Legends of Amacia Heart of Darkness

At the same time inside the city of Kaal Bek, Nathanael stood at the portal in the courtyard square holding on to the scepter as the last of the people and supplies went through to Acheron. Argus had just landed behind him, and those guards who had been fighting the advancing horde of Zarukar and Xenians had barred the main gates. There wasn’t many left, only about a hundred and fifty out of eight hundred who had taken up the defense of the city. The Zarukar and Xenian divisions had penetrated into the valley and swept through like locusts, destroying everything in their path. They set fires that burned through the forests, fields, and hamlets as the Emperor’s shock troops advanced, leaving nothing but ash and smoldering ruins in their wake. No plant, animal, or human escaped their wrath. Those who hadn’t heeded the warnings were caught in the tide and slaughtered without mercy; their heads mounted on pikes as a warning to any who would defy the Emperor. By time the Zarukar and Xenian divisions had reached the city, the 5th and 8th Divisions had linked up with them and the city was overrun. When the gates had been barred, the Emperor’s forces were nearly upon the fortress. Nicodemus and Joshua stood there at the portal with Harry, who carried Hannibal and Selina’s belongings.

Nathanael looked at all three severely and ordered, “You had better go now. This isn’t going to be pleasant to watch. Harry, do you have the detonator?”

Harry quickly produced it and handed it to him, saying, “Watch you back, Nathanael.”

Nathanael grinned, showing his canines fully, answering, “I will, my friend. Now go. Our time’s up.” The remnant of the guards ran up and Doug, who had been in the thick of the fight said, “That gate isn’t going to hold long. We have to get out of here now.”

Joshua took hold of Nicodemus and pushed him forward, saying, “Let’s go, Nicodemus. Time’s up.”

Nicodemus looked to Nathanael and asked, “How will you get to Acheron?”

Nathanael nodded toward Argus, saying, “I have a ride. Argus will get me there. Now will you please go? It’s not safe here.” Just then the cries and wails of the Zarukar echoes over the walls and there was heard a banging on the gates. “Get out here, all of you!” Nathanael shouted intensely as Argus began to breathe fireballs at the top of the wall as the spider Xenians began to pour over the top like ants. Joshua pushed Nicodemus through, followed by Harry and the rest of the guards except for Doug, who stopped briefly as the war machines of the Emperor obliterated the main gate. Zarukar fighters poured into the square. “I’ll stand with you, my friend,” Doug exclaimed, fearlessly facing the thousands of Zarukar and Xenians pouring through the destroyed gate.

Nathanael looked at him and saw there was no point in arguing. “You may regret that decision,” he said flatly. “Argus! Cover us!” Argus turned his lethal breath on the advancing hordes, erecting a wall of dragon fire around their position as Nathanael picked up the scepter, closing the portal. “Come on, Doug! We are so out of here!” Nathanael roared. They sprinted to Argus, who quickly stooped down to let them mount.

“Hold on,” Argus shouted over the din of the advancing horde after Nathanael and Doug mounted his back. He leapt into the air and immediately began to climb out of the square, flapping his massive wings as the spider Xenians clambering over the wall began to fire on them with their energy weapons. Without even thinking, Nathanael held up the scepter and it glowed brilliantly. Suddenly, there was an impenetrable bluish shield around them. The energy projectiles coming from the Xenian hordes bounced off the shield harmlessly. Argus quickly gained altitude and flew out of their range in moments.

“What about the machine?” Doug asked intensely. “If they get it, all is lost!”

Nathanael looked down on the square as he lowered the scepter, saying, “Never fear. We have planned for all of the contingencies.” By that time, they were over two thousand feet up and leaving the city. “Argus, we may want to take cover when I set off the explosives. Is there somewhere close by where we can hide?”

Argus bobbed his head and said, “I know just such a place. It’s only moments away.”

Within two minutes, they saw a small mountain peak with a cave large enough for Argus to hide in facing to the south, southwest just away from the city. When Nathanael saw it, he said, “Good job, Argus.” They landed and while Argus and Doug took shelter in the cave, Nathanael ran around the side to where he could see the city some three miles away. There was smoke and fire burning throughout it. He could see the army of Xenians and Zarukars crawling all over the main fortress. With great regret, Nathanael pressed the detonator button and darted into the cave. For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a flash, an electrical hiss, followed by a potent shockwave and heat flash as everything with two miles of the keep was incinerated. The carite explosives did its job flawlessly, vaporizing the portal generator, keep, and the Archives. A gigantic mushroom cloud rose over the city of Kaal Bek, incinerating over half of the forces that had come to sack the city. An earsplitting roar rose over the valley as the mushroom cloud rose high into the air. The ground shook and quaked violently as the shockwave blew past Argus, Nathanael, and Doug in the cave. The wind was so intense that Nathanael and Doug had to hang on to Argus to keep from being sucked out of the cave to their deaths. At the same time, a flash of intense heat that quickly dissipated seared everything, making Nathanael’s and Doug’s clothes and armor smoke briefly. The smell of ozone, sulfur, and burning vegetation was everywhere. Had Nathanael and Doug been in the open, the heat flash would have roasted them alive.

Once Argus deemed it safe to come out, he moved out of the cave and looked toward the city. Nathanael and Doug followed him out and looked toward the city as well. Argus sighed heavily as he saw the destruction wreaked by the carite bombs. The loss grieved him terribly. Nathanael and Doug, on the other hand, were in total shock at the devastation they were seeing. The city of Kaal Bek had been erased from the face of the Earth and with it over half of the force that had attacked it. A giant mushroom cloud loomed over the ruins of the city, slowly dissipating. As it dissipated, the full extent of the damage was revealed. The fortress of Kaal Bek and a mile radius around it was nothing but a smoking crater hundreds of feet deep. All vestiges of the fortress and city within that radius were gone. The only thing that remained inside the crater was a pile of rubble where the wall had once stood around the keep. Out beyond that, the rest of the city was flattened and consumed in the firestorm that resulted from the explosion. The results of the explosion extended out almost two miles beyond the edge of the city into the valley. Many of the Emperor’s war machines within the city were demolished and over fifty thousand Zarukar, Xenians, and regular troops were wiped out instantly.

Nathanael looked over the devastation and saw the periphery of the army beginning to stir and move. “Holy God!” Nathanael breathed as Doug stood there with his mouth hanging open, totally stupefied by the devastation. “I haven’t seen this kind of destruction since the Carellian Wars. Have you seen this level of destruction before, Argus?”

Argus nodded solemnly, saying, “I’m afraid so, and on too many occasions. This is the kind of destruction the Emperor leaves in his wake. However, it has been almost twelve thousand cycles since I’ve seen the use of this kind of destructive power. We were fortunate that we were the ones using it and not the Emperor.”

Doug rubbed his eyes and looked again. “Great Ancient of Days; it’s gone, all of it!” he cried in astonishment. “I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it for myself. Thanks be to the Almighty we got the people away when we did. I had no idea the carite bombs could wreak such destruction.”

“Yes. This shows the power of that material very effectively,” Argus said grimly. “Come. We need to get away from here.”

Argus stooped down as Nathanael put his hand on Doug’s shoulder, saying, “Argus is right. We need to go. Come on. Acheron awaits us.” Doug turned numbly and followed Nathanael as he mounted Argus’ back. In seconds, they were airborne, heading west over the mountains. As they soared away, some of the commanders that survived the blast noticed Argus’ departure.