Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny by
Richard Siddoway Pages: 228
Published by Cayelle Publishing/Dagger on August 25, 2020
Diving into the Kingdom of Sodizen, New York Times bestselling author Richard Siddoway launches the first book in a brand-new fantasy series: Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny [Cayelle Publishing/Dagger Imprint, August 2020]. Crafting an inventive storyline with elements of adventure, action and fantasy, Siddoway’s first installment features the courageous Tsalix as he leads a dangerous quest to restore peace and order in the tiny village of Aravah.
King Elosha is dying and his twin sons, Princes Abadon and Johona, are deeply embroiled in a battle over the throne of Sodizen. One is noble and the other is a psychopath. Hoping to end the bloody chaos and restore peace, the King summons three men from the small village of Aravah, tasking them with the impossible of retrieving talismans that are prophesied to unlock the Scepter of Power on Mount Destiny.
To aid them on their fantastical quest, King Elosha bestows upon each of them, vials of elements to be opened when needed most. Amidst their honor and duty, they find their hometown torched to the ground, with surviving family and friends imprisoned by Prince Abadon. They are faced with choosing between rescuing them or completing the mission. The brave men choose to obey the King, overcoming tumultuous weather, terrain, dangerous and helpful mythical creatures alike. With scarce food and water, led by Tsalix, the three men embark on an arduous odyssey across the kingdom to retrieve the Scepter on Mount Destiny and restore peace in the realm.
Tsalix wedged himself tightly into the cleft in the rock, placed his ear against the smooth obsidian wall and listened closely. Above him on the steep hillside huge polished slabs of stone perched precariously. Through the rock he could hear the footfalls of the approaching riders on their enormous wolacs. Tsalix listened intently trying to read the signature of the heavy, armored, six-legged beasts. Each one had a slightly different gait and an experienced ear could identify each individual wolac by its tread. Tsalix grimaced as he thought he recognized the footfalls of Nash Doitsoh’s wolac. The hoof beats were drawing nearer and the young warrior forced himself even further into the crack in the rock wall at the base of Mount Jinee. He shed his breastplate to lose another couple of inches, but still he felt as if his ribs were cracking from the pressure of the obsidian against his back and chest; until the crevasse suddenly widened and he popped into a small cave. He fell to the floor and took deep breaths, ignoring the pain in his bruised ribs; then reached back through the crack and retrieved his breastplate, sword, and knapsack. He could see his footprints outside the opening, but knew he had no time to obscure them. He turned around and viewed his surroundings. In the dim light that filtered through the opening he could see the cave’s roof was just slightly higher than he was tall and the room was about six feet in diameter. He pressed himself against a side wall as he heard the wolacs stop outside the narrow channel that led into the cave. They were breathing hard and emitting a high-pitched whistling sound through their gaping mouths that were bracketed with two sets of enormous pincers.
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About Richard Siddoway
RICHARD SIDDOWAY was born Salt Lake City, Utah and reared in Bountiful, Utah. He was a professional educator for over forty-five years. In 1994, he was asked by Governor Michael O. Leavitt to create the nation’s first state-wide virtual high school, The Electronic High School, which served students nationwide. He served three terms in the Utah House of Representatives; the last two years he served as Speaker Pro Tempore. Siddoway is the author of a dozen books, including the New York Times bestseller, The Christmas Wish, which was made into a movie starring Debbie Reynolds, Neil Patrick Harris, and Naomi Watts. He and his wife, Janice, have eight children, twenty-six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Goodreads
what made you choose this cover?
Edye, actually the publisher had their design department come up with it; however, the scepter is a critical piece in the series.
So how did you come about selecting Tsalix as a character name? In Googling this name, other than your book, I did see one artist and someone with that gamer tab playing World of Warcraft! I am curious to know!!
Tsalix (pronounced Say Licks – the T is silent) is just one of the “easter eggs” in the book. If you look up Salix, for example, you’ll find it’s the genus of willows. Similarly you’ll find Asur and Quercus (Kwercus) with botanical roots. You can add Cedrus and Sambucus. However, the silent T comes from Navajo (Dineh bisaad), and there are many other Navajo words in the book. That’s probably more of an explanation than you wanted, but here it is.
Thank you! I dig more information than needed. It’s a nice little nugget to learn about and how it ties in to Navajo language.