4000 years ago, when the Chalukyas decided to build a religious masterpiece which would be an undeniable tribute to Lord Shiva, they decided to hire Hiranya. He was a celebrated sculptor known for his obsession with perfection and artistic ambition. 
But what Hiranya didn't expect was he would need much more than ambition and talent to create the masterpiece cave of Ellora. He would need a historic muse...one who would not only rekindle his passion for art but ignite other passions in him too.

This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's mind and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locals or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Disclaimer: 

This story contains historic and mythological events and are solely for entertainment purposes only.



lionheart
-scribe of Kampo Amihan

When a mysterious tattoo in ancient language is burnt in his skin, sixteen-year- old Andreas Alcazar discovers that he is a tribute to the gods in exchange of a promise made five-hundred years ago in which his soul becomes bound to their eternal life force.
What if the gods suddenly go haywire and start to fade?
And the chief of the gods, Bathalang Maykapal becomes missing-in-action?

How can Andreas fulfill the promise that isn't his in the first place?

Before you begin reading the "King of Arkaen," I would like to make a few things clear:

❝ 1. ❞ 
THIS IS NOT A WRITE-UP OF A COMIC or A TRANSLATION OF ANY MANGA OR ANIME
This means that what you are about to read is COMPLETELY ORIGINAL and only available in the write-up format. This novel is not a translation of another graphic novel or manga or anime (like most books on Webnovel tend to be. However, if any of you are interested in creating it INTO a manhwa (only!), then message me at — lyraprimrose@gmail.com)
 
❝ 2. ❞
THE STORY IS SET IN THE CIVILIZATION ERA
I am sure many of you are aware of ancient civilizations, like Mesopotamia, Samaritan, Indus Valley, etc. This story is set in the times when these civilizations existed, i.e. Before Common Era. However, despite its historic context, please be aware that this story does not intend to display any actual historic people, events, or descriptions. This story is purely for entertainment, and in fact, even has a bit of a fantastical twist in it. Therefore, it is pure fiction. 
However, I do try my best to portray the story in the most realistic way that I can, so that it casually relates to the time period. For example, of course, I wouldn't show the existence of a cell phone because this is BCE, get it?
 
❝ 3. ❞
TO HATERS OF A PERFECT MC...
Don't be sore losers in life. Just because you are not perfect, doesn't mean perfect people do not exist. The phrase "people can't be perfect" is dumb, because heck yes, people can! It only takes a lot of dedication, effort, and will — which most people do not have.
HOWEVER.
I know that the MC, Kian, is shown as a "perfect" person, but (hold your horses) he isn't!
... Happy? 
I know that when you're going to read the first few chaps, you'll be like "Oof, that guy's way too unrealistically perfect." But no, you're wrong. 
Kian is not perfect, even though people (like you) may think he is. And this fact will be largely explored through the novel, so please... patience. Hold your venomous fingers, and read the entire story before dropping me a bad review about how the MC is nonsensical — BECAUSE HE REALLY ISN'T! 
I mean, half the romance webnovels show a misogynistic, all-powerful, domineering ML, and those types are MUCH WORSE than the angelic Kian. You gotta agree with me on this, guys...
So PLEASE! Please, please, please give this story a chance. Read it with an open mind. 
And I guarantee you will enjoy it.

Handsome, brave, and filial Kian is perhaps the most perfect man to exist, and inside the little village of Badr, his shining golden hair and emerald green eyes depict the face of a God-like creature, that everyone can't help but adore. However, there is more to Kian that his pretty-boy face and strong, toned muscles.
Born an orphan, he is raised by his Uncle and Aunt, who tell him his parents had died by drowning from a boat. Unbeknownst to him, however, there lies a secret behind his parents' death and his own birth — a grave secret that can only be linked to...
... the King of the prosperous Merchant City of Arkaen.
And when, by chance, Kian travels to the city, this secret threatens to end his life, for his existence is unwelcome by the King — and when the King does not like something, it usually comes to an end! 
But Kian was never one to give up. With love, determination, and friendship riding along his side, come read the adventurous tale of Kian as he fights the King for his life and for his love! 

Disclaimer: This story is set in historic times (Before Common Era). However, it has no relevance to any existing historical details. This is purely fictitious and for your own entertainment. I hope you enjoy reading "King of Arkaen!"

