Khali and the orb of Xona - Mark Stibbe

"There's something else there, Khali. Something... well, an energy, a life-force, something that we've never seen or felt on Kel."Faraway on the planet Xona, twelve-year old Khali has just witnessed the disappearance of his father. During a mission to investigate a strange source of light emanating from a cave, his father ran out of oxygen and time.Khali is traumatised. All he has left is the birthday gift his father gave him, a stone tablet with a puzzle on its surface. This he must solve.Now back on his home planet, Khali is drawn by the same light in the cave that mesmerised his father. With the help of some unusual new friends and alien creatures, he seeks to embark on a covert mission to return to Xona.What will Khali find in the cave? Will he find his father?There are others who have become aware of the special powers emanating from Xona. They are intent on using this extraordinary energy, known as 'Arokah', for their own purpose. Khali is not alone in his quest...Illustrated with six original drawings by Sam Teale, Khali and the Orb of Xona is the first in a series of the Chronicles of Arokah and is written by Mark Stibbe and Steve Brazier."...our planet is dying, Khali. And some who know this would stop at nothing to save it, including stealing everything that Xona has..."