Manzakar (The Slave-Soldier) by R Laham

The Gohari are a race of nomadic, pansexual people with inherent magic who are suffering at the hands of the Kingdom of Anzor's angry god, Cenk. By harnessing the nomads' skills in horsemanship and archery, Anzor has built a powerful, elite class of slave-soldiers who are above and beyond any other kingdom's army: the Manzakars.

Sold into slavery to save his nomad family from starving, Tikran becomes a Manzakar believing that they are warriors of justice. However, as he campaigns in Gohar, the land of his birth, he realizes that not only is Anzor using the Manzakars to persecute the nomads, but it's also exploiting the Gohari by enslaving them and stealing their magic-the Essence-to be the most powerful kingdom on the Continent. As the most celebrated Manzakar in Anzor and the king's personal bodyguard, Tikran must decide if he's willing to forfeit his dreams of glory-as well as his own life and the lives of those he loves-to stand up for what he believes in and fight for the oppressed people of Gohar.