Soulwinder

Three strangers.
Two plots.
One champion.

In the crater of a volcanic island, musical magic and enchanted swordplay rule society. Every seven years a champion from each caste climbs the tournament ladder for a chance at a new life. This year three apparent strangers—a sabotaged craftsman trying to save his mentally disabled father, a legendary duelist resisting the machinations of her master, and a janitor fighting an empathy-sapping magical talent—are desperate to reach the final battle. But a web of strange coincidence connects them, the city is on the brink of collapse, and nothing is as it seems. 

Everyone's a puppet… but who holds the strings?