Instruments of Sacrifice by Lydia Redwine Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Spirit
Followers
Instruments
of Sacrifice Book 1
by
Lydia Redwine
Genre:
Fantasy
When
a Royal dies, the realms elect the one to take their place. By
reasons Camaria does not know, her realm elects her as the next
Royal. Now that she is the new-found sixteenth Royal of the nation of
Mirabelle, Cam embarks on a journey with her sisters and a young
huntsman to the four realms of the nation to complete training in the
four kinds of magic. Once she has completed this training, she will
then be permitted to consume her annual amount of magic and possess
manifested powers. Her ventures are unexpectedly steeped in
precarious events when Cam discovers a secret plan of revolt, a past
she never knew, and an ancient people group thought dead who call
themselves the Spirit Followers.
They
followed after the Cinis Lumen leader and his young son through the
only opening in the side of the volcanic walls. Cam's vision clouded
before it was met with blurred blackness and glimmering reds and then
flashes of silver in the firelight. Clanging
metal, hammers on stone, crackling fire, splashing water, treading
feet and mixtures of hundreds of voices at various tones pounded her
drums. The clamorous chaos of integrity and courage placed a rush in
her veins. She was energy infused in a smoldering underground. Warm
air, metal, leather, sweat, fire, and water combined, creating a
taste of unified engineering. These sensations bombarded Cam as they
became enveloped in Tyron's world. Cam
began to perceive the particulars of the place. She glimpsed a silver
lake mirroring firelight, weapons, the cavern overhead, and roaming
persons. Cast over the lake was built an expansive bridge of rope and
wood which led to an enormous slab of stone, jutting from the wall of
the underground world. Upon this stone, was built an enormous castle
which appeared to have been dipped in the blackest of ink. Though its
coloring was like raven’s wing, it nearly blinded Cam, for the
firelight allowed it to glimmer mercilessly. The castle’s head was
adorned with pointed towers like sharpened blades.
Great bonfires were built in numerous sections, filling the vicinity
with smoldering heat. Cam
glanced towards Fiera. Her sister’s face was still grim, but her
eyes were alight for the first time in days. blindingly
white. Too white even with a black sky and silver moon hanging within
it. Elizabeth
ate a full meal that night, thinking only of how soon Cole must
receive her news. The
sky’s visage closely
resembled a puddle after a spring rain, gray and wavering. It had
rained copiously that spring. At times, in horrendous torrents and
others in light drizzles. It had nurtured the earth of Mirabelle. The
tree in the center of the Medulla Realm would now have been at its
peak of a flourishing state. But instead, the tree lay forlornly on
the ground, shriveled up, decaying branch by branch. One fact was
known: Mirabelle
had no magic. The
concept seemed quite simple really, but in reality, no one in the
nation knew how it had vanished. At least, no one who had yet stepped
forward. Camaria
Caddell stood behind the stone castle of the Medulla Realm’s
center, surrounded by fallen branches and debris scattered in the
wind. The overcast sky correlated the sight before her. The silvery
leaves and fruit had vanished. Cam clenched her jaw against a
headache forming from the swirling of her thoughts. With brows drawn
together and arms crossed tightly over her chest, Cam stared at the
fallen tree. She barely noticed that her two younger sisters, Adria
and Mista, stood on either side of her,
motionless.
Keepers
of the Crown
Instruments
of Sacrifice Book 2
Camaria
is chasing the sparks of a war and trying to put them out before her
world erupts into flames and all is gone. The vanishing of the magic
of Mirabelle is only the beginning and the Seekers are formed to find
its captors. Camaria, her sister Fiera, the young huntsman Caleb,
Cinis Lumen leader Tyron, former Gnosi heir Riah, and two others are
sent east to find their stolen magic, but each has a mission of their
own. Cam, having been banished from two of Mirabelle’s realms, is
determined to redeem herself by locating the legendary Crown of
Caelae, prophesied by the Watchers, one of which was Peter’s
father. Riah continues his secret quest to become one of the
unidentified master’s seven warriors. Fiera still holds the wooden
ball with its strange message inside, and Caleb has a secret past of
his own. Peter, who remains in Mirabelle, is on the brink of
discovering all of his father’s secrets and forming a plot of
revenge on those who had killed Daniel years ago. Their own ventures
are put on hold when they suddenly cross paths with an unexpected
enemy in the perilous land called the Valley of Poison.
