Joined at the Hilt, Book I: Union (a Sphereworld novel) Randall's life in the city of Three Rivers was not unlike that of any other half-elf, which is to say that it was less than ideal. Ever since the Federation had come to town a decade earlier, his people's way of life had been upended and it was all that he and his friends could do to survive under the oppressive boot of those puritanical invaders. But all of that changed when a chance meeting with a complete stranger set a sequence of events in motion which made it necessary for Randall to pursue life outside the walls of the only place he had ever known. Even armed with a mysterious, enchanted weapon at his side, it will take every resource at the young bartender-turned-gigolo's disposal to survive the hazards of the unknown. He will contend with swamps infested by unusually large rodents, honest-to-the-gods White Knights, a mysterious group called 'Fleshmongers,' a Federation special operative bent on securing Randall's strange weapon for some unknown purpose, and a high stakes game of politics played between the old powers of his world and the new as they struggle for control over the fate of their world. As he deals with the harsh realities of the world outside his birthplace, Randall will discover that the most valuable resource of all is the bond of friendship...no matter how unusual that friendship might be.