Cristo's Chronicles Trilogy

Anthony J. MirarchiA prehistoric adventure series

about the greatest discoveries of mankinda calendar, counting, and writing

Book One covers the discovery of a calendar.

The setting is 5000 years ago in the isolated island community of Adolphia.

Set in an ancient time, featuring two competing wizards, and turning on the deeds of two brave young boys. Cristo, an orphan boy, has grown up in the court of King Adolphus. Lord Allard, the King's wizard, makes Cristo his assistant in a quest to perfect a water clock and use it to set up a calendar.

Duke Nextor, the King's unscrupulous rival, and his wizard, Boltair sends Grigor, a peasant boy, to spy on Lord Allard's work. The two young boys join together and the action becomes a race between the two forces to acquire the strategic advantage of a new technology.

Lord Allard's solution to the problem of recording data in a world without counting or writing results in developing the earliest tools of timekeeping: a bead calendar a shadow clock.

Lord Allard develops a water clock.

Cristo uses a sundial to create a shadow map showing longest and shortest days of the year by recording the length of the midday shadow on a rope record.

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Cristo's Chronicles Book One

Book two covers the discovery of counting

Fresh off their high achievements, Cristo and Grigor are basking in the glory of being named 'Squires of the Realm.' Lord Allard has extended the use of symbols to develop a counting system.

Duke Nextor, frustrated by the success that The King had with the new calendar, is plotting insurrection. He attacks Hedgewick's castle, but is unsuccessful in taking it and is maintaining a siege.

King Adolphus summons his advisers to plan his response. Lord Allard informs him of the new counting system and that Cristo and Grigor could easily count Nextor's soldiers and The King would know how large a force he would need to defeat Nextor. They are dispatched Nextor's encampment. They count the troops and are attacked when heading back. Cristo is captured, but Grigor escapes. Distraught over abandoning Cristo, he carries out his duty. The ensuing battle reveals the value of the counting system and the courage of Cristo and Grigor are pivotal to the outcome.

Lord Allards Counting System

Lord Allard scratched a mark, 'I', on a copper plate to indicate a single quantity like using one finger. Then he extended this concept to another symbol, 'X' that represented using all his fingers. To go beyond using his fingers, he started with the single symbol and continued with the X symbol and soon he had IIIIIIIIIX XI XII XIII …XX XX0I XXII XXIII ….XXX XXXI XXXII XXXIII ...XXXX XXXXI XXXXII XXXXIII ….XXXXX XXXXXI XXXXXII XXXXXIII …..XXXXXX XXXXXXI XXXXXXII XXXXXXIII ….XXXXXXX XXXXXXXI XXXXXXXII XXXXXXXIII ...XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXI XXXXXXXXII XXXXXXXXIII ….XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXI XXXXXXXXXII XXXXXXXXXIII ...C

Just like he used 'X' to represent all his fingers, he created the symbol 'C' to represent each time he had used all his fingers. He gave each of these quantities a name and had a viable counting system.

Cristo's and Girgor's count of Nextor's soldiers

CCC XXXXXXXXX I

CCCCC XXXXXXXX IIIII

CC XXXXXXXX II

CCCC XXXXXX IIIII

XXXXXXXXX IIIIII

CCC X III

The symbols represent the different types of soldiers

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Christo's Chronicles Book Two

Book three covers the discovery of writing.

Intrigued with using symbols to make a counting system, Allard realizes he can also use symbols to mimic sounds and put together many symbols to represent words. He shows Cristo and together they develop a rudimentary writing system.

Cristo and Grigor are teaching the counting system to others in the realm. Nextor, left out because of his treachery, requests that Grigor and Cristo travel to Nextor Land to teach the counting system. He claims he wants to honor Grigor for his part in this discovery. In exchange, he will reduce his troops on the border and swear fealty to The King. It's a ruse to start another war.

While in Nextor Land, Cristo and Grigor uncover his ruse and Cristo uses his new writing system to inform Allard. The resulting battle once again shows the courage of the boys and final result turns on how well Cristo can transmit the information to Lord Allard.

After Allard and Cristo agree on what symbols represent what sounds in names, Allard uses the new symbols to construct a phrase that Cristo could not possibly know. He hands the newly written phrase to Cristo to see if he can understand it.

Cristo looked at the sheepskin and saw, I WNT U TU TEL MÊ MI NÂM. Slowly he mouthed the sounds of each word, looked up and said, “Lord Rodrick. The message says ‘I want you to tell me my name. That’s it. Isn’t it?”

not available until March 2015