Legends of Amacia: The Gathering Shadow

Hannibal, Selina, Nathanael, and Argus were so violently expelled from her mind that they found themselves disoriented and heavily stunned. For nearly two minutes, no one could answer Nicodemus, Xavier, or the Elders. From the time they entered Myra’s mind to the time they were expelled was no more than five minutes. Argus growled and shook his head, saying, “Ugh…she’s much more powerful than any of us expected to have expelled us like that.”

Hannibal was the next to speak as Carver steadied him in his chair. “Uhhh; my back,” he moaned. “Man…that was insane!”

Selina came to next. She shook her head, gathering her wits and declared, “We did it. Myra’s the most powerful human telepath I’ve ever encountered. And she’s much older than we realize.”

Nathanael came to and rubbed the side of his head, saying, “Wow! That was intense! I’ve never encountered anything like it.”

Hannibal looked around, seeing that everyone was intact. “Everyone all right?” he asked as Carver let him go. There were affirmative responses from everyone except Myra. Without warning, a surge of agonizing pain moved up Hannibal’s spine and smashed into his skull, eliciting a cry of intense pain. Hannibal’s eyes rolled back in his head as he gripped the armrests of his wheelchair tightly.

“What’s the matter?” Carver asked Hannibal while steadying him again. “You act like you’ve been injured.”

“That’s because I was,” Hannibal hissed through the pain. “I broke my back in that one explosion. Myra used her healing power on me to heal it, though it seems that I’m still feeling the repercussions of at least part of it. I’ll be all right. The pain is letting up some now.” Hannibal immediately looked over to Myra and saw her out cold in Xavier’s arms.

“Myra. Myra, wake up,” Xavier cried out with great concern.

“Xavier, take her to the bed,” Nicodemus ordered.

Xavier quickly took Myra to the bed and laid her down, cradling her in his lap. “Come on, wake up, Myra. Please wake up,” he begged, shaking her gently.

“Could you please take me to the bed?” Hannibal asked Carver politely. Carver nodded and rolled Hannibal over to the bed. Nicodemus quickly followed, bringing Selina as she sat in her chair, still a bit dazed as Argus watched from his position at the balcony doors.

“What did you do?” Xavier asked Hannibal angrily.

“We succeeded in breaking down the wall,” Hannibal reported, “but not without paying a hefty price for it. That construct was a nasty piece of work. Nathanael, help me get on the bed.” Nathanael and Carver shifted Hannibal from the chair to the bed in moments; Hannibal groaning as his back flared with the movement. Once sitting securely on the bed, Hannibal said softly, “Please, let me hold her, Xavier. Trust me. I’m not going let her languish in a coma if I can help it.” The sincere, pleading tone in Hannibal’s voice along with the pain Xavier could clearly see in Hannibal’s face won Xavier over.

“Okay,” Xavier replied coolly. “But if she doesn’t wake up, I’m going to take your head in payment.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Hannibal stated, feeling an icy chill race down his spine from Xavier’s threat. “Let me have her, please. Just trust me.” Xavier handed Myra to Hannibal and he cradled her in his arms as if she was his own daughter. “Myra…Myra, wake up,” he called to her, rocking her gently even though his back protested the movement. Hannibal kept calling to her as he rocked her. After several minutes, Xavier saw Myra’s fingers move and Hannibal felt her grab onto his pants leg. A relieved smile crossed Hannibal’s lips. “That’s right, Myra. Hear my voice and come back to us, Myra. Follow my voice and come back to us,” Hannibal said softly in her ear. Her head bobbed and her eyes briefly opened, which he immediate noticed. “Quick Xavier, take her and lay her down beside me,” Hannibal ordered. Xavier quickly gathered Myra into his arms and laid her down at Hannibal’s side. “Someone help Selina get on the bed,” Hannibal added. “I need her help.”

In moments, Nathanael and Kahn had helped Selina onto the bed, sitting her so that Myra lay between her and Hannibal. “Help me wake her up,” Hannibal begged Selina.

“You’re doing great,” Selina chimed. “But I’ll help since you asked so nicely.” She started stroking Myra’s hair as Hannibal held her hand. Xavier watched with baited breath as Hannibal tried to rouse Myra.

