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I'm looking for a fantasy book I read about 10 years ago. I don't remember a lot of it, but there are a few things I still know:

  • The setting was in medieval times. There was no traveling dimensions. I can't recall whether there was magic or not. It wasn't on Earth, but on some invented world.
  • I believe it was a trilogy, with a focus on the son of some nobility.
  • The goal for the characters was to collect a certain number of stones or gems (I believe there were 5 of them), all in certain colours. Every stone has a certain power attached to it.
  • I believe it started out with one or two characters, but the group grew and every character had a certain colour stone at the end.
  • What is important about the gems is that they are unique. It's not part of a bigger magic system, but they are artefacts from somewhere.

There are some minor incidents I can recall vividly:

  • They build up a fellowship with some stereotypical fantasy builds: an old school fighter, a minstrel, a female archer and probably more.
  • At one point, they mention that if one of the guards in a country falls asleep on duty, he will be kept awake by his garrison/brothers in arms for seven days. At some point the minstrel falls asleep, and the old fighter teaches him how to stay awake.
  • They travel through a forest full of leeches and other insects to reach one of the stones.
  • Also, I seem to recall there was a member of an underground evil organisation among the nobility, who tried to poison someone and were able to do that because they built up an immunity to the poison.

Does anyone has a clue what this series might be?

Suggestions by kind people, but not what I'm looking for, are:

  • The Seventh Tower
  • Deltora Quest
  • Diadem
  • Westria
  • Sword of Heavens series
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  • Hello and welcome. You've provided some good details but can I ask you to take a gander at this guide just to see if there's any more details you may remember
    – Edlothiad
    Oct 23, 2017 at 10:57
  • 3
    At first this made me think of Deltora Quest, but the only thing that matches up is collecting the gemstones.
    – David K
    Oct 23, 2017 at 12:56
  • 2
    Alas, it is not Deltora Quest
    – Ugluk
    Oct 23, 2017 at 13:18
  • A few similarities with the Westria series by Diana L. Paxson. Does 'The Earthstone' ring a bell? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_L._Paxson
    – Bookeater
    Oct 23, 2017 at 13:19
  • 1
    R. A. Salvatore's Corona books apparently have gem magic.
    – eshier
    May 10, 2018 at 17:16

6 Answers 6

8

Ea Cycle series by David Zindell might be a possibility.

Wikipedia's plot description of The Lightstone, the first book:

The immortal Morjin, the Lord of Lies, has reappeared in the world of Ea once again to conquer all the land for himself and create a world filled with madness. To stand against Morjin, King Kiritan of Alonia invites the people of Ea to begin a quest for the Lightstone, a relic with unlimited powers in response to a prophecy that could lead to Morjin's doom. Valashu Elahad, seventh and youngest son of the king of Mesh, is one such knight that takes the pledge to search for the Lightstone, although he has reasons of his own. Valashu has the gift of empathy, a gift and a curse he inherited from his grandfather, which causes him problems along the path of the warrior, a family tradition. Hoping that the golden cup may cure him of his "affliction", Val sets off for Alonia, joined by his teacher, Juwain, and his best friend, Maram. Eventually his party grows to have seven significant individuals, each with their unique gifts and abilities to light the way on their journey throughout the continent for the Lightstone.

The Wikipedia article also lists the stones and their powers:

Gold Gelestei (lightstone) - Power over all matter, energy, space and time, and all of the other gelestei. Can do just about anything

Silver Gelestei (Silustria) - Reflects, protects, and magnifies the powers of the soul, including those of mind, including logic, deduction, calculation, awareness, ordinary memory, judgment and insight.

White Gelestei (Kristei) - Allows particular people to look into the future / perceive events distant in either space or time

Blue Gelestei (Blestei) - Quicken and deepen all kinds of knowing and communication for mind speakers and truth sayers

Green Gelestei (Varistei) - Power over the forms of living things. Can be used to heal or twist creatures into different shapes.

Red Gelestei (Tuaoi stones) - draw upon the sun's rays, as well as the earth's magnetic and telluric currents, to generate beams of light, lightning, heat or fire.

