The Ring of Cronus

THE RING OF CRONUS

INTRODUCTION

THE ORIGINATION OF RING

The ring mentioned in this book is reputed to have originally belonged to "Cronus" the Titan in ancient times. It was "Cronus" who was overthrown by his sons Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. The deed being completed the three brothers drew lots and Zeus won becoming the head of the Olympian gods and therefore the keeper of the ring. It is reputed that he visited many mortal women and fathered many children using the rings power. Eros the God of love also used the power of the ring but was cursed by the Gods when it was discovered that he had lost it during a visit to an African Princess. It lay undiscovered for centuries despite many searches by the distraught Ancient Gods. It was however discovered several hundred years ago by an African Witch Doctor and was empowered by the awesome power of the ring; it was a proverbial gift from the Gods. So great was his power that in the mistaken belief that he had transcended into a God, he was elected chief of his tribe. A position he held for several hundred years.

The ring therefore had only one mortal owner before it was handed to our hero John. Carrying the power of immortality, the mortal owner of the ring may only chose to die when he has found a successor to accept the golden ring with all its powers and the resultant consequences. Its power is such that unless controlled by the will of the owner it could overpower the mind of its owner to become an entity in itself and eventually rule the world.

The keeper of the ring has control over his physical sexual prowess, his sexual desire during the time he wears the ring is insatiable he can maintain his erection for as long as he desires and his recovery rate is instantaneous. His sperm production becomes unlimited in the quality and quantity, he is able to control the sperm count, how much or how little he ejaculates at any one time.; The wearer attains God like powers in this respect which allows him to overcome the normal 24 to 48 hours it takes for the ordinary mortal man to be able to produce more active sperm. The length of the owner's penis becomes variable according to the length and capacity of the woman he is with at any time, enabling him to satisfy her completely without the risk of damaging her, by being too large, or failing to give her satisfaction, by being too small.

The almost unlimited power of the ring endows its owner with the ability to read and control the minds and actions of other who are completely powerless to resist. It also empowers its owner to physically change in any way anything material; he would have the power to change a person's physical state including their health, size or shape; he could change, retard or advance any functionality of his own body or that of others. He could alter the shape of things having a mass or their functionality. He to all intents and purposes becomes almost a God; his powers limited only by his own ingenuity and imagination. If however he left the ring to its own devices and allowed the ring's power to rule him it could destroy the world, only if that happened he would be alone, having no-one to hand the ring onto; he would float in space alone tortured by his imagination, of what could have been, for eternity

The mortal owner of the ring has the power to heal himself, and others, but does not have the power to grant immortality or a longer life span than normal to any other mortal. Whilst wearing the ring he is protected from diseases and death although he may choose to die or not heal himself providing he passes on the ring to another, who has to accept it voluntarily, without persuasion or mind control of the owner at the time.

Many would see the power as a blessing and a curse; although giving the owner powers only controlled by his own imagination; his friends and family only live a normal life time span, thereby growing older and dying whilst the keeper of the ring remains young and virile. He has to constantly watch the aging process take place ultimately knowing that his loneliness for his loved ones will continue until his demise.

The story is entirely the imagination of the author and to the best of his knowledge and belief no one has yet found the missing ring forged and worn by Cronus the Titan

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BOOK ONE

CHAPTER 1 THE POWER OF THE RING

John Carter, at the age of thirty one, had begun to think that he must be very boring to the opposite sex. He had had a few romantic flings with several different women but nothing had really developed into what anyone might term as a long term relationship. He had started to dwell along the lines that he would end his days as a bachelor, he had money and a house, in a good part of the city, and admittedly it was in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia in Central Africa, but it was where he had a well established accountancy practice. The practice was not large but his selected clients were wealthy and paid his fees without question. He was good at his chosen career, a chartered accountant; however he seemed unable to attract the right kind of women. He drove a new Range Rover and he dressed well but somehow he came across to women as an uninteresting individual, more commonly termed a nerd. This however was soon to change as our story unfolds

