Scepters Of Empyrea: A Journey to the Andromeda Galaxy

By Vignesh Ravichandran

Journey Overview:

Empyrea, an island in the Andromeda galaxy belonging to planet Vathura is serene. Everywhere your eyes turn, you will feast on the lovely birds singing their heart out in the lush green vegetation. Osiris Mysterio ruled the regions of Empyrea with his brother Tyrant Seth and th

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vignesh Ravichandran
• Release date: Jan 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9789353467098

Vignesh Ravichandran

Vignesh Ravichandran holds a Masters in Business Administration from a leading Business School. He presently works as a Human Resource professional in a leading software organization in Chennai. He wrote this debut novel with the storyline which he experienced in his nightmare before 7years.

Book preview

WELCOME ONBOARD

Iam Vignesh Ravichandran, Author of Scepters of Empyrea: A Journey to the Andromeda Galaxy. I am working as a Human Resource Professional in Chennai for the living. I got an idea of writing this novel when I experienced a weird nightmare before 7years, and it felt like I somewhere connected to it, and later it began to dawn on me to convert this into a novel, and that's how this journey began.

This Journey is an imaginary one, any resemblance to any actual person, living or dead, or locales is merely coincidental.

For the Journey is concerned, I am going to be your tour host and will take you to the lovely places of Empyrea. In every destination, you will be entertained by different characters in wonderful landscapes. Just erase all your predictions and enjoy the journey in its flow.

Let's start our adventures journey.

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Table of Contents

Welcome Onboard

Journey 1: Adventures Step Pyramid

Journey 2: Lord of Love & Peace

Journey 3: Regions of Empyrea

Journey 4: Secrets of Empyrea

Journey 5: The concealed doors

Journey 6: Wrath of Titans

Journey 7: Zenith of Eclipse

Journey 8: Shivering in fear

Journey 9: Million dollar deal

Journey 10: Miami museum

Journey 11: Bermuda triangle

Journey 12: Awestruck Island

Journey 13: Stampede of apes

Journey 14: Walk in Dinolaya

Journey 15: Huffing Horns

Journey 16: New Lords of Empyrea

Journey 17: Rebirth of Menacing Statues

Journey 18: Broken Empolosseum

Journey 19: Inevitable Relations

Journey 20: The Falconnian war

Journey 21: God Mother Isis

Journey 22: Conspiracy of the old Lords

Journey 23: The Fire Flyer

Journey 24: War Plotting

Journey 25: The Underground Chamber

Journey 26: Flaming Triangle

Journey 27: The Confronter

Journey 28: War for the Throne-I

Journey 29: War for the Throne-II

Journey 30: Royal Ceremony

Journey Guides

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JOURNEY 1:

ADVENTURES STEP PYRAMID

In the sands of Saqqara stands one of its greatest legacies. It’s the first monument of its kind to have ever been built, the most significant piece of history of its civilization. The famous Step Pyramid, the oldest stone structure in the world, is also known as the Pyramid of King Djoser. Constructed in a single century at the close of the prehistoric era.

The Step Pyramid is the most impressive of all the pyramids. There are less than 80 of them left in Egypt. These are the secret gateways that allow kings to pass through to the land of immortal life after they die. But now, through the evolution of time, these areas lie in ruins, brought on by earthquakes, and are falling apart.

The archeological experts are trying to rescue these ancient treasures. Not letting time take things into its own hands, one determined archeologist named Hannah is obsessed with saving the step pyramid. Hannah is a 37-year-old American who has significant archeology experience; she has explored many mysterious sites & relics. Some of Hannah’s significant discoveries include the Rosetta Stone, the Acambaro figures, Gobeklitepe, the Antikythera mechanism, and the Tomb of Sunken Skulls. She was also instrumental in deciphering the Mayan Calendar, Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Voynich Manuscripts.

Hannah’s ultimate aim is to safeguard the antique items and their culture. But because of human interference and natural disasters; ancient monuments and other architectures are in ruins. To safeguard the ancient wonders, Hannah, along with her friends, formed a group and embarked on a rescue mission. The first initiative was to excavate the historical pyramids, and for that, they formed a group called Saving the Pyramids. Different archeologists from various parts of the world were part of this initiative.

The journey of their ambitious restoration project began with the Step Pyramid. The challenge was to repair the severely eroded steps and replace thousands of stones that had disintegrated above ground. These stones were the masterpieces of the Egyptian civilization, and they were wholeheartedly committed to the quest.

