Chasing Merlion: Before History, There Was Time

By Philip Ng

Much of what we know of this part of the world began only in the year 1298, when a prince from Palembang set foot on Temasek. But, there are stories that took place even before the veil of history was removed. This is but one of them.

The Merlion has traditionally kept the island of Temasek safe from invasions and attacks. But, this time, the danger it faces threatens its own survival. Over wide swath of unexplored terrain and surrealistic ocean, the story follows the dangerous exploits of a group of young boys as they attempt to save the Merlion from capture. United by a common goal, the boys formed an unlikely friendship and alliance at a time when Temasek was divided among its various tribes Wang, from the well-to-do neighbourhood called The Forbidden Hill; Oak, from the fishermen community of The River and Tok, a budding pirate belonging to the fearsome predatory tribe that inhabited the infamous Dragon Tooth Gate.

But, the Merlion holds another secret which would change everything the boys know.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Jun 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9781482865707

Philip Ng

A communications specialist by profession, Philip holds a BA in Mass Communications from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a MA in Contemporary China from the Nanyang Technological University. In his leisure, he reviews films on his independent blog. Philip lives with his wife and their two children in Singapore.

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© 2016 by Philip Ng.

ISBN:      Softcover            978-1-4828-6569-1

                eBook                 978-1-4828-6570-7

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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Contents

PART ONE SEASON OF CLOUDS

PART TWO SEASON OF RAIN

PART THREE SEASON OF WINDS

PART FOUR SEASON OF SUN

PREFACE

Not everything in this world reveals itself to man. Not to some of us anyway. This is the story of just one of them that did. But, it happened at a different time. In fact, few had even heard of the place. Also, it was a time when the indigenous people were not known as they were generally known now. But, all these were there before official records even existed.

Maybe you should probably be told at the outset that no one believed it when they first heard the story you are about to read. It was like telling them chickens could run faster than the foxes that preyed on them or that fishes could walk on the land that was out-of-bounds to them. Then again, you could decide that for yourself later. But, first, we should waste no time in locating the origin of this story.

When you stop to think about it, you could say that it was really a very small world. There were only two known major powers which marked the beginning and the end of the physical universe. On the one hand, there was China (where the ruling dynasty in power then was the Yuan) from where the locals obtained much of their ceramics out of which to fashion bowls to hold the food they ate. On the other end was India, which gave the people textiles to fashion garments to cover their nakedness. Then, somewhere in-between this maritime trade route - at the convergence of the Asian and Australian continents - was the Southern Ocean. [We are getting close. Almost.]

For a long time, travellers called this place ‘Land Below the Winds’ because the harbours had kept sailors safe from the terrible monsoons which killed many of their compatriots who did not know better. Here, in relative proximity to each other, there were three major Asian kingdoms in power: Srivijaya in Palembang on the southeast coast of Sumatra, Majapahit at the eastern part of Java and Ayutthaya on the mainland – each exercising their respective spheres of influence. They were the well-known big brothers in the neighbourhood, always watching each other - and other outsiders - with great suspicion. Everybody was afraid of them - as they probably should be.

Then, if you take a closer look, there was one tiny speck of land nestled among these giants. The people called it Temasek. It was the smallest place in the whole region and not much was known to outsiders about this