The Trials of the Core - Book Tour and Giveaway

The Trials of the Core
Guardians of the Core Book 1
by Michael Thies
Genre: Futuristic Fantasy

As Edwyrd Eska approaches his two-hundredth year as Guardian of the Core, he must find an apprentice to train under him. His title and role compel him to safeguard and govern his universe, Gladonus, as each Guardian before him has done and those after him shall continue to do until relieved of such duties by will of the Ancients. Prince Hydro Paen, Eirek Mourse, and Zain Berrese—amongst other contestants—receive invitations to compete in a quest of Trials intended to determine who will become Eska’s apprentice. An old adage goes: “The toughest trials test you truest” – and these events challenge their fortitude through tenuous partnerships, intellectual rivalries, and battles of weapons’ mastery. Along the way, each contestant must attempt to overcome personal demons that haunt them. In this tale of ideal dreams and lucid aspirations, these competitors find theirs threatened by deceit, betrayal, sabotage—and even flesh—as all become vital to success…


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​Greetings,
I take this pen in hand today as you have taken your life in your own hands. It is my greatest honor to congratulate you in your acceptance of the application sent two years past. Tens of thousands applied, but only you and select others will have the chance to participate in the event of a lifetime. My trusted
conseleigh have been examining you and have recommended individuals of the highest tier, excelling in strength of self, mind, and body.
If you accept this offer, the Trials you face will be extremely difficult, designed to push you past your maximum potential. The winner will be titled as my apprentice and will have the honor of training under my staff and I until my two hundredth year as Guardian of the Core arrives. Further details will be explained upon your arrival. Good luck.
Sincerely,
Guardian Edwyrd Eska


***
The pen flitted across each letter in rhythmic repetition as Guardian Eska signed the last of eight invitations. Cards of thicker stock had previously been laid on his desk by two of his conseleigh. Eska waved his gloved hand over all eight sets. The cards hovered, defying wind and gravity both. The letters slid into the crimson envelopes and then fell to an onyx desk thick with emerald vines.
Eska removed his ring, given to him during a Coronation long past. Golden wax coated the obsidian band, hiding Eska’s sigil—a dragon, with wings outstretched, spewing fire. He pushed the ring down and sealed the first envelope. Footsteps echoed in the hallways across the midsize cavity of mossgreen
aventurine floors and jade pillars, stopping before the stairs that led to where Eska sat. Though they echoed, Eska wouldn’t have needed the sound to sense the man’s presence. He continued sealing the rest of the envelopes. “Is the ship ready, Luvan?”
“Lady Tundra is readying it now. The air here is short. How long will it be?”
For Eska, the air in the room was fine. But the others were sure to be having difficulties. “We will have leave soon enough.”
“Thank you, my guardian.”
While his conseleigh’s footsteps retreated, Eska waved his hand over the finished envelopes. He stood from his chiseled and polished seat of shakti—a rock of celadon color corded in black. As his hand passed over each envelope, it rose and floated above him, following him through another hallway that led deeper into a cavernous floating isle—to a place he had not been for one hundred and fifty years. Only he and his conseleigh knew of this place, but only he knew of the woman waiting for him at path’s end.
Lighted moss clung to the pale-blue walls, serving as torches. A dominance carried with Eska, the sort no other man or woman in the universe wielded. His eyes were narrowed like the pathway. His glove was stitched of the same darknether material as his jerkin, black like the shadow that lingered behind his silken cape of gold and crimson.
At the corridor’s end, the narrow path opened to a large cove with blue walls that spun like the wind in five separate places—one portal for each planet. A woman waited in the center of the room, and Guardian Eska took his spot next to her. Her lips, lush and blue like the hair that bounded past her shoulders, gave false testimony to her age. Through her transparent gown, her skin shone like a
moon during the grave of night.
This wasn’t his first time in the cove, but it was his first time using the portals on the wall. The halo of letters that had been floating above him separated to three spots on the wall, ignoring two. Here, the air was even thinner. From a strand of gossamer around Eska’s neck, a gray orb moved toward the woman; her power attracted it, a desire to return to its creator.
Eska nodded at her. “All of the letters will be delivered, yes?”
“As sure as the wind blows,” she said.
“Then let the Trials commence.”

Michael E. Thies is currently 23 years old and lives in Slinger, Wisconsin (a suburb of Milwaukee). For six years he has been struggling to find the time to write down all of the ideas and characters that come to him while writing. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a Bachelor of Arts degree, double majoring in Advertising and Creative Writing. During his time as an undergraduate he served as a member of numerous organizations like Sigma Tau Delta, an English Honor Society, and was president of the Leadership Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa, and of his fraternity, Delta Sigma Phi. When not writing, he enjoys watching TV (especially Grimm and MadMen), playing tennis, or working out.
The idea originally started out as a short story for a seventh grade writing assignment and, soon after, was forgotten. But upon cleaning out his room one day in his second year of high school he found the short story and decided to continue the idea he had but expand it to include charismatic characters, luscious landscapes, and a spellbinding storyline.

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