Black Gelestei (Baalstei) - devour light and are the stones of negation. Made originally to control the Red Gelestei. They can be wielded as weapons to attack people physically, mentally and spiritually, sucking away their vital energies and will.

Purple Gelestei (Lilastei) - unlocks the light locked up in nonliving matter so that matter might be changed, molded and transformed. Sometimes called the alchemists' stones.

tvtropes.org listed Atara (a crack shot with a bow) as The Action Girl trope example - that could be the female archer.

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  • That's the one! Thanks :)
    – Ugluk
    Aug 18, 2018 at 13:38
8

Deltora Quest I (the first series in the Deltora Quest collection) seems to match your description pretty closely (I know you said it isn't Deltora Quest in the comments, but hear me out).

The setting

The setting was in medieval times. There was no traveling dimensions. I can't recall whether there was magic or not. It wasn't on Earth, but on some invented world.

Deltora Quest occurs in a fantasy/medieval setting. Swords and sorcery and all that. No planar travel.

The plot

The goal for the characters was to collect a certain number of stones or gems (I believe there were 5 of them)...

The plot is centered on the protagonist's attempt to restore the Belt of Deltora by finding the seven magic gems that were scattered across the kingdom by the evil Shadow Lord.

I believe it was a trilogy, with a focus on the son of some nobility.

There are eight books in the series (one for each stone and one for the finale). It is revealed in the last book that:

The main character, Lief, is the true heir to the throne of Deltora.

I have some thoughts about the following specific plot points you mentioned:

At one point, they mention that if one of the guards in a country falls asleep on duty, he will be kept awake by his garrisson/brothers in arms for seven days. At some point the minstrel falls asleep, and the old fighter teaches him how to stay awake.

No idea about this one.

They travel through a forest full of leeches and other insects to reach one of the stones.

The first book takes place in the Forests of Silence. I don't remember leeches and insects but it has been a long time since I read these books.

Also, I seem to recall there was a member of an underground evil organisation among the nobility, who tried to poison someone and were able to do that because they built up an immunity to the poison.

The previous King of Deltora was betrayed by his top advisors in the first book, specifically Prandine, the chief royal advisor. It was a rather large conspiracy that resulted in the government being toppled and the Shadow Lord taking control of the kingdom. Prandine is killed during the prologue of the first book. I don't remember anything about poison though.

The gems

...(I believe there were 5 of them), all in certain colours. Every stone has a certain power attached to it.

The Deltora series follows the protagonists' quest to restore the "belt of Deltora" with seven gems: Diamond, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, Topaz, Opal, Ruby, Amethyst.

What is important about the gems is that they are unique. It's not part of a bigger magic system, but they are artifacts from somewhere.

The stones are powerful magical artefacts belonging to the Belt of Deltora, which was crafted to drive the Shadow Lord out of the Kingdom of Deltora. Each stone has unique magic powers. For example, the Topaz has mind-affecting powers that give the wearer courage. The Opal can give visions of possible futures (though it is not always accurate). The Belt of Deltora's power can only be unlocked when it has all seven stones and is worn by the true heir to the throne of Deltora.

The characters

They build up a fellowship with some stereotypical fantasy builds: an old school fighter, a minstrel, a female archer and probably more.

The party starts as Lief (the teenage son of a blacksmith) and Barda (a grizzled warrior). In the second book they meet a druid/ranger-like character named Jasmine who can speak with trees and has animal pets. In later books they meet more companions who tend to re-enter and leave the party several times: Doom, Steven and Nevets, Dain, etc.

I believe it started out with one or two characters, but the group grew and every character had a certain colour stone at the end.

At the end of the series, once all the stones have been collected, the protagonists must assemble a member of each of the seven tribes in order for the Belt of Deltora to reveal the heir. Each gem corresponds to one of the seven tribes. Luckily for the protagonists, the Shadow Lord was considerate enough to scatter each gem in a different tribe's lands, so they have already recruited someone from each tribe. ;D

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  • 1
    I still doubt it really is the same as the serie I'm thinking of, but I'll give it a try. Maybe (hopefully) I'm wrong :)
    – Ugluk
    Oct 24, 2017 at 10:13
  • @Ugluk: Did you ever figure out if this was the one?
    – FuzzyBoots
    Aug 11, 2018 at 19:08
  • @FuzzyBoots I didn't :(
    – Ugluk
    Aug 13, 2018 at 21:19
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Are you talking about The Seventh Tower series by Garth Nix? Most of the books take place in the Castle, and there are colored gemstones as well as colors associated with each tower of the Castle. Society is a caste system identified by these colors like 'violet', 'red', etc.

