Legends of Amacia Rise of the Caverias

A few minutes after leaving her room, Hanna walked into the main room to see Enoch, Kida, Nathanael, and Emma sitting at the table talking. They hadn’t seen her come in and were engaged in a spirited conversation. She looked around as a strong feeling of déjà vu slapped her in the face. “Whoa,” Hanna whispered, “This is right down eerie. I’ve been here and done this before.” She seemed to glide over to the table like a ghost without being seen until she stood behind Nathanael. Seeing a chance for some humor, Hanna reached out abruptly and touched Nathanael on the shoulder. “Room for one more I hope?” she asked humorously as Nathanael jumped in fright, being startled by the contact. He wheeled around and saw Hanna smiling broadly, almost laughing.

“Geeze; you caught me off-guard. Of course there is room,” Nathanael replied as Hanna sat down.

“How did you do that?” Emma asked as Hanna sat down.

“Do what?” Hanna asked innocently.

“Come in here without any of us seeing you,” Emma replied. “It’s like you appeared out of thin air. Did you see Hanna come in?” she asked Enoch and Kida.

They shook their heads no. “Enoch usually sees everyone that comes in here when he’s sitting at the table,” Kida commented, also puzzled at how Hanna could sneak up on everyone.

Hanna scratched her head and said, “I don’t know. When I came in here, you all were talking, so I just figured that you weren’t paying attention.”

“No, I would’ve seen you, especially when you got close to the table,” Enoch replied with rising interest. “This is a very interesting development. None of us saw you before you spoke and touched Nathanael.”

Hanna scratched her head and asked, “None of you saw me?”

“No, Hanna,” Kida replied, “It’s like Emma said. You just seemed to appear out of nowhere.”

Hanna leaned back in the chair and replied, “I don’t know what to tell you. This is something new. I had no idea I wasn’t seen.”

“How are you feeling now?” Enoch asked.

“I’m better, though I’m still a little sore from Nathanael beating on me earlier despite the healer working on me,” Hanna replied.

“Did you sleep better after the incident?” Emma asked.

Hanna nodded, saying, “Yes, though the dreams were strange.”

“Care to elaborate?” Kida asked.

Hanna shook her head, saying, “I would except that I don’t remember them, just that they were very strange.”

Enoch rose from his seat and said, “Very well; we have much to do, little sister. Shall we visit the kitchen and get you a snack before we set about our tasks?”

Hanna rose, saying, “Yes. That sounds great.” Everyone else rose and followed Enoch out of the room. Twenty minutes later after getting something to eat, Enoch led Hanna and Nathanael out of the Red Tower and took them on a tour of the island, heading for the city of Antillia. Kida and Emma accompanied them. The fertility of the island and the great variety of plants and animals that roamed it astounded Hanna and Nathanael. Enoch showed them the herd of prehistoric bison and mastodons they ran as cattle. The sheer size of both the bison and the mastodons that roamed the island astounded Hanna and Nathanael. As they approached the city, Hanna asked, “What was this place? It feels eerily familiar.”

Enoch turned to Hanna as they walked into the ruins, raising an eyebrow. “Really,” he replied. “This was the ancient city of Antillia, one of the great cities of the 1st Age. It was a great city of learning and technology.”

Who built it?” Nathanael asked as they weaved their way through the concentric circles of the ruins.

“This city, according to the legends, was built by one of the Emperor’s greatest enemies, the people of Atlantis,” Enoch stated. “This island was part of their territory and this city was a regional capital.”

“Atlantis?” Hanna questioned as she scanned the ruins, seeing them carved with all manner of Atlantean glyphs. “It’s not a myth then.”

Enoch shook his head and said, “Hardly. It was their knowledge and prowess with the great machines they created made them a great threat to the Emperor. That’s why he waged war on them. They were the guardians of the machines and stood between the Emperor and galactic domination.”

Nathanael scratched his head and asked, “What were they like as a people?”

“I don’t rightly know,” Enoch replied solemnly, “...but some legends say they were a peaceful people who waged war as a last resort. Other legends stated they were an aggressive people initially, expanding their borders by force using their technological prowess until a calamity struck them. If you really want to know more about the Atlanteans and not just the legends, the information is in the Archive. Ah, we have arrived. There’s something that you need to see, little sister.” They stopped in front of a partially buried structure that was mostly intact. “Follow me,” he ordered, going into the structure, which was the size of a small warehouse, but made of cyclopean stones larger than most modern cars. Everyone followed Enoch in and once inside, Hanna and Nathanael saw a floor littered with fallen stones.