"… To Landon Clay and his wife Lavinia Clay, to the Clay family, to the members of the Riemann family, and to all of the mathematicians who came to this historic occasion.
"At a Paris conference 23 years ago, the Clay Mathematics Institute announced awards for anyone that could solve the seven most famous problems in the world. Even though mathematicians are more excited about mathematics than fame and fortune…
"That doesn't mean it is not important.
"It's a list of the great unsolved problems of the 20th century. It creates enthusiasm for mathematics. It attracts children and students to be interested in the ever-evolving mathematics and math-related problems."
"It didn't matter whether they were interested in mathematics or the million-dollar prize money."
The Institut de France.
The large auditorium was packed with people. 
Because this was the award ceremony for Riemann's hypothesis, almost all of the top French mathematicians, as well as members of major mathematical organizations, were invited to be here.
This place was once the center of mathematics in Europe and even around the world. Countless mathematicians dreamed of the opportunity to speak here.
Even though the glory of this place had faded due to the decline of the European mathematics community, some things still remained unchanged.
Professor Carlson stood at the podium. After pausing for a moment, he spoke in a solemn and serious tone.
"Niels Henrik Abel once wrote in his memoir that in order to solve a difficult problem, it has to be written clearly…
"It has to be written in the correct expression.
"What we know is often not as simple and understandable as we think. Behind every theorem that we all know is the hard work of countless scholars across centuries. This constant progression is precisely how our field advances."
"We have come a long way. Professor Lu Zhou's work has revealed the mystery behind the zero-point distribution of the Riemann function and the profound mathematical meaning behind it, that is, the unity of algebra and geometry. The birth of this theory has restructured algebraic geometry and has even redefined our understanding of numbers and geometry.
"It might take us decades or even longer to build on top of his foundation. We have already taken the first step, so I'm certain the second step will eventually come."
The award speech was finally over.
Professor Carlson bowed in midst of the thunderous applause.
Lu Zhou walked on to the stage and accepted the million-dollar check from Professor Carlson. He smiled professionally and shook Carlson's hand.
"Thank you."
The money was nice of course.
However, compared to the billion-dollar fusion construction site he visited yesterday, a million dollars was pocket change. But regardless, there was no such thing as having too much money.
Professor Carlson was finally able to give out this important reward. He had a look of relief on his face.
He felt like he was in a unique situation.
He wanted to give money, a million dollars no less, but he was having a rather difficult time.
Professor Carlson shook Lu Zhou's hand and spoke with excitement.
"Do you want to do an acceptance speech? Just talk about how you feel."
Acceptance speech?
When Lu Zhou heard Professor Carlson's words, he had an awkward look on his face.
"I already gave a speech last time… So, I think there's no need for another one."
Surrounded by a wave of applause, Professor Carlson was the only one that heard what Lu Zhou said.
Lu Zhou watched the old man's face turn red due to the increase in blood pressure. He suddenly felt lucky that his words were drowned out by the applause and that he was far away from the microphone…
…
In the evening, there was a banquet at the Collège de France; the Société Mathématique de France and the Clay Mathematics Institute jointly hosted a dinner party. Even if some mathematicians didn't attend the award ceremony during the day, all of them attended the night banquet.
Lu Zhou met a lot of his old friends at dinner.
One of them was Professor Helfgott, who worked at the École Normale Supérieure. 
This Peruvian French number theorist provided him with a lot of help when he was researching Goldbach's conjecture. Particularly, the proof of the weak Goldbach conjecture provided him with a lot of inspiration for combining the sieve method and the circle method.
After solving Goldbach's conjecture, Lu Zhou barely published papers in the field of number theory, so the two had not kept in touch. However, they were still great friends.
Professor Helfgott was quite enthusiastic and chatted with Lu Zhou for a long time. Lu Zhou also asked a lot about Professor Grothendieck's life and some rumors about Professor Abel.
"Hypothetically speaking."
Helfgott: "Yeah?"
Lu Zhou poured himself a glass of champagne and said, "… If there are aliens in this universe, if they're a completely different species, how should we communicate with them?"
Professor Lu Helfgott froze for a second, then gave Lu Zhou a strange look.
"You discovered aliens?"
Lu Zhou paused for a second and smiled.
"Of course not! Just a hypothetical question. Why would you think that?"
Helfgott smiled and said, "Because every time you ask a question, it seems that you've already solved half of the question. You're not a person who would give other people the opportunity to rob you of the glory, am I right?"
Uh?
Am I?
Lu Zhou thought about it carefully and realized that Helfgott was right.
In his own opinion, he worked hard for his achievements. However, in the eyes of others, the age-old mathematical propositions only took him a few months or weeks to solve. 
Helfgott smiled and took a sip of wine. He pondered for a second before answering the question.
"If I had to communicate with an alien for the first time… I think mathematics is the way."
Lu Zhou raised his eyebrows.
"Oh yeah?"
What a coincidence.
"The key to communication between the two civilizations is finding a common language. Say, for example, the cup in my hand. If they don't use a cup as a container and don't drink liquids, then this cup makes no sense to them," Helfgott said as he put down the cup. He thought for a while and continued, "Science is about studying the problem of the world. The problems we face might be different from theirs, but the tools we use to solve problems should be the same.
"Whether it's the natural sciences or applied technology, they're all closely related to mathematics.
"So, I think mathematics should be the common language."
Lu Zhou: "If you're an alien, and you wanted to see how intelligent I am, what would you do?"
Helfgott leaned back on his chair and smiled.
"Me? I'll give you two big prime numbers first… Of course, I'd give you the multiple of these two prime numbers. If you can find the two prime numbers, then…"
"Interesting idea…" Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Then what?
Helfgott: "Then? Use the distance between to form a measurement system? What about the periodic table of the elements? Doing this systematically is a discipline. I remember it is called alien linguistics. I think there's a Paris professor researching this area…
"Basically, I think if we can achieve basic communication, then everything will be fine. Maybe we can even exchange knowledge. Once the cultural exchange begins, we will be able to understand each other."
Helfgott paused for a moment, shrugged, and spoke.
"If they decide to contact us and find us, they probably already have a certain understanding of us and might have been observing us for a while. Whether through electromagnetic wave signals or space capsules, if they really want to communicate with us, they will definitely find a way."
Lu Zhou spoke with a smile.
"Honestly, you should be a science fiction writer."
Helfgott smiled.
"Thanks for the compliment, but science fiction isn't as interesting as mathematics. I'll leave the opportunity to others!"


