The Shepherd and the Sword

Name: The Shepherd and the Sword
Author: Ori Refael Peretz

Epic Fantasy

Book and cover in development

How much mercy can a kingdom survive?He believes a ruler’s duty is to preserve life. Defending his kingdom puts that belief to the test. Every act of mercy must answer to the people who depend on him for protection.

Follow this work Follow this bookBook details

The Shepherd and the Sword cover concept

The story

01The Shepherd and the SwordOri Refael Peretz

How much mercy can a kingdom survive?

A leader who believes his duty is to preserve life is responsible for defending a kingdom. Protecting his people demands choices that put his deepest convictions under strain. Mercy may carry consequences for those who depend on him, while decisions made for their safety may violate the principles he wants to uphold. He must weigh the lives entrusted to him against what he is prepared to do in their defense. His struggle is to meet the obligations of leadership without treating either his conscience or his people as expendable.

How much mercy can a kingdom survive?

Ori Refael PeretzBook and cover in development

02The Shepherd and the SwordOri Refael Peretz

The price of peace.

Mercy and the use of power press against one another, testing the beliefs that make the leader want to rule justly.

How much mercy can a kingdom survive?

Ori Refael PeretzBook and cover in development

03The Shepherd and the SwordOri Refael Peretz

A question beyond the story.

The Crown and the Conscience considers the same responsibilities directly, as a companion philosophical work.

How much mercy can a kingdom survive?

Ori Refael PeretzBook and cover in development

The catalogueHow much mercy can a kingdom survive?Book and cover in development

A Story of Mercy, Power, and the Price of Peace

A leader wants to preserve life. Protecting his kingdom forces him toward decisions that threaten everything he believes about himself.

The contradictions of righteous leadership.

MercyPreserve life.

PowerProtect a kingdom.

The Shepherd and the Sword places mercy, power and the price of peace inside an original fantasy narrative. Its central conflict is the burden of acting on behalf of others when the decisions that may protect them challenge the beliefs that made their leader want to serve.

A question shared across two books

The story sits beside The Crown and the Conscience, a philosophical exploration of faith, authority, and the responsibilities of those who govern. Each book approaches the questions in its own form.

ArgumentThe Crown and the Conscience

The Shepherd and the Sword cover — Detail from the cover concept

The visual identity

One image. Two obligations.

The cover concept for The Shepherd and the Sword. Explore the complete artwork at a larger size.

Continue exploring

Connected works.

The public record

Publication.

Development

Book and cover in development

Title: The Shepherd and the Sword
Status: Book and cover in development
Category: Epic Fantasy
Language: English

Follow this title.

Publication date, formats and retail availability have not been announced.

Request publication news

Choose your interests and review an email request to the House. Nothing is sent automatically.

Visit your saved library