Titus (The Anno Ruinam Book 1)
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TITUS
ANNO RUINAM
Book One
❖
Caleb J. Byrnand
©2018 CalebByrnand
PROLOGUE
Elias
CHAPTER I
The Church of Light
Jason
Noah
Simon
CHAPTER II
The Moirai - Nina
Titus
CHAPTER III
Jason
Elder Desdom
Tony
Titus
The Fall
CHAPTER IV
The Fall
Titus
Noah
Cap’n
Elder Sacro
Jason
Baby Seth
Marianne
Titus
Major Winters
CHAPTER V
Cholo
Noah
Elder Sacro
Elias
CHAPTER VI
Titus
Noah
Dumachus
Simon
Titus
Simon
Noah
Dumachus
CHAPTER VII
Elias
Elder Desdom
Dumachus
Gloria
Dumachus
CHAPTER VIII
Anastasiya
Edward
Orion
Nina
Major Winters
Noah
Titus
CHAPTER IX
Elias
Jason
Guardian Mason
Simon
CHAPTER X
Titus
Elias
Dumachus
Jason
Elder Venark
Nina
Noah
CHAPTER XI
Elias
Titus
Elias
Noah
Elder Venark
CHAPTER XII
Titus
Noah
Simon
Dumachus
Decia
CHAPTER XIII
Titus
Dumachus
Noah
Tony
Jason
Elias
CHAPTER XIV
Cap’n
Gloria
Titus
Gloria
Dumachus
Elias
Noah
Matias
Dumachus
Titus
Noah
Jason
Titus
The Fallout
EPILOGUE
Titus
ABOUT THIS NOVEL
For the 18-year-old me.
We finally finished it.
The reactions of flora, the instincts of fauna, the consciousness of a human, the omnipotence of a god. All of which were quantified and notated with symbols never before written in a language never spoken, by a single individual unknown. A scripture bridging heaven and earth, time and space, a poem and equation. This gift is the salvation for those that learn this tongue. It carries with it the answers for the meaning of life, to the grand unified theory, and to a conclusion. Only when you can understand this language will your consciousness exist on a new plain, where time, space and matter will be yours to control. For those in the past it bore magic. For us in the present it brought technology. In the future it will bring our ascension. For those that dedicate themselves to conquer this task will receive the light, and only those willing to sacrifice all they have will be able to have it all. This is what we teach. This is what you will learn, for when the Fall is upon us and darkness consumes the Earth, this book will be our light.
– Elder Sacro
PROLOGUE
Elias
Present Day
A pickup is racing down a highway leaving a long trail of dust in its wake. With the accelerator flat on the floor, Elias careers down the road with determination and desperation. In the passenger seat a pregnant woman is screaming through a contraction, and none of his looks of sympathy and leg rubbing seem to have any effect.
After what is beginning to feel like an eternity, some relief is finally given and the approaching city appears over the crest of a hill. The finish line is finally in sight and all of his dangerous driving has paid off. Elias grabs Camila’s hand and smiles; she lifts her head and notices the city. Suddenly a weight is lifted from her shoulders and new sense of urgency takes its place. “Quick quick quick,” she says. “We’re nearly there!” If Elias could push down any harder on the accelerator his foot would go through the floor.
The wind gushing in through the window, the blood pulsing through his veins, music from the radio, the sound of tyres on the road, the revving of the engine, Camila’s heavy breathing: one sound broke through them all. Like a single beat from the heart of the planet, or like something from the core of their world banging to get out, a thunderous knock silences all.
Camilla starts breathing normally and casually asks, “What was that?” just as all of the electronics in the car fail and the engine conks out.
The pickup silently coasts down the road with Elias screaming, “No, please God, no!” as he smashes his hands on the wheel.
“Pull over Elias.” Even with white knuckles and tunnel vision he complies and comes to a stop. As he fumbles for the lever to pop the hood Camila reaches into her bag and pulls out her phone, only to find that it too is dead. Elias finds and yanks the lever towards himself, and with a familiar “clunk” the hood pops up an inch and he jumps out of the cab.
Camila lowers herself out, waddles slowly to the back of the pickup and climbs in. Elias is blindly fumbling around the high tech engine, quietly cursing it while she spreads out a camouflage blanket to lie on. Frustration with the engine escalates from curses to a loud barrage of profanities. His wife calls to him, and when her voice finally penetrates his rage he abandons the lost-cause engine and runs to be at her side.