After suffering from a heat stroke while working under the scorching heat of summer, Lu Zhou, a hardworking but poor university student, somehow becomes the owner of an advanced technological system. With the cheat given by the system, his university life changes overnight. 
  
A Master's degree? Easy. 
  
PhD? Not a problem.   
  
From a nobody, he quickly becomes a huge celebrity in the world of science. With the missions given by the system, he is on his way to winning a Nobel Prize.   

"System, can points be exchanged for money?"
  
"No."
  
"F**k, what use are you then!?"
  
"This system will make you the ultimate scholar, the kind that lords over all of humanity. What use will money be to you?"

On my way back to the castle, I organized the information I gathered. The Abby's Mercantile Group was the faction that was trying to kill Troy to incite anger among people. I have been identified as a VVIP, probably due to the incident of me being imprisoned and my acts during the kidnapping of Stephanie. By the awakening of their Dormant Deity, they will have a way to beat my friends and rule over the kingdom. But before that happens, Abby's Mercantile group has to get the support of the people because, without the people, they won't have a kingdom to rule over. If they fail to do so, the people of the kingdom will move to nearby cities and follow a person who they think they can trust. 
Once I reached the castle gates, I saw a huge mob of people headed by an old woman shouting, "We have been oppressed by the rulers for too long! How is it that someone is sentenced with the death penalty just by wanting to have sex with someone who happens to be the daughter of the king? Maybe the king is forgetting that the people of this kingdom put their trust in him and yet, he is not upholding our trust! Let the boy go!" Then, someone who turned out to be Topher said, "That boy didn't just have sexual desire for my daughter. He wanted to take advantage of her, **** her! Do you think it is fine to **** someone?" After hearing those words, the people started to lose their momentum. Topher then continued to speak, "Alright, alright. I understand your concerns. No one is in trouble. Just go home now. Everything is fine." Eventually, the older lady simply walked out fuming and the rest of the crowd followed through. When most of the people were gone, I entered the castle. Unlike before, no one tried to stop me from entering, and instead, they guided me directly to David and Topher. 
Once I entered the room, David and Topher immediately apologized. Apparently, they didn't know that the merchants would send two 9th rank primary warriors to assassinate a random kid. Topher then further stated, "They must be confident that they can defeat us since they sent their best fighters to make sure their plan is a success." What Topher said makes a lot of sense. While I reached Rank-6 Pinnacle in less than a week, and they reached Rank-9 Pinnacle in a little less than 2 years, it doesn't mean ranking up is that fast. One instance is the lady from the shop who was stuck for a couple of years before I helped clear her bottleneck in powering up. Currently, there are only around twenty people who are of the 9th rank Pinnacle and less than fifty people who are of the 8th rank in the kingdom. Given that the population of the kingdom is around a million, the number of people with sufficient power is just less than 1%. Following that, I told them what I saw in the base of the merchants. "I saw a round orb that was taking in sacrifices. Using my eyes of wisdom, I figured that it represents the god of wealth, Deity Lakshmi. Do you know how they got this? It seems like it is only a matter of time before it completely awakens." 
Topher and David dropped the coffee cups they were holding. David said, "At random times, the earth creates these portals to fictional worlds. It could be a world with historic battles or a monster stronghold. We call these portals "dungeons." If we manage to clear the objectives, we get rewarded with strong equipment. On the other hand, if we don't manage to clear it within the designated time, the monsters or sometimes, people inside enter our realm. Most of them are powerful warriors. We then try to fight back which causes us to suffer from a great loss of resources." Topher continued, "Last year's dungeons were mostly relating to Indian culture and fiction. The merchants must have gotten it from there. The deity you're talking about is like a summoned creature. It is living in the world, guarding the will that was set forth to it during the sacrificial period. Like the perfectly strong AI, we fought with Ganesh, the Hindu God of Intellectuals last year. It was a tough battle, and he was at the early ranks of Demi-human. Most of us got critically injured at that time. Having another god on their side means they have serious firepower. There is a good chance that they will be able to easily defeat us." The difference between a Rank-9 Mortal and a Rank-1 Demi-human is like the distance between heaven and earth. A Rank-9 Pinnacle can exert a minimum strength of 40,000 Mg while a Rank-1 Demi-human can exert a minimum strength of 100,000 Mg. This is not to mention the fact that every jump in cultivation level would also entail an increase in speed, reaction time, and brainpower. With Lakshmi awakening to the 2nd rank of the Demi-human stage, my friends are in danger. Luckily, I have started cultivating my soul which gives me the ability to bring back the harmony between their bodies and souls. Hopefully, their 18 years of pushing forward would now finally lead them to a breakthrough to the next rank. 
After talking about the dungeons, gods, and the like, I brought up the situation of the slaves wearing collars in the merchants' base. They told me that they would want to disagree that slavery should be banned like the days before. The kingdom itself still has a lot of issues. Some people, out of their own volition, can choose to become slaves to get a better life. And only those with slave ownership titles can buy slaves. This didn't sit right with me; I saw 5 and 6-year-olds with slave collars. It seems that the merchants just opened straight up old school slavery to the market. I then said, "Isn't there a rule that states that you're not allowed to sign contracts until the age of 18? With this, we can settle the issue with the group and either have them exiled or executed." Topher said that this is possible if they get caught red-handed or if there is any evidence that we could hold against them. I raised my voice and said, "Uhmm, what if I freed them all?" David sighed, turned to me, and just did the facepalm. He then said, "Don't worry. There should still be some evidence left. I mean, we could get their testimonies. Where are they, by the way?" I then answered, "I told them to escape later at sunrise. This would make the merchants occupied right before the execution."

