Fantasy. Dangerous magic. Sharp blades. Reluctant heroes.
Blade Mage: Awakening
Book One of the Blade Mage Series
Publishing 22 September 2026
About Blade Mage: Awakening
Kael was supposed to become a blacksmith. The blade had other plans.
Eighteen years in the quiet village of Black Hollow have taught Kael two things: how to work steel, and how to use it. He has always been unusually good with a sword. Faster to react. Harder to surprise. Instinctively aware of an opponent’s next move.
He never thought to ask why.
Then armed men arrive looking for him.
Forced onto the road with only his sword, the secrets of the man who raised him, and a sharp-tongued traveller named Lyra for company, Kael begins to discover that his instincts may be more than talent. Ancient ruins react to his presence. A forgotten blade calls to him. And the harder he tries to remain unnoticed, the more impossible that becomes.
When protecting innocent people forces Kael to reveal what he can do, rumours begin travelling faster than he can. First he is a gifted swordsman. Then something more.
Soon, the stories have a name.
Blade Mage.
And Kael is about to discover that being powerful is dangerous.
Being noticed may be worse.
Blade Mage: Awakening is the first book in a character-driven fantasy series about dangerous magic, reluctant heroes, and the consequences of becoming something the world thought it had forgotten.
About H. M. Vale
H. M. Vale writes fantasy about reluctant heroes, dangerous magic, sharp blades, and people who would generally prefer the world to stop making their lives more complicated.
When not making fictional characters regret their life choices, H. M. Vale can usually be found thinking about the next book, avoiding sensible hobbies, or wondering why writing one novel somehow turned into planning an entire series.
Blade Mage: Awakening is the first book in the Blade Mage series.
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