“What was this place?” Hanna asked as she walked around gazing intensely at the ruins. Many of the fallen blocks had the Stone Language written on them along with Atlantean glyphs. The back wall, which was intact, exhibited a giant fresco depicting a great and catastrophic event. The fresco drew Hanna and she looked at the fresco intensely. Déjà vu swept over Hanna like a tsunami. Her face betrayed her surprise. She looked around and stated flatly, “I’ve been here before. I know it, but I can’t figure out how. Furthermore, the event depicted in this fresco I’ve seen elsewhere.”

“Where did you see it?” Kida asked.

“I’ve seen it in at least two other locations,” Hanna stated. “The first was in the Painted Cave where we came out of Stygian’s Way in Khitia. A ghost lured me into the cave where I saw a variation of this image.”

“A ghost led you to the image?” Emma queried.

“Yes,” Hanna stated as a cold chill raced down her spine at the memory. “A ball of light just over a cubit across led me to it where I found not only the painting, but the Seal of Khitia, if what the ghost said is true. It’s with the stuff I brought with me.”

Enoch’s eyebrow rose. “Is that so?” he asked. “I’d like to see it. The Seal of Khitia was lost in the early days of the Emperor’s war when he attacked Khitia in the 1st Age.”

“I’ll show it to you when we get back to the tower,” Hanna stated.

“You said you saw two depictions of the event show here,” Kida stated. “Where was the other?”

“In the King’s Chambers at Kaal Bek,” Hanna answered. “Nicodemus gave me and Selina the royal bedchambers as our quarters. In there, I saw a huge tapestry that depicted this same event from another, slightly different vantage point. In fact, look here.” Hanna walked to the area of the fresco that her feline twin occupied and pointed. “Look there,” she declared. “Both the Painted Cave and the tapestry in Kaal Bek have this image of someone that looks like me being surrounded by these mighty warriors. This part is identical to what I saw in both locations. With this, that makes three witnesses. It troubles me greatly. If this guy is truly me, then how in heaven’s name did I get there? I don’t remember it, yet I keep having these dreams of it and this big cat leading the others. It’s very disconcerting.”

Enoch, Kida, and Emma looked at each other with surprise. “Do you know who these warriors are that are apparently supporting this man that looks like you?” Enoch asked.

“No,” Hanna admitted. “But all of them feel dreadfully familiar, like I knew them. Who are they?”

“They were the Elder Gods,” Enoch stated bluntly, “...powerful alien beings who pursued the Dark Gods to this planet to stop their harvest of the universe. If what I remember from the Archive is correct, the Emperor made a pact with the Dark Gods when he turned to the Darkness. That gave him access to their power and technology, which he used ruthlessly. However, I’m not at all sure how that happened. I never really tried to figure that out. Regardless, the Elder Gods allied with our ancestors and all those who resisted the Emperor and his push to subjugate the planet.”

“That’s something that needs to be researched thoroughly,” Nathanael stated. “Before we left Tiamat, we found accounts in the Tiamat Archive that said the peoples of the 1st Age had direct contact with several alien species. This seems to be a confirmation of that. We need to find out exactly who and what they were dealing with.”

“That’s a good idea,” Hanna agreed. “But I think these Elder Gods and the Dark Gods Enoch is talking about are not the ones we found out about. They’re a different group entirely. Knowing exactly who and what the people had contact with in that time is paramount. Just think about it. Ariel was a Lynxian...an alien to this planet. We saw her image in Kaal Bek’s Archive clear as life. We also saw the Lynxian statues in the Circle of Hammunaptra where we also saw the statue that looks exactly like me; the statue Okoto said was the image of the Caverias. There were also bipedal wolf statues there too along with one that appeared to be a giant bipedal cyborg bear. Those may also be representations of alien species. It’s getting increasingly obvious that the people of that time had routine and extended contact with alien species. Finding out who and what they were will help piece this puzzle together. We don’t have nearly enough information to make an adequate judgment of what we’re facing.”

