Sphere of Power

Sphere of Power is the first book in the Chronicles of the Chosen series, written by Shanon Mayer. It was first published on May 31, 2011 by BookLocker Publishing in Bangor, Maine.

It was removed from publication in May of 2012, at the author's request. A second edition has been promised, which is likely to be published through RiverDreams Publishing.

Dedication

 * "I want to thank Mike, Sarah, Randy, and Beau. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you."

The book is dedicated to four people, all of whom Mayer has been open about.

"Mike" refers to Michael Street, one of her instructors at Clark College who she credits with encouraging her to continue with the books, even when she was doubtful.

"Sarah, Randy and Beau" are Sarah Roberts, Randy Orr, and Beau Bowden, other close friends of Mayer's, all of whom she accredits with being crucial to the completion of the story.

Book Description
Morgan Lafayette thinks that being the new kid in Denver Heights is tough - until she learns that the fate of a world she never knew existed lies in her hands. Morgan is one of the Chosen, an intermediary between the world of humans and the world of the magical fey, and someone is targeting the fey for destruction. As one of the few who can travel between the two worlds, its up to Morgan to find out who's behind the attacks and thwart their evil scheme.

Morgan is helped in her quest by the fey creatures Tilson and Askel, who guide her search for the culprit as they travel from a volcanic dragon's lair to the bone-chilling arctic and a partially excavated ancient Egyptian pyramid. They face baffling puzzles, danger at every turn, and evil guardians at every step as they come closer to the truth, one that's more shocking than Morgan could ever imagine.

Chapter 1: Morgan

 * "As if I'm going to have a lot of friends. I didn't even have that many friends back home." 

Morgan arrives in Denver Heights with her mother. She had never been there before, but her father had been transferred, and she had no choice. She isn't pleased about the move, and has no problem letting her parents know about this displeasure.

Soon after moving into her new home, mysterious sounds begin to haunt Morgan. When she alerts her parents to the strange noises, they insist that she is either imagining them or dreaming. Becoming more paranoid, Morgan knows that she can't turn to her parents for help, so she does her best to ignore the sounds.

Chapter 2: Tilson

 * "Of course you haven't seen us. No human can until we decide to be seen. And we try to stay hidden, because your people are dangerous to my people. Big, clumsy humans, always stepping on us."

One night, while lying in bed, Morgan discovers the source of the strange noises as Tilson, a fey creature known as a haltija, makes contact. He informs Morgan that all of the fey creatures are in danger, and her help is needed to discover the source of the problem and stop whoever is causing it before it is too late.

Along with Askel, a gryphon, Morgan and Tilson head out to search for clues about who is killing the dragons.

Chapter 3: Dragon's Lair

 * "More cracks, looking much like those at the entrance, crisscrossed the walls in here as well. Morgan ran her fingers along a section of gouging, noticing that there were places in the cracks where she could press her finger inside almost to the second knuckle."

Morgan, Askel, and Tilson land on the side of a volcano, from where a dragon named Cinderflare had recently disappeared. As she searched through the cave, she met Einar, a dvergar who had been assigned to guard the lair in Cinderflare's absence. After Einar shows Morgan some of the markings from the fight, Morgan discovers a small room off the main chamber that none of the others are willing or able to enter. Inside the chamber, she finds a glowing red sphere. Not sure what to make of the item, she shows it to Tilson and Einar, who quickly decide that the Council of Fey need to be informed about the discovery.

Chapter 4: Council

 * "Askel landed with a soft thump on the grass and Morgan was surprised that she could see almost as well as if the sun had been up, instead of just the moon. She looked up and noticed that there were tiny glowing lights in the trees surrounding the clearing, shining just enough light to illuminate the area."

Morgan is brought to Zea Island, the home of the Council of Fey. There, she shows the sphere to Corran, an elvor who appears to be in charge of the Council. When Corran sees the sphere, he realizes that many more of the fey than previously believed are in danger.

Corran sends Morgan to see Stormshock, the only dragon on the Council.

Chapter 5: Stormshock

 * "This magic all around us is what causes us to exist, what allows us the abilities we have, and it keeps the veil between your world and ours in place. Without this magic, I would not exist, nor would Corran, Einar, Tilson, or any of the others that you have met or will meet. Without the magic, all that will be left is your people, the humans."

Morgan heads to Stormshock's lair, a magical pool in the middle of a grassy clearing. When she meets the dragon, Morgan is initially scared, but Stormshock does his best to calm her. When the dragon sees the sphere, he takes it for safekeeping and tasks Morgan to go in search of more spheres, explaining that the sphere is trapped ether, the soul of the creature that had once been Cinderflare.

He also explains to her about the need for Chosen, people to go between the worlds, and how the two worlds came to be separated in the first place.

