The Sailweaver's Son (Sky Riders of Etherium Book 1)
The Sailweaver's Son combines traditional fantasy with a dash of steampunk and takes readers to the world of Etherium, where mountains rise like islands above a sea of clouds and adventurers travel the sky in sail-driven airships. When fifteen-year-old Tak rescues the survivor of an airship destroyed by one of the giant flammable gas bubbles mysteriously appearing in the sky of Etherium, the authorities react like a flock of startled grekks. Admiral Scud accuses Tak of sabotage and treason. Tak's father grounds him for reckless airmanship. Rumors spread that the bubbles are weapons devised by the Gublins, a race of loathsome but ingenious underground creatures. The King's advisors call for war, hoping to win much-needed Gublin coal. To prove his innocence, solve the mystery, and prevent a misguided war, Tak must do what anyone knows is suicide - visit the Gublins and find out what they're up to. When the wizard's adopted daughter, an oddly beautiful and irksomely intelligent girl from the Eastern kingdoms, asks Tak to help her do just that, he can't say no. The adventure will take Tak from the deepest underground caves to a desperate battle on Etherium's highest mountaintop. It will force him to face his worst fears, and to grow up faster than he expected.