Below is the opening Prologue to The Stone of Destiny - Part 1.

To You, the Finder of my Journal

If you are reading this, know that what you hold in your hands may be all that is left of me. I have carried this story, this adventure for as long as I could. My faith has been tested, my beliefs shattered, my life changed forever. These pages tell of a quest through the past and into the present, taken by those who sought the truth. The ripples of whose footsteps could still prove to affect the destiny of mankind.

My part in this story has been that of a bumbling observer, swept along on the wake of a man who dedicated his life to following a legend. It is a part that has unwittingly left me as chronicler, the one person who can pass on the knowledge and discoveries we found along the way. But my time ran out. Betrayed and taken from the light of the world, my part in this tale has now come to an end. All I can do is put my memories to paper in the hope that my story will not be lost.

If you are reading this, friend, the weight of this story must pass to you. You are my successor. You are the person upon whose shoulders I must place the great responsibility of picking up a trail that will have long gone cold.

At best guess it has been about twelve days since I was unjustly incarcerated and thrown into the dark cell I now call home. What I know of my captors and place of detainment will be revealed, but not yet. You must live this journey through my eyes and learn all you need to know the way I did.

In truth I am hoping that the writing of this journal will also help focus my mind. The abject loneliness of imprisonment is, I fear, beginning to take its toll on my sanity. The secrets contained within my memories cannot be lost to madness should I fail to escape.

The ending of my tale will no doubt contain my final words and as such I humbly request that, once you have read and used it however you feel best, you would see it brought to my family who will be, as yet, unaware of my fate. I do not wish to divulge my true identity here however. It is possible that my family and friends may already be in danger from those who imprison me. I do not wish to add to that chance should this journal fall into the hands of others who would seek to possess that which I hide. Therefore I must trust that, from the detail I do give within these pages, you will be able to figure out how best to complete this task.

I realise now that to you my words must sound somewhat incredulous and far-fetched, but please, allow me the chance to enthral you the way I was so many years ago.

Now, where to start... 

Day 2

A Night of Destiny

They’ve found me!

This single thought, this nerve shredding moment of realisation, was where my quest truly began. On a road between two castles, I fled a persistent enemy I had unknowingly attracted the day I offered help to a stranger. They came for a secret I carried, that much I knew. What they intended to do should they catch me, however, was a mystery I had so far managed to postpone finding the answer to.

Fear pounded in my chest as I imagined all the terrible outcomes that might await me, each one becoming more and more horrifying and far-fetched, all the while thinking how foolish I had been. With a desperate longing for excitement and adventure, I’d jumped blindly into something I had no business with.

I had left home barely two days previous to deliver a package to a friend of a friend I had only known briefly. It had been a foolish thing to do. On this day I should have been heading home. Destiny, it seemed, had other plans for me though.

Under the murky veil of a stormy summer night, the road before me seemed endless. The cone of light projected ahead by the vehicle’s headlamps penetrated but a short distance, leaving the dark to close in around me like a prison cell.

So dark and oppressive was this shroud that I almost didn’t see the sign. With a sudden sharp turn that threw me hard against the door, I found myself heading toward an inevitable dead end. It was an action beyond my control, and the lights behind had been too close to have not seen the change in direction. The fear pounded harder.

The twists and turns of the serpentine road ahead were hard to follow. I could feel my heart beating behind my eyes, pulsing like a timer counting down to my doom.

The end to this futile escape attempt was now before me. To reach the causeway crossing that stood between me and the island, only to find that it had already been claimed by dark tidal waters, was to literally find myself caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

I asked myself then....how had it come to this?

This is where my quest really began as I said. A traumatic wake up from the quiet life I had led before. However, it is not where my story must start. For that I need to go back two years ago to a night that was to change everything.

This is just a taster of what is to come. Get your copy of The Stone of Destiny - Part 1 by D. T. Angell now to see just how far this journey takes Tom Keeldan from home.