Chapter 6: Snowbound

 * "The ground below them stretched out as far as she coul see in any direction, great masses of white, with few patches of life to be seen. Huge mountains of ice rose up to meet the pale clouds, one shade of white blending perfectly into the next against the backdrop of deep black night sky."

In search of more spheres, Morgan and friends head to the arctic north to check on Stormbite, another dragon that has gone missing. When they arrive, Tilson gives Morgan her first magical item: a ring that will protect her from the cold. The lair is guarded by a giant named Kun, who is unaware of the presence of any orbs.

The search for spheres heads outside, where a blizzard has just been. While hunting, Morgan is drawn away from the group by Yukionna, a fey who tries to lure Morgan into the wilderness for her to die. Morgan is saved by Kun, and when Yukionna retreats, Morgan discovers that the fey had been hiding Stormbite's sphere.

Morgan uses the magic of the ring to pry the sphere from the ice, and they return home.

Chapter 7: Ancient

 * "Most believe the Ancients to have long since passed into the ether, but we need you to go and see the one that still lives. He has been sleeping for a great many years, so even we hadn't realized he was still alive."

Stormshock has discovered the existence of a magical hammer that may be able to release the ether from the speheres that Morgan has been collecting. He doesnt know where the hammer is at, so he sends Morgan to see the Ancient, Amahté-Baki, to find out where the Master Smith can be found.

Instead of travelling with Askel as she normally would, Morgan is introduced to Vouivre, a wyvern that will take her to Egypt to meet the Ancient. She is also given one of Stormshock's scales to carry with her as proof that she was sent by the council.

Because of the amount of time that it will take for Morgan to get to Egypt, speak with the Ancient, and then return, Liore, a shapeshifting elvor, was sent to Morgan's house so that her disappearance would not be noticed.

===Chapter 8: Amahté-Baki ===
 * "Rivers without water; forests without trees; Mountains without rocks; towns without people; What am I?" 

Morgan, Tilson and Vouivre head to Egypt in search of the Ancient's lair, buried deep beneath the sand in the Giza plain, near the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. When Vouivre begins digging to the entrance, Amahté-Baki's guardian, a creature called the Ghirtablili, attacks Vouivre. The wyvern defeats the guardian and deposits it in a river a distance from the lair before resuming the excavation.

Once the way is clear, Morgan heads in to speak with the Ancient while Vouivre and Tilson wait outside. Deep beneath the sand, Morgan discovers that Amahté-Baki is a Sphinx, and has been waiting for her.

She recieves a riddle and three days to return with the answer. If Morgan is not able to solve it, her life will be forfeit.

Chapter 9: Riddle

 * "I have no idea what the answer to the riddle is, and I don't have a lot of time left before I get eaten!" Morgan was busily working herself into a panic. "We only have a couple hours left to figure out what it means, and I haven't the slightest clue!"

Morgan returns to her friends and explains the deal and the riddle. The trio decides to camp in one of the nearby pyramids for the night, and spend most of the night pondering the Ancient's riddle. The next morning, they head back out to the desert, still discussing the riddle, where they discover the arrival of Askel.

Morgan, glad to see her friend, explains the situation and the group works on the puzzle for most of the day. When Morgan stumbles on the answer, she doesnt realize it until Tilson and Vouivre point it out to her.

Excited and relieved, Morgan heads back into the Ancient's lair to give the answer.

Chapter 10: Shelter

 * "The men worked on Vouivre through the night, with the group of friends staying nearby. Stange poultices and foul-smelling liquids were brought over to aid in the treatments. The druids muttered among themselves, sometimes looking grimly at the gigantic fey, other times looking hopeful."

Having survived the Ancient's trial, Morgan, Tilson, Askel and Vouivre head back to Zea Island to hand over the map they had recieved. Before getting there, however, they encounter a storm that they can't fly through and are forced to land in the Druids' Grove.

Two druids live in the Grove: Tellius and Lothar. They offer shelter to the group through the storm, but before it blows over, Vouivre falls to the poison of the Ghirtablili. The druids treat him for his wounds and the poison, and tell Morgan about the magical world while they are there.

Morgan also recieves three more magical items: a Cloak of Camouflage, an Amulet of Awareness, and a Staff of Survival. Tellius treaches her how to use the items while Lothar treats Vouivre.

Chapter 11: Magicgleam

 * "Although she knew that Stormshock was gone and there wasn't anything she could do to bring him back, Morgan wasn't ready to let go of him. Not quite yet. All of a sudden, it had become very important to her to make sure that his orb was safe."

When they return to Zea Island, Morgan shows the map to Corran, who sends her to see Stormshock. When she attempts to do so, however, she discovers that the dragon is missing and a green sphere is floating in his pool.

