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Apocrypha of the Dark Crusade: Omens of the Millennium

by D.L. Burt

282 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #07-2264; ISBN 1-4251-5175-2; US$23.65, C$23.65, EUR16.16, £12.21

What thing so vile, Good and Evil have joined forces against it?

About the Book

An ancient race discovers a lost device able to create souls and comes in conflict with those sent to reclaim it.

Suppose you had to fight a war in a place you could not go. So you sent warriors protected in specially made armor to do the fighting for you. For thousands of years you sent them. For thousands of years they fought and died in your name only to be resurrected and returned, again and again, ever engaged in eternal war, waged by immortal warriors. Now suppose the device to grant them infinite life has been stolen by your enemy who now has the power to existence-erase your warriors forever.

A science fiction horror story set in the Sixth Millennium, the second book of the apocrypha trilogy is told in a tense Gothic style, immersed in Anglican and Norse myth and lore. Chronicling the quest for the lost Ark of Souls, Omens of the Millennium takes you into an alien civilization on the verge of redemption and resurrection—a culture very similar to our own, and every bit as terrifying.

You have plunged into a galaxy deep in war. Fought light years beyond the present in the dark future of the Sixth Millennium, the Empire of the Known Realm is heavily engaged in grim conflict against cunning enemies struggling for their own survival amidst the savage stars. Though there are many ruthless rivals to contend with, the main conflict centers around two great powers: the Imperial Trident Empire and the Dark Forces of the Triskelion. Both were once of human ancestry, but long ago, the Triskelion abandoned Mankind, forsaking their humanness to become their merciless adversaries. Lead by Ratava the Revengeful, Ruler of Ruin, and Khan Kaang, the God of Gore Commander of the Kraken Corps, they are fiercely determined to existence erase the Trident blood line down to the last human chromosome.

Not only is each side waging war with the other in the Great Galactic Crusade, they are also defending their Empire against horrifying outside adversaries with their own agenda for the annihilation of the Universe.

The adventure before you and the Great Galactic Crusade that you are about to undertake, chronicles the Legends and Legions of these two embattled Empires and that of their allies in their race for everlasting salvation or eternal extinction. Streaking across eternity, every infinite inch is measured in human lives. And for Mankind, time and souls are running out at the speed of light.

Spanning timeless dimensions and fathomless space, it is a war of attrition waged between the Apostates of the Apocalypse and the ancient Apostles of Armageddon. It is an Age of dark science and deep secrets, a time when the Legions of the Lord battled the Dominions of the Dark Forces of the Triskelion raging throughout the astral heavens of Valhal and the Known Realm, where the stars long ago have descended into darkness.

Yet to conquer the Cosmos completely means to triumph in the holy quest for the lost Codelax, the divine celestial instrument that is the creator of souls. For whomsoever possesses it, holds the fate of all else. For with its sacred powers, it is decided who is reborn into the physical world and whose soul is forever cast into the black void of the Necromancer, Natas, Triskelion BlackLord of the Dark Domain.

Via the might of the divine instrument of immortality, the Emperor in Valhal can manifest the Living Spirit into the Known Realm. This power of everlasting life proves too alluring for Ratava. The Seraph is cast from heaven, but not before she steals the creator of souls. The Emperor in Valhal sends his only son, Prince Sinjin, to retrieve the Codelax and offer Ratava everlasting rule in her own Universe. Banished for her disobedience, Ratava, as gratitude for this gesture, beheads the prince, eats his flesh and drinks his blood from his skull. She exiles his bones to the Dungeons of Despair and keeps the Codelax for herself.

Not trusting Ratava, the prince encrypts the Codelax with divine instructions contingent upon his death, and when Ratava tampers with it, great holes rip apart the Cosmos. Otherdimensions of space and time collide, destroying her Universe. In a fit of rage, she hurls his skull at the Codelax and both vanish into oblivion. But because she contains the sacred molecules of the prince, she is immune to the destruction and endowed with Godlike powers. Damaged by the ‘Goddess of Greed,’ the Codelax seals the gateway to heaven. The entrance to Valhal is lost to the Realm Rift and the Warp Wars begin. Mistrust and division ravage the Realm.

In a desperate attempt to interface with the Emperor, Mankind performs an experiment that goes horribly wrong. Unleashed is the Master of the Material Universe, the Machine GOD Cosmocrater, who seeks to transform Man’s spirit into its own elemental militia, the Megalon. Yet from this disaster, humans advance their biophysical and metaspiritual evolution beyond mere mortals. Man is remade with metal/flesh regenerating template technology leading to the grim discovery that the body can now outlast the spirit. Marooned in Valhal, the Emperor can no longer receive the souls of his chosen ones. Now soulless and Godless, the kingdom of crusaders falls into ruin and despair as great darkness befalls the Known Realm. With no means to spiritually replace their dead, the human species is destined for extinction.

