Zandor

Kebu is a black warrior of undisputed skill who serves as a guide and protector for caravans plying the Sabran desert. His life is reasonably predictable until he is contracted by the merchant Retal to transport a mysterious young girl to the fabled reclusive city of Zandor. Upon arrival, he finds himself immersed in a ritualistic duel, the Kamaral. As the forced champion of Devana, the girl he transports to Zandor, he must face a hulking brute in mortal combat as the pair scale the treacherous slopes of the lofty Kai. The only alternative is death. As a prelude to the duel, Kebu is involved in a morass of intrigue. Zandor is festering. The city is divided into two hostile religious cliques competing for absolute control and their slaves are plotting a revolt. As a black man in the midst of a city dominated by whites, Kebu finds himself drawn into its conflicts, despised by both the white highborn and their brown skinned slaves.