“Myra, Myra,” Hannibal whispered. “Wake up, princess. Wake and remember.”

Myra lay there for a few moments with no response, and then she began to move. She grasped Hannibal’s hand and slowly shook her head from one side to another and a moan escaped her lips. Her eyes opened and closed briefly as she shook her head. Finally, Myra came to and asked, “What happened? Where am I?” She looked around and the first one her eyes fell upon was Hannibal sitting next to her holding her hand. “You!” she murmured in extreme recognition. “I know your face! You’re Beowulf.”

“Hold on a minute,” Nathanael said seriously. “How do you know who he is?”

Myra turned to see who was speaking to her and said, “Ahhh, Nathanael, brother to the king of Kaitia and high advisor to the king and your beautiful daughter, princess Selina, heir to the Kaitian throne sitting here next to me.”

At that, Xavier spoke. “Myra. Are you all right?” he asked as he took her hand from Hannibal.

Myra looked at Xavier and said, “Oh, Xavier, my love and my life. I had no idea.”

“You had no idea of what?” Xavier asked as she sat up.

Selina helped Myra sit up and she turned to Selina, saying, “I remember, sister. We are family. I remember.” She hugged Selina fondly, and then turned to Xavier. “I know who I am now, my husband,” Myra declared. “I remember it all now. I remember everything!”

Hannibal put his hand on Myra’s shoulder and announced, “Looks like it worked people. Though I hope I never have to do something like that again. I don’t believe I’ve ever been that scared before in my life.”

Myra reached out, grasped his hand, and said gratefully and with great nobility, “Thank you for helping me, my friend. I have awaited your coming for two hundred cycles.” At that, the room became as quiet as a tomb as everyone was speechless. She looked around and said, “I can see that I have some explaining to do.”

“I’d say that is an understatement,” Kahn agreed wholeheartedly.

Myra smiled and sighed heavily. She looked at Xavier and said, “Xavier, you are my one and only. You saved me from death all those many cycles ago. I’ll always be yours. But Myra is not my real name. I am Princess Amelia Singh, daughter of Odin Singh, the last king of Hyperborea and friend to all those who resist the Emperor.”

“Hyperborea!” Argus breathed. “I should have known.”

Hannibal sat there for a few moments as his mind went into overdrive at the mention of Hyperborea, saying after a lengthy pause, “Hyperborea was another mythological land that we on the surface knew of. It was supposed to lie far to the north. It was in that list of fabled lands like Amacia and Atlantis. You mean Hyperborea was a real place too?”

Princess Amelia turned to him and smiled. “Yes, prince of the outlanders,” she replied, “Hyperborea was a real place, though it was lost in the days of the Kragonar like all the others.”

“Hold on,” Selina said as she tried to understand what was happening. “You mean to tell us that Atlantis was real as well?”

Princess Amelia nodded and said, “Yes, Atlantis was real as was Lemuria and Mu. In fact, Atlantis was one of our closest allies who stood against the Emperor in the days of the Kragonar according to the history I remember.”

Nathanael shook his head and said, “Whoa. This is getting deep. Exactly how old are you, milady?”

Princess Amelia chuckled a bit and replied, “I’m three hundred and fifty cycles.”

“What?” Xavier exclaimed. “How can that be?”

At this point, Nicodemus jumped in and asked, “Yes, milady. How could that be? We haven’t had anyone of such a long lifespan in over a thousand cycles or more. If you are three hundred and fifty cycles old, then you were alive during the last great culling the Emperor unleashed before my time.”

Amelia’s countenance fell at the mention of the Emperor’s culling and she replied, “Yes, I remember that terrible time.”

“Just a minute,” Hannibal said softly. “It really doesn’t matter that she is so old. The Lord has had a reason for keeping her alive this long. I’ve seen many strange and wondrous things in my life. This is no different. Let’s just take Selina and Nathanael for instance. They are from an entirely different planet on the other side of the galaxy. Selina is thirty-two in Kaitian years but in Earth years, she’s at least two hundred and fifty. Nathanael is fifty-three in Kaitian years but here he’s four hundred and fourteen in Earth time. This may be a similar circumstance. I told you all that I believed that she was unique among all the people I have encountered. She is obviously human, but by some strange quirk of fate, she has great age on her that hasn’t been seen for thousands of years.”

