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A
new-born baby is left naked and exposed to die on a city wall
while his father is hanged for petty theft a few feet away amid
the cheers and hoots of a crazed mob.
Petronicus,
an itinerant healer and man of wisdom, takes the babe to heart
and together they begin a quest for knowledge, groping through
a maze of magic and madness to find answers in the cruel and mysterious
ancient world.
The
boy grows to manhood in strange lands where a chosen few risk
death in their search for truth, bitterly opposed by ruthless
rulers and puppet priests who strive to enslave their subjects
in a perpetual Dark Age of superstition and suspicion.
The
heart-warming, honest but complex simplicity Petronicus and his
adopted son share leave the reader wiser than when he joined them
on their remarkable journey.
Not
since the Fables of Aesop has a book like this been written. And
Tomlinson wraps the sage advices in the tales Petronicus tells
in a story as intriguing and exciting as any high-octane thriller
- with characters so real you'll meet them time and again in your
dreams … and your nightmares.
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Excerpt
from Prologue.
Petronicus
was glad to shake the dust of Bedosa from his feet as he left
the town. He still carried the child in his robe but there was
no crying and it seemed to sleep contentedly.
They camped that night by a lake and Petronicus started
to make a basket of reeds and grasses to tie onto his donkey for
the child to ride in. Feeding was difficult and he had to chew
the bread in his own mouth before giving it to the child.
"And what shall become of you, I wonder?" Petronicus
asked as they lay down for the night.
The darkness came over them but it was still warm with only
a slight hint of approaching winter in the night air. They continued
their journey the next day with the child safely in the basket
on the donkey's back.
"Bobbing about makes the brain work," said Petronicus
to the smiling child. "The guard asked me what I should do
with you. Well, child, whoever you are, I will teach you the thoughts
of Man and the words that tell of them. I will teach you my trade
and you will be a man when I am old and I will die on clean straw
that you will bring for me."
Petronicus, the child and the donkey headed for the Land
of the Tall Trees where the winter's snow seldom fell and the
wind blew warm from the Inner Lands.
Excerpt
from Chapter Seven
Just
then we heard a commotion from the other side of the market place.
People were running about and shouting but we could just see what
was happening through the narrow alleyways between the houses.
"Mercy on us," said Mentis as we watched. "It
is the Ruler and the head priest. And look, men with long blades!"
We watched as the horror unfolded. I could see clearly the
immense blades they carried and how they swirled them around themselves
and nobody could ever get near to them.
"They have taken them from the gods in the boat. Oh,
there is such evil here. They carry the weapons of the gods! Come
we must go, quickly," said Mentis.
"No, wait, Mentis! Look!" The Ruler of Bedosa,
a young man but very tall and muscular, approached a scribe who
had been reading a prayer for an old woman. He held one of the
great blades in his hand. He grabbed the scribe and pushed him
to the ground, and then I witnessed the greatest horror I had
ever seen. The Ruler brought his long sharp blade down and cut
deeply into the scribe's leg. The people fell silent. I wanted
to run to the scribe and push my clenched fist into his wound
to stop the bleeding as Petronicus had taught me. But I felt the
hand of Mentis on my shoulder restraining me. Nobody moved in
the market place and then the people fell to their knees with
their heads bowed before them.
Mentis whispered to me: "Come quickly, Petronius."
He held me by the arm and pushed me into a side alley between
the houses. We moved quickly through alleyways and streets that
Mentis was familiar with.
"Where are we going, Mentis? Where will we hide?"
"We go first to the House of the Tablets. I must give
you something for Petronicus."
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