For Hannah’s team, things weren’t easy. They couldn’t use any industrial machinery because it caused too much vibration. So they did everything by hand. The workers started replacing the fallen stones, one boulder at a time. Hannah found out that the top of the pyramid seemed to be missing after all the stones were in their place. The capstone is the last thing to be placed on a pyramid after construction. It’s called Pyramidion. It’s considered to be an essential part of the pyramid and is made of unique stones or sometimes even gold. The step pyramid looked flat-topped without a pyramidion, unlike the other pyramids with pointed surfaces that reached out to the sky.

While excavating further, Hannah found a tiny piece of the pyramidion stuck to the top of a limestone block. She carefully extracted it with her tools and stepped down from the pyramid. In the caravan, she examined it with a microscope. The pyramidion looked like a magnetic black stone with some faint inscriptions. Upon discovering this, Hannah assumed that the rest of the pyramidion might have some detailed inscription. She continued to run experiments, and to her shock, she realized that the pyramidion had electromagnetic energy. It was apparent that the Egyptians must have used this energy for lighting the inner pyramids. It soon began to dawn on her that the ancient Egyptians were much more progressive than they were.

Next, Hannah and her team began the biggest and most dangerous restoration job. Forty-five meters underground in the secret heart of the pyramid, the King’s burial chamber was collapsing. Huge boulders had fallen from the roof, threatening to crush the chamber.

They removed the boulders and uncovered the hidden mystery. The coffin which contained the King’s body remained intact. It had been made of thirty-two granite slabs. On top of it was a giant circular stone plugging the hole, and through that, the King’s body was lowered. They saw clues on the slabs, which directed them to how those slabs needed to be placed to form a sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus chamber was surrounded by four galleries, which were cut around the burial chamber and, in all likelihood, contained the funerary equipment of the King. Some galleries were lined with fancy blue tiles and resembled the mats hung on the King’s royal residence walls. Hannah & her team also found out that the burial chambers lead to many tunnels. These tunnels were mysterious. Each tunnel had nearly five to six chambers within. What started as a rescue initiative had now become an exploration when they discovered amazing artifacts of crafted stones. They also found human remains and broken tombs of the Pharaoh’s wives and his daughters.

The historical artifacts and ornaments from the Egyptian civilizations that belonged to the second and third dynasty were also part of their findings. Some chambers had food stored for the King’s afterlife. In contrast, few other chambers were filled with gold ornaments like pendants, amulets, bracelets, earrings, studs, necklaces, collars, pectorals, malachite finger rings, scarabs, and ubat stones. Some chambers had been decked up to look like a replica of the royal palace so that the dead King wouldn’t languish.

No one knew how many levels there were in these tunnels. With the help of tracker technology, complicated passages in the labyrinths were broken down. The King’s crown, Queen’s necklaces, and the painted limestone statue of King Djoser were found along with many other historical monuments.

Hannah’s team also discovered the village, which had probably helped build these monuments 4500 years ago. While excavating it, they got numerous clues as to their way of life. They were well fed and decently housed. For building the pyramids, they were given meat and bread. The excavations even showed that the workers weren’t slaves as people had assumed, but they were proud to serve the Pharaoh and even accompanied him on the afterlife journey.

Some of the helper’s skulls that had been found were abnormal and intriguing; they looked more elongated than a normal human skull. From the bread that had been discovered, they found out that the Egyptians used antibiotics. But, none of these fascinating discoveries revealed the method that was used to build the pyramid.

Apart from these, inside the step pyramid, they came across a mysterious pathway, forty-five meters into the ground. Even then, it did not end, the secret pathway led them to a junction, and five different tunnels were branching out.

Hannah and her team members walked into the first tunnel,

Egyptian hieroglyphics were etched into the walls of the tunnels. On their way, they were discussing the hieroglyphics. And then suddenly, as Cummings, one of the team members, walked onto a red colored slab, it sunk in like a button. Within a fraction of a second, an arrow appeared on the right side of the wall. Hannah grabbed Cummings’ shirt collar and pulled him out of the way. The arrow shot past Cummings, barely missing his abdomen

Glad to have gotten away from the trap, they returned to the junction and realized that the five tunnels were meant to keep the place secure. Hannah ordered her assistant Marsh to bring the E46 from the caravan. E46 was a three-foot-long robot designed by Steve, Hannah’s brother in law.

