Year of the Sword Books
Time is money. Time is a Weapon. Time is running out. Grant Leap is an orphaned, mortal farmhand in a world where cultivation methods and Weapons of Power are jealously guarded and only passed down among family. He’s not content with his lot; as a Januarian, someone living in District January, he should be living the good life just like everyone else. Food, parties, food, entertainment, and food are the minimum requirement. As an orphan, specifically a reviled Leap, there’s not even a chance of being treated as a human. When a celestial event pours time magic into his field, coalescing into a lost Weapon of Power, Grant leaps at the opportunity to advance beyond even the scope of standard cultivation. At the first touch of the weapon, the orphan gains everything he’s ever wanted: a Sword and a Name. Also, a pesky mandatory quest with his life as the price of failure. It doesn’t take him long to realize that the best thing for him to do is to sell it and live on borrowed Time. Yet, that would never happen. The blade offers him the first major choice he’s ever had to make: surrender to his desires… or live like a King.
Growth is pain. Opportunities are challenges. February is filled with Opportunities for Growth. A Lord according to the system, Grant Monday has arrived in February. This place is the absolute opposite of January, and his largest challenge isn’t hostile Wielders. Instead, the new Lord needs to face culture shock; contending with strange foods, stringent training, and a stomach-churning subrace of humans known as 'Joggers'. Grant chose the wrong time to try to take on the world: every single citizen of February is a powerful body cultivator, and this year there has been a huge shift in the power dynamics of the District. Not only is everyone fervently training, they all have the same end goal as Grant. Only the finalists of the Body-focused tournament get the chance to go head-to-head with Lady February, and Grant is a decade behind. People are doing anything they can to get an edge. Grant is happy to introduce them to his blade.
The House is in control. The House always wins. The House has rolled out the red carpet to welcome you home. Grant looks forward to the vast megalopolis that is the District of March. He’s finally got a real companion, not just a voice in his head pretending to kill him over and again, and Suki’s perspective is invaluable. She’s a Noble, a warrior, and a noble warrior. With two months of intense physical training under his much-tightened belt, Lord January is ready to face whatever his next challenge might be. Dokeshi March has decided that the District needs to be fun, and what’s more fun than games of chance? More games of chance! So many, in fact, that even purchasing basic needs is a gamble. Even so, no one complains, and why would they? That would mean they thought the game wasn’t fun! That it wasn’t fair! That line of thinking would set them at odds with Dokeshi March. Now there’s a bet no one would be willing to take.