She is on her back in the position to deliver their child, screaming through another contraction when Elias jumps inside the tray and kneels next to her. “We’re not going to make it,” he admits. An admission he has been avoiding for the last few miles. Camila has already figured this out and grabs his hand and squeezes hard; for support in giving birth and as punishment for saying something obvious and stupid.
This is the most scared Elias has ever been. He is from a military background; he is capable and resourceful; but in this moment, in this situation, he is in over his head. Realising that an over-stocked baby bag and a two-hour Lamaze tutorial is not sufficient preparation for this, he looks longingly towards the city for some kind of miracle. Blinking his eyes as if they’re faulty, his gaze is caught and he sees something he hadn't expected.
Camila tugs at him for his attention but he stands fast, looking out towards the horizon. To his horror he watches the tallest building sway for a moment before crumbling under its own weight. Then the neighbouring buildings fall. Then trees in the distance become animated as if a hurricane is passing over them, as if a destructive wave of energy is heading their way. Before it washes over them Elias drops to a defensive position, covering Camila. The Earth underneath them begins to shake back and forth, the magnitude ever increasing till it crescendos to a devastatingly powerful earthquake. The roar of the earthquake drowns out their screams and he does his best to protect them both. Their saving grace is that the pickup’s strong suspension is absorbing the brunt of the attack, sparing them both from serious injury. The quake continued its violent demonstration for a few minutes, and overwhelming vibrations and noise pulse through their bodies. All Elias can do is hold on and pray
.
The whole city skyline disappears behind a cloud of dust and cement. Hillsides tear apart and great chunks of land collapse into sinkholes. In the distance a plane falls out of the sky, crashing in an uncontrollable ball of fire. Their pickup eventually stops shuddering, and then there’s total silence. Not a sound. Shell-shocked, he gets back to his knees and looks up to see the entire landscape has changed. The road is bent and twisted, the city has gone and mountains have moved. He holds Camila’s hand and squeezes, hard. And then the silence is broken by the cry of a newborn baby. He looks down to see his son lying in a pool of blood. Sliding his hands under the tiny infant he gently lifts him and brings him to his wife’s breast. “Our son. Seth.” He is looking into Camila’s eyes but she stares right through him. He nudges her with his elbow but there is still no response.
Elias begins to scream her name while his newborn, helpless in his hands, is also crying with every inch of his tiny body.
CHAPTER I
The Church of Light
Ancient Egypt 1300 BC
“What was that?”
In a nearly empty marketplace, lit by the moon and a few burning torches, four young traders that were getting an early start dropped their goods and turned towards the direction of the disturbance.
“Like lightning, but with no thunder,” said Jannes, looking up at the stars.
Jambres watched the smoke rise from behind the crest as he replied, “It came from the heavens.”
Jannes and Jambres grabbed a large length of rope and a small hammer, left their goods in the market and raced off to inspect the mysterious incident. The other two men, Mai and Setka, are slower to react but followed suit and ran to catch up.
Only a few hundred meters from the Sphinx and Great Pyramid, a perfectly round hole no more than four metres in diameter had been bored deep into the earth. The two panting merchants finally arrived and marvelled at the oddity before them. The smouldering circumference of the hole had bled into the surrounding sand and the glowing ring hypnotised the men. They felt the heat emanating from the concavity as they cautiously approached it. When Jambres poured a bucket of water over the rim the sound of cracking glass and the billows of steam threw him back in surprise. Jannes inspected the newly formed glass and was fascinated with its foreign properties, but his study was cut short when Jambres’s second bucket of water caught him on the arms and face. As he rung out his shirt Jambres secured one end of the rope to a trunk of a tree and threw the other end into the pit. Using the rope to take his weight, Jannes leant over the mouth of the hole as Jambres threw a torch in. He watched it fall for a few seconds before it hit a floor and its light exposed the corridors of an underground secret tunnel heading towards the Pyramid.
“A sign from the Gods?” Mai had decided that standing guard was enough excitement for him, and he held the rope steady as the other three descended.
The rope tested his tired and calloused hands, but Jannes was first to reach the solid floor of this secret tunnel. He released the rope and slowly stretched out his fingers, waiting for the blood circulation to return. The flickering light from the torches illuminated the walls, and he was instantly drawn to the hieroglyphs painted on them. “What language is this?”
Jambres was next to join him, followed by Setka who had a justified sense of urgency with this treasure hunt. After a few minutes of walking his impatience got the better of him and he ran down the tunnel in the darkness. Jannes and Jambres watched him be swallowed into the void until the sound of his heavy footsteps faded away.
