Immortal Memories (In Lost utk'Irtana)
By Peter Genovese
Immortal Memories in Lost utk'Itana... is a journey to a land and a people... both lost in time.
The year is 1905. Luke Murdock, an American archaeologist, has joined a scientific expedition crossing the Himalaya Mountains, on its way to Khotan, a city set along the old silk road in the Taklamakan Desert. Once they arrive they will search for ancient ruins, buried somewhere in the desert. But the caravan never reaches its destination. It encounters trajedy. Luke is suddenly left stranded alone in the emptiness of the great mountain range. He wanders for days struggling to stay alive in the barren, cold environment. Then... almost by a miracle, he discovers a remote valley, where a people are on a pilgrimage, intensily involved in studying a mystical practice called purVIka-CAitya. The "Learning" ia deeply engrossing, Luke decides to become a pilgrim, with its regimen of daily study and practice.
Thus Luke's introduction to this strange and archaic country. begins.. a place totally unknown to the outside world. After a time, because of his intuitive facility with the study and practice, he is invited to enter into utk'Irtana, as the broader country is known and he travels across the land on caravan, eventually arriving at Akshi, its ancient capital. The city is incredibiy built inside a huge, holy mountain called As'rayana, the Great Refuge. Once in Akshi, he continues his studies under the guidence of a monk-like order, called the Red Robes, who are transfixed by time. Luke explores the Great Archive of Akshi, an immense collection of ancient records and maps, he meets a woman named Mereen'ye, who he is deeply drawn to, and he takes part in esoteric ceremonies using a sacred blue water called Azu, which transports him over and again, into his ancestral past. He is sent on a dangerous mission to avert war with the Tai'je, age-old enemies of utk'Irtana.
Immortal Memories is a thought provoking and exciting adventure story, written in the tradition of the Lost World genre by such authors as: H. Rider Haggard, Michael Crichton, Edgar Rice Burroughs, or James Hilton. It is the story of one man's destiny in Lost utk'Irtana.
