Kingmaker, Kingbreaker

""Death lies at the end of every journey. What matters is how we travel the road.""

- Dathne, Awakened Mage

Kingmaker, Kingbreaker is a series of adult Fantasy novels by Karen Miller. As of 2011, there are five books in the series proper:


 * The Innocent Mage (2005): The first book of the duology.
 * The Awakened Mage (2007): Second book in the duology.
 * The Prodigal Mage (2009) The third book, taking place after the first duology, part 1 of the "Fisherman's Children" duology.
 * The Reluctant Mage (2010) The fourth book, part 2 of "Fisherman's Children"
 * A Blight of Mages (2011): A prequel novel.

The first two books follow Asher of Resthaven, an Olken fisherman looking to make his fortune, and his unlikely friend, the Doran Prince Gar. The second books follow Asher's children,

In this world, the people of Dorana possess the ability to perform magic, believing that it is their right alone. The most important type of magic is known as "WeatherWorking," which controls the weather precisely for the entire kingdom, as well as the magical force supporting Barl's Wall, and keeping it up. It is the right of the Doranen king alone to learn it, and his duty to maintain his kingdom's agriculture with it. With such power at their command, it is a widespread belief that they are fundamentally better than others. Dorana has subjugated the Olken people, who have been relegated to traditionally difficult ways of life such as fishing, farming, and blacksmithy. The Olken people are perceived as simple, brutish, and most damning of all, magicless. Olken are legally forbidden to be taught or use magic in any way on pain of death.

Asher of Resthaven is a simple Olken fisherman looking to escape his seven brothers by buying his own boat, and using it to spend more time with his father. To try and make enough money to buy such a boat, he leaves and goes to Dorana, the capital city of the Doran kingdom. Shortly after arriving, he somehow manages to end up in the service of the young Royal, Prince Gar. The two eventually warm to each other, and become close friends and confidants.


 * Barrier Maiden: Barl, in a sense, though her death happens during her wall's creation. The Weather Workers would be more of a match to this trope, as they support Barl's Wall with the use of their magic.


 * Terminally Dependent Society: The country of Lur in general in the first two books, as they need Weather Workers to keep Barl's wall in check, as well as allow rainfall on crops. This also applies to the Doranen in general, as their magic is used for even the most mundane of tasks, such as using glimfire for lighting.
 * The Magocracy: The Doranen live in this manner in A Blight of Mages, with two separate councils for ranked and unranked mages.


 * Witch Species:The Doranen and are an example of this.