John was driving home from a visit to a wealthy farming client along a dirt road near Lusaka. The night was dark with clouds obscuring the moon. Every now and then there would be a break in the clouds and the moon would illuminate everything in a silvery light. The dirt road ran for miles though rough bush with no fences or lighting apart from the occasional glimpse of a lighted widow from a distant farm or a glow of a fire burning outside a mud walled hut. The African bush although dark was alive with sounds of crickets and other nocturnal animals; however sparsely inhabited by humans the bush was alive with thousands of every kind of insect and wild animals.

John rounded a corner just as the moon illuminated a bundle at the side of the road. It looked like some kind of injured animal but in the moonlight he caught a glimpse of feathers standing out from the fur. The picture framed in his mind was that a predator had caught a bird and itself been killed at the point of his victims demise. Initially he was startled at this strange sight, for it did not look like anything he had ever seen before and he braked hard, slewing to a halt causing a thick dust cloud to rise. John waited for the dust to settle and reversed back beyond the bundle until his head lights shone directly on it. The bundle stirred. He looked carefully about to ensure no animal or human attacker was hiding and he cautiously got out of the vehicle; he carefully approached the heap of fur and feathers, at the same time moving his eyes swiftly to the left and right, scanning all directions looking for the slightest signs of movement. A dust covered face seemed to appear from the heap and a moan escaped from the blooded lips. The bundle was human and more importantly it was alive.

John continued to scan the perimeter of the area illuminated by his vehicle headlights wondering if this could be a trap, an attempt to try and hi-jack his vehicle. Everyone had heard so many stories and he had been warned on so many occasions by his friends, in and out of the police force, not to stop in this kind of circumstance as accomplices of the prone figure could be hiding in the bush ready to pounce. His furtively scanning eyes could see nothing suspicious and he decided that he could not leave an injured human being by the side of the road. He instinctively knew that he would not be able to live with the fact, that if he left, whoever it was lying by the side of the road could die and it would be on his conscience for ever.

Returning to the open door of the Range rover and reaching into the vehicle John grabbed his water bottle, he always carried one when travelling in the bush. It is advisable never to be without water as the vehicle could breakdown and the driver could be stranded for hours. Once he had retrieved the water container he went over to the still unrecognisable figure lying inert at the side of the road, the head of the prone figure rose up his body supported on one elbow and it was the almost opaque eyes reflected by the light from the headlights which seemed to drill into John's very being. That, he later recalled, was the thing that startled him and seemingly captured his attention, forcing him to help the injured wreck of humanity. John reached underneath the figure to support the injured person in a semi sitting position and poured a little water from his bottle to the cracked and dry lips.

Looking closer John became aware that the feathers, which had caught his eye when the lights had picked out the prone figure were part of a head dress and the fur was a 'kiros' (skirt of strips of fur and monkey tails) worn around the waist by a witch doctor. The piteously dirty figure's legs were clearly broken and he was bleeding badly from several different places, the injured man, John assessed in his own mind, was in a very serious condition. John was immediately aware that he had to get him to hospital as soon as possible and having no idea what other injuries the man might have that he could not see, he was afraid to try and lift the man for fear of causing further damage.

John spoke to the old man and asked where else he had pain, the response from the frail figure, already weak from the loss of blood, as he looked up into John's eyes and tried in vain to speak, was silence. The staring eyes seemed to lose focus and with a sudden intake of breath the injured figure groaned and shivered as the person slipped into unconsciousness. Reacting quickly John began running back to the vehicle starting up the engine he cautiously reversed until the rear of the vehicle was as close to the unconscious victim as he could possibly get and opening the rear door he reached inside and put down the rear seats ensuring that there was sufficient room for the injured person to lay in the back of the vehicle. Then covering the carpet with one of the car rugs kept for the same type of emergency as the water, for even in Zambia it could get cold in the bush at night.

