Legends of Amacia Heart of Darkness

Meanwhile in the bowels of the keep at Kaal Bek, a secret meeting was going on. The couriers from the other clans together with Hannibal’s team, Xavier, Amelia, Kahn, Carver, Corso, Joel, Liu, Kale, Joshua, Nicodemus, Hannibal’s guard, and the Elders of Arionath met in the war room determining exactly how to deal with Hannibal and Selina’s capture. Several plans were put forward. One was for storming the Black Fortress in a frontal attack to get them. That plan was quickly rejected because of its physical impossibility. Another required the infiltration and extraction of Hannibal and Selina from the fortress with a small elite team. For ninety minutes, they argued and debated about what course of action to take. During the entire meeting, Amelia, Nathanael, and Harry remained strangely quiet. All three of them listened intently to the intense discussion. Finally, Nathanael spoke up, saying, “People. This is getting us nowhere. We’re still no closer to deciding what to do than we were when we came here. This is an unacceptable situation. I think we all agree that something must be done.”

“Nathanael is right,” Harry agreed. “Something must be done. I think it is safe to say that Hannibal would be appalled at our indecision. What he was striving for was unity. That’s why he went to all that effort to remove the traitorous element in our midst. We have to decide what to do about him and Selina because we have larger problems: mainly the coming assault of the Emperor’s troops. Our roadblock will only slow them, not stop them. The people here have been placed in our charge to take them to Acheron. They’re going to have to be our first priority. Hannibal would insist on it being that way.”

“You’re so right,” Nicodemus agreed emphatically. “The people are our primary concern. However, we need to have a strategy for extracting Hannibal and Selina from the Emperor. Does anyone have any constructive thoughts on how to do it? I think we pretty much agree that someone needs to go to his aid, but how to do it is the question.”

Silence reigned at the table for a few moments, and then Amelia spoke up. “We’re forgetting something very important about those two,” she declared, “...their God. We’ve all seemed to forget that they’re driven by their God. I’m amazed how much he is driven by that spirit. Their God allowed them to be caught, which means there’s a purpose behind it. Could it be that they were meant to be taken to Amacia to face the Emperor? Hannibal has constantly thought of us as the people of God, to whom he was sent. Could it be there are some of us still in the stygian blackness of Amacia he must go to? I think it’s fairly obvious to me there’s something much larger going on here than any of us know.”

“You’re right!” Nicodemus exclaimed. “We have plum forgotten about the Almighty’s role in all of this. May the Ancient of Days forgive us for doing that. They’re in His hands, not ours, or the Emperor’s. All we can do is pray for them.”

“But we can’t leave them there!” Aragon retorted.

“And we won’t,” Amelia returned. “If their God is as involved in this as I suspect, then we may have allies in the most unlikely places, maybe even right under the Emperor’s nose. What I’m suggesting is we send a small team to Amacia to gather intelligence and watch for a sign. It could be that the Emperor’s plans for them may backfire and he may escape somehow. It would be a miracle if they do. I’ve seen his faith in his God. His God is a god of miracles. I find myself, despite all my reason, which says that he’s a dead man, believing that he may actually get away. I actually find myself believing in him and his God. What an indelible sign that would be to the peoples of this place: the great warrior of the prophecies taken by the Emperor, condemned, and then escaping from under his very nose. My innermost being thrills at the possibilities that may bring.”

“Yeah, but what about the rest of that prophecy we heard?” Harry asked bluntly, “It said something about this figure being mutated into his opposite before escaping. I truly fear for Hannibal because of that, and because of the strange reoccurring dream he’s had since before we started out.”

“What dream do you speak of?” Nicodemus asked.

Harry sighed, glancing at Nathanael. “When Hannibal first discovered the way to this lost world, he came to my house to convince my wife to let me come. He told us about what he’d been doing for the last twenty-seven years. Late that evening after he shared about his conversion from the Darkness to the Light, we had an angelic visitation by the Archangel Gabriel, who showed us our guardian angels and then showed us what’s fixing to occur. In that vision, we saw the demon behind the Emperor, which really rattled my cage. To make a long story short, that night after the visitation, Hannibal had a nightmare that rattled him to the bone. I’ve never seen anything rattle his cage so completely before, but that nightmare did. When he woke the next morning, he told us about it because he couldn’t handle it. In the nightmare, Hannibal said the Emperor and his demon guardian mutated him into a woman and then proceeded to do the most heinous things to him that I’ve ever heard of. During the nightmare, he said that while being a woman, the Emperor cut off his arms and legs and mounted him on a table while he was still alive. He said he was hung in a place where women were tortured physically and sexually in ways my mind cannot comprehend or go into. What he described is literally a sex hell ruled by the Emperor and his demon power, the Black Prince.” A hush fell over the group as Harry spoke.

