The Weaver of Atreia
 
Twice apprentice weaver Devon Gamilos has faced the Proving Test, and twice he has failed— and if he fails a third time, he faces a lifetime of menial labor as a “loaned hand—” a slave of the powerful Weavers’ Guild of Atreia. When his final Proving ends in disaster, Devon makes a desperate bid for freedom, swearing his life as a soldier for the Duke of Atreia. Desperate oaths are seldom wise ones, and young Devon is thrust into a life harsher than any he has known. Tormented by a brutal sergeant and haunted by his family’s past, Devon’s oath seems less of an escape than a life sentence.
But when he stumbles on a conspiracy that will tear Atreia asunder like cloth ripped along a flaw, Devon must follow every thread to the end— threads that lead to an assassin’s plot, a secret invasion, and a guild of spies. As Devon races to prevent a civil war, he must call on gifts her never knew he had— and finally become who he is truly meant to be.
 
Letter of Merit, 2005 SCBWI Work-In-Progress Grant
 
For ages 12 and up.