What happens when everything we thought was just fiction turns into reality?

This story focuses on the story of one man in this new world.

I got Signed! Please  see my other listing 

https://www.webnovel.com/book/welcome-to-the-new-world_18253931106056005



 On my way back to the castle, I organized the information I gathered. The Abby's Mercantile Group was the faction that was trying to kill Troy to incite anger among people. I have been identified as a VVIP, probably due to the incident of me being imprisoned and my acts during the kidnapping of Stephanie. By the awakening of their Dormant Deity, they will have a way to beat my friends and rule over the kingdom. But before that happens, Abby's Mercantile group has to get the support of the people because, without the people, they won't have a kingdom to rule over. If they fail to do so, the people of the kingdom will move to nearby cities and follow a person who they think they can trust. 

 Once I reached the castle gates, I saw a huge mob of people headed by an old woman shouting, “We have been oppressed by the rulers for too long! How is it that someone is sentenced with the death penalty just by wanting to have sex with someone who happens to be the daughter of the king? Maybe the king is forgetting that the people of this kingdom put their trust in him and yet, he is not upholding our trust! Let the boy go!” Then, someone who turned out to be Topher said, “That boy didn’t just have sexual desire for my daughter. He wanted to take advantage of her, **** her! Do you think it is fine to **** someone?” After hearing those words, the people started to lose their momentum. Topher then continued to speak, “Alright, alright. I understand your concerns. No one is in trouble. Just go home now. Everything is fine.” Eventually, the older lady simply walked out fuming and the rest of the crowd followed through. When most of the people were gone, I entered the castle. Unlike before, no one tried to stop me from entering, and instead, they guided me directly to David and Topher. 

 Once I entered the room, David and Topher immediately apologized. Apparently, they didn’t know that the merchants would send two 9th rank primary warriors to assassinate a random kid. Topher then further stated, “They must be confident that they can defeat us since they sent their best fighters to make sure their plan is a success.” What Topher said makes a lot of sense. While I reached Rank-6 Pinnacle in less than a week, and they reached Rank-9 Pinnacle in a little less than 2 years, it doesn’t mean ranking up is that fast. One instance is the lady from the shop who was stuck for a couple of years before I helped clear her bottleneck in powering up. Currently, there are only around twenty people who are of the 9th rank Pinnacle and less than fifty people who are of the 8th rank in the kingdom. Given that the population of the kingdom is around a million, the number of people with sufficient power is just less than 1%. Following that, I told them what I saw in the base of the merchants. “I saw a round orb that was taking in sacrifices. Using my eyes of wisdom, I figured that it represents the god of wealth, Deity Lakshmi. Do you know how they got this? It seems like it is only a matter of time before it completely awakens.” 

 Topher and David dropped the coffee cups they were holding. David said, “At random times, the earth creates these portals to fictional worlds. It could be a world with historic battles or a monster stronghold. We call these portals “dungeons.” If we manage to clear the objectives, we get rewarded with strong equipment. On the other hand, if we don’t manage to clear it within the designated time, the monsters or sometimes, people inside enter our realm. Most of them are powerful warriors. We then try to fight back which causes us to suffer from a great loss of resources." Topher continued, "Last year’s dungeons were mostly relating to Indian culture and fiction. The merchants must have gotten it from there. The deity you're talking about is like a summoned creature. It is living in the world, guarding the will that was set forth to it during the sacrificial period. Like the perfectly strong AI, we fought with Ganesh, the Hindu God of Intellectuals last year. It was a tough battle, and he was at the early ranks of Demi-human. Most of us got critically injured at that time. Having another god on their side means they have serious firepower. There is a good chance that they will be able to easily defeat us.” The difference between a Rank-9 Mortal and a Rank-1 Demi-human is like the distance between heaven and earth. A Rank-9 Pinnacle can exert a minimum strength of 40,000 Mg while a Rank-1 Demi-human can exert a minimum strength of 100,000 Mg. This is not to mention the fact that every jump in cultivation level would also entail an increase in speed, reaction time, and brainpower. With Lakshmi awakening to the 2nd rank of the Demi-human stage, my friends are in danger. Luckily, I have started cultivating my soul which gives me the ability to bring back the harmony between their bodies and souls. Hopefully, their 18 years of pushing forward would now finally lead them to a breakthrough to the next rank. 

