The Curse of Chalion

Cazaril returns to the Chalionese court after two years chained to a galley oar, broken in body and soft in spirit, asking only for a quiet position as scribe or tutor. He is given the post of secretary-tutor to Royesse Iselle, the king's half-sister and heir, and quickly walks into the political snake-pit of the dying royal line of Chalion. The royal house carries a curse the five gods cannot lift without a willing human channel. Bujold builds the theology, the court intrigue, and Cazaril's slow recovery on the same patient timeline, until the gods themselves arrive looking for a saint.