Enoch smiled as he saw Hanna working through the facts presented to her. “And we will,” he stated. “And as for who this man that looks like you is, I cannot say for sure who it is. I must admit that I haven’t studied the old history as extensively as I should have. The one thing I do remember is that the writings say he appeared out of nowhere in the fabled city of Drakonia just before the Emperor attacked it with the assistance of his dark allies. It also says this man’s appearance on the battlefield turned the tide against the Emperor, causing him to lose that battle. However, the man vanished without a trace from the battlefield with the Elder Gods at the end of the battle in a massive explosion from the Emperor’s flagship as it fell from the sky. That’s what I remember of the legend. As of now, I’m not even sure if Drakonia still exists.”

“What is this Drakonia?” Nathanael asked with great curiosity.

“It used to be the homeland of the drakens when they were plentiful on this planet,” Enoch stated. “It was a land of deep valleys and soaring peaks with strange magical cities built by the drakens themselves. Like I said, I cannot verify one way or the other if it still exists.”

“Oh, I think it still exists,” Hanna stated with a far look as she eyed the drakens in the fresco. “But what’s left there is most likely a ruin like most of the places we’ve encountered in this savage land. As far as we know, Argus is the last draken and I doubt he has strayed too far from the people of Arionath, being their guardian and all.”

“So true,” Enoch stated as Hanna suddenly turned from the fresco with puzzled look on her face. She looked around urgently.

“What is it?” Kida asked, sensing Hanna’s puzzlement.

“I don’t know,” Hanna replied distantly. “Something is calling to me; something vaguely familiar. God, I hate it when this happens.”

Enoch put his hand on Hanna’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” he reassured her, seeing her tensing up. “Just relax and do what it is you do best. We’re here if you need our help.”

“Thanks,” Hanna murmured, walking to the far end of the room as if something was drawing her. Enoch watched with great interest as Hanna stopped at a blank wall.

“This is strangely familiar,” Hanna murmured, looking around intensely. Enoch and the others joined her as Hanna reached out, touching the wall. A small stone in the wall moved slightly opening a larger panel a few feet to the left. She looked at Enoch and said in an unnerved way, “It’s happening again, just like in the throne room of Shadizar Kahn when I found his scepter.” Hanna stepped to the opening and peered into it, seeing nothing but darkness. “Zarinthia,” she called out by instinct and the passage lit up. Fear began to rise on her face as she looked at Nathanael, Enoch, Kida, and Emma with great concern. “Oh, man,” Hanna moaned fearfully, “This is nuts. How did I do that?”

Emma stood next to Hanna and touched her on the shoulder, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Hanna. Follow your instincts, little sister.” Hanna swallowed hard and carefully entered the passage.

“Did you know about this passage?” Kida asked Enoch.

Enoch shook his head and said, “No. The stones with the prophecies are over there on the other side of the room sitting on the fallen blocks. She’s doing something unexpected. We’d better keep close to her.”

They began to enter the passage when Hanna stopped and held up her hand. “Don’t come in here. There’s something going on here that just doesn’t feel right,” she ordered as she quickly looked over the group. Instinctively, she said, “Emma, you come with me. The rest of you stay out here. Come on, Emma.” Emma looked at Enoch with a shrug and followed Hanna into the passage. “Stay close to me Emma, and don’t get in front of me,” Hanna ordered as they moved down the passage. It made a couple of turns and descended steeply for nearly a hundred feet before leveling out. After another hundred feet, they encountered an enormous metal door covered with Atlantean glyphs ringed with the Stone Language.

“Stand back here for a minute,” Hanna ordered Emma, who was beginning to become a little concerned for Hanna looked like she knew exactly where she was going. Emma stood back thirty feet as Hanna carefully approached the door, ever mindful of traps. With extreme caution, she touched the door and sighed deeply when nothing happened. Casting a relieved glance back at Emma, Hanna stated, “No traps so far; that’s a good sign.” She wiped the ages of dust and cobwebs off it with her hands and then proceeded to examine and read the Stone Language writing on the door. “Ah ha; this door is locked by a special lock that will only unlock when the proper sound is uttered. Emma, can you sing a B chord please?” Hanna asked as she walked back to her.

“A B chord; what do you mean?” Emma asked in a puzzled manner.

“Oh, let me explain,” Hanna answered, quickly educating Emma on the precepts of music and tones.

Once Emma understood what Hanna wanted, she sang a perfect B chord. The door locks grated and there was a hissing of escaping air as the door cracked open for the first time in twelve thousand year. It amazed Emma that just her voice opened the door.