John was concerned and wondered how on earth he was going to lift the unconscious figure up over the lowered tailgate without causing further injuries. John looked around and saw that there was a thick bundle of stout staves that the injured 'victim' had been carrying, John had begun to think of the prone figure as a man as he had never seen woman dressed as the prone figure in Zambia. John quickly grabbing them and untying the thin strip of bark holding the bundle together he took out two of the thickest and straightest of the staves from the bundle, John laid them along the broken limbs, stabilising them as he strapped them as best he could using bandages from the vehicles first aid kit in a vain attempt to try and immobilise the odd shaped legs as much as possible. Once this task had been completed the rest of the bundle of stakes were laid against the tailgate of the vehicle forming a simple slide between the tailgate and the ground. John set about easing him up into the back, the unconscious figure was pitiably thin and John was surprised by the ease at which he was able to slide the inert body up and over the tailgate, laying the unconscious body as carefully and comfortably as possible on the blanket in rear of the vehicle.

In the illumination of the interior light John could perceive that the injured figure was indeed a man, but in the light he looked a peculiar shade of grey, almost a putty colour which reflected the seriousness of the injuries, the old man was deeply unconscious, and was moaning with pain. John covered him with a car rug and drove slowly towards the city trying to avoid the potholes in the pitted dirt road. As he drew nearer to the city and the street lights gradually light up the rear of the vehicle he could see more clearly through the rear view mirror, the figure was that of an elderly man, of indeterminable age, and from the looks of his clothing had been out in the open for some time.

Arriving at last at the hospital; John rushed into the Casualty Department and finally managed to rouse one of the night staff.

"Come quickly," John shouted, "get a stretcher, help me to carry an injured old man into the hospital."

It was obvious even to John that the old man was very badly injured and when a cash deposit was demanded prior to getting patient into hospital John willingly paid, to enable the old man to get treatment. The hospital, as usual in Africa, had no resident night doctor and the staff would have to call one out to attend to the injured and very weak patient. John readily gave his details when the night staff asked "Can we have you're address? We need it for the police. They will want to interview you regarding where and when you found the victim." John knew that his details would also allow the hospital to trace him for any further payment required for the patient's treatment. The staff on duty expressed their concern "The patient looks to be in a critical condition and that despite all your efforts and assistance you've given him. The reality of the matter is that the patient may not make it through the night."

Arriving home John could not explain, even to himself, why he had been so stupid as to stop by the side of the road under such conditions. He realised the folly of his actions, he could easily have been murdered and his treasured Range Rover stolen. The following morning John rang the hospital and enquired as to the health of the old man, that he had risked his life for and delivered to them during the night, and was told that the patient was alive and although slipping in and out of consciousness, he had been asking for John.

The hospital staff said, "We realise, you have already gone out of your way to assist the old man, but we would like you to come into the hospital and put a dying man at ease." Reluctantly John agreed and checking his diary for details he rang his clients cancelling and rescheduling his day's appointments for the following week and drove, unknowingly, to meet his destiny.

Arriving at the hospital John quickly explained to the duty receptionist, who he was, and was shown through to the intensive care unit. The old man looked very sick as he lay on the bed with his legs in plaster, on traction; his breathing was shallow and aided by an oxygen mask. His head was bandaged the lacerations to his face had been stitched, but his colour was a still a sickly pale grey and he looked as though he would not last out the day.

John whispered quietly to the nursing staff "What are the old man's chances of recovery?" they solemnly shook their heads. The sister on duty explained.

"The patient has been in theatre for a considerable time and the doctor has done as much as possible, but he still has injuries that still have to be dealt with, which have had to be postponed due to his poor condition and they could not keep him under the anaesthetic any longer or it appeared his heart would give out. The doctors," the sister continued, "are amazed that he was alive at all, his injuries are so bad and with the long period of exposure to the elements, his injuries should have killed even a strong healthy man."