Hi Professor, E46 is ready to enter the tunnels. You are advised to maintain a distance of twenty meters from me, said E46 as it turned on its little wheels towards the second tunnel.

I don’t think this basic model will get us to the right place, objected Jordan.

The tunnel was unstable, E46 with its LED eyes, guided Hannah’s five-member team into the tunnel. When E46 crossed the red-colored limestone block, the tunnel echoed with weird machinery sounds. Without any warning, the walls began releasing a blue-colored smoke. Hannah and her team members couldn’t see where the E46 was. Suddenly, E46 rushed out of the smoke and wheeled towards Hannah, saying, Alert!! Alert!! This tunnel contains mysterious alchemical powders that can burn the human skin entirely. Move out of this tunnel at once.

Jordon, E46 just saved our lives. Hope you will find it in yourself to be more confident about it, said Hannah.

She has some good ears with a great physique, said Jordan to Marsh.

Beware! Her husband is an Interpol officer, replied Marsh.

E46 was ready to explore the third tunnel. Everything seemed normal, so the team walked at a more relaxing pace as E46 was there to guide them. It alerted the team when it noticed the same red colored limestone.

Alert!! Alert!! Hold on, let me check the path. said E46 and crossed the red stone. Suddenly, hidden blades rose from the ground and smashed E46 against the ceiling. E46’s LED eyes popped out from its socket and rolled towards Hannah.

The team escaped the tunnel but had to continue their exploration without any help from the robot. The next tunnel was dark and had a rotten smell. Marsh, unable to bear the stench, pushed Hannah to one side and threw up on the ground. Meanwhile, the torch fell out of Hannah’s hands and rolled further away.

Marsh! You won’t get your salary if anything happens to my lucky torch, shouted Hannah angrily and ran to grab it.

This smell makes me sick. Anyway, I haven’t gotten even a single penny as salary from you in the past two years. retorted Marsh.

The torch hit a boulder and stopped rolling. Hannah bent down and picked up the torch from the ground. While taking it, she heard an indistinct sound, and her hands started to shake with fear. She heard some swaying sound near her and saw a few pale yellow strands of her hair flying on the ground.

Is everything alright? Shall we move on? asked Jordan and took a few steps forward. Hannah abruptly shouted, No! No, wait!

Jordan stopped in his tracks and stared at Hannah. But she was staring back at him. She reached out and touched his neck. When she drew her hand back, there was a drop of blood.

Upon seeing his blood, Jordan fainted. Hannah explained to her team that this tunnel has one of the most dangerous traps. Razor-sharp invisible wires are hanging exactly at neck level. They immediately rushed out of the tunnel and stood at the junction, trying to catch their breath.

Finally, Hannah and her team members went into the fifth tunnel. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the beginning. Hannah, who was leading the group, abruptly stopped walking and dropped down to the ground. The team members crowded around her to see what the trouble was. There was a forty-foot-deep pit, and it was spread across a hundred meters. In the middle of the pit, they could see some cracked pillars. They would have to walk on the pillars to cross over, but it was apparent that they would have to take turns since, at a given moment, only one person could stand on them.

They were not about to give up now, so they mustered the courage and moved ahead. Even one wrong move could plunge them to their deaths, so they made their way slowly with extreme caution.

After a while, the pillars began to grow narrower and didn’t have enough room. The only way forward was by putting one foot forward at a time. The five-member team panicked because of the less space. Everyone had to walk at the same pace to avoid falling. After crossing half the way, they could hear the clicking and hissing of thousands of snakes and scorpions in the pit.

There came the point when the pillars got so narrow that they had to balance themselves while inching forward precariously.

When they had crossed a majority of the path, another pit appeared below. This one had about twenty feet of water. Hannah and her team members were puzzled and wary at the same time. Soon water bubbles appeared on the surface, and a monstrous head popped up in the water.

It could be anything, but it’s a beast for sure. Let’s move fast! shouted Hannah.

Within seconds, the water giant leaped out of the water and tried to snap at them. It was a ten-foot crocodile. The team members could see its wide jaws with a double row of sharp teeth from the top.

Swiftly, one by one, they crossed the pit. The crocodile leaped one last time, and it was Samantha who was about to make her way across. It opened its jaw to snatch her but missed by a few inches. However, seeing the crocodile made Samantha nervous, and she slipped down the last pillar. Lucky for her, Hannah, who was on top, caught hold of Samantha’s left hand, pulled her out.