 After talking about the dungeons, gods, and the like, I brought up the situation of the slaves wearing collars in the merchants' base. They told me that they would want to disagree that slavery should be banned like the days before. The kingdom itself still has a lot of issues. Some people, out of their own volition, can choose to become slaves to get a better life. And only those with slave ownership titles can buy slaves. This didn’t sit right with me; I saw 5 and 6-year-olds with slave collars. It seems that the merchants just opened straight up old school slavery to the market. I then said, "Isn't there a rule that states that you're not allowed to sign contracts until the age of 18? With this, we can settle the issue with the group and either have them exiled or executed." Topher said that this is possible if they get caught red-handed or if there is any evidence that we could hold against them. I raised my voice and said, “Uhmm, what if I freed them all?” David sighed, turned to me, and just did the facepalm. He then said, “Don’t worry. There should still be some evidence left. I mean, we could get their testimonies. Where are they, by the way?” I then answered, “I told them to escape later at sunrise. This would make the merchants occupied right before the execution.”

What happens when everything we thought was just fiction turns into reality?


This story focuses on the story of one man in this new world.

WEBSITE ARTICLE of WARD COURIER
"The Skull of Doom"
Appearing in March 2007 at www.MasonWinfield.com under the pen name Mason Winfield


[I wrote my first article in this series about the film "10,000 BC" and its presumed subjects before it premiered. I see that I'd guessed a few things right. Let's see how prophetic I'll have been with the upcoming "Indiana Jones" flick, lashing-and-crashing in sometime soon and clearly based on the Crystal Skulls.]

