Eskkar Saga Series by Sam Barone

In Dawn of Empire, Eskkar the warrior and Trella the keen-witted slave girl come together in a mighty struggle to survive a barbarian invasion and build mankind’s first walled city. But Eskkar’s story began many years earlier, when his family was brutally murdered in a blood feud. His name and heritage obliterated, young Eskkar flees his clan and the only life he knows. Condemned as an outcast, he learns to survive, hunted by his own kind, and hated and feared by all others... moreIn Dawn of Empire, Eskkar the warrior and Trella the keen-witted slave girl come together in a mighty struggle to survive a barbarian invasion and build mankind’s first walled city. But Eskkar’s story began many years earlier, when his family was brutally murdered in a blood feud. His name and heritage obliterated, young Eskkar flees his clan and the only life he knows. Condemned as an outcast, he learns to survive, hunted by his own kind, and hated and feared by all others. For fifteen years, Eskkar wanders the Land Between The Rivers, home of his hereditary enemies, fighting to stay alive and to reach manhood. All the while he is learning the skills that will one day make him not only a true warrior, but a leader of men on and off the battlefield. Trella, too, witnesses her family destroyed in a single night of vengeance, and her life of ease and privilege lost. Captured and sold to a slave trader, she must use her keen mind, extraordinary perception, and perfect memory to regain control of her life. While appearing to serve her masters, Trella learns to manipulate the powerful men who now own her body. Soon she becomes the unseen influence whose knowledge and training guide the way to the founding of an empire. Eskkar and Trella join together and form a unique bond that enables them to overcome the limits their world has placed upon them. These are the stories of their journeys toward one another and to their shared destiny – an enduring love that changes civilization forever. less

Five millennia ago, on the eastern bank of the river Tigris, the course of human history changed forever . . .The people of Orak cherish their peaceful village and the life they have made. Though not proficient with the bow or sword, they possess a weapon far stronger: the ability to coax food from the ground. This is why the barbarian leader Thutmose-sin hates and fears them... moreFive millennia ago, on the eastern bank of the river Tigris, the course of human history changed forever . . .The people of Orak cherish their peaceful village and the life they have made. Though not proficient with the bow or sword, they possess a weapon far stronger: the ability to coax food from the ground. This is why the barbarian leader Thutmose-sin hates and fears them. As his marauding clan of bloodthirsty warriors readies itself for the plunder and the kill, the fate of the village rests with the outcast barbarian Eskkar and the woman he loves, the wise and beautiful slave girl Trella—and on a bold, remarkable, never-before-tested plan of defense. For those who have known peace must turn their hands to war, to save from the savage invaders not only their families but their way of life. less