Conceived and written by J. Steven Young, the bold and vivid new fantasy series examines the balance between good and evil like never before. Set in the intricate world of Ersetu, readers will find chaos erupting as characters race to save their world from being torn apart once again. With volumes one and two already on the market, readers are flocking in their droves to engross themselves in ‘Chronicles of Aurderia’.

Chicago, IL -- (SBWire) -- 09/27/2013 --Chicago, IL – While fantasy has long been a staple of the literary world, fans are demanding deeper and more experimental narratives. Satisfying their thirst with gusto, author J. Steven Young is delighted to announce the launch of his long-awaited new series – ‘Chronicles of Aurderia’.

Offering a fresh new take on the age-old battle between good and evil, the series’ first two volumes are already striking a chord with readers who like their fantasy novels to be brave, vivid and always keeping them on the edge of their seats.

Synopses of ‘The Balance (Volume 1)’ and ‘River of Souls (Volume 2)’:

The balance between good and evil is a perilous thing. This is especially true for the world of Ersetu. Chaos has begun to manifest upon the lands threatening to tear the world apart again. Three children of seven elemental magic bloodlines are born to be instruments of change in the balance, but their roles are each different in this fantasy quest series.

Ersetu, it is a land of wonders in sorcery, spells, and weaving of elemental magics. These abilities come from the Essence, an energy stored in all things. For eons these abilities in the people of the realms went unchecked and chaos reigned.

A meeting of the lands great races was arranged to barter peace; it was decided that the only way to create a lasting truce was to bring about balance of the Essence. The Great Council was created with members of these seven main races to establish a plan for the balance. And so it was this council that devised the blending, a cross breeding of the races and thus combinations of the powers they each possessed. Through this program, the blended peoples could create offspring who could harness all the seven powers and forge a balance in the land to restore what had been devastated.

Two altars of power were constructed to represent both chaos and creation. Upon the completion of these altars, two zealots tapped the essence and poured power into the altars until the life force drained from them. Their sacrifice created the great balance, Lal-Li Mah, and allowed the lands to begin repairing millennia of destruction, bringing about a new era of peace and prosperity.

After a few generations however, disdain and open prejudices of the blended race peoples turned to persecution. The “purists” sought to rid the lands of those with blended blood. These purists being of only single race blood lines feared those of mixed blood because of the abilities in Essence they possessed, however they used fear of a new unbalance to drive others to begin rounding up the abominations and putting them to death for the greater good. This was the great purification called, Sikil Mah.

As the author explains, his narratives are loosely based on ancient Sumerian mythology. “They are not meant to be historical, but rather to showcase an alternate version on another world. The Sumerian influence certainly adds a unique twist. I’ve also thrown in new technologies that don’t typically exist in a medieval magic setting; it isn’t steampunk, but it’s just as creative!” he says.

To date, both books have attracted a string of rave reviews. For example, J. Murphy commented, “I started the first one thinking I would just have a quick read, and ending up spending the day reading both books. Overall, if you are looking to escape into what I term ‘old school’ fantasy for a brief period then you have found your book.”

‘The Balance (Volume 1)’ and ‘River of Souls (Volume 2)’ are available now: http://amzn.to/12QMMrR.

For more information, visit the series’ official website: http://essenceofersetu.com.

About J. Steven Young
J. Steven Young is a freelance author and self-publisher of fantasy e-books. He thinks of himself as a dreamer and loves to let his imagination run wild. He has appeared at a number of conferences, speaking about Enterprise technology and software over his extensive IT career. Writing fantasy stories has become a passion to let his creative side out and a welcome change from technical writing. His first fantasy series, Chronicles of Aurderia, is available on Kindle with the first book, The Balance.

He hopes his passion for day dreaming and love for adventure will allow readers to escape from the real world if only for a short time.