“At first, I thought it may have just been a dream brought on by the vision we had before we went to bed the night before,” Harry explained. “But later on, I found out that Hannibal continued to have this sick nightmare and when we heard the prophecy that Nicodemus shared with us when we got here, I became really worried that the dream may have been more than a dream. I truly fear for Hannibal because of that. If there’s anything remotely right about that dream and the prophecy, Hannibal may escape, but he’ll be mutated into a woman by the Emperor. I don’t want to see my best friend turned into a woman or even killed by that fiend.”

“Oh, dear,” Amelia breathed. “I’d forgotten about that part of the prophecy. That makes it even more imperative that we do something to retrieve him.”

Nicodemus sighed deeply. “You have confirmed my worst fear, Harry,” he stated grimly. “I too have secretly hoped that the mutation of the Promised One was just a mistranslation of the ancient writings. But now with you telling us about Hannibal’s reoccurring dream of being mutated into a woman and tortured by the Emperor, I must believe that the mutation is a distinct possibility. None of us want to see our friend mutated like that.”

“Aren’t you forgetting an essential part of the prophecy, Nicodemus?” Liu asked. “In Zin, we too had portions of the prophecy, and in the prophecy we have, the Promised One is mutated and tortured by the Emperor, but he also escapes and finds the means to reverse it...becoming much stronger after reversing the mutation. If the prophecy is coming true as it seems to be, then Hannibal will eventually find a way to reverse any mutation the Emperor puts on him should he decide to do so. Like you, I pray he never endures such a thing, but we must be prepared to accept what may happen to him. His fate was decided long before any of us were born. All we can do is be ready to help him when he needs us and if the prophecies are correct, he’ll need us desperately when he escapes the Emperor.”

“You’re so right, Liu,” Nicodemus replied. “We have indeed been forgetting about the mutation portion of the prophecy. Our portions of the prophecy say what yours do...that even if he is mutated, he’ll escape, find a way to reverse the mutation, and return to save his mate. The Ancient of Days has planned this from the beginning. All we can do is believe and be ready to assist when the time comes.”

“Like I said, his God is the key to all of this,” Amelia chimed. “He’s being moved by a power far beyond any of our comprehension. Hannibal is the hand of the Ancient of Days in this cursed underworld. If he escapes the Emperor in a mutated form, then all doubt will be erased. Even though I dread to think what he might endure at the hands of the Emperor, I do not doubt that we’re about to see something monumental that’ll remove all doubt that the Ancient of Days hasn’t abandoned us to total destruction. My soul thrills at the possibility that Hannibal is the one written about in our prophecies from before the Kragonar. We must send a team to scout the darkness of Amacia and be ready to act in case he does escape. It must be done.” The fire of her words struck home to everyone present.

“Amelia is right,” Nathanael agreed. “A small elite team must go to Amacia and find out one way or another about their final disposition. It’s all we can do other than pray. Now, who’s going?” In a matter of two minutes, a team of fifteen volunteered, which included Ned, Sam, Cracko, Liu, Joel, Amelia, Kahn, Aragon, David, Zachias and five of the couriers from the other clans that came from near Amacia who were familiar with that area. With the team assembled, Nathanael declared, “I want Amelia to be in charge. She has much more experience than any of you do. Listen to her and do what she tells you and you’ll come back in one piece. Be careful, all of you and meet us in Acheron once you find out anything. Now go, and may the Ancient of Days protect you.” The team immediately began to file out of the room and Nathanael took Amelia aside privately, asking, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Amelia nodded and replied confidently, “Yes. You all have done so much for me. This is my chance to repay even just a little bit of what you’ve done for me. Hannibal is like a brother to me, and Selina, a sister. I love them and you as such. They’d do the same for me.”

Nathanael smiled and sighed, saying, “Yes, they would in an instant. Come back to us, little sister.”

Amelia briefly embraced Nathanael, saying, “I will, brother.” She then stood on her tiptoes and kissed Nathanael on the cheek, looking him in the eye. They briefly hooked up telepathically and both of them smiled.

“Go and be safe from evil,” Nathanael said softly. Amelia smiled as she turned to Xavier.

Xavier was very concerned about her going, but knew it was pointless to keep her from doing so. They held hands and Xavier said, “I love you so much, Myra. Come back to me.”