Morgan wanders back out to the council in a daze, and when she discovers that the sphere is to be taken to Magicgleam, one of the last surviving dragons, for safekeeping, she demands to go as well. Corran agrees, and Morgan and Askel head out to see Magicgleam.

Magicgleam is interested in Morgan and takes Stormshock's sphere to put with all of the others that she has been guarding. When they return to the island, Corran has finished examining the map that Morgan got from the Ancient, and he explains that the hammer they are seeking belongs to Volcan, who lives in a volcano.

Until the Council is able to determine a way to safely send Morgan in after the hammer, she is sent home to rest.

Chapter 12: Volcano

 * "This salve will only work for five hours. After that, it will start to wear off as you sweat under it. You must be on your way back out by then, if not already on your way back here."

Morgan spends time getting used to being back home, but she is worried about her friends and concerned that they may go after the hammer without her. As she heads out to check on her friends, Tilson arrives to bring her to the island.

Arien, another member of the council, has developed a salve that will protect Morgan from the heat of the volcano long enough for her to go in, get the hammer, and get back out.

Askel takes her and Tilson as close to the entrance of the cavern as he can before letting them continue on their own. Before heading inside the volcano, Morgan coats herself and Tilson with the salve and they sneak inside to search. When they find the hammer, Morgan is about to grab it when Volcan disovers that they are there and knocks her unconscious.

Chapter 13: Trapped

 * "They had almost made it all the way around the pool before Morgan's foot slipped on a patch of loose stones, sending small rocks tumbling and echoing through the cavern. Instantly, the creature turned towards them, swimming at them and closing the gap far more swiftly than Morgan had expected."

Morgan and Tilson wake up in a dark room, deep under the volcano. While trying to make their escape and find the workroom where they had been captured, Morgan remembers her Cloak of Camouflage and puts it on, hiding herself and Tilson. In a pool of lava near to where they had woken, they come across a seven-headed creature swimming in a lake of lava. Carefully, they sneak past the creature, narrowly missing being discovered as they move.

Back in the workroom, they find the hammer they were looking for and run for the exit, Volcan hot on their heels. Outside, Askel catches them just before they are captured again. He whisks them off to Zea Island, where both of them can have their wounds treated.

Chapter 14: Storyteller

 * "As the sound continued, Morgan started to feel a deep sadness welling up deep inside her, as though her heard was breaking over and over again, without any time to heal in between."

Morgan returns to Zea Island to heal after her ordeal in the volcano. One night, unable to sleep, she wanders down the path to Stormshock's lair, where she discovers Leander, a former Chosen not much older than she.

Leander speaks with Morgan for a few moments, before a sound drifts into the clearing. Visibly reacting to the noise, Leander leaves the clearing through the same tunnel that Morgan used. When she follows him, however, she discovers that he was no longer on the island.

She asks Arien about the sound she had heard, and he explains that it was the keen of a cyhyraeth, a dead elvor who had been trapped in the mortal world and unable to return to the ether. Furthermore, when Morgan asks about going to Stormshock's pool, Arien explains that she couldn't have, as it was already sealed. When she explains about the boy, Corran heads out to see if he can find out anything more.

Morgan and Arien talk for a bit longer, and Arien explains how the cyryraeth came to be, and that the description of the boy at the pool sounded like Leander, a former chosen who had been banished from the world of the fey.

Chapter 15: Leander

 * "Leander had pointed his hand towards them, and with an untelligible shout, lines of red fire shot from each of his fingertips. The fire barely passed over Morgan's head as she ducked, and she could feel the warmth as it singed her hair."

Corran conducts an investigation about the break-in at Stormshock's pool, and discovers that Morgan had been correct. he and the council will continue to investigate.

When Morgan tries to talk to Tilson about the events that they had been through, the haltija decided that he had been through enough. He leaves, vowing to no longer be sent out into dangerous situations.

Corran gathers Morgan, Askel, and another gryphon named Glau to go with him to Magicgleam's lair to deliver the hammer. During the trip, Leander attacks them, assaulting Corran with magical spells until Morgan knocks him out of the sky. When they land at the entrance to Magicgleam's lair, Corran is hurt but alive, and the group heads in to see the dragon.

Einar is there as well, and Magicgleam tasks him with breaking open the spheres to release the trapped ether. Breaking the spheres causes a tremendous magical backlash, so Morgan and company leave them to their work.

Chapter 16: Homecoming

 * "Everything really had changed, and Morgan had been too busy to really notice until now. With a smile, she drifted off to sleep. Sometimes, change is a good thing."

Corran brings Morgan back home, where Liore has been staying. Morgan helps to clean the mess that Liore had made of her room and explained to the elvor about all that had happened. When Liore leaves, Morgan begins trying to adjust to being back at home again.