“Hurry up!” echoed down the passageway, followed directly with a “fuck!” The two men held their torches out in front of them and followed the sound of Setka’s groans. A large stone door reaching from floor to ceiling guarded the path, looming over a now much less enthusiastic man, his hand cupped below his bleeding nose. Setka stood up, visibly annoyed at the two for dawdling--the sentiment rolled off the two mens’ backs, to his increasing annoyance. He directed his anger towards the stone barrier and pushed with all his might. When pushing failed, he resorted to shoulder charges and kicks. Short of breath courtesy of his freshly broken nose, Setka gave up, leant back against the wall and slowly slid down, keeping eye contact with the two the entire time. “Want to try?”
Jannes and Jambres both shared a deep love of language, puzzles, riddles and sorcery, and immediately scanned the writings on the walls and door for a clue. Jannes found, written on the door, something he can read; he committed it to memory and leant in close, his lips nearly touching the door, then intimately whispered the text. As the breath from his words blew against the stone slab the door moved open just a crack. Setka in absolute disbelief slowly hauled himself awkwardly upright as Jannes finished the passage. After the final word was spoke, Jannes tapped the door with just one finger and the huge slab slowly swung open. Jambres smiled at his companion as a reinvigorated Setka pushed past them, snatching the torch from Jambres along the way.
The light from the torches bounced off polished gold treasures and filled the room with a soft yellow glow. It was more wealth than any common man had or will ever see, and Setka wasted no time as he dove into the bounty, crammed his pockets and adorned his neck with things that shone and sparkled. Jannes and Jambres resisted the temptation for easy gold and instead focused their efforts on binding up a collection of perfectly preserved papyrus scrolls. Setka looked over the two incredulously as he continued to fill his coffers with heavy precious metals and stones. “Don’t think I’m sharing this.”
Before the two replied a voice could be heard echoing down the tunnel. “The Medjay are coming!”
All three men stopped what they are doing and sprinted back down the tunnel towards the opening. Mai was long gone by the time they reached the rope, and a half dozen Medjay patrolling the area were approaching fast. Being weighed down only by the papyrus tied to their belts, Jannes and Jambres climbed the rope quickly. The Medjay were not ones to mess with.
Setka was weighed down by the gold, and had already spent his adrenaline reserve breaking his nose and fighting with the door. He struggled to pull himself up the rope. Jannes leant over the side to help, cutting his hands and chest on the shattered glass, but Setka kept slipping out of reach. With only seconds left before the armed guards arrived, Jannes and Jambres fled through the bushes and into the night.
Using every ounce of strength, Setka managed to nearly reach the top when a spear swung through the air, cutting cleanly through the rope. Still clinging dearly to the rope, he dropped like dead weight and broke both his legs in the fall.
Approaching Present Day
“It took these men their entire lives to translate these scrolls. It took us followers three thousand three hundred years to decipher it, and we still haven’t finished.” A preacher is addressing his congregation in the nave of a large medieval hall. The room is decorated not with images of their saints or golden totems, but with intricately carved surfaces along the walls and. The followers are sitting on their shins, hanging on every word. They are dressed down and comfortable, but look affluent.
“After years of study and dedication to the anointed texts, armed with a wealth of knowledge that precedes even today’s greatest minds, these two men soared to great heights. People from the Eighteenth Dynasty were not able to comprehend what these two could accomplish, and they quickly became the Pharaoh’s sorcerers, even withstanding Moses. But their true legacy, their gift, was this.” Held high in his hands is the Book of Light. Their sacred text, composed from the scrolls the two men found that night.
“Information so valuable, so detailed, so dangerous, had to be protected. Scriptures on the spirit of humanity and its corruption. Texts of math and science, much of it still unknown to us today. Prophecy that we are seeing come into fruition in these modern times. But back then we were exposed, vulnerable, and so for thousands of years we were underground, and I mean low. So low we even moved to the South Pole.” His congregation obediently chuckles on cue. “An
d even there we went back underground.” His congregation increase their chuckle to a laugh. The preacher now takes a serious tone with his group. “Our faith kept us strong all those years, and will give us strength when the new dawn falls upon us.” This strikes a chord with the followers and their smiles descend to seriousness. Some quiet mumbling in the back aisle is overshadowed with his booming address. “Everything the Church of Light has, everything we are, and everything we will do when the day comes, we owe to this book and those two men. When God speaks the word, it will even shake Hell to its core.” The devotees bow their heads.
In the front row, bowing as enthusiastically as he can, is Jason.
CHAPTER I