After a long break, the team members resumed moving forward. It took another five kilometers for them to see the other four tunnels joining their path.

The engineer who built this vault is so brilliant. blabbered Marsh, who was falling behind the team. He could hear the victorious celebrations of his teammates upfront. But all of a sudden, the place turned silent. Marsh panicked and ran. Everyone stood like statutes. He walked towards Hannah and asked her what happened, but she just stood frozen.

Is this some joke?

When Marsh saw the thing that had everyone rooted to the spot, his jaw dropped, and his face turned white. The team was now standing at the end of the tunnel, and there was no way beyond that. All this struggle had been in vain. Hannah didn’t have the heart to leave the place; she merely stared at the empty wall.

Hannah, we tried our best. Don’t take this to heart. Let’s head back to our camp. said Cummings.

No! There must be something behind this. When she ran her hand over the wall, dry sand got dislodged.

Immediately the team sprang into action. They took out their brushes and started cleaning the wall with extreme care. When the team finished cleaning the right side of the wall, it revealed the Egyptian hieroglyphics of a scorpion, a snake, and an ape. The wall’s left side had an elephant’s hieroglyphics, a crocodile-like creature, and an animal that looked like a lion.

Hannah, who was cleaning the middle part, discovered hieroglyphics of an eight-foot-tall unusual-looking person sitting on a throne wearing a moon shaped crown. He held a perplexed bird in his left arm. After clearing the wall, the team members were excited as this was the first time they’d come across such hieroglyphics.

Hannah advanced towards the hieroglyphics and examined them very keenly. Raised her right hand and reached out towards the person’s moon-like crown. When she applied a little pressure to the crown, the moon sunk into the wall. She looked at her team members and grinned. But then, once she withdrew her hand, nothing happened.

There was a long sigh of disappointment, and everyone sat on the ground, disheartened.

If there’s a button, surely something should have happened, said Jordan.

Hannah! What are we going to do now? asked Samantha.

Shall we order pizza? joked Marsh with a grin on his face.

Pizza! Pizzaa! Pizzaaa! The word echoed in Hannah’s head, and she looked at Marsh.

What’s with that face, Hannah?. asked Marsh.

Out of the blue, Hannah’s face lit up, and she shouted, Marsh!! You are so brilliant!

The team members didn’t know what was happening or how to react, and Marsh just blinked, confused by Hannah’s reaction.

I will get you a large cheese pizza when we get back. Now get up. We have serious work to do. said Hannah.

Team! Listen, if there is a button in any machinery, surely it has some function. If it’s not working, there must be a defect. Likewise, this wall must have a defect, and I feel that there must be some piece missing in the wall. Let’s search for the defective spot and the missing piece. said Hannah.

While inspecting the wall, Cummings realized that the eye of the perplexed bird was missing. There was a hole where it ought to be. He told the team, and everyone started to look for it. Hannah approached the wall and stared at the bird. While the other team members searched for the missing piece, she put her left hand into her pant pocket and took something out. This was the tiny piece of pyramidion that she had taken from the top of the step pyramid. That tiny piece looked similar to the bird’s eye. Hannah clutched the piece of pyramidion and walked closer to the eye of the blackbird to insert it. But before she could do anything, like a magnet, the tiny piece launched itself into the hole.

Hannah zealously pressed the moon. It disappeared inside the wall, and soon the team members could hear the sounds of machinery. The wall rose like a shutter. They were all so excited about what they were about to witness.

It unveiled a vast empty area. Hannah and her team members entered the space filled with equal parts dread and eagerness. It was dark, and the surface seemed stony. They heard a sudden noise of water droplets. They realized then that water was everywhere on the ground and glittered like silver in the torchlight.

Hannah, Cummings, and Jordon were ahead of the other two when Marsh felt the water droplets on him and looked upwards. A droplet streamed down his cheeks, and before it could roll off his face and hit the ground, he caught it in his hand. For a minute, he couldn’t believe his own eyes, and when he closed and reopened his fists, he heard his heart hammering wildly. He blinked again and stared at the droplet, trying to make sure of what he was seeing.

Marsh! Marsh! What happened? asked Samantha and came running towards him.

The water droplets. Marsh stammered.

