Welcome to the Lost At Sea Scavenger Hunt where we are celebrating the release of King’s Blood by Jill Williamson, Book Two in the Kinsman Chronicles, and helping the Kinsman people find a new home. If you’ve just found us, be sure to start the adventure at Stop #1, which is Jill Williamson’s blog.
Collect all the clue words in order so you can enter to win the Kindle. If you want to enter to win the second Kindle, you’ll have to take a quiz at the end, so take your time and read each post carefully. The main prizes in the hunt are open to international entries. Individual author contests, however, might have different rules, so please read the parameters on each site. You have until Sunday night, February 19, at midnight, Pacific time to finish.
If you need help, or get lost along the way, click here for assistance.
Wilek didn’t like the rumors about King Respen and felt they’d best move on. They went south, hoping that they would find the rumored desert to be just like their old home in the Five Realms. They reached Stop #15, Leira, from Gillian Bronte Adams’s Songkeeper, book two in the Songkeeper Chronicles.
Welcome, friends! I am a sword-wielding, horse-riding, coffee-loving fantasy author from the great state of Texas. During the day, I manage the equestrian program at a Christian youth camp, but at night, I kick off my boots and spurs, pulls out my trusty laptop, and transform into a novelist. My love of epic stories and a desire to present truth in a unique way drew me to the realm of fantasy.
So I decided to create a world where music was magic, the world was created through a song, and one girl alone can hear the Master Melody. That’s the premise of the Songkeeper Chronicles. The story begins in Orphan’s Song, but today, we’re taking a closer look at the second book in the series, Songkeeper.
War ravages Leira and the Song has fallen silent.
Freed from the hold of a slave ship, Birdie, the young Songkeeper, and Ky, a street-wise thief, emerge to a world at war. Hordes of dark soldiers march across Leira, shadowed by whispers of plague and massacres, prompting Ky to return to his besieged home city in hopes of leading his fellow runners to safety.
Desperate to end the fighting, Birdie embarks on a dangerous mission into the heart of the Takhran’s fortress. Legend speaks of a mythical spring buried within and the Songkeeper who will one day unleash it to achieve victory. Everyone believes Birdie is the one, but the elusive nature of the Song and rumors of other gifted individuals lead her to doubt her role. Unleashing the spring could defeat the Takhran once and for all, but can she truly be the Songkeeper when the Song no longer answers her call?
Leira is a large land with a wide variety of landscapes, including the carpeted hills of the Midlands, grass-swept dunes of the Nordlands, and the high moorland and peat bogs of the Westmark. But in the south, the hills of the Midlands give way to a more arid region, known as the Soudlands, and beyond that, all that is green and growing is swallowed by the ever-hungry maw of the desert.
The Vituain desert is a harsh land, a sea of sand dunes ringed about by jagged, red-gold mountains. Heavy winds sweep across the desert, and sandstorms are an ever present threat. The southernmost tip of the desert breaks through the mountains to the coast, where the sea is plagued by heavy winds and fierce currents.
“Storms that blow off and around the tip of Leira are always incredibly fierce and unpredictable, and if they happen to collide with a desert storm inland, the mountains tremble and rocks split apart. We must find shelter before it strikes.” – Sym, Songkeeper
Between the wind and the storms and the ever-shifting sands, the Vituain desert is a land that is constantly being remade. But the people who inhabit it—the Saari—are steadfast, unyielding as the mountains, warriors to the bone. In battle, warriors ride upon lions as steeds—steered by a heavy collar rather than bit or bridle—and wield spears. Some prefer light throwing spears which they wear upon their backs in long quivers. Others prefer heftier lances. For matters where subterfuge is needed, the Saari use a spear pipe to blow an iron-tipped shaft coated in poisonous Vrimgor sap. Throughout Leira, the Saari are renowned as excellent hunters and trackers—a feat made all the more remarkable when one considers the constantly changing sands.
The Saari are divided into tribes who are ruled by mahtems who are in turn ruled by the Matlal. In Songkeeper, Matlal Quahtli rules the Saari, alongside his wife Sa Itera, from the grand city of Nar-Kog. There he sits enthroned beneath the Star of the Desert—a massive crystal and heirloom of the Saari.
Matlal Quahtli stood with his back to the opening, presenting an imposing silhouette against the afternoon sun—a warrior’s figure clad in a massive lion skin cloak, mane forming a collar about his neck, spear held upright in his hand. Gold beads rattled in his dark braids, and jeweled cuffs gleamed on his wrists. – Songkeeper
The Saari typically go about clad in fringed leggings and jackets made from lion’s skins, cloaks made from lion’s fur, and necklaces made from lion’s teeth—in this way, they honor their beasts who are slain in battle. Beyond that, their robes and tunics are made from a light, airy material, typically woven in scarlet, gold, and cerulean blue—colors that reflect and enhance the rich rock, sand, and skies of their homeland.
Sound like somewhere you would like to visit? You can learn more about the Saari and the Vituain Desert in Songkeeper.
You can order Songkeeper on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD or at your local bookstore!
CLUE! Write down this clue: they
The next stop on our map is Stop #16, Adar-iyr, on R. J. Larson’s blog.
Before you folks head on, don’t forget to enter the giveaway! I am giving away a copy of Songkeeper to two lucky winners. (Paperbacks to US winners, ebooks to international winners!) To enter, sign up to get my email newsletter through the Rafflecopter below or note in the entry form if you are already a subscriber. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, February 21st.
Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the scavenger hunt!
Shantelle Mary says
I’m already subscribed, under my personal email! :)
Rachelle O'Neil says
Yay, I’m so excited you’re part of this scavenger hunt, Gillian! I’ve wanted to get my hands on Songkeeper since it released, but, alas, I haven’t been able to. So, I would be super excited if I won it! :) Thanks!
Gillian Bronte Adams says
Hi Rachelle! Thanks for stopping by. This Scavenger Hunt is fun, isn’t it? Hope you get a chance to read Songkeeper soon! :)
Caryl Kane says
I’m so glad you are participating in this Scavenger Hunt!
Deborah O'Carroll says
I already have a gorgeous paperback copy so I will leave the giveaway for other fortunate souls to get a taste of this delightful tale! Anyways, I so enjoyed this stop on the hunt and hearing more about the Saari — they’re definitely interesting! :) (I also love how Wilek and co. are hoping this place will be like their homeland. XD I was actually reading King’s Folly and Songkeeper around the same time last year, and remembered thinking I was reading a lot of Fantasy deserts, so the comparison is extra fun to me! :)) Thanks for a lovely stop!