“My goodness,” Amelia said, impressed with Hannibal’s deduction. “You have a keen grasp on many things, Beowulf. I’m impressed.”

Hannibal smiled and replied, “Thank you, your highness. It seems that the teaching machine we found at Tiamat is still teaching me many things.”

Amelia’s eyebrow rose with surprise and she asked, “Tiamat? You know of Tiamat?”

“Yes, Princess,” Hannibal replied. “We have found it, the Library, where that blasted machine nearly turned my brain into mush, and the other machinery therein. In fact, it was from there that we came here. We found a great deal of evidence about Amacia in there.”

“This is truly a wonder. Now I know how the cats came here. You accessed the portal machinery, didn’t you?” Amelia said, deeply impressed with the fact that Hannibal came from the Temple.

Hannibal nodded and said, “Yes, it was one of the first things we found in the Temple machine area. It was God-incident that I stumbled upon Selina and Nathanael that day. I literally rescued them from the jaws of certain doom at the hands of a supernova in their home system.”

Amelia turned to Selina and asked, “Sister; is this true?”

Selina nodded and said, “Yes, we were minutes away from being vaporized by the explosion when he came for us.”

Amelia grasped Selina’s hand and said, “I’m so very glad that he did.” Xavier sat there in complete astonishment, utterly silent.

“I’m sure we all have many questions for you, Princess,” Nicodemus said. “But I believe they could wait for a better time. We have more pressing matters at hand.”

“You’re right,” Amelia agreed. “There are still some things that are being slow to come back to me.” She looked at Xavier, who was feeling a little bit unworthy of such a noble lady. She sensed his dilemma and took him by the hand, saying, “Xavier. I know you feel unworthy of me. But understand something…you’re my husband. I’ll love you until the day I die and beyond. I also understand that I’ll always be Myra to you and I accept that. I’m not going to ask you to change in any way. You see, I’m the last of my blood line. My family…father, mother, sisters and brothers are long since gone. My kingdom no longer exists. You’re all I have.” She wrapped her arms around him and gently hugged him. He hesitated, and then responded in kind, with tears welling up in his eyes. She felt his sorrow and cooed in his ear, “It’s all right, my mighty Cimmerian prince. I have more family with you than I ever had in the palace.”

“You have more family than you know, sister,” Hannibal stated. “You’re part of our family too.”

Amelia released Xavier and looked at Hannibal, saying, “Yes, you’re so right. Thank you for adopting us.”

Selina smiled and replied, “It wasn’t us that added you, but the Almighty. He adds to us, sister.”

“Yes, He does,” Amelia agreed. She looked at Hannibal and said, “You have a great task before you, Beowulf. There are gifts and abilities in you that are completely unrealized. You’ve barely scratched the surface of those gifts with what you did for me. I’m in your debt. If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Hannibal nodded and sighed heavily as the soreness from his injury while attacking the tower that imprisoned Amelia’s memories weighed heavily upon him. She noticed it asking, “You need a second dose of healing for your back, don’t you?”

Hannibal nodded. “Yes, it wouldn’t hurt,” he replied. “It throbs like a toothache and it’s making my legs tingle.”

“Lie down on your belly,” Amelia ordered him as she shifted her position to face him better.

Hannibal started lying down when his back protested loudly, causing him to collapse roughly on the bed with a cry of pain. “God damned that hurts!” he hissed, tears flowing.

“Help me turn him over, Selina,” Amelia ordered. Selina nodded and helped roll Hannibal on his belly, eliciting another cry of agonizing pain from him. “Seems it’s worse than I thought,” Amelia commented, seeing and sensing his pain. “Let’s see if I can do something for it. This may sting a little, Beowulf.”

“Just do it, please!” Hannibal begged.