Meanwhile, Hannah’s eyes were feasting on something magnificent. It was a short waterfall, twenty-five feet in height, ten feet in breadth.

It looks glorious. breathed Cummings to Hannah.

Hannah laughed delightedly, but something else caught her attention. Her boots, which ought to have been wet, showed no signs of being so.

This is such a mystery! How come my boots aren’t wet,… wondered.

Hannah stretched her left hand towards the waterfall. The sensation was quite odd, and just like she had suspected, her hands did not get wet. Instead, the water hovered over her hands.

It’s not the water! It’s mercury! shouted Marsh with delight.

Yes, it is, said Cumming looking at Hannah’s hands in wonder.

Ancient Egyptians believed that it weakens evil spirits, said Hannah.

She braced herself against the force of the stream and walked further in. As soon as Hannah’s eyes focused on what was behind the outpouring of mercury, she chanced upon a secret pathway and hollered to everyone.

Hey guys, this fall has a secret pathway! Get in here.

Soon the other team members followed her with skeptical looks on their faces. The secret pathway led them into a chamber.

It was dark. Her boots were echoing in the chamber. She scanned the place with the torch but couldn’t spot anything. After some more inspection, at the north corner, she found a shiny metal object. Hannah cautiously approached it only to realize that it was a lever covered in dust. It seemed to be jammed because of the ages of disuse, but Hannah tried with all her might. The lever budged with a loud groan, and soon she heard the sounds of machinery. They waited with bated breath as a square foot section in the ceiling of the chamber opened up.

Sunlight shone brightly through the opening. There was a four-foot circular monument. Hannah saw a mirror disc polished with bronze or copper, and it was attached to a handle. The disc rotated to either side. Hannah got rid of the cobwebs and rotated the mirror, and soon, the sun rays started to fall on the mirror. Once the sun rays fell on the mirror, it reflected onto the other mirrors in the chamber; and at once, the darkened chamber dazzled with brightness.

Mesmerized by the magnificence of the chamber, Hannah couldn’t believe her own eyes. The chamber had been decorated with limestone blocks, ceramics, granites and contained a ceiling designed with a five-pointed star. It was fashioned in such a way that when the glasses inside the chamber came in contact with either the sunlight or moonlight, it would reflect them. The security arrangements in this chamber were higher compared to the other chambers, but it consisted only of a single box. It looked like a treasure box. Around three feet in length and breadth, the box was decorated and platted as a triangular pyramid filled with gold.

Samantha was just about to take the box when Hannah stopped her. A flicker of annoyance passed over Samantha’s face before Hannah explained to everyone that there could be many hidden traps inside the chamber for safeguarding the box.

They retreated to the entrance and began prodding the box with a long bamboo stick. As soon as the stick touched the box, it shattered into pieces. The team members started blurting out their assumptions. Some said it was a curse, and others said that the stick was not strong enough, while few assumed that there were ghosts inside the chamber.

The next time, they used a more sturdy stick. They were also wise to record everything for their safety and for revealing the mystery. When the stick came in contact with the box, it met with the same fate once again. Though they couldn’t see what happened with their bare eyes, the camera had captured what they wanted to know.

They replayed the video and saw the stick breaking into pieces. The moment it touched the box, a force of some sort came barreling from both sides of the wall. They reduced the video pace and watched it in slow motion. It was not a curse; it was not weak sticks and not a ghost. It was a giant axe that crushed anything in its way.

Samantha thanked Hannah for saving her life.

It’s not the time to thank me. But it’s the time for us to think.

They set about to work. Hannah used another stick to prod at the gaps and along the wall where the gigantic axe supposedly came from. Surprisingly, nothing happened. So, the team concluded that the trap must be only for the box. The physicist quickly calculated the speed and power of that gigantic axe. After they were through with their calculations, the civil engineers brought to the pyramid, and they nailed the gap of the giant axe with steel. They were very particular not to touch the box in the process.

Hannah let another stick into the chamber and tapped the box. This time the axe didn’t launch itself at the intrusion, and it was finally safe for them to get close. Hannah went inside the chamber first and tried opening the box, but she couldn’t. So she lifted the box and took it to her caravan.

The real beauty of the box came to light after she cleaned it. What Hannah saw in front of her was more valuable than just a treasure box. It was an ancient Egyptian trinket box. It had three layers embossed with Egyptian hieroglyphics.

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