Lion of the Sands — Robert Sullivan

Book 1 in a series of 4 - The Long Journey of Agymah Chahine: A story that spans the ancient globe, filled with danger, adventure, hope and endurance. It tells of Agymah Chahine, a simple carpenter from the city of Abydos in Ancient Egypt, of his adventures in the Army of the Pharaoh, and of battles with the ferocious Lion of the Sands. The series chronicles the journey of Agymah and his friends from the souqs of Egypt to the far side of the world. It tells of the perils they faced, the dangers they shared, the tragedies they endured and, finally, of their journey home, through a Land of Golden Peonies, beneath Pavilions of Ice, across Seas of Sand and Blood, and so unto their homeland. This is Agymah’s story.The cohort ran ten wide, each with twenty men across its front. We moved quickly to the head of the valley and turned as one onto the flat ground between the hillsides. Ahead we could see the boiling clouds of the battle and glimpse strange shapes, enormous shapes, that seemed to fly through the dust. We saw the flash of weapons in the sun, and heard the roars of the men and their screams as they were destroyed. And for the first time, we heard, louder and more terrible than before, the howl of the Beast. The Centurions shouted and for a moment the line slowed, then the drums began to beat more quickly, until, with a roar of pride and anger, the line surged forward, and in that final moment as the dust cleared, before us opened the maw of hell.