Amelia rubbed her hands together, and then ran her hands under his armored shirt: one hand on his lower spine and the other hand on his spine between the shoulder blades. Hannibal immediately noticed her hands weren’t searing hot this time, but pleasantly warm. The warmth caused his nerves and spine to tingle, causing him to shiver and arch his back slightly. He could feel the strange energy flowing from her hands up and down his spine and then spreading throughout his entire body, driving away the pain. She held on for nearly a minute, and then let go with a sigh. “There you go,” Amelia said with a hint of fatigue in her voice. “That should do. I was right in thinking the injury was more serious than I initially believed.”

Hannibal sighed deeply in relief as he rolled on his back with no trouble. He started to sit up, but foundered, not having the strength to do so. Therefore, Amelia and Selina helped him sit up. “Thank you so much, Amelia,” Hannibal said gratefully. “My back is feeling much better now thanks to your amazing gift. I noticed you now have better control of your gift now, don’t you?”

Amelia nodded and replied, “Yes, it helps to remember how to use it properly. And the telepathy allowed me to see exactly what you needed. It’s good that I remember how to do it, very good. But now, I think we should go to our room now. Xavier and I have much to talk about and you need to rest and be ready for the meeting this evening.”

Nicodemus nodded and agreed, saying, “Now that we have unlocked the secret of Myra’s mind, let’s get ready for the meeting. I’m going to check on the couriers.”

Hannibal nodded to Nicodemus and said, “Thank you Nicodemus and I’d like to thank you all for standing with us in prayer while we did this. Your prayers gave us cover from certain doom. It was very welcome and helpful.”

“You’re welcome,” one of the elders said. “We’re here to help in any way we can.”

“Your help is always appreciated,” Selina told the elders. At that, the elders filed past Amelia, shaking and kissing her hand in reverence, telling her that she was welcome in Arionath. In two minutes, they were gone with Nicodemus and Xavier and Amelia were ready to go to their quarters. Amelia hugged Hannibal and Selina fondly and Xavier thanked Hannibal for his help in finding Myra’s true identity.

Amelia hugged Nathanael and said, “Thank you, my powerful Lynxian, for helping.”

Nathanael smiled and said, “Glad I was able to help.”

Amelia then went to Argus and stood before him. She looked deep in his eyes and knelt before him, saying, “Thank you for releasing me from my prison, Argus.”

He nodded and replied, “You’re welcome, Princess Amelia. But I was only back up. It’s Beowulf you should be thanking. He was the one who destroyed the monolith that imprisoned you. You should thank him.”

“I already have, my draken friend,” Amelia replied.

“You’ve been missing for so long. It’s good to have you back,” Argus stated pleasantly.

Amelia rose, kissing Argus on the nose and smiling. At that, they took leave of Hannibal, Selina, Nathanael, and Argus, going to their quarters just down the hall. Kahn and Carver approached Hannibal. “You truly are the warrior of the prophecies. I’m at your service,” Kahn said, shaking Hannibal’s hand.

“Me too; I saw things today that I’ve never seen before,” Carver agreed. “You have my axe whenever you need it.”

“Thank you, guys.” Hannibal replied. “I’ll keep that in mind. We may yet need your help. Now go to your quarters and relax while you can.” They nodded and shook both Selina’s and Nathanael’s hands before leaving to go to their quarters next to Xavier and Amelia. Once they were gone, Hannibal dragged himself to the edge of the bed, gently lowering his immobilized leg down to the floor. “Give me a hand, Nathanael,” Hannibal called out. “I’m going to walk to Argus if it kills me.”

“That’s not necessary,” Argus called out. “I can see you’re still weak.”

“That’s not the point,” Hannibal stated as Nathanael came to his side. “The Emperor crippled and almost killed me. I’m going to walk just so he won’t win. Help me up, Nathanael.”

“If you insist,” Nathanael stated as he sat next to Hannibal. “But I’m going to help support you.”

“That’s fine,” Hannibal replied while putting his arm around Nathanael’s neck. Nathanael grabbed Hannibal about the waist and slowly lifted him to his feet.

“Let me know if your leg or back flares up,” Nathanael ordered.

