent on his own death. On Sowen Night, in the midst of strange revels, the pair begin a friendship that will remake themselves and the whole of their world. But neither of them can anticipate the twisted glories of Tamrel...