Amelia hugged him tightly, saying loud enough for Nathanael and Nicodemus, who were standing around them, to hear, “By all that is holy, I’ll return to you, my husband, with our friends. Yet, I find myself afraid to go. Pray for me.”

“That we will,” Nicodemus said confidently and Nathanael agreed.

“Why are you afraid?” Xavier asked. “You know you don’t have to go if you don’t want.”

Nathanael agreed, saying, “This is what I was asking about? Are you sure?”

Amelia sighed and nodded to the positive, saying, “I have to. A demon of my past is causing this fear. I must conquer it in order to be free of it. I must face the darkness of Amacia again otherwise I’ll live in fear of it for the rest of my life.”

“Fear can be a powerful enemy or a useful ally,” Nathanael stated. “Fear will keep you from doing something stupid. However, when that fear begins to consume you and keep you from functioning as you should, it becomes a powerful enemy. Go and face your fear. Overcome it; subdue it. There is only one fear that you should allow and that is the fear of the Almighty: His fear. Once you know and understand His fear, you’ll know Him and then nothing will stop you.”

“You’re quite a profound fellow, my Lynxian prince. You have wisdom beyond your years,” Amelia said gratefully. “Thank you for the pearl. I shall treasure it.”

Nathanael smiled and said, “Go, princess of Hyperborea. Your destiny awaits you.”

Amelia clenched Nathanael’s arm for a moment as she looked into his eyes, and then quickly left the room to ready the team. Once they were gone, Nicodemus said to those that were left, “Now that we have solved that problem, we must ready the people to leave for Arionath. Being that we don’t know how to get the machine to open the door to Acheron, we must take the highway.”

“Hold on a minute,” Nathanael interrupted. “It may be possible to get the machine to open on Acheron. I noticed how Hannibal used the staff to open the door to Cushar and how he needed Corso for it. He also gave me a general idea of how to make it work. If we could find someone who knows exactly where the city is, we technically could use it. Is there anyone who has been there before?”

Nathanael looked around at the crowd as everyone looked at each other for a few moments. Then a small elder stepped forward. He was about five foot two with a small build and gray hair and green eyes. He appeared to be almost as old as Nicodemus. “I have seen it,” he said. “Long ago, I was part of the team that penetrated into the Cimmerian highlands and found Xavier’s people as well as Acheron.”

A rumble arose from the rest of the crowd as Nathanael looked up at the ceiling and proclaimed, “Thank you, Lord. What’s your name, sir?”

“I am Amos,” the elder replied. “I was one of three out of fifteen who went on that expedition who returned. Of the three who came back, I’m the only one left alive.”

Nathanael extended his hand to Amos and said, “Well, Amos. How’s your memory? Is there anything you can tell us of the place?”

Amos paled as he remembered his journey to Acheron. “That was a journey one never forgets,” he said with some anxiety while shaking Nathanael’s hand, “So many terrors on that perilous journey. We lost several of our team in Acheron.” His countenance steeled as he continued, “Acheron is a graveyard. Bones of the ancient dead litter the streets and palaces. When we were there some seventy cycles ago, the city was a ruin. We heard howls and wails of ghosts in the streets. Those we lost in there vanished without a trace. We never found them. The place is so evil that even the great beasts that roam the highlands won’t go near it. One thing we did find was that the water supply is good. The river running through it remains untainted.”

Nathanael listened intently to the old man’s tale. “Good water you say. That’s good,” he replied. “The evil can be overcome. I know this from experience. The Temple of Tiamat was once a haven for the forces of Darkness. However, with the help and power of the Almighty, Hannibal turned it into a fortress of light and good. Whenever light encounters darkness, the darkness must flee away. Acheron is just another temple. It can be tamed and used as we did in Sumatra. Have faith that our God will not fail us in our hour of need.”

“Amen to that,” Harry responded, as did Nicodemus and Joshua.

Nathanael looked Amos in the eye and asked, “Do you fear to go there?”

Amos thought for a moment, and then answered, “Yes, but if Princess Amelia can conquer her fear of Amacia, then I can conquer my fear of Acheron.”

Nathanael smiled and put his hand on Amos’ shoulder, saying, “You’re an honest man, Amos. Not too many men would admit to being afraid of something like that.”

Amos smiled and replied, “I’m too old to be that cocky and sure anymore. Besides, it is folly to lie about such fell things and places. I can tell you with certainty, even though it has been almost seventy cycles, I remember as if it were yesterday. The feeling I got from it was the Almighty Himself cursed the place. Demons and ghosts haunt those ruins. I’m sure of it.”