My last update surveyed the general background to the world's crystal skulls. Now we come to the one you all know, "The Skull of Doom."
You know the one I mean. Otherwise called "the Mitchell-Hedges Skull," it's the glassy-clear crystal skull, almost perfectly lifelike, whose image you've seen countless times in books and on TV. It was the trademark image in the credits of Arthur C. Clarke's fine old TV program Mysterious World. Doubtless it's a major player in the new Indiana Jones film.
We call this "the Mitchell-Hedges Skull" because it first surfaced to history in the possession of British adventurer F. A. (Frederick Albert) "Mike" Mitchell-Hedges (1882-1959). He claimed to have found it in 1927 during an expedition at the Mayan site of Lubantuun in Belize. We have the Skull, all right, but other questions remain.
The circumstances under which Mitchell-Hedges' expedition turned up their Skull were dodgy, to say the least. Mitchell-Hedges was no archaeologist, and the world's finest crystal skull was an unlikely object to have been left behind when its owners packed up and moved out. It was said to have been found by Mitchell-Hedges' adopted daughter Anna (nicknamed "Sammy"). She was drawn to it in a flash of insight as if it spoke to her.
The team didn't spend much time at that site, so Mitchell-Hedges was either psychically guided to that spot, mighty lucky, or... he brought the Skull with him and faked the find. Bavarian glass-blowers of the day were doing some amazing things that looked just as miraculous as that Skull. Mitchell-Hedges could surely have met some of them or seen their work. Furthermore, the Skull didn't surface officially till some time later. A funny discovery all the way round.
However Mitchell-Hedges came by it, the Skull is a storied object. To summarize the folklore in bullet-form, the Skull may be:
- A healing object. (It can cure what ails you.)
- A prophetic object. (It enhances ESP and prophecy, possibly with just a touch.)
- A big crystal computer, capable of imparting the knowledge of the ages. (Our own computers work on quartz chips, don't they?)
- A weapon. (It can curse or kill, possibly with a sudden beam of light or energy, at the behest of a power-person or possibly its own "will." It could become a magical laser.)
- Incredibly ancient. (As in, "Atlantean.")
- Extraterrestrial. (As in, from the Pleiades.)
- The "ruler" of the other "true" - original - skulls. (In one version of the mythology there are thirteen of these skulls, possibly all in Mesoamerica, possibly distributed among all major Native American culture-groups and language-families.)
This latter point deserves a bit of comment. It's possible that the Skulls were exclusively Mesoamerican objects. Sure Skull-possessors would seem to be the Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacanos, and through them - or the Toltec - the newcoming Aztec. (Why Cortez and 500 Spanish peasants could knock off an empire of millions could be because the Skull had decided to go dead for the Aztec.) There should have been at least several Skulls in "Meso," as they slang it, a part of the world in which both crystal-traditions and skull-cults were well established.
But there could have been a pan-American distribution. In that motif, several power-Skulls should have been in South America, all interdependent magical objects. I imagine there would be a couple Skulls among the Andean societies, and surely one in the Amazon, whose cultures were far more developed than anyone had suspected till recently.
The rest of the skulls would have been in North America. The Iroquois or their ancestors doubtless had one, as did the Hopewell, the Anasazi, possibly the Algonquin... I hear there was a crystal tradition among the Iroquois. Surely the Confederacy had one of the Skulls. Or they would have taken it from someone else had they wanted.
But one thing stands out: When all the Skulls are brought together, it's supposed to be a major moment for humanity. Whatever that might mean... Maybe the "Indy" film will tell us.
What were these thirteen original Skulls like? Were they primitive one-piece jobs like all the known ones except "the Skull of Doom"? Were they anatomically correct masterworks, jaw and all, of different colors and functions? (Quartz crystal comes in several shades.) Is the Skull of Doom, therefore, the Great Skull? How many "real" Crystal Skulls do we have, anyway? Do we have only the knock-offs? Do we even have the top dog? Could it be that the world has only one authentic Skull? How would we know for sure?
There are a handful of big skulls in museums and private collections that people sense may be special; but they're hard to verify. None of them were found on true archaeological digs. They didn't even start turning up until the early 1900s. Could it be that none of them are historic artifacts any older than a century? Is it likely that none of these are anything other than rude copies of the originals?
Testing seems to reveal that a few of the big ones in museums may be at least a few centuries old. But there's enough controversy to go around about a single one of them, "The Skull of Doom," to say nothing of its finder, Mitchell-Hedges. With him the real questioning begins.
Mitchell-Hedges was a character. You could write a book about him. Actually someone, did: Mitchell-Hedges himself. His James Bond-ish titled autobiography, "Danger, My Ally" came out in 1964. I hope he turns up as a character in the new "Indy" flick. (I nominate Johnny Depp, Robin Williams, or Jim Carrey for the part.) There was a web of intrigue dating back to the World War I era surrounding Mexico. It involved Ambrose Bierce, "the Zone of Silence," U.S. General Pershing, Pancho Villa, and Karl Hausofer, Hitler's evil tutor. I hope this, too, comes up in the Indy film.
However Mitchell-Hedges came by it, the Skull exists. There are pros and cons to its validity.
The cons begin with the appearance of the Skull itself. It is unlike all the other known crystal skulls suspected of being historic. This is the only one of the known ones with a detachable jaw, and the only one remotely lifelike. (Most crystal skulls are crude, cartoonish, and one-piece. Their etched-on teeth bloom like rows of corn on a cob.) The Skull of Doom is natural enough to have been given a forensic cranio-facial reconstruction. We can even infer its gender and ethnicity: Polynesian, I hear, and female. This alone is very special. Let's see you try making that out of glass.
The fact that the Skull of Doom was found in Maya territory is strange, too. The Maya did a lot of work in jade, but they weren't known to do much with crystal. Either the Skull was not a Maya artifact, or... someone before them or after them made it. (The "before" possibility is most problematic.)
Not only is the Skull of Doom unlike other skulls, but it is completely unlike any other work of Mesoamerican art. That alone could be a giveaway. True-to-life art is very rare among preindustrial societies. Only in a few parts and periods of Europe and the Mediterranean did art resemble life. Usually when you see a piece of realistic art or drawing from anywhere else, it has to be reasonably recent. Or else... someone in or before the Mayan culture had a breakthrough, and the Maya ended up with the Skull of Doom. Few exposed to late twentieth-century New Age mythology would put it past them.
The Skull itself is its most persuasive defender. Simply put, it shouldn't exist. Engineers from Hewlett-Packard studied the Skull in the 1970s and decided that only three places in the world could have been the source of the crystal - Brazil, Madagascar, or Russia. Funny beds for an ancient object found in the Gulf of Mexico. At least Brazil was in the hemisphere, but it's believed that there were not even trade networks between South America and Mesoamerica before the Euros landed. The Inca didn't know the Aztec existed. Why should they? Neither empire was maritime, and land travel between the zones was almost unthinkable.
The Hewlett-Packard team also couldn't figure out how the Skull of Doom was made. They found no signs of the scratching you'd expect with such an object, and figured it had to be made with soft techniques like polishing with rags, sand, and oil. Right. Three hundred straight years of it - that's 24-7 man-hours - one worker at a time. (You can't fit an assembly-line around a skull!) Even with modern tools like diamonds, its crafting would take a year. Hewlett-Packard's team, though, had no idea if it was an authentic artifact. After that, "Sammy" Mitchell-Hedges quit testing it - as if the Skull was getting tired of the probing and told her so itself. Maybe the Pleiadians did make it.
The Skull of Doom is a cult object today, still as far as I know in the possession of the family of the recently-late Anna Mitchell-Hedges (1907-2007), RIP, in Kitchener, ON. (If it was in the U.S. the Death Tax would own it by now.)
"Sammy" and the Skull came to Lily Dale in the early 1990s for a talk - it was Anna, I mean, doing the talking - and attendees got to parade by and touch it. I was one of them. I got a flash of insight for fiction, as yet unrealized, and circulated it only as proposals (on which more to follow). My tennis elbow, though, is better. (Now if we could just get working on the right knee... Maybe another touch of the Skull...)
So where might the "Indy" people go with this? I imagine the new film will be another adventure-chase like the "Ark" and "Grail" films. I presume the military and informational potential of the Skull would be the draw of the action. I know enough to suspect that it's set in the Cold War, so the drama could be over the simple possession of the object. (The KGB was known to be researching all avenues of edge over the CIA.) After that... Let's just see what they do with it. I get the feeling they'll go back to the "Indy" roots - the first film. May as well. Let that be the end.
Whatever they do, they have a lot to work with. Folklore of the outright psychic variety goes with the Skulls. The attendants of a British museum holding one big Skull say that it moves now and then of its own accord. Allegedly, a Skull arrived in the mail at the American Smithsonian, and a curator of the museum started to unbox it. "Don't look it in the eye," warned one of his colleagues as the wraps fell away. He did anyway, and took his own life shortly after.
If you have any unsettling feelings after seeing the Indy flick, please talk to someone you trust. Call crisis services otherwise before you make any rash decisions.




