The Karus Saga (#1-4) - Marc Alan Edelheit Audiobook

Written by Marc Alan Edelheit
Format: M4B

#1 - Lost Legio IX

One of history’s greatest mysteries, the Ninth Imperial Legion guarding Rome’s northernmost frontier in Britannia disappeared around the year 122 AD. This is their story.

Badly outnumbered, facing certain destruction, and cut off from supply, the Imperial Roman Ninth Legion Hispana is in a desperate position. Surrounded by the hostile Celtic army, Senior Centurion Lucious Grackus Lisidus Karus must lead his men to safety after unexpectedly finding himself thrust into command of the legion.

Then the unthinkable happens.

Karus and the Ninth are transported to a strange place, far away from the Britannia they knew. The legion’s deliverance from danger at first appears to be a blessing from the gods, but slowly they begin to uncover the secrets of this new land, a world that is slowly being overrun by a terrible evil.

A young woman is discovered in a dungeon, where she has been abandoned and left to starve. Inextricably linked with Karus’ own destiny, she may be the key to salvation, or worse, the instrument of destruction for the Ninth.

Cast adrift in a terrible war, Karus must find his way through the mysteries of this unfamiliar world, one that is filled with true magic, strange alien races, evil gods, and dragons. More importantly, Karus must discover his destiny, and complete a desperate task set for him by a god of Rome. Should he fail, it will mean certain destruction for the Ninth, the triumph of evil, and the rise of a new order.

#2 - Fortress of Radiance

Surrounded by an army of Celts and facing certain destruction, the Ninth Imperial Legion, one of Rome’s most powerful military formations, has been unexpectedly transported to the world of Tannis. The legion, now under the command of Camp Prefect Karus, finds itself lost in a strange land. Cut off from everything they have known, they find temporary shelter in the abandoned city of Carthum.

They quickly learn an unholy army of orcs, goblins, trolls, and humans known as the Horde is on the march, sweeping across the face of Tannis like a dark tide, conquering one land at a time. No force upon this world has been able to withstand the armies of the enemy. Yet the Horde has never met the might of Rome, and Karus means to fight.

In the dungeons under the palace, Amarra, last of the faithful, is found. Together they are visited by Jupiter himself and given a series of dangerous tasks that sets them on the path of destiny. The first is to recover the dread sword Rarokan the Soul Breaker from the Fortress of Radiance. But the sword has a will of its own, and the enemy will stop at nothing to get the dangerous relic.

Aided by the dragons Cyln’phax and Kordem, Karus and Amarra must set out on a perilous journey to the Fortress of Radiance to bring back the dread sword. Should they fail and the enemy get to it first, all will be lost.

#3- The First Compact

Having been transported to the world of Tanis, separated from everything they know, the Ninth find themselves caught amidst an ancient war of the gods. Like a dark tide, the Horde is slowly conquering one nation after another, and a great migration of peoples has begun fleeing westward before the enemy’s advancing armies. No has been able to stand against the might of the Horde. But the Horde has never faced the power of a Roman legion.

Cast adrift in this strange, fantastical world, so unlike the one he knew, Karus has been given a number of tasks by his God Jupiter, known in this world as the High Father. Karus’s holy mission and mandate: retrieve a dread artifact and form an alliance with the peoples of this world so together they can withstand the might of the enemy and finally escape Tanis before it is too late. If he succeeds, the reward is everything Romulus and Remus were promised. If he fails, all will be lost and the Ninth destroyed.

Aided by the dragons Cyln’Phax and Kordem and the dwarven warchief Shoega, Karus and Amarra have succeeded in the first task, retrieving the dread sword Rarokan. It is a weapon that is both powerful and incredibly dangerous, for it has a mind of its own and an evil agenda.

Returning from the Fortress of Radiance, Karus must now find a way to save Shoega’s besieged warband, cure the sickness ravaging his legion, and then defeat an enemy army that outnumbers his legion greatly before he can even begin to think about unifying the free peoples of Tanis, who dislike and despise one another.

#4 - Rapax Pax

Having been transported to the world of Tannis, separated from everything they know, the Ninth find themselves caught amidst an ancient war of the gods. Like a dark tide, the Horde is slowly conquering one nation after another, and a great migration of peoples has begun fleeing westward before the enemy’s advancing armies. No one has been able to stand against the might of the Horde. But the Horde has never faced the power of a Roman legion.

Cast adrift in this strange, fantastical world, so unlike the one he knew, Karus has been given a number of tasks by his god Jupiter, known in this world as the High Father. Karus’s holy mission and mandate: retrieve a dread artifact and form an alliance with the peoples of this world so together they can withstand the might of the enemy and finally escape Tannis before it is too late. If he succeeds, the reward is everything Romulus and Remus were promised. If he fails, all will be lost and the Ninth destroyed.

Aided by the dragons Cyln’Phax and Kordem and the dwarven warchief Shoega, Karus and Amarra have succeeded in the first task, retrieving the dread sword Rarokan. It is a weapon that is both powerful and incredibly dangerous, for it has a mind of its own and an evil agenda.

Now comes a greater and the more difficult task, forming a greater alliance. Only, the peoples of this world dislike and despise one another with intensity. It seems like an impossible job. Still, Karus somehow must find a way to unify them, and he is not one to easily give up.

Having destroyed an army of the Horde in a desperate fight, the legion, for the moment, is safe. Karus has won a major victory. However, the Horde has many more armies where that one came from, and the enemy is certain to strike back, for Karus and the legion represent a threat that cannot be ignored.

Not only does Karus have the legion to look after, but also the camp followers, along with thousands of people from this new world. Having gathered and scrounged all the supplies they can from an abandoned city and the surrounding countryside, Karus must march the legion, along with the remnants of the dwarven warband and thousands of civilians, west and away from the enemy in search of not only allies, but also safety, if such a thing can be found on Tannis. But, most importantly, Karus needs time, something he does not have, for not only are there enemies behind, but also on the road ahead to the west, the one down which he marches.