The Apocalypse of Charlemagne
A Bifurcated Fable
Historical Fantasy – 86,000 words, complete
On the eve of launching a critical military campaign in northern Italy, Charlemagne’s sanity hangs by a thread. Bewitched by both Saxon sorcery and Byzantine curses, the Frankish king has no idea that his ultimate deliverance hinges on the choices of a confused knight, thrown back in time, whose fantastical journey through an altered reality populated by giant dragonflies and mystical visions begins to align itself with that of the Carolingian ruler.
Both imperfect heroes seek healing and unexpectedly attract loyal companions who help them through hostile territories and alien lands. Each is drawn to a peculiar town located atop a sacred mountain in the Italian Piedmont. There, at the waters of an ancient well built by archangels and guarded by mysterious women, the fate of all is decided in an apocalyptic confrontation between malevolent powers thirsting for destruction and forces for good struggling towards redemption.
WIP: MAP UNDER CONSTRUCTION
773 A.D. – The journeys of both Charlemagne and the Knight.
After Carolus burns the Saxon’s precious Irminsul, he travels south along the Fluvius Rhenus (Rhine River). Regrouping before crossing the Alps to attack the Long Beards, disaster strikes.
On a quest for answers, the Knight departs the Realm of Possible with his Dragonfly companion. Emerging in the Italian Piedmont, they make their way to the mysterious town of Oropa.