Entombed within the Codelax until his sacred bones are returned, Prince Sinjin descends nine of his Seraphim Knights into the Known Realm. There, they prepare the Races of Man for the appointed time when he shall venture into the physical world to lead the Chosen Ones out of damnation. Reduced to mortal flesh in the Physical Realm, Prince Sinjin is honor bound to obey the Laws of Nature set forth by Cosmocrater, and so is subject to existence erasure should the Codelax fall to the enemies of the Empire.

Made Godlike in both Universes by the Codelax, Ratava vows vengeance against the Emperor who exiled her and unleashes her wrath against all Mankind. In revenge, she raids the physical world, proclaiming herself its new ruler. One by one, star systems fall under her power. Yet, the Trident Empire remains defiant. Through superior technology and the secret of immortality, they hold out against the Triskelion scourge as they attempt to reclaim their embattled empire. Providing spiritual enlightenment to the Dark Crusaders of the Known Realm, the Dark Archives conducts its own clandestine war against those of the Lost Light.

Via the Resurgam Protocol, the Codelax calls to its Chosen from a lost world in a region of space known as the Black Void. Beyond starlight, a great evil gathers. Its coming threatens to expose the deepest and darkest of secrets.

WHAT THING SO VILE, GOOD AND EVIL JOIN FORCES AGAINST IT

Preamble

By directive of Chancellor Anaximander, the Curator of the Dark Archives has been instructed to chronicle the events of the Dark Crusade. It has taken many monks much time to decipher and authenticate these hundreds of thousands of documents, to validate and cross reference all supporting material, some dating back three millennia. Likewise, my Master, DarkLord Seito, Molecular Magus and Special Agent to its Executive Raven Ryu, has summoned that I, his most senior acolyte and obedient servant, discreetly undertake the afore mentioned assignment and personally chronicle the pinnacle of events shrouding the Hell Helix and Monstrantia projects. The former to negate the ill ‘Spread’ and the latter to refute attrition. The 2nd Apocrypha of the Dark Crusade also recounts the recovery of the Obelisk of the Millennium from the ghost ship Nereus and the continuing quest for the elusive Codelax across a gothic galaxy.

This report contains numerous discrepancies from the official document submitted to and sanctioned by the Archives’ Chancellor as ‘truth,’ and so its credibility will be considered apocryphal by many. Nonetheless, it is the ‘gospel’ according to those who participated and survived the experience, including my Master and me. The fact that this is a private report not meant for Archive eyes, in no way invalidates the contributions contained in its declaration.

These chronicles are composite accounts synthesized from top-secret files of the Monstrantia Project. Among these annals are restricted records from the Resurgam Protocolcontaining ledgers from my Master’s personal journal and audio-log transcripts of those completing the protocol, myself and the disciple Ladda. Innumerable classified reports and highly restricted military documents, all from first hand sources, are included and preserved in the vaults of the Archive’s Historic Hall at Doctrine Command, further confirm these codified entries.

As my Lord’s devoted disciple, to my knowledge, this chronicle is as accurate and comprehensive to the extent that the files are complete and reliable. As other verifiable elements of information and substantive evidence surface, they will be introduced in an opportune manner in an effort to historically reconstruct the inspirational exploits of these legends and legions of the Dark Crusade. Their heroic and tragic fates will be retold here in story form to expedite their deeds of valor and tales of terror. I am Quing.

SEE ALSO: ODYSSEY INTO OBLIVION

About the Author

D. L. Burt has traveled throughout four continents, lived in three countries and led two lives in an attempt to find the answer to one question. From above and below the equator, to the Far East and Wild West of the world's desert dunes, to its tropical isles and ice-capped mountain glaciers, his journey of self-discovery continues.

D. L. Burt's latest venture is the saga of space-age Vikings in search of the lost Ark of Souls. In addition to writing the Dark Crusade Trilogy, D. L. Burt is currently designing a miniature strategy game based on the Dark Crusade Realm and has hopes of turning his vision into feature length films. You may reach the author at Project@DarkCrusade.com or visit DARKCRUSADE.com for more details regarding his work.

"I wrote a story that is as visually exciting as it is cerebrally stimulating."

Reviews

Author D. L. Burt paints a vivid picture of this make-believe world, taking the reader on a journey of extremes. The language is intense and graphic, with strong use of description and enough language of the world peppered throughout the book to give the reader a strong sense of setting. The "Lexicon" of vocabulary terms at the back of the book is excellent.

This book is very good.

— WRITER'S DIGEST

Excerpts