in the 3rd book in the Fury series by Jim Butcher, we find Tavi, the only magic-less inhabitant of Alera, defending the realm against an invasion of brutal warriors from across the see, while the rest of the Scooby Gang deal with the rebellion of one of the High Lords who seeks to take over the throne. the Codex Alera series is not "The Game of Thrones", but this is also a good thing. GRRMartin is a very good writer, but i think we can all agree that maybe he could use an editor to cut about 30-40% of his books down. Butcher is coming to fantasy from his tightly written and fast paced Harry Dresden thriller series, so even though he does indulge in a more verbiage to help build up the world and culture of Alera, the story moves along, things happen quickly and plots twist, then untwist in a reasonable number of pages. Tavi's story arc is clear, but i look forward to reading the rest of the series to see how he gets there.