The Hero’s Chamber
By
Ian Newton
Copyright 2014 Ian Newton
Illustrations by Marcia Adams Ho, Copyright 2013
Cover design and Cover illustration by Marcia Adams Ho, Copyright 2013
Dedications
To Connor, Brandon, and George -
Because you were there when I dreamt it and because I told you I would.
To my amazing wife Elizabeth -
If you weren’t by my side, I never could have finished this project.
To Gwynn -
For your limitless support and love and for being a zombie.
To Lynn B. -
You’re one of a kind and I’m a huge fan.
To Neil, Geddy, and Alex -
If you read between the lines, you’ll hear your songs.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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In the early morning hours of July 5th 2006, I woke up from a dream. Since then, I’ve tried to write down what I experienced; to express what I saw, to tell the story of my dream.
The reason for my effort and the purpose of this book is to get the images, the story, the characters, and the emotions out of my head.
With my dream finally down in print, at least the first half of it, I know that I will be able to put aside the unreasonably detailed visions that have danced through my head for years. After you read it, I hope you understand why I had to write it down.
Ian Newton
July 5th, 2013
Table of Contents
Preface - FRAYED EDGES
Chapter 1 - FRIENDS
Chapter 2 - MR. MILLER
Chapter 3 - THE KINGDOM AS IT WAS
Chapter 4 - FIRST STEPS
Chapter 5 - AN EARLY DEPARTURE
Chapter 6 - THE WASTELANDS
Chapter 7 - HEAVY BURDENS
Chapter 8 - DAYS TURN TO WEEKS
Chapter 9 - KNOWLEDGE AND PERSPECTIVE
Chapter 10 - CONSEQUENCES
Chapter 11- FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Chapter 12 - EASY TRAVELING
Chapter 13 - BASE CAMP
Chapter 14 - A SLIPPERY SLOPE
Chapter 15 - THE HERO’S CHAMBER
Chapter 16 - STRANGE ATTRACTORS
Chapter 17 - THE WANDERER’S WAY
Chapter 18 - PROMISES FULFILLED
Chapter 19 - UNEXPECTED GIFTS
Chapter 20 - SUNRISE
Chapter 21 - THE CALL
Chapter 22 - WISDOM
Beyond The Hero’s Chamber- Preface
My Team of Hero’s
About the Author
About the Illustrator
Dedications
Note from the Author
Preface
Frayed Edges
There is a man who’s been struck by lightning seven times. He’s still alive and in perfect health. The probability of this happening to anyone is one in ten octillion. That’s a one with twenty-nine zeroes after it (100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000). His wife’s been struck by lightning too, so that probably adds another zero.
A golfer recently hit ten ‘holes in one’ in less than four months. The probability of this happening is one in a quintillion. That’s a one with eighteen zeroes after it (1,000,000,000,000,000,000).
Two identical snowflakes were found in Wisconsin in 1988. That’s one in a nonillion or thirty zeroes (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) and did you know that for every person on the planet there is, was, or will be someone else that looks just like them? I think we all know that just shouldn’t be possible no matter how many zeroes come after it.
When these things happen, knowing how virtually impossible they should be, the randomness fades into repetition, and where there is repetition, there is a pattern.
Would it be surprising to learn that your world is like a factory-made dress? It was made from a well-worn pattern that’s been used to create the same world over and over.
Like the copies of a dress, the colors vary from the original and sometimes there is a stitch or two out of place. Eventually, the edges of the fabric fray and the rough edges with all their little imperfections are exposed.
If there is any certainty in this reality, it’s that there are stitches out of place, the fabric of our world is frayed, and the flaws are becoming more visible as the dress ages.
Of course, it’s not possible to look past the frayed edges of this reality to understand why the flaws exist. To do that, there will need to be a close inspection of the original, hand cut, hand stitched item.
Unfortunately, when comparing the original to a copy, the forgotten details, the lower quality materials and all the little alterations only confirm what you already know.
In order to understand the real difference, the one that blurs reality, the original needs to be seen and experienced first-hand as it was intended to be.
It’s waiting out there; in the arm of a small spiral galaxy, orbiting an ordinary yellow star on almost the exact opposite side of the universe.
Even from a distance, the blue of the air surrounding it and the even deeper blue of the salty oceans can be seen. There are colorful greens and browns blended onto the surface of the slowly drifting continents and the warmth from its molten core can practically be felt from the cold of space.
From just below cloud level, you can see the busy little people running around. They’re just like you and all the other people living on the copies. So much so, they don’t even realize where they are or why they might be so important..