The characters are solving a mystery of these gemstones called sunstones. I believe they were different colors but it has been some time since I have read the books. There is an Empress of the society at the highest color level. Magic is also associated with these sunstones.

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  • No, I think most of the story was about traveling the world to find these gems, and I don't think there were any towers.
    – Ugluk
    Oct 23, 2017 at 11:17
  • The first two books or so take place in the towers of the Castle but they do go out into a fantasy world. Though you would definitely remember that detail probably.
    – Seanchaí
    Oct 23, 2017 at 11:18
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Might you be talking about the Diadem book series?

The series takes place on several different worlds, collectively referred to as the Diadem. Travel between worlds is accomplished through the use of magic portals. The physical distance between worlds is irrelevant. Portal travel is based on the mystical geography of the Diadem, which is divided into five layers. The layers are a little like the layers of an onion and a drawing of them is the logo of the Diadem series and is on every book. At the center is a single world called Jewel, followed by the Inner Circuit, Middle Circuit, Outer Circuit, and Outer Rim. Magic is strongest on Jewel, and progressively weaker the "farther" a world is from the center. In the Outer Rim, magic barely functions at all.

The main characters are three adolescents from worlds on the Outer Rim. Each has extraordinary talent for magic. Due to the weakness of the magic on their home worlds, they do not learn about their abilities (or their mysterious destiny) until the events of the first book.

Every stone has a certain power attached to it.

Magic-users can amplify their abilities with gemstones. Different gems enhance different types of magic.

  • Agate – Communication
  • Amethyst – Size
  • Aquamarine – Survival
  • Beryl – Air
  • Carnelian – Healing
  • Chrysolite – Water
  • Chrysoprase – Earth
  • Citrine – Persuasion
  • Emerald – Transmutation
  • Jacinth – Summoning
  • Jasper – Sight
  • Obsidian – Invisibility
  • Opal/Onyx – Shapeshifting
  • Ruby – Finding
  • Sapphire – Levitation
  • Topaz – Fire
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  • Nope, not the one I'm looking for. I should have specified sooner the gems aren't a generic magic system, but unique artifacts.
    – Ugluk
    Oct 23, 2017 at 13:56
4

Sword of Heavens series by Richard S. Tuttle! First book is Sapphire of the Fairies! Literally took me hours to figure it out but I'm pretty sure that's it :)

The characters definitely match up and they're looking for different gems. Essentially the world is stuck in darkness and the sword clears the sky whenever a gem is put into it.

The sky is dark. Neither the sun nor the moon have been seen in decades. The land is fruitless, and the seas are barren. No law exists, only the rule of might is exerted over a hapless people by those who can wield it. In a land of darkness and despair, there is one shining light, an ancient prophecy that foretells of the coming king and his companion, the vanquisher of evil.Sapphire of the Fairies is the first of seven volumes of the epic fantasy series Sword of Heavens. Explore a vast continent where elves, dwarves, unicorns, fairies, demons, dragons, and man all exist. Sapphire of the Fairies begins the saga of five humans on the verge of adulthood. Living in a land where no one can be trusted, these five adventurers must restore the magical Sword of Heavens and defeat the Evil One, an evil sorcery whose minions roam the world in an attempt to defeat the ancient prophecy.

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0

Do you mean the Fire and Thorns series by Rae Carson?

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

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  • This already has an accepted answer here, so this answer is wrong. I also don't see how this matches, anyway. Please read How to Answer. Thanks! Feb 10, 2020 at 5:33
  • 1
    Hi, welcome to SF&F. Does this story have anything to do with gems? That's a pretty big part of the question, so your answer should include it too. Note that this question has an accepted answer, so you should only post an alternative answer that's a very good match.
    – DavidW
    Feb 10, 2020 at 5:33

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