The Staff The Serpent And The Sword

The publication of The Staff, The Serpent and The Sword, covering the last 100 years of the Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps is a welcome edition to all military history enthusiasts. Throughout this story, the reader will find excerpts from many original papers, diaries and accounts which provide colour and background to the development of the Corps. The book covers the early beginnings in 1908 up to it's present service in Timor Leste, Solomon Islands and Afghanistan. This book should be widely read by not only those that have served or are serving, but by the New Zealand public who are interested in how the RNZAMC has served our nation.

This book deals with the rules of art. More specifically, it treats of the unwritten rules of Nepalese religious art as laid down in ‘model books’. These can be seen as manuals for the artists, in which they can find the correct way to represent, in visual art, any of some 2000 godly figures. The representation of these gods, all of them with their particular attributes, was (and is) subject to more or less strict rules. These books, the kind of which is also found in Europe in the early Middle Ages, have developed into a special tradition in Nepal, where a unique number of model books was found to be in existence, the oldest of them going back to the 15th century. The author of this study (the first in its kind) has traced the development in time of some 150 popular Hindu deities to determine the meaning of these model books for the artists using them, and also to see if the representation of these gods is in any way related to changes in society.

The narrative presents the life of Saint Peter, a devoted ascetic from the region of Hvoshtan in Diocletia, who dedicated himself to a life of extreme fasting and prayer in the wilderness. Despite familial attachments, particularly to his sister, he sought solitude to serve God fully. The text details his ascetic practices, the trials he faced from demonic entities, and his reliance on divine assistance, notably from the archangel Michael. Ultimately, it illustrates the spiritual battles and perseverance of Saint Peter in his quest for holiness and closeness to God.

A young boy's dreams of glory and war turn into a bitter nightmare as his father's kingdom is overrun by an invading army. Lost and alone in the woods, he finds an ancient sword that promises him the ability to claim his vengeance. As he begins to take that vengeance, he comes to realize the price that the sword will demand of him. Enemies soon become allies and strange bedfellows abound as the prophesies of an age swirl into chaos.

In this second book, Guardians of the Realms; The Blood of the Fathers, the Magicians, Askah and Willow Lexus are called on to utilize all of their strengths and abilities to destroy a dark, evil entity that is spreading death, terror and chaos across all of the known realms. They and their friends are called to the Old World of their ancestors to battle a vicious, tyrant from the Realm of Ends that has driven those left alive to the brink of extinction. Once in the Old World, they face unimaginable dangers. Mystics, warlocks, and witches haunt the mountains, along with blood thirsty beasts that seem to see everything as a meal. Ghosts of the past threaten to separate Willow from Askah forever. But who is the real enemy? Mystery and terror lies around every corner. Twists and turns keep the reader on edge as the team makes their way across the devastated Old World looking for the enemy. A wicked storm tears the team apart, sending many of them to find their way back to the others after being pulled into the depths of the Old World caves. Willow hears the voices of the ancients, but are they really the ghosts of those who lived over a thousand years ago? Are they really guiding her in the right direction? And why is the Keeper of the Gates to Hell asking for their help? The battle spills over into Earth's Realm, and their old friends are again there to help them in their fight against evil. Will their losses be too much to bear this time? Is their magic going to be enough?