“So far so good,” Hannibal said with a smile. “The leg’s a little numb, but it’s not hurting with the pressure I’m putting on it. Let’s go.” Nathanael helped Hannibal walk from the bed to Argus at the balcony doors while Selina watched with growing wonder.

“You’re walking, Hannibal!” Selina called out excitedly.

“I am, aren’t I,” Hannibal crowed. “It feels good to be on my feet again. Now if I can just get my strength back, I won’t have to use Nathanael as a crutch.”

“You’ll get your strength back before you realize it,” Argus commented, thoroughly impressed with Hannibal’s strength of will. “But don’t push yourself too hard. You don’t want to undo the good that’s already been done.”

Nathanael stopped Hannibal within arm’s reach of Argus. Hannibal reached out his free arm and placed his hand on the side of Argus’ huge head, smiling warmly. “You’re right,” Hannibal admitted. “I’ll keep that in mind. And thank you for your help. Without it, we would have never broken through that wall. Your cover and attacks were most helpful.”

“You’re welcome, my friend,” Argus replied. “I’m glad I could help. But I will have to say, that was the most intense, violent telepathic display I’ve seen in many, many cycles. Amelia is a force to be reckoned with. The Hyperboreans were known to be very skill with weapons of the hand and the mind. They were highly skilled telepathically as a people.”

Hannibal nodded. “So I’ve noticed,” he answered. “I don’t know about you, but this whole incident has drained me like a glass of water. That’s one of the big reasons why Nathanael is holding me up like this.”

Argus smiled and said, “I can see that. It was a very taxing ordeal. I think I’m going to go home and take a nap.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Hannibal said. “A nap sounds real good right about now. Are you coming to the meeting tonight?”

Argus nodded. “Yes, I’ll be there,” he declared.

Hannibal looked Argus in the eye and smiled, saying, “Go on, my friend. Get some rest. You deserve it.”

As Argus rose, Selina called out, “Thank you, Argus for your help. It was greatly appreciated.”

“You’re most welcome, Miss Selina,” Argus replied. “If you need anything, just let me know.”

“I will,” Selina answered with a smile. “I’ll see you at the meeting tonight.”

“Until tonight, princess,” Argus said with a smile as he turned away from the door. He went to the rail, billowed his wings, and was gone.

“Let’s go back to the bed, Nathanael,” Hannibal said softly with a weary sigh. In moments, Nathanael helped Hannibal walk back to the bed and sat him down on it. “Thanks,” Hannibal said gratefully. “You probably ought to get some sleep too, Nathanael. I know that’s what I’m going to do.”

“All right,” Nathanael replied. “That sounds like a good plan to me.” He looked Selina in the eye and asked, “How are you holding up, princess?”

“Drained, but all right dad,” Selina answered. “Amelia’s the most powerful human telepath I have ever encountered. She kicked us out with a thought.”

“I noticed that,” Nathanael agreed. “Well, I guess I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Could you please close the balcony door before going?” Hannibal asked as he dragged himself to the middle of the bed.

“Sure,” Nathanael stated, closing the balcony doors before walking out of the room, closing the main door behind him.

Hannibal plopped heavily down on his back in the middle of the bed. A relieved, weary sigh escaped his lips. Selina pulled herself to him and cuddled. “You did well in there,” she reassured him. “You have power that even I am unaware of. You even were able to utilize your rage without letting it get out of control to amplify your power. I’m impressed.”

Hannibal put an arm around her and said, “I’m glad someone is. To be honest, I scared myself today. I instinctively used more power today than I ever used as a wizard. I sure hope the Lord knows what He’s doing with me because I don’t. I’ve never wanted to exercise that kind of power. It’s a responsibility that I’d rather not have.”

Selina sat up and leaned over him, looking him directly in the eye with no more than an inch between their faces. Resting a caring hand on Hannibal’s chest, she declared, “That’s why He’s allowing you to have this power. He knows that you’ll not use it unless He pushes you to use it. Trust in Him. He’ll guide you, just as He did today.”

“You’re right, as usual,” Hannibal smiled as Selina settled next to him, pulling him close.

“Now, my prince, relax and sleep. You’re exhausted,” Selina said softly as she began to purr for him. Within minutes, they were both fast asleep.