“So you tend to think the place may initially be dangerous,” Morrison asked after listening to the exchange.

“Yes, young man. I do,” Amos returned intensely.

For a few moments, no one said anything as Nathanael contemplated what to do. “If that be the case, then we should go and make sure before we bring the people through,” he stated.

“Right,” Joshua agreed. “It would be folly to take a large contingent of people there without first seeing that it was safe to do so.”

Nathanael looked to Nicodemus and asked, “How long before the people will be ready to move?”

Nicodemus thought a moment, and then sighed, saying, “At least a day to day and a half. The preparations are not going as fast as they should. I’ll try to hurry them along. We’re rapidly running out of time. The Emperor isn’t going to wait for us to get out of the way. He’d much rather catch us with our trousers down.”

Nathanael briefly touched Nicodemus on the shoulder and said, “I know. It seems to me that we need to send a recon party to Acheron to ascertain the condition of it. The question is who is going with me?”

“Hold on a second, Nathanael,” Harry blurted out. “What do you mean you’re going? You’re the only one who knows how to make that confounded machine work. You must stay and operate the machine. I’ll go and check it out. We were going to have to do it anyway.”

“Harry’s right,” Thomas said. “None of us here know how to operate the machine. You can do more by staying here and operating that crazy contraption. We can handle the recon. That’s what we do best.”

Within a minute, Harry recruited Thomas, Jonathan, Morrison, Timothy, Vergil, Doug, Carver, and three of the couriers for the team. Once they had volunteered, Nathanael said, “Hmpt. I guess that solves that problem. You guys know what to do.”

Harry nodded and said, “Yes. We have some idea. Just make sure that portal is there for us when we’re done, all right?”

Nathanael nodded, saying confidently, “It will be there. Now, there’s one last thing that just came to mind: the portal machine itself. What do we do with it once we leave? We very well can’t let the Emperor get his claws on it. He could do untold damage with it.”

“What about the carite bombs?” Harry suggested. “We still have twelve or thirteen more of them, don’t we Joshua?”

“Yes, we do,” Joshua replied. “There are enough of them left to easily turn this whole city into a pile of rubble.”

Nicodemus’ face fell with the suggestion and Nathanael saw it. “You know it has to be done, Nicodemus,” Nathanael stated bluntly.

Nicodemus shook his head, replying, “Yes, I know. It’s hard enough to have to leave a place that has been home for so many cycles. But to have to destroy it in the process is really difficult. There are so many memories, both good and bad, here.” A rumble of agreement arose from the crowd.

“Believe me; I know what it is like to lose a home,” Nathanael said softly. “Selina and I lost an entire planet that we called home. We can never go back to it. Just look at it like Job in the Bible. The Lord gives and takes away. When He takes away, it hurts because we cannot see beyond what’s being taken away. If we could just see farther down the road in the infinite will and plan of the Almighty, we could see what He has in mind. It is a test: a trial of faith. With Job, he lost everything he held dear: his possession, including his home, his family and friends, even his health and for a while, his God. The whole incident with Job is a pattern for us. What he endured is a pattern we all will have to encounter individually and as a people. You see, the reason for his misfortune was because of a conflict between the Lord and Lucifer: the fallen archangel...the chief demon and Lord of Darkness.” At that, he told an abbreviated story of Job to them, pointing out seven trials that Job had to endure. He also pointed out that in the end the Lord restored all that was taken from him and then some.

After Nathanael finished speaking, Nicodemus sighed and looked at the floor, saying repentantly, “We’re truly blessed by the Almighty for having people who know His word so intimately. That was a word truly for us. I repent in sackcloth and ashes for the way I acted. The Ancient of Days truly has all things in His mighty hand. Thank you for such a timely word, Nathanael. I no longer feel so bad about what we must do. In the end, the Almighty will surely deliver us to the promised land.”

“It’s all right, Nicodemus,” Nathanael said gently. “What we have to do is a bitter cup to drink. But we must drink it, all of it, like Jesus in the garden before his crucifixion. This is a battle between of the will of man and the will of God. Jesus submitted to the will of the Father and so must we. He knows what He is doing. We must trust Him like little children.”

“Yes, we should,” Nicodemus agreed. “All right, people. It looks like we have a plan. Let’s make it happen. Thousands of people are counting on us.” With those words, he dismissed the meeting, adding as a final remark, “May the Ancient of Days have mercy upon us.”