Author:
Author, teacher, storyteller, and supernatural historian Mason Winfield studied English and Classics at Denison University, earned a master’s degree in British literature at Boston College, and studied poetry and fiction at SUNY Buffalo with professor emeritus and MacArthur grant recipient Irving Feldman. He has written or edited fourteen books, including the regional sensation “Shadows of the Western Door” (1997) and “Iroquois Supernatural,” co-authored with Michael Bastine, on the traditions of the Six Longhouse Nations (Inner Traditions International/Bear & Company, 2011). Several of his surveys of upstate folklore and paranormal tradition may be found at the website of Western New York Wares: www.buffalobooks.com. He may be reached at www.masonwinfield.com.

An anatomically perfect human jaw fashioned of diamond-hard quartz crystal is uncovered at an Ohio burial mound and sold on the underground antiquities market. Shortly after, three pothunters are found dead.

A mysterious new drug suspected of South American origin surfaces in Buffalo, NY. Its unprecedented psycho-tropic effects include the momentary activation of ESP. 

Blind, speechless, emaciated street people start appearing in many parts of the world. An urban legend-cycle forms around them, and the name of a murderous old cult, “the Whistlers” attaches to them.

An archaeological team at a Mayan site reports finding a bizarre artifact and vanishes. 

An upstate schoolteacher’s book of New York legends and folklore foreshadows these developments and more. 

   These are the threads – plus his affair with a maddening woman – that draw narrator Ward Courier into the international adventure of occultism, terror, Native American tradition and onrushing prophecy that is Mason Winfield’s anticipated new novel THE WHISTLERS. By the time the picture of THE WHISTLERS becomes clear, we are ready to believe in a sinister conspiracy that could predate Atlantis and even hail from another world.

Ragnarok Law
Proverb I ~ "Love Is A Cure For Wellness." DO NOT DISMISS ALL DOUBT, REGARDLESS OF REASON OR RECOGNITION!

(AH-SHAH)
(AH-ZHA)
(EE-ZAI-LO-FELL-VEE-NEE)
(EE-VEE-YET)
(EE-YAWN-CO)
                                                                                Part I

