Africa 2000 BC In a world of unremitting danger and unendurable oppression YOU need a Messiah... The story of the Uran’s astonishing war with the Andracians reaches its heroic, savage end in Vol II of the Stone Messiah. THE Seafarers of Sumerian origin settle in Mozambique, south of the Rovuma in East Africa, establishing the Uran civilisation, which grows and flourishes for 300 years. 2070 BC, a huge maritime expedition from Egypt reaches Tanzania, founding an empire. Generations later, defeating the Urans, they bring that civilisation to the brink of annihilation. This could be for you, if you loved films like Gladiator or Brave Heart, or the legends of King Arthur and Troy, or the epics of Spartacus and Hannibal and you would like a slice of beautifully written, non formulaic, fast moving men’s fiction. Immerse yourself in another, very different world, of both realism and imagination. A world with the density and clarity of myth, where human fate lies in their own hands and the Gods do not intervene. In this life and death struggle for deliverance, the sharpest weapon of all is the mind. By the time the journey of six heroes reaches its end, you will know them and their world very well. The Story So Far – in Volume I The story begins as the capital of the Uran nation is devastated and the people massacred. A single child, known as Tytis, is found alive. At twenty, Tytis gathers his youthful allies and challenges for the leadership of the Urans. A ferocious battle between the Andracians and Urans occurs. The leadership of Tytis is confirmed and they become committed to a long and merciless war. The Andracians send a second, vaster army south to engage the Urans. A second, decisive battle is fought. Then, plague sweeps the land, and to survive, they are forced to abandon war and retreat south. When unknown sea farers from Madagascar are thrown up on the coast, some of the leaders decide to voyage there. After many trials and adventures, they return to their homeland to resume the war. The pattern of the story changes to include a tapestry of minor events. The execution of a young man. Tytis’s bitter verbal confrontation with a prophetess. An encounter with a women whom his armies have widowed. An Uran’s harrowing experience of a hideous death. Tytis visits the Andracian Serak who had been the Emperor De-mere’s custodian for sixteen years. Serak recounts the founding of Andrax, the history of the Andracians and the defeat of the Urans and the fate of Tytis’s father. One of Tytis’s closest comrades is captured and taken to Andrax to be executed. In the hope of saving his comrade, Tytis visits the northern city. Tula rashly tries to assassinate Live the torturer.. Volume I ends in this long climacteric chapter. In Vol II The Urans set out to besiege two cities in the north, crossing the river that divides the nations. Shaken by a defeat in their seventh campaign, the Urans prepare for an immense pitched battle, with a sense of dread and omens of catastrophe. In the South Lands - is the lull before the storm as the Urans consider every aspect of their planned assault on the city of Andrax. The story from Leulan’s lips, of the murder of his father and brothers and his brutal transition to manhood.