Excerpt
Chapter One.

The Flashback!

On the northern fringes of the valley, dusk approached silently, bringing with it chill winds that blew in from the surrounding mountains, stirring up clouds of sand. It howled through the dusty roads of Ratnapuri.

Twisting; turning, the fierce winds sprayed sand across the rows of houses fronting the streets. Rattling timber shutters joined the cacophony of wheezing, whistling sounds, and the bleating of terrified sheep.

Night descended pregnant with darkness, belching violent thunder. Lightning flashed sudden brightness for split seconds at a time, revealing wind buffeted drizzle. On the lush tree laden slopes of Crystal Mountain stood a beautiful house, at peace amid the impending storm.

Avhmon stood alone in the covered pergola, gazing down at the shimmering lights of the houses dotting the valley. His thoughts were far away, transcending time even. His thoughts tangled in the web of past memories...memories of the last war. He remembered the last war vividly...like it happened yesterday. Avhmon closed his weary eyes, scenes of the war played before his eyes.

'Ten thousand war elephants stood in a huge arc, the archers poised to unleash their arrows. Thousands of horsemen stood with their restless horses. The regular army positioned themselves in strategic pockets in the forest. The invaders, on the other side waited for the signal, ready for action.

Avhmon stood with Moreihe, looking down at the invaders preparing to attack. Moreihe turned to his commanders. "Lion king are your warriors in place? Prabu, your special forces ready?" He turned to the commander of the lance archers, "Kattaboman, you have deployed the 'lance archer' units in specified locations? I am just asking for my self-satisfaction, I know all my commanders are the best. I hate war and wasting lives, but this situation is forced upon us. Let's fight to the finish. Be ready. The enemy will attack anytime."

The sound from a thousand conches blared, reverberated through the forest. The war elephants charged. The ground shook. The huge bulls thundered amid huge clouds of dust.

Arrows zipped into the forest grounds, thudded into trees, some whapped into human flesh. Morehe had led the enemy into a well prepared, trap. Now was the time. He gave the signal for counter attack. Huge eighteen feet crossbow lances were unleashed from powerful crossbows. The lances flew through the air from high mountain positions, cut into the mass of war elephants...'

The neighing of horses, shrill screams from a dozen frightened throats shattered his thoughts. The thundering roar of huge trees smashing to the ground added urgency to his actions. He ran to the stables, grabbed the best and jumped onto the racing horse. In the fading light he saw Apsara standing in the doorway, fear, contorting her beautiful features...