Autumn's Ravage Read online



  Autumn’s Ravage

  Book One

  The Dream Cane Series ©

  By

  Phil Armstrong

  Published by

  2Promises Publishing House ©

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  Title and Copyright Page

  Autumn’s Ravage

  by Phil Armstrong

  Thank you for downloading this eBook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form, with the exception of quotes used in reviews. Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.

  The cover graphic has been licensed and purchased by the author from Dreamstime.com

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places and events is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Thank you for downloading this eBook.

  ISBN 978-0-9877284-4-9 Autumn’s Ravage

  Copyright 2014 Phil Armstrong. Discover other titles by Phil Armstrong at www.2promises.com

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  Autumn’s Ravage

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  Prologue: The Ripostes Scroll

  It was always thought to be a legend, a tall tale without much substance, but the select few who were fortunate to hear the story, were sworn to secrecy. In the 1920’s, a Tibetan priest stumbled badly upon a rocky path. He fractured bones within his leg; it was such a severe break, that his fellow priests feared for his life. It wasn’t long before his badly damaged leg became infected causing the priests to reluctantly carry the injured priest down from their mountain monastery, and admit him to a hospital with western medicine, and modern practices. The priest’s leg was immediately operated upon where steel pins were inserted, to hold the compromised bones in place. To provide relief from his infection and raging fever, the priest was given powerful drugs that rendered him unconscious.

  One calm evening, a young nurse heard noises coming from the priest’s room; she entered to investigate and ensure his wellbeing. The priest was mumbling away uncontrollably, as the infection-induced fever started to peak. What she heard that night would change the way we looked at our world forever. Upon her deathbed, the nurse reluctantly shared her knowledge with her only son. He followed her instructions by writing her words within a letter, contained in a sealed envelope, which would only be opened upon his death. His dutiful wife was painfully informed that her husband would not return from the war. She opened the letter and read its contents; the letter has long since vanished, but the sacred knowledge imparted by the uncontrollable ramblings of the delirious priest, endures today.

  There are nine realms in this world; we live on Earth, the fifth realm. High in the cloud-covered mountains of Haitden, deep within the third realm, lays the majestic Monastery of Light. This is a place of deep spiritual connection, a place of enlightenment, where monks study ancient practices eloquently outlined in the Ripostes Scroll, which some say, provides answers to our universe’s deepest mysteries. The scroll outlines the process used by the monks to travel between realms. The monks dedicate their lives to protect the light, and all that is good across the nine realms. Earth’s Tibetan priests had found a way to communicate with the monks using a form of deep meditation.

  The monks of the third realm had fought the battles and had eradicated the forces of darkness from their world entirely, but it still exists within the other realms. Evil will always try to establish a foothold, where it can prepare an attack on the purity of the third realm. Dark powers are relentless, seeking any opportunity to corrupt, and ultimately destroy the Ripostes Scroll. Evil feeds upon fear, jealousy, and violence, in the hope that one day, it can rule the nine realms.

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  The Fourth Realm - Vianna

  Chapter 1: A Stranger arrives in the Village.

  The Village of Autumn, The Mine District.

  “Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.”