   I stood in the middle of our sacred church. The historical relic of an ax was sheathed in into the symbolized painted concrete with it's long glyph embedded handle standing erect in front of me.
Kneeling on the circular slab in front of The Ragnarok Steel was the epidemy of the filthiest trash to walk on two legs. By betraying the family's trust and blaspheming against The Proverb Law, it was simply a matter of short time that he would have to face the judgement of The Law. His pure selfishness lead to the slaughter of 59 of our family members and even the **** of one of Our Beloved Mothers. Upon this discovery, not only was death permitted, but the act there of was a drawn out sequence of agony until our victimized Beloved Mother was satisfied. Torture and terror was creatively performed until the date was decided. Even then, having a date chosen for later rather than sooner was not uncommon.
   As for this pathetic garbage grown shit kicker, our victimized Beloved Mother became pregnant from the attack. Being the esteemed woman that she is, however, Our Beloved Mother decided to keep the bastard child and be greater than normal circumstances would have allowed.
The traitor's execution date was chosen for the day that Our Beloved Mother's child's earth birth. So that meant for nine months was the traitor a raw canvas for the most imaginative of agonies. The various scars and scabs all over his body was too varied to list. I can guarantee that the face under the heavy burlap sack secured around the traitor's neck would be unrecognizable compared to the many months ago.
   There were members in black sitting sparingly throughout the twenty levels of high rise pews surrounding The Top Floor, the designed concrete I am grateful to be standing on. The rainbow of attitudes portrayed by the awaiting witnesses looking down at me with respect and expectation. From the front row to the nosebleed seats, the bundle of men and women sprinkled throughout had their feet kicked up during casual conversations, setting up pads and recording devices, and even reading books and newspapers with their preferable cups of tea or coffee.
   Despite the display of colors in the wait, my attention was to my zero at the front row, in front of the traitor, The Ragnarok Steel, and myself.
   She sat there with her log dark legs crossed and poking thru the over-sized tiger skinned coat. Her snow colored stilettos matched the white of the fur and the back of her locks. The middle aged woman's eyes are the gray of metal, and her gaze as sharp as the weapons formed from it. That cutting gaze is sword fighting with my own sharp stare, a mere exhibition of attentiveness.
   This one woman surpassed expectations thought impossible for someone with her beginning. A petty thief from Zaire that escaped her war torn country via cargo ship stow away to a South American dock yard. A new territory she had no factual knowledge of meant a new strategy was necessary for survival and profit, a lesson she learned sooner than later. Between getting beaten until her leg and ribs were broken without proper medical help and being thrown in an adult jail for an entire year when only twelve, pick-pocketing and petty theft no longer aided her survival efficiently. 
   While incarcerated, she met three very particular individuals opened a new avenue of crime and strategy for the young girl. An avenue it didn't take a sinking second for her to not only follow, but also become a notoriously dangerous expert on this path. 
After freeing her comrades, an escape plan that ended with the facility being blown back to nature, they went on a tear of infamy. Car flipping and bank robbing to kidnapping and murder-for-hire, it was inevitable that the gang would be scouted by The Ragnarok Law Mafia. Seeing as how they knowingly tried to knock over one of The Law's armored transport vehicles.
   The craziest part is that by all recorded accounts, they did it on purpose by her command. 
One myth told set her metallic sights on the facts behind the fiction, testing the tale by attacking one of the fabled "Brick Shippers." Apparently, there was so much money in them, the transport vehicles couldn't travel up hills.
   Once she and her gang took the decree, her rise became that much more historic. Stepping up her skills and rank in record time, she eventually earned the title of "GIMP," or Grim Reaper in layman's terms.
   Now that her credentials stacked and seasoned, she is able to relax in luxury and leisure.
   Presently, she sits as one of Our Beloved Mothers, Aaja Exodia.
   Second to such, Aaja Exodia is my bio-bred mother, so expectations were high from B'Earth.
   Now I'm on The Top Floor, one of the biggest stages The Law has to offer. Allowing me to announce my chosen path and showcasing my mindset and integrity, with my own mother, one of Our Beloved Mothers, sitting in wait and watching with higher expectations than The Proverb itself.
   If I were to speak that into reality, she'd probably smack my tongue with a hot metal spoon. All for the sake of keeping my reputation pure and discipline for speaking against the word.
   A loud silence washed over the lively room as the handles of the thick fifteen feet double doors to The Rapture Circumference, The Top Floor glyphed beneath my boots and above my ethics respectively. Once the rosewood doors began to part, every colorful personality stood to their feet with a cold attention. Everyone erect in the rising pews withdrew a multitude of compact guns from the seams of their trousers, holsters under coats and inside of bags, loading barrels and cocking hammers. 
   The handles of the entrance or the obnoxious creek of the rotating hinges were not by any means loud enough to notice, all the commotion within the church easily masked the material vibrato. It's almost a self made instinct to feel the presence of one of our Grand Authority whenever they are entering a place occupied by their Prodigal Family, my bio-bred mother was also offered the prestigious greeting. The variety of death in the spectators' clutches is mandatory when welcoming a Grand Authority, a defense strategy to be loaded and prepared if of The Law's rulers required immediate protection or a kill order is given to be carried out on the spot.
   Surrounded by four GIMPs to her north, south, east and west, Our Beloved Mother Yzylophelvini Arterton suavely strutted into the high rise church. 
   This isn't just the divinity of The Law's Solstice 66, or The Sics Six Six, Our Family's conglomerate of Beloved Mothers. This maturely alluring cocoa skinned madame is the pinnacle of The Law's Motherhood and half of The God Authority, Our Godmother Zephoné.

"All Power To The Proverb!" "All Hail The Ragnarok Law Mafia!"
 Asha Exodia is at the beginning of his chosen path since reaching The Law's Maturity. His sights are set on the highest pinnacle that The Family has to offer, and will not let anything or anyone hold him back.
 However, is there something lurking deep within the psyche of the determined sixteen year old? It is witnessed by his Prodigal Family, but is without answers to the beast's existence. Even still, his apotheostic potential is too great to be halted or denied. 
 Watch as the legend becomes.

historic fiction novel

The Historic Muse

Fiction

lapu lapu

Tributary: Promise of the Ancient

King of Arkaen

Scholar's Advanced Technological System

Welcome to the New World (old)

Welcome to the New World

The Whistlers

Mafia Proverbs

People search historic fiction also like: