Chou the Lost Empire: The Exodus/Freedom Rings

By B. L Pontius

This a story about a chosen one, a woman, the first woman to hold the position of empress of a vast empire that, through God, she would control and prosper. She is given the task of freeing the known world in her lifetime, with God at her side as long as she believed. Her trials will be many and her sufferings greater. Whether to succeed or fail

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stratton Press
• Release date: Jan 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781643457710

B. L Pontius

Bruce Pontius was born in Muskegon, Michigan, on May 30, 1955, and from the age of six, he knew that he wanted to be a writer. He started in first grade writing poetry, and by the time he was in eighth grade, he was writing short stories. He received an award for one of his short stories called "The Thief." From that point on, he was writing and refining his art. He started writing this story many years ago after studying the Far East. For many years, he tried to publish a book called The White Rose of Karroboo, with no luck. He has always loved taking a thought and turning it into a story and writes from the heart, not the mind alone. He hopes that you, the reader, enjoys this work as much as he has enjoyed writing it.

Book preview

Synopsis

It was believed they were forged in a time before the world began, a lost era of mystery and magic, an ancient age when godly forces ruled.

Two swords and a crown of unbelievable constructive and destructive power were produced.

The first was the blue-black sword, Blood Destiny, a hellish red-gold hilted weapon of great and ever-powerful evil.

The second was the golden sword, the Spirit of Light, a weapon of brilliant luminescence, of great good, mercy, kindness, but most of all, justice.

The crown was called the Diadem of Righteousness or Glory, a crown from God himself. A golden breastplate, leggings, and shield accompanied the sword and crown all believed to be the armor of God. All these items were for the Chosen One, and only the Chosen One, a person of justice, of purity of heart, and of mercy. Anyone could wear the armor, but only the Chosen One could wear the crown, for anyone else to wear it meant instant death.

Blood Destiny was for anyone who it wanted to control, to dominate. With each person it came in contact with, it drew the life force slowly from them and used it to strengthen itself, becoming a most powerful blade in the future world of Earth. The Great God saw the power too strong for mortal man, hiding them away, but not for long. The day had come when these two ancient weapons of mass destruction met for the first time, the Spirit of Light held by the Chosen One and the Blood Destiny held by an emperor of unimaginable cruelty and power, in a war that will determine the outcome of mankind throughout the ages.

This is the legend of these two swords and crown and the two that held them, both to fight a war, one to enslave, the other for the freedom of a people from the cruelty, slavery, death, and annihilation, for the birth of a world empire forgotten in time. But only one could be victorious, the outcome shrouded in dark mystery, in mythical folklore and uncertainty…until now.

Prologue

The chopper blades drowned out all but the loudest yelling conversation, so I just gazed about at anything within sight. I glanced around the small belly of this whirling man-eating machine. It was a wonder how all of us could fit, but we did. Thank God Soon was little.

I guess I better start from the beginning. I am John Adams, senior archaeologist on this expedition. We are heading toward, I hope, a new experience. We have been in the air for three hours now, with little more than three words spoken between us in all that time.

From time to time, I looked out the tiny window, noticing a faint reflection staring back at me. I tucked back my graying hair behind my ear and straightened the wild hairs of my graying beard before staring out at the scenery, smiling at my seemingly vain attempt to look presentable. I guess I had nothing else to do. It was moments later I noticed our drop-off site.

Arriving at our destination with my fellow archaeologist and best friend, Professor Carl Aims, and Professor Soon Mi Wie, from the Beijing College of Archaeology, I noticed the time. It was four in the afternoon, April 4, 2040. I could see the other three junior archaeologists below us, Brad Hamilton, Otis Carlson, Tom Brandon, who had been there for a day already. I also took notice of enough equipment to start our own laboratory.

I suddenly felt myself coming up from my seat as the helicopter began its slow descent down to land, hopefully about twenty miles south of the southeastern boarder of Mongolia, or at least close enough. Two of us were a little nervous about being flown to our site in helicopters of the Red Army. We looked more like an invading assault force than an expedition. It was unsettling to see the uniforms of armed soldiers when I was used to seeing plain-clothed pilots in the States. I just couldn’t get used to the machine guns resting on their laps. They didn’t smile, just stared, as if they didn’t trust me or Carl.

I noticed Soon smiling at me—or maybe smirking, I don’t know. I was a little too concerned about the other people riding with us. I could feel my skin crawl somewhat, until Soon yelled at me, breaking my concentration, Don’t be too nervous, John. It took me a while to get used to this when I started out as an archeologist.

I yelled back with a smile, Yes, but I’m not from China.

For the next few months, you are, and I for one am glad you came. Soon was almost laughing at me.

Carl stayed silent, just smiling.

It took me some time, but I brought back my mind to the task at hand, that we were here to begin our search of a legend. Her government was told a far different story. She went to convince them that we were here to find prehistoric fossils of dinosaurs, that great reptilian beasts roamed these parts millions of years ago, and they bought it.

This whole thing started when I received an unusual medallion made of gold with double doves on one side facing each other, and a very old map. I thought it was from the late Ming dynasty, and while it was valuable, it was not that old, or so I thought. I did some research on my laptop, only to find that no such medallion was ever produced during the Ming dynasty or any other recent empire of China. I was glad the medallion was left in its natural state with the dirt and debris still coating it, for gold cannot be carbon-dated.

After doing a carbon-dating test, before leaving the States, I found it to be at least 5,300 years old, from this day. The map, in far better shape, made of refined paper, was remotely close to the same age of 3,700 years, both believed to be from the Zhou dynasty, but that was impossible—the Zhou dynasty was 1,669 years later, after the medallion was made, and 636 years before the Zhou Empire came into existence. In this early period, paper had not been invented yet and wouldn’t be until the Zhou dynasty, which is why we were here in northern China by special permission of the Chinese government with a four-month visitors’ visa.

We were amazed by the vast numbers of pines and indigenous broad-leaf trees there were in this part of the country, all of which were starting to bud. Some of the locals told Wie that it was an unusually warm spring. I had always thought of this part of the world to be all but barren, except for tundra grass and small plants. Flowers and shrubs were also in abundance here, with many already blooming. The land gently rolled, making the dense forest appear like waves of the ocean.

The three of us had to take our minds off the scenery to concentrate and focus as to why we came. We were in search of the place where a great city once stood, the place where an empire began and survived longer than any other in history. If this was correct, then history books around the world would need to be changed. The longest continuous empire in China’s history was the Zhou dynasty, which ran for an incredible eight hundred years, but if this map was correct, the medallion and map were not from the Zhou dynasty but the legendary lost dynasty of Chou, thousands of years before the Shang dynasty, before the Hsia, even before the legendary sage emperors, the oldest known kingdoms of old China. These were thought to be the first three organized empires of China, until now. This Chou dynasty was believed to have lasted close to a thousand years. Never before had any artifacts been found to support this legend—until now! Carl and I also read something about another kingdom of Zen, which came into existence before the Chou, six hundred years before, about 5,900 years ago from present day. This kingdom is the most mysterious, as little is mentioned about it on the map.

As I sat in a semilucid state, thinking about how all this came to be, the pitch of the blades changed, bringing me back to reality. The three of us waited until the chopper came to rest before getting out to greet the others. Otis was the first to greet us with a smile that looked more like a sigh of relief; the deep wrinkles in his forehead relaxed the minute I stepped out, his bald head returning to a normal color. I could instantly see the nervousness set in his eyes. It was his first time in China.

John, it’s good to see you. Hell, I was beginning to think you’d never get here. Come on, I’ll introduce the others.

That’s all right, Otis. I already know the others. We have worked together before. I offered my hand. Hello, Tom, Brad. I was hoping you two would join us.

We wouldn’t have missed this, well, for all the tea in China.

That brought a hearty laugh from everyone, maybe relieving the tension a bit, as all of us were trying to hide the lie as to why we were here.

I glanced around at all, feeling the excitement that awaited us over the next 120 days, but it was also getting late. We began making camp where we were dropped off as the helicopters left us behind, the sound of the blades growing fainter. I watched them for a moment before pitching in with setup. We would begin our search in the morning.

We sat, staring at the campfire, not saying a word as I watched the last of the day disappear on the western horizon. Some of us looked skyward to see more and more stars appear. I could sense that everyone was thinking about the next day, when we would finally see if the map we had was true or not.

The lonely call of a whip-poor-will close by jerked our heads as some of us jumped, but it broke the silence, and we started talking.

As the night began, the six of us talked about the medallion and the map I received. I looked at Soon, who turned away briefly before slowly looking up at me.

John, I was the one that sent them to you. I had to. I didn’t want my government to have them.

I had a feeling that it was you, I said with a smile. Where did you find them?

She was hesitant at first, staring at each of the others before returning to me. I found them in, of all places, the marketplace in town. I saw the medallions first, then the map. I wasn’t sure about the map until I looked at it through my jeweler’s loupe. I am sure it is old, very old.

I smiled, knowing she would have found a way to make sure they were not a fake. You were right. It’s very old.

She continued, I had to ask them where they found the five medallions and the map, and they said they were found buried beneath a pile of rocks that had an arrow on top in the middle of a large valley surrounded by distant mountains.

My brow furrowed. Wait a minute—them?

Her eyes narrowed, and she turned her head slightly to the side before staring directly at me. I thought I told you in the telegram. I knew not to try to send it from Beijing, so I went to Shanghai and sent it through Western Union. I bought five of them and the map for ten yen.

Now this puts a whole new perspective and uncertainty to our little adventure. I knew she wouldn’t have left an important detail out like that. I could feel my skin crawl at the rush of fear coursing its way down to my feet. I had to wonder if the Chinese government caught wind of our little escapade, or at least enough to make them suspicious. I knew the Chinese well enough to realize how efficient they can be if something didn’t look or feel right to them. I looked back at Soon.

I received the telegram, but you didn’t mention anything about four other medallions. I think that we may have something worth investigating here. I was trying to hide my little secret.

My uneasy feeling disappeared as I concentrated on her as the tears came, her voice choking up. I know how this may sound, but I do not trust anyone else. You have always treated me with respect and admiration and have always been honest with me, having accepted my work as good, trusting my judgment on every expedition, and I hope this one is no exception.

I gave her a hug, smiling. I know you well enough, and if you think this map and pendant are from a time of ancient past, then I will give you every benefit of the doubt. We will find the truth together.

Wei wasn’t a true Communist patriot. I had known for quite some time she had wanted the type of freedom we had in the West, hoping someday to relocate to the States. I continued smiling at her as I asked, What started this whole thing?

She looked at the others before folding back her long black hair, motioning me to join her a second later. Please walk with me.

We stopped about thirty feet away, far enough from the others so she could feel comfortable. I could feel apprehension building mixing with the fear of something I didn’t want to hear.

When I found the medallions, I thought they were nothing but painted plastic disks, until I picked them up. I knew immediately they were gold. Then I saw the map and figured they came as a set, and I was right. I knew I had something when I unrolled the map, because the ink used to draw it hadn’t been around for at least a thousand years. It was made from wild blackberries. That was three months ago. I started doing some research of my own until I showed them to an old man who had a house in old Peking. He looked at them with large eyes and then told me of a legend—that China was a free state at one time—of a lost empire that existed before widespread written history began. After he was done, I contacted you.

It was hard for me to believe what she told me, but I couldn’t deny the evidence so far. I rubbed her arm. Well, if there is any truth to any of this, I will find it, and I’m sure the rest will agree. I smiled. Come on, let’s get some sleep. We’ve a long day tomorrow.

The night was cool, almost cold. I could barely make out the trees using the stars as a guide. It was quiet, with the exception of an occasional cricket and the ringing of my ears. I still found it hard to believe Soon, but I had nothing else to go on with. I almost hoped this trip would produce nothing, but my insides were telling me differently.

That next morning just before daylight, I studied the map to see how far this so-called valley was from where we were, until Carl woke. What are you doing up at this hour?

I looked at him before smiling and answering, Just seeing how far we have to go to find this so-called valley.

You don’t believe it’s there, do you?

Not really, but I said I would at least try.

Well, there or not, right now, I’m going to get another hour of shut-eye. See you then.

Starting out on bikes that Soon’s government had provided as the sun rose on what was little more than a deer path, all of us immediately knew this would be a long ride. We headed south on the thirty-kilometer trek, looking for a large shallow valley surrounded by mountains. It was there this city was, or its remains were. I had doubts that anything would be found, including this valley. After 5,300 years of earthquakes, landslides, and floods, the land had to have changed dramatically, but we would look anyway.

I could hear Carl silently complain about the conditions of the road, finally voicing them, Why in hell do we have to travel this way, for God’s sake. Couldn’t we have a more modern form of transportation? This isn’t the nineteenth century.

All I did was laugh as Soon responded to Carl’s inquiry. China hasn’t changed much in the more remote areas for the last three thousand years. The bikes are a recent innovation here.

Great. Now all that remains is the invention of fire.

Soon smiled, shaking her head.

By that afternoon, Carl was the first to notice the valley. John! There!

I darted my head in the direction he pointed at before looking to the map. It matched. Oh wow. It does exist.

The rest then saw the place that had supposedly changed history. Otis was a little overexcited, darting out ahead of the rest of us on his way to the believed center of town. Come on! What the hell is everybody waiting for!

It took us the better part of an hour to reach the middle, all of us jerking our heads from side to side looking for the pile of stones. It was Soon who saw them. Over there! See, over there!

Reaching the rocks, we discovered the top rock was carved into the shape of an arrow, just like Wei was told, even though it was greatly worn away by the relentless pounding of nature over the many centuries.

The six of us crowded around the mound, focusing on the tip pointing north toward the distant mountains. Then Carl spoke up. John, take a look at this.

Carl and I looked to the map to find that the same thing was written, as well as something to do with a cave or mine. There we would find something that should not have been in existence at that time, a golden steel sword, golden crown, along with golden armor, golden leggings, and a shield. Now I began to wonder if there was something to this. It would take us two days on foot to reach the foothills, but we would cut that down by over a day using the already beat-up bikes.

I looked at Carl, who was showing a near grim look, lightly shaking his head. I expected him to say something, and he did. Damn, again with the bikes.

The road system in China wasn’t the best by far, as most were little more than bumpy, potholed two tracks twisting through what seemed to be endless wilderness, but it was better than the deer path we were on earlier.

Carl hadn’t stopped his bellyaching, and an occasional colorful four-letter metaphor escaped from his lips every time he was unable to avoid one of the holes, but he made do, until he hit a big one. What came out was just short of a yell and a lot larger than four letters. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself, nor could anyone else in our group. My laugh was a reminder that I knew he didn’t like bike ever since he wrapped a bike around a tree when he was a boy, and not just once but three separate times. I remember some of the same words coming out of his mouth then. Maybe that’s why he became a jogger. You think?

As I focused ahead, I found it hard to believe that over a billion people lived here when we haven’t run across anyone since we got here—that is, until the army helicopters started flying overhead by late in the afternoon.

The same familiar feeling of the day before came over me, with the same thought, wondering if the Chinese government had found out the truth as to why we were here. Soon? I don’t like this! Are you sure they don’t know the true nature of our visit?

I caught her looking at them as she spoke, There is no way they could know. I had made it perfectly clear as to our intentions. They just don’t want us to wander off somewhere we shouldn’t be wandering off to. You must remember, my government is very suspicious of any outsider. They will buzz us for a day or two, then leave us alone, I hope.

After our exhausting journey, I noticed the choppers were gone. My thoughts now were that this had to be some elaborate hoax to prevent the would-be adventurer from discovering some plot to take over the world. But I would soon be proven wrong. All of us dismounted our metal horses slowly as to not injure ourselves any more than the pain we already felt, and all stared at a wall of brittle rock in front of us. I glanced at everyone there, There’s no sense in starting now. It will be dark in less than an hour. We’ll begin our search in the morning.

By dark, we had made camp, but Carl was nowhere to be found. It was an hour after sunset when I caught him walking to the campfire, looking like a Texas cowboy who had sat a little too long in the saddle. I would guess he was still quite sore from riding.

Out for a little exercise? I would have thought that the bike ride would have been enough. I guess I was wrong, and you are in better shape than I thought.

He gave a look of mild disgust before trying to sit down, grunting as his rear found the hard ground with a painful thud. Ow, damn! You know, John, I have been in some unusual places before, but never have I had to ride myself there. I have never been so exhausted in all my life.

He could see a snicker forming and knew that a snide comment was coming.

I guess you needed a little conditioning before doing this. Maybe next time you’ll listen to me and prepare for the next expedition.

Fine, you win this time, but if the next one involves riding bikes, count me out.

Chuckling, I looked around at the rest, seeing all but Soon ready to fall asleep standing. I stared at her, focusing her total attention at the wall of rock to the north two hundred yards away, almost mesmerized by the dark gray barrier. I knew rest was in order. Tomorrow we would start. She turned toward me as I said, Get a good night’s rest, everyone. See you in the morning.

By full light, we began searching the rocky outcropping, looking at every crack and crevice, and found nothing.

By the fourth day, I was about to give it up and return to our drop-off site and go home until Soon pleaded with me to give it one more day. I didn’t want to agree, but I said that I would find out the truth. I felt that something was here, and we were overlooking it somehow. I turned, looking at the beat-up bikes, beginning to feel like Carl, thinking about the ride back, and that was what convinced me to try one more day.

That night, a storm came through, a big one. I found out that Chinese tents were not waterproof. For hours, all of us bailed water until our arms nearly fell off. The rain let up by the wee hours of the morning, and we were finally able to get some sleep.

By daylight, the rain had stopped completely, but the clouds hung around. It was cool, still, not so much as a breath of breeze to move the light fog away. Once again I began my search. I went over the same places on this wall of cracked rock, finding nothing. All of us looked hard until…

John! Over here. It was Otis calling; he had come across a crack that wasn’t noticed before. None of us remembered it from yesterday; apparently, the rain had cleaned it out. I raised the map to verify our position when it flopped over. I straightened it, only to have it flop over again. I realized, as my heart skipped a beat, that this crack had air coming out from it. Carl and I looked at each other in amazement. We took our picks, punching a hole big enough to get in, discovering a large chamber.

When we used flashlights and looked about, a long mound of dirt and rock presented itself to us. Brad and Otis thought it might be a grave and the place we were all in was a tomb, but the mound was too narrow, and unless he or she were very skinny, it had to be something else. As I gazed down, I said to myself, It can’t be that easy.

After striking