Suppose you had to fight a war in a place you could not go. So you sent warriors protected in specially made armor to do the fighting for you. For thousands of years you sent them. For thousands of years they fought and died in your name only to be resurrected and returned, again and again, ever engaged in an eternal war, waged by immortal warriors.

Now suppose the device to grant them infinite life has been stolen by your enemy who now has the power to existence-erase your warriors forever.

A science fiction horror story set in the Sixth Millennium, the first book of the apocrypha trilogy is told in a tense gothic style immersed in Anglican and Norse myth and lore. Chronicling the quest for the lost Ark of Souls, Odyssey into Oblivion takes you into an alien civilization on the verge of redemption and resurrection. A culture very similar to our own and every bit as terrifying.

What thing exists so vile, that Good and Evil have joined forces against it?

You have plunged into a galaxy deep in war. Fought light years beyond the Dark Ages, the Empire of the Known Realm is heavily engaged in grim conflict against cunning enemies struggling for their own survival amidst the savage stars. The adventure before you and the Great Galactic Crusade that you are about to undertake, chronicles the Legends and Legions of two embattled Empires and that of their allies in their race for everlasting salvation or eternal extinction. Racing across eternity, every infinite inch is measured in human lives. And for Mankind, time and souls are running out at the speed of light.

Spanning timeless dimensions and fathomless space, it is a war of attrition waged between the Apostates of the Apocalypse and the ancient Apostles of Armageddon. It is an Age of dark science and deep secrets. A time when the Legions of the Lord battled the Dominions of the Dark Forces raging throughout the Astral Heavens of Valhalla and the Known Realm, where the stars have long ago descended into darkness.

Yet to conquer the Cosmos completely means to triumph in the holy quest for the lost Codelax, the divine celestial instrument that is the creator of souls. For whomsoever possesses it, holds the fate of all else. For with its sacred powers, it is decided who is reborn into the physical world and whose soul is forever cast into the black void.

Miraculously, the Codelax's beacon, code named 'Pale Vector,' is traced to a lost world deep in a remote part of the Trident galaxy. Operation 'Phantom Finder' commences as three Star*Ships are sent on a clandestine mission to the small planet christened KHT-21. There, astonishing discoveries are made. Discoveries that must be kept secret at all cost.

D.L. Burt has traveled throughout four continents, lived in three countries and led two lives in an attempt to find the answer to one question. From above and below the equator, to the Far East and Wild West of the world's desert dunes and tropical isles, his journey of self-discovery continues.

D.L. Burt's latest venture is the saga of space-age Vikings in search of the Ark of Souls. In addition to writing the Dark Crusade trilogy, D. L. Burt is currently designing a miniature strategy game based on the Dark Crusade realm and has hopes of turning his vision into feature length films. You may reach the author at project@darkcrusade.com or visit www.DARKCRUSADE.COM for more details regarding his work.

"I wanted a story that is as visually exciting as it is cerebrally stimulating"

PREAMBLE

By directive of our Chancellor, Lord Anaximander, the Curator of the Dark Archives has been instructed to chronicle the events of the Dark Crusade. It has taken many Scroll Sages much time to decipher and authenticate these hundreds of thousands of documents, to validate and cross reference all supporting material, some dating back three millennia. Likewise, my Master, DarkLord Seito, Molecular Magi and Special Agent to its Executive Raven Ryu, has summoned that I, his most senior acolyte and obedient servant, discreetly undertake the afore mentioned assignment and personally document the events surrounding the KHT-21 mission. Code named 'Phantom Finder,' it was an executive black Ops mission from the beginning. Its purpose was to locate the origin of a trans-dimensional, intergalactic signal thought produced by the Ark of the Codelax, the holy lathe of the Emperor.

In all, three Trident ships were ultimately involved; the Charon, a military surveyor; the Star*Ship Nereus, a Dark Archives Black Ship, and the Imperial Troop Ship, Ran. Discovered later would be the Colossus' unexpected role. It is known that the Triskelion Dark*Ship Dromond intervened at some point after the mission and evidence to speculate an encounter with a Malignax Naglfar Raid Ship has only been most recently uncovered and is currently under investigation.

This report contains numerous discrepancies from the official document submitted to and sanctioned by the Archives' Chancellor as 'truth', and so its credibility will be considered apocryphal by many. Nonetheless, it is the 'gospel' according to those who survived the experience, including my Master and me. The fact that this is a private report not meant for Archive eyes, in no way invalidates the contributions contained in its declaration.

The 'apocrypha' of the Dark Crusade begins in an insignificant place harboring a magnificent secret. The following chronicle is a composite account synthesized from top secret files of the Phantom Finder Project, among which are records of the Charon expedition containing ledgers from the Star*Master's own journal and crew audio-log transcripts. Innumerable classified military documents and other various detailed reports from the landing parties, all of which are now preserved in the vaults of the Archive's Historic Hall, further confirm these codified entries.

As my Lord's devoted disciple, to my knowledge, this chronicle is as accurate and comprehensive to the extent that the files are complete and reliable. As other verifiable elements of information and substantive evidence surface, they will be introduced in an opportune manner in an effort to historically reconstruct the inspirational exploits of these legends and legions of the Dark Crusade. Their heroic and tragic fates will be retold here in story form to expedite their deeds of valor and tales of terror. I am Quing.