Ghorlund: Part One of the Wizard's Sign (Paperback or Softback)

What does it mean to be a human being, whose life is expected to matter?
Ghorlund begins as a hero tale. A fourteen year old farm boy with the odd, but prophetic, name sign, Hairpin, is called away from his sheltered, though sometimes bullied, existence to share an extraordinary quest to save the World of Things. The ancient Omen of the Wizard Elderon foretells the one who will serve as agent of The Tenth Wizard, now soon to appear.
But, who? The Omen is unclear. Many seek that answer, and Cloghammer, the parvis master himself, commands Hairpin to come to the parvis in the capital city, Ghorlund. Hinge, Hairpin’s widowed father accompanies him to the vast walled city where a nameless chamberlain and the omnipresent artificial intelligence called the Ordiner, share benevolent rule over the realm.
However, instead of magic and glory as Hairpin hoped, the quest rapidly plunges him into a growing fear of powerful forces seeking to keep The Omen from fulfillment. Hairpin and his new companions, Curtain and Wheel, begin to uncover the faint outlines of a terrible, dark mystery. From the origins of the World of Things, in The Silent Year, some unimaginable horror is still weaving threads of fear and violence. Challenging him with both his first love and life threatening danger, the Ghorlund quest leads Hairpin to discover, not magic, but himself. Still, the mysterious, deep dread lurking at the heart of the realms, that calls The Tenth Wizard into being, has claimed him and, beyond his control, begins unfolding in The Novice, part two of The Wizard’s Sign trilogy. The startling resolution emerges in part three, The Well of Voices.

With The Wizard's Sign Trilogy, Earl Guy is publishing his work for the first time, after forty years creating stories, camps and small group experiences for youth and adults. With degrees in psychology, theology and ministry, he has worked in secular non-profit and religious organizations, pursuing his career-long fascination with human awareness and the cultural influences in our universal search for meaning. The Wizard's Sign saga represents Earl's contribution to the dialogs of historic and human transformation that mark our own time. His playful approach, reimagining and having fun with the pretensions of our language and rituals, reflects his own humor and optimism. It also reflects his introspective and spiritual side that finds sacredness in our ordinary stories and in our often fear-distorted efforts to share the longing for love to matter in our lives.When not writing, Earl enjoys spending time with family. He sees himself as a lucky man: living in Southern California, with his loving wife, Kay, and being the father of three wonderfully accomplished and imaginative adult children. He is, as this is being written, on the staff of three cats, who have helped greatly in his writing by persistently occupying his computer keyboard. A life-long United Methodist, and retired, ordained Christian educator, he enjoys the support and challenge of church community. It is the challenge of that association that led The Wizard's Sign to be an intentionally non-religious story of an essentially spiritual quest. Earl is also an avid gardener and plant collector, who finds a delightful sense of enchanted wisdom in the community of soil, water, plants, and wild creatures.