Hanna motioned for her to stay back as she pushed the door open with some effort. It creaked and groaned as the door swung wide. Darkness yawned blackly beyond the door, preventing Hanna from seeing anything. “Eloia si,” she called out and everything beyond the door lit up. Once again, a chill raced down Hanna’s spine as the déjà vu stepped up another notch. She hesitated for just a moment, mustering her courage to face the unknown again.

Hanna carefully moved through the door and saw a small room about thirty-foot square with a fifteen-foot ceiling. A pedestal five foot tall by 40 inches square stood in the center of the room. On the pedestal sat seven exquisite crystal cylinders. She stopped short of setting foot on the floor and squatted down in the doorway as she looked around the room with suspicion.

“Can I come up there?” Emma asked.

Hanna waved her forward, saying, “Yeah, but do not get in front of me.”

Emma walked up and looked at Hanna as she looked the room over, asking, “What’s wrong?”

“I think the room is booby-trapped,” Hanna replied as she stood. She dug into her pocket and found nothing of use. “Damn. I need something to throw on the floor,” she said with some disappointment.

Emma pulled a long pin out of her hair and handed it to Hanna, asking, “Will this do?”

Hanna took the pin with a smile saying, “Thank you. It sure will.” She threw the pin into the room and when it touched the floor, four-foot spikes that were so close together no one could not walk between them shot out of the floor in less than two seconds. Emma gasped and Hanna growled, saying, “I knew it. This isn’t going to be easy.” The spikes slowly retracted into the floor with a grating rumble. “There should be a way to disarm the trap. It’s probably on the pedestal there,” Hanna commented as she watched the spikes disappear into the floor. Suddenly, she turned to the door and looked at it again, this time with a much more intense scrutiny. “Maybe the answer is here?” she commented to Emma as she stepped back from the door a little so Hanna could examine it. “Hmmm, a sound activated lock; maybe the trap is deactivated the same way,” Hanna mulled as she looked at the writing on the door. Suddenly, it hit her as to what needed to be done when she saw a tiny Atlantean inscription telling how to disarm the trap. Turning to the room Hanna called out, “Enilia gera eta sia.” The spikes suddenly shot from the floor and a small path from the door to the pedestal opened up. Hanna turned to look at Emma with a smile. “Thought so, but it won’t stay that way for long,” she cackled with satisfaction. “Stay here. This’ll only take a minute.”

At that, Hanna rushed to the pedestal and snatched up the cylinders. The moment she did, the oh-so-familiar grating of stone triggers rumbled throughout the chamber, spurring Hanna to bolt for the exit. As she did, spikes suddenly came down from the ceiling and the path began to grow spikes again starting at the door. About six feet from the door, Hanna took a flying leap over the spikes rising between her and the door and landed just outside of it, clenching all seven cylinders as the spikes filled the room completely. Several of the spikes ripped her arm and shoulder as she jumped out the door, drawing blood. Emma stood there in absolute awe with her mouth hanging open. Hanna moaned as she let the cylinders drop on the floor, which clattered as they fell. Clutching her chest in pain, Hanna growled, “I should’ve known better. That hurt like hell.”

Emma snapped out of her shock and knelt down next to Hanna, helping her sit up. “You’re hurt,” she commented with concern as she noticed the gashes.

“Oh, they’re nothing; just scratches. I have had allot worse,” Hanna replied pleasantly through the soreness of her chest. “My chest hurts more than those scratches. Anyway, could you help me up?” Emma helped Hanna to her feet and gathered the cylinders, handing four of them to Hanna and taking three cylinders herself. “Come on, sis,” Hanna ordered, “We got what we came for.” They slowly walked back to Enoch, Kida, and Nathanael.

A few minutes later, they emerged from the passage carrying the cylinders and Enoch stared, flabbergasted at Hanna’s find. Nathanael smile wryly as Hanna said, “Eureka! We struck pay dirt.” She gently set the cylinders down on one of the giant fallen blocks as everyone gathered around. Emma sat her three down with them and bubbled over with excitement as she told Enoch and Kida how Hanna retrieved the strange crystal cylinders.

Enoch then looked at Hanna, who was sitting next to the cylinders on the block, leaning heavily on the block with one hand as she held her chest with the other. “You are just full of surprises, little sister. Are you all right?” he asked.

