FOLKS come over to this C A R N I V A L E booth!
It presents a challenge...
by Matt Xell
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Hey everyone! Matt Xell here, and I'm uber excited to be doing this guest post. Super-thanks to Velvet for having me on her blog. So I'd like to talk a bit about the Sword Challenge.
In Tower of Parlen Min, Jacobius Trent, the world of Everlon's most famous and wealthiest inventor invited 20 children to the Tower, his home, for an once-in-a-lifetime holiday and to compete in the Sword Challenge; a treasure hunt of sorts whose grand prize is 12 million dollars.
The goal of the Sword Challenge was to retrieve the Sword of Belsaris; a remnant of the last Great War and the royal emblem of the fallen Persian Army; an extraordinary and supernatural sword which allowed the wielder to generate and control electrical energy as well as summon lightening from the skies at will.
Jacobius hid the sword somewhere in the Tower; completion of all the Sword Challenges' task would reveal its location. The 20 children were split into 7 groups, three in each (the Marcosky Twins been the only two in their group), and were given clues to their first tasks; all other resources and research they would have to gather on their own.
Each group had to complete three major tasks to find the sword of Belsaris. Each of the tasks involved solving puzzles, riddles and retrieving special objects relating to the tasks. Every task had its own story and all three tasks had an overarching theme; for example Ves Asirin, Jerod Smeth and Vikey Trishire's tasks involved interacting with secretive, life-like and animated statues. Each task's climax involved resolving a mystery or facing a conflict with diplomacy, intellect, wit, and most times through violent action.
Some tasks required using other groups' clues and task objects to proceed; some tasks involved collaborating with or going in direct opposition of another group and sabotaging their progress.
Jacobius Trent and several of his most trusted friends, employees at the world famous Alsa Labs, scientists, engineers, technicians, artists, architects, stage magicians, circus coordinators, theme park and set designers, film producers and special effects experts designed the Sword Challenge for over four years with a budget of over 400 million dollars. The Challenge was never publicized in the media and Jacobius' Butler, Lercia Cromweld, assembled a small army of some the world's best security and military experts to oversee the Challenge and guard the Tower.
Although, initially, there was no set time for the completion of the tasks, the Sword Challenge was meant to run for an estimated three months. This was drastically reduced to three weeks (with certain tasks redesigned and modified) due to Jacobius' concern for the children’s' safety following a series of mysterious murders in district of Meden (where the Tower is located), wolf attacks and a Jinn attack at the Festival at Wendsil.
Cheers and thanks again for reading people,
Matt
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The Sword Challenge guest post created for October Trix-n-Treatz event by Matt Xell, author of Tower of Parlen Min
© 2011. All rights reserved.
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Volume 1 (The Narrow Escapes of Ves Asirin)
by Matt Xell
-fantasy, YA
Win a copy of this ebook!
Open to all.
Offer ends: November 13, 2011
TO DO: (2-parts)
1. ONE of these:
ADD this book to your Goodreads
or
LIKE this book on amazon.
or
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Giveaway: Tower of Parlen Min by Matt Xell http://vvb32reads.blogspot.com/2011/10/sword-challenge-by-matt-xell.html
2. AND, let me know in comments what you did along with your email (if I don't already have it)
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Contest has ended - winner is here
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* image source
* part of Tower of Parlen Min blog tour