Before,
Now, and After
“I had brothers once,” I say. My voice is an echo of the ancients. A mourn. A scoff. “But...I betrayed them.” I shift inward when the darkness folds itself around me. The darkness I’ve summoned for myself. “My brothers...their wings were more...magnificent. The first brother’s were fashioned of gold, but the weight was nothing to hinder him. They...rippled in the city. Like a banner proclaiming the way of Elyon. He was the only one with golden wings. “The second brother’s wings were like shimmering sapphires threaded with silver. When I asked him why he would not give up his wings for those of Elyon’s Son, he scoffed. “And I...the only one with wings fabricated of ash and smoke. The one who would indeed give them up. Or try to.” I pause, allowing my cold breath to kiss the darkness around me. Darkness...my friend and my foe. “I betrayed my brothers for my own form of beauty and for my own ambition.” The thought sinks into me and shifts my wings. “Tales of war and bloodshed come from the Between Realm, that which lies between Caelae and the Realm of Shadows. But what most do not know is that the wars of Caelae were far...worse.” Yes, I can see it now, just as clear as when they were first fought. “Broken wings dripping crimson about shattered cities of starlight. Bones like diamonds, the foundation of a ruinous place. Caelae was once beautiful, but also...brutal. Brutal because two of its princes fought for its throne. One to defend it in light and honor with wings burnished of gold. And the other…to capture it with beauty and cruelty. With wings of smoke and ash. And when princes battle, they wear their crowns. Their regalty become but instruments. And in the end…one must lose. “We fought three battles once Elyon had designed and placed the heavenly bodies. He had named them after us, his favored creatures of Caelae. To the brother with golden wings he gave the sun, to the brother with wings like the sea he gave the moon, and to me...the one who would betray him, he gave the stars. Of course, the stars do not belong to me. Even you, as a human, would never begin to think of them in my likeness. They are a reminder to me...that I will never be as numerous, as loved, as brilliant and adored. “That is what we named the battles: the Battle of the Stars, the Battle of the Moon, the Battle of the Sun. A war fought in three parts for each of its participating princes. Both my brothers fought against me, and so you must know how it ended. “I lost, but, human, I am still fighting. The wars you see in your own world, in the Between Realm, are birthed of what I have already fought. The wars you encounter are but shards of the ones I have summoned. And even while the battles in Caelae were far more brutal than you shall ever witness, the battle over your souls is somehow even more valuable. To everyone. To my Enemy and to myself.” I pause to stare at you. “Yes, you. I am speaking to you. You see, in this world, it is Elyon that writes your story, but I am the one to tell it. You see, just as Elyon gave me the stars, he also gave me the Between Realm. The Realm of Shadows is where I dwell, but it is the Between Realm in which I roam until it is brought to utter ruin. If I am to be brought to ruin, so will you and your home.
Yours truly,
Lucius, Prince of the Between Realm and Traitor of Caelae
Lydia
Redwine is a young author from Cincinnati, Ohio, who, by the age of
18, has published a fantasy novel and a poetry collection in aim to
create work that is both refreshing and impactful.
Becoming
I am not totally sure what this post is as I begin to write it now, but I am sure that by the time I finish, I will know. That’s one reason why writing is so important to me because I know that if I need to figure something out, I can write and find answers. I suppose that what I’m trying to “figure out” right now is why this word “becoming” is so important to me. I mean, I even made a Pinterest board for this word. And in a lot of ways, the images and quotes I’ve collected there pretty much sum up everything I’m about to say. (Or what I think I’m going to say…since I haven’t planned this out.) Lol. Welcome to my diary. First, a reflection of where I am in life now compared to last year and more importantly, where I thought I would be now this time last year. This time last year, I had just graduated high school with the full intent of not going to college in order to pursue writing while working a full-time job (that I love…just not as much as writing) for income. So, in a lot of ways writing is my “college” just without me going into debt, taking out loans, professors, deadlines, exams, and all the stress that comes with it. I knew, this time last year, that I would be faced with the challenge of figuring out a lot of things on my own. Some hard (like marketing and getting people to buy my book) and some easy (like formatting). Which is funny to me because some authors would flip the two. By June, when I went to Bookcon, I had compiled a list of things I needed to do. I accomplished this list and a lot mor.e I never dreamed this time last year, that by today, I would have published two books and republished a third. I never dreamed that I would have found a friend to be a wonderful cover-creator, a community of self-published authors online, and most of all my own voice and brand. All of this is culminating into what I call “becoming.” What does that mean exactly? I would start by saying this: it all has to do with dreams. You see, most of the people my age are pursuing their dreams via school, jobs, etc. but very very few of them are actually living their dreams. I, on the other hand, am living in the exact way I dreamed and prayed I would be all of high school. I dreamed I would have time to write and that I would love doing it, that people who find themselves lost and alone would read my work, that I would love God in a capacity I’ve never known, and that I would be financially secure. All of these things are present in my life, so in a lot of ways, I am “living my dream.” That doesn’t mean I’ve stopped dreaming. Of course, there is still so much more to happen. I dream of reaching more people and writing more books and having more time. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be ungrateful for what I have now. This is what becoming a means. It means I recognize the beauty of my life right now while simultaneously pursuing a better one. If you are reading this for the first time and have no idea who I am aside from this or what I write, let me tell you. When I was 16, I published a fantasy novel called Spirit Followers. I published it’s sequel Keepers of the Crown in March. I published a poetry collection called Essence of An Age last September. All of these works hold a significant piece of me. They are part of the becoming. So even if my success is never garnered from sales or the number of people reading my work, I can say that I’ve successfully learned who I am through writing and I have three books on my shelf that I really love. I hope this can help you with your dream too. I hope that you realize who you are now and that you aim to become a better version. There is a purpose in mind for you.
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