John pondered asking himself if the old man would even regain consciousness, let alone speak to him, as John sat looking at this pitiful specimen of humanity and wondering if he would ever gain consciousness the old man's eyes flicked open. He slowly but surely raised his arm and using his finger he beckoned John forward and John lent towards him, the hospital staff had tried to clean him up but the sickly smell of corruption clung to him and as John began to pull back. The old man moved his arms and reached with one hand pulling an old ring off his finger and gestured for John to take it. John gestured back with his hands and shaking his head and speaking softly.

He said "No, No I do not want anything from you as a reward I just could not leave you lying beside the road."

At which the old man became distressed and he grew agitated and again gestured for John to take the ring, fearing that his agitation would cause the injured man more pain John took it. Amazingly as John let the ring lie in the palm of his hand it was instantly noticeable that the ring radiated a warm area around it, more than could be attributed to the retained heat from the old man's finger, and the ring seemed to change from being a dull lump of base metal and it began to give off a faint glow of gold. The old man pointed to John's finger and slowly nodded his head. To appease him and to prevent him becoming agitated again John slowly complied with the old man's request thinking to himself what harm could come from this simple gesture and pushed the tawdry ring, which John was convinced would be too small, onto his finger.

The ring had no sooner slipped onto John's finger when it seemed to change, the faint glow that had appeared to radiate from the dull appearance seemed to melt away and it shone like a newly burnished gold ring. The ring seemed to do the impossible, adjusting its size to be a perfect and comfortable fit and reshaping itself, as John watched, it slid over his knuckle and fit his finger perfectly. John became aware of a voice in his head that seemed to be in an unfamiliar African language that he did not understand. The meaning of the words suddenly became clear, as he could understand their meaning; as his mind became fully conversant with the language. The suddenness of the change which had allowed him to understand a language he had never heard before startled John.

The nurse came into the room and asked the patient.

"How are you feeling?"

He did not answer her; but John had become aware that he could clearly understand every word of the African dialect in which she spoke.

Speaking in the same dialect, John explained,

"The patient had opened his eyes but had not spoken."

The nurse stood almost unable to believe her ears, she was amazed at hearing the reply to her question from a person who had not indicated that he could speak her language, especially as the reply had been spoken so perfectly in her native tongue. The nurse replied again in her own language, "

I'll get the doctor to look at him shortly;"

She then left John alone with the patient to see if she could find the doctor and get him to leave his rounds to attend to her patient.

Once the nurse had left the voice returned, John looked at the old man but it was obvious that he was not conscious and was unable to speak to anyone directly. The voice identified itself as being the old witch doctor.

"Thank you so much for coming to my assistance many men would have left me to die." Continuing, the voice explained "The accident happened hours before you found me, I had been collecting sticks and I was walking along carrying my bundle of wood when I was clipped by an old truck going far too fast along the dirt road, the blow bowled me into the ditch where I lay for a long time and no one stopped to help." The old man's voice went on, "You may not believe me, but I am several hundred years old," John looked at the old man with disbelief in his eyes, and as if to prove the fact pictures of African life before the coming of the Europeans flashed through John's unbelieving mind. John was staggered and had to sit down. The voice continued saying "I'm tired and weary of life and I'm just too tired to go on any longer and in order to die I need to hand the ring on to his successor."

The voice informed a puzzled if not alarmed John.

"I have to inform you the powers of the ring are almost limitless; it gives its owner the power to control his or her own destiny and that of others, the ring will enable its owner to have control over all things, physical and mental and life eternal on the wearer, who could choose to end his life but in order to do so you have to find a successor for the ring." The voice continued "Although the warning I am about to disclose will not mean anything at present, I have to give it to you, now listen carefully. The ring has power of its own so if you as the new owner become aware that the power of the ring is acting on its own initiative it will be time to exert the power I am about to convey, as a safety measure, I have to give you the strength and power to overcome the rings own force." It continued