Book excerpt: ‘Two shall come by the path of the swan, From the world of men in the fourth age – So shall the word be manifest again. So shall the vessel of truth, The Maitreya, come to be born in the world of men.’ Thus have the ancients of the divine kingdom of Shambala prophesized the birth of a new age and its saviour – the Maitreya. Destined to be the mother of the Maitreya, the golden dakini Yeshe Nam Lha has descended to Earth in the guise of a mortal. Accompanied by her celestial guardians – Prince A-KarO and Prince Narasimha – she must now journey to the hidden Mount Meru in order to choose a suitor, and fulfil the prophecy. As her quest takes her through the sleepy towns of Sikkim and Assam to the snowy mountains of Jammu and Leh, Yeshe and her companions encounter a host of magical creatures – the tsen deities who reside in the caves under the Himalayas, the fey warriors of the celestial city of Ney, and the yakshas, gatekeepers of the hidden tunnels on the way to Mount Meru. But not everyone they meet is benevolent. Prince Arden, leader of the dark Asur forces, is on Yeshe’s trail, hoping to bewitch her with his magnetic charm – and Yeshe must overcome her earthly mortality if she is to make the right choice... In this spellbinding sequel to Path of the Swan, Charu Singh deftly draws on the rich heritage of Tibetan-Buddhist mythology to immerse the reader in a story that is as magical and evocative as its precursor.