“The Red Lion: The Elixir of Eternal Life. An Alchemist Novel” by Maria Szepes

"The Elixir of Life is the secret of immortality, a magic serum that grants eternal life and "supernatural" abilities to those who are sufficiently developed and will not misuse its power. As written in the ancient texts, alchemy is the process of transmuting base metals into gold or the ultimate transformation of the alchemist's mind. However, if acquired through greed or malice the consumer of this terrifying potion is swept into a vortex of horror: The psychic mind opens, one sees all that is hidden, and the body is condemned to supernormal life. Consciousness is not lost in death or in reincarnation as one is carried deeper into agony and inescapable torment on the soul's journey to again find the path to enlightenment.

In 1553, Hans Burgner, an impatient young man determined to acquire the secret of eternal life, becomes the servant and pupil of Eduard Anselmus Rochard, an alchemist who possesses the potion. Rochard refuses to give him the Elixir and in his obsession Hans murders the Magister. As a consequence of this crime, the reader of this novel is conducted through the bloodstained labyrinth of alchemist rites and mysteries spanning four centuries as "Hans" searches through lifetimes for the only possible key to escape his torment—the Prima Materia and secret of the Philosopher's Stone.

Reborn in 1760 in Cassel, the home of the secret brotherhoods and the occult sciences, he is gradually initiated into the nine degrees of the Order. He becomes the student Count St. Germain, the famous magician, travels with him, and is finally invested with the ranks of Magister when fate decrees a fitting resolution to his original crime.

His last return to earth is in this century, to offer hope and unveil occult secrets which hereto have been guarded under many seals."