The Rosetta Curse

Would it surprise anyone that a self-indulgent despot like Napoleon Bonaparte could naturally draw the attention of the immortal Judas Iscariot in his alias as Emmanuel Ortiz?

A resourceful arms dealer serving the imperialistic Napoleon, Emmanuel begins this latest tale as the fateful 1815 confrontation in Waterloo is set to begin. But this is not the self-absorbed and self-serving version of Judas that pervades the past two Reflections chronicles. The deeper evolution of the most reviled man to ever walk the earth is now firmly in motion, and we find a highly-conflicted former betrayer of Jesus Christ drawn to deeper commitments to his fellow human travelers upon the earth.

Still, any adventure involving Judas as Emmanuel Ortiz comes with plenty of intrigue and the heartache that has plagued him for centuries.

In the case of Napoleon Bonaparte, what appears to be simply the once-powerful Emperor's sudden fall on hard luck and a terrible miscalculation at Waterloo preceding his final exile to Saint Helena turns out to be on account of other forces at work. Could the 'afterthought' acquisition of an ancient stone covered in cuneiform characters discovered in Egypt during the summer of 1799 be what's actually behind Napoleon's steady unraveling?

Despite the ancient 'language key' falling into British hands two years later in 1801, the damage has been done-made worse by a secret about the precious relic the exiled despot failed to mention to Emmanuel once a curse began to manifest itself in Napoleon's presence.

While it's too late to change history, is there a way to save a fellow wretched human being from a terrifying fall into permanent insanity? Or, is this the instance where Emmanuel would be wisest to avoid the wrath of the ancients and instead focus on a rare moment of romantic companionship with the beautiful Celine?

The answers await discovery in The Rosetta Curse.