The Trial of Order follows Duve, a pure-of-heart town guard, as he arrives on the island of Kortlen, a land once ravaged by warring kingdoms that now stands in peace under the draconian rule of an iron-fisted king. Asked to serve as the king's Champion of Hope, Duve must struggle with the difference between being good and doing good. As his ideals are challenged by the realities of power, justice, and leadership, he is forced to confront what it truly means to do the right thing.
Alongside him is Irontusk, a hard-boiled detective-- who also happens to be an elephant. Triple-wielding crossbows with his hands and trunk, he searches for the answers behind the poison that killed his village with all the senses his elephantine nature gives him. From murders and conspiracies to dark rituals hidden beneath the earth, his investigation draws him ever closer to a truth far greater than he could ever imagine.
Under the shadow of occult rituals, scheming lords, and true friendships, their paths will collide as the peace of Kortlen, so hard fought for, is put to the test, and with it the ideals and “truths” that define them both.
It was a dream come true to experience writing a novel, putting all these ideas that had simmered in my head for years to page. The first draft came out to over 179,000 words or ~620 pages, around the length of "The Fellowship of the Ring." I wrote the novel from February of 2025 to February of 2026, though I took the summer off and wrote the vast majority of it during the fall and winter of 2026.
In preparing to write the novel, I watched the recorded lectures from Brandon Sanderson's BYU Course, "Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy." And then I watched them again, and again, and again. From January of 2024 to the time I finished my 1st draft, I had listened to the entire semester's worth well over 5 times.
Writing the novel was a major learning experience, showing how the story moved and shifted over time. How simple ideas gained depth through their interactions with other ideas, and how plans made in the outline at the start no longer made sense as the story diverged during the writing process.
Not wanting to run afoul of any future hopes of publication, I can't post any samples here; however, if you want to follow along as I revise, seek test readers, and eventually release the book, join my mailing list