Lion's Game, Volume 1: Masters of Mali

After the assassination of one of Mali's greatest kings. The traitors behind the coup set out to erase his legacy from Mali's history. Their efforts fail when the youngest princess of Mali escapes with her newborn child to the Tuareg tribes in the Sahara. When her grief turns into hatred. The exiled princess swears an oath of vengeance against the family that unjustly stole Mali's throne. That oath becomes her legacy and is passed down through the generations to her descendants.

Over a century after the Keita took the throne. The Mali Empire has experienced great prosperity as well as turmoil. Coming off a tumultuous period wracked with plague, civil war, and political instability. Musa III begins the process of restoring the empire to its former glory. This restoration takes the form of an unprecedented tournament designed to find the most capable warrior to assume the role of Mali's imperial general.

Diata is the heir who carries his family's vendetta against the Keita. When word of the tournament reaches his clan. Diata sees his opportunity to get close to the enemy. To become the next general, he needs to make his way through several mercenaries, a pirate king, and dozens of other warriors bred for war on the battlefield.