Hanna winced in pain, and then answered, “Not really, I shouldn’t have jumped like that with my chest being so sore from the CPR. It’s really hurting now. These dag gone scratches from the spikes are beginning to sting a bit too.”

Kida went to Hanna and looked at the scratches. Her face fell with concern. “We need to get her back to the healer, Enoch. These gashes look like they are infected,” she said.

“What,” Hanna asked with some amazement, “...that quick?”

Enoch shook his head and said, “They were probably poisoned-tipped. The Atlanteans were very skilled and adept in setting traps, especially with poisons. Come on; let’s get you to the healer. Kida, could you...?”

Kida motioned to the stones with the prophecies, asking Nathanael, “Could you help me with these, dad?” Nathanael nodded while Enoch and Emma took Hanna and the seven cylinders back to the tower.

By time they had reached the tower, Hanna was growing weaker and had developed a noticeable fever. The gashes she received had gone from stinging to burning. Sweat poured from her brow as she began to wheeze. She looked at Kida and wheezed, “That was a good call about the scratches, Kida. I’m feeling absolutely terrible now.”

They moved into the Tower and Enoch commented, “You don’t look good, little sister.”

Hanna managed to crack a smile through the building pain and said, “Does it show that much?” As she finished speaking, she collapsed.

Enoch, who had been watching her very closely, moved like lightning and caught her as she fell to the floor. He turned Hanna so he could look at her and saw that she was out cold, trembling from the fever that had invaded her members. Enoch quickly picked Hanna up and ran to the healer with Kida, Nathanael, and Emma in hot pursuit. A few minutes later, Hanna lay on the table of the healing machine with the crystal shining the light on her. The strange music started emanating from the crystal almost as soon as Hanna hit the table. “Hmm, it must be serious for the music to play,” Enoch stated. Seconds later, a tendril rose from the table, wrapping around Hanna’s wrist before penetrating it, becoming a strange IV.

“What is that?” Nathanael asked, seeing the tendril penetrating the vein in Hanna’s wrist.

Enoch looked closely, seeing something moving through the tendril into Hanna. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this happen,” he announced, going to the control panel and observing its operation.

“But what is it doing?” Nathanael insisted.

“It’s administering the antidote to the poison,” Enoch replied. “It recognized the poison and must have activated the table apparatus to administer the antidote to destroy it. It has this ability, though I’ve seldom seen it used. Only when there’s a particularly potent poison does the healer do this. It used this method of intravenous antidote delivery in conjunction with the harmonic electromagnetic healing frequencies to double team the ailment. Most of the time, it can heal with just the harmonic electromagnetic frequencies, but in certain circumstances, it utilizes physical remedies incorporated into its matrix. This is apparently one of those instances.”

“Whoa,” Nathanael breathed. “I didn’t know that. I bet our healing machines back at Tiamat operate the same way.”

Enoch stepped away from the control console and stood beside Hanna as she lay asleep on the table. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” he agreed. “From what you’ve told me about your healing machines, I surmise they’re the same technology, thus would act in a similar manner.” He looked down at Hanna and sighed. “She should really be more careful,” he declared. “The question I have is why did she go in there? Were these strange crystal cylinders worth it?”

Just then, Hanna came around and muttered as the healer worked on her, “Yes. The answers there...the Teacher will tell.” She muttered weakly a few additional incoherent words before slipping back into unconsciousness. Everyone heard what she said and was puzzled by her cryptic remarks.

“What do suppose she meant?” Emma asked as everyone looked closely at the cylinders.

“I don’t know,” Nathanael replied. “I’ve known Hanna for some time, back to before she was mutated, and she still does things that surprise and puzzle me.”

Enoch handled one of the cylinders, examining it closely, being very intrigued by the strange markings on it. “Wait a minute,” he said. “I’ve seen carvings of these before.”

“Where?” Kida asked.

“On the walls of the crypt where the stones were,” he answered. “It’s in the fresco near the depiction of the tower. But I’m still not sure what they are.”

“It seems that this is a mystery that only Hanna knows the answer to,” Emma commented. “When Hanna went in there, she knew exactly where she was going and exactly what she was doing as if she’d been there before. She knows what they are for.”

Enoch nodded, saying, “You’re probably right. We’ll wait until she recovered to find out what they are. Come, let’s leave her for now. As long as the music plays, the machine will work.” At that, they left the room, leaving the healing machine to do its wondrous work.