SWNOVELS Chapter 30: Dream of the Painting
For five hours, Hanna lay unconscious on the table of the healer. The beam of light emanating from the machine pulsed and resonated with the eerie music that played. It worked in concert with the physical application of the antidote through the tendril IV to counteract the ancient poisons of Atlantis that sought to destroy her. Hanna lay in the deepest, most primal state of sleep: a sleep state so deep with dreams so vivid it was impossible to distinguish the dreams from reality. She dreamed in that state as the healer worked on driving the poisonous infections from her mind and body. In one dream, she found herself lying on a sofa in her old house on the surface, half-asleep. As she came around, Hanna noticed that everything was in place as if it had never been moved to the Temple of Tiamat. Yet as she stirred and sat up, she noticed something out of place, which drew her attention. On the living room wall hung a strange painting that nearly filled the wall. The painting depicted in absolutely stunning and crisp detail a colossal cyclopean fortress in a desolate wasteland. The fortress lay carved out of an entire mountain.
Hanna rose from the sofa and approached the painting, seemingly drawn to it. She stopped and examined it closely, mumbling, “This is surely a strange painting. I don’t remember having one like this.” She looked into the painting, and the closer it looked, the more real it appeared until it looked like she was looking through a window. Hanna looked at the fortress itself and saw tiny figures lining the walls. “What is this?” she asked aloud to no one as she thought she began to see the figures moving and milling about on the walls. They seemed to be in a frenzy of activity. Suddenly, her attention went to the bottom of the painting and the base of the fortress where out of nowhere appeared an army of unspeakable figures of all shapes and sizes: hideous abominations that could not be imagined in the deepest terrors of the worst nightmares of man; horrid creatures so alien they defied description. The abominations moved toward the fortress as Hanna watched the strange painting like a television. Suddenly, the horde stopped en mass and turned around, facing away from the fortress looking right at Hanna. When they turned, she instantly knew what they were. Memories of the Old Ones from her nightmare about the ruined city sprang into the open. The creatures in the painting were the same as in the other dream. Up until this point, no sound emanated from the painting. When the horde turned and looked at Hannibal, a chorus of unearthly roars and shrieks issued from the painting. Sudden fear rose in Hanna’s heart, sickening her. She shrieked in fright as the abominations faced her while she backed away from the painting.
Hanna stumbled over a footstool as she backed away, landing on the sofa. Indescribable terror filled her mind as she watched the painting suddenly change. The strange fortress in the wastes surrounded by the abominations vanished and in its place stood the cursed Black Fortress of Amacia surrounded by flowing rivers of lava with Mt. Ragnarok in the background belching enormous fountains of lava and ash from its summit. Lightning crackled though the ash clouds over the volcano. Rakshasar in scarlet armor mounted on flying weracks circled the fortress like sinister vultures.
Without warning, an image of the Black Prince appeared in the painting behind the fortress with his head rising over the top of the massive tower of the keep. His shoulders and arms spread out from either side of the fortress, dwarfing it. His eyes glowed of hellfire as he spoke to Hanna from the picture, “You are mine, Beowulf!” The demon’s arm and hand abruptly reached forward out of the painting to seize Hanna bodily. Hanna lay petrified on the sofa as the giant clawed hand physically reached out of the painting. At that point, a brilliant light flashed between Hanna and the demon hand. Caverias suddenly appeared with sword drawn and struck without hesitation, cutting off the spectral demon arm at the elbow.
“Not today, Black Prince. In the name of the Lord, you stay away from her,” Caverias hissed as the clawed arm vanished in a whiff of sulfurous smoke. “You will not touch her until the appointed time, now be gone.” The image of the Black Prince raged as Caverias cut the painting to pieces with his angelic blade. As each piece fell to the floor, it disappeared in a whiff of acrid smoke. Once Caverias destroyed the strange painting, he turned to Hanna while sheathing his sword. “That was too close. He almost had you and almost found out where you are,” he said with some relief.
Slowly, the fear of what happened subsided and Hanna asked, trembling, “What was that?”
Caverias sat down beside Hanna and said, “That was the Emperor’s snake, Ahriaman, trying to divine your location through Selina. Fortunately, the Lord was merciful and I was able to stop him from finding you. Had he gotten hold of you, he would have found you and the island of Antilla.” Caverias looked at her sternly, adding, “He must never find Antilla. The Red Tower has the power to grant him mastery of the world and galaxy, just like Tiamat does. The forces of Darkness must never gain control of the ancient machines again.”
Hanna looked into Caverias’ face and said in a shaky voice, “Thank you again for bailing me out of trouble. The Old Ones are moving, aren’t they?”
Caverias nodded, saying, “Yes. At the order of the Emperor, they will be released and wreak havoc on the world once again. For the moment, they are massing beyond the Nexus, awaiting Ahriaman to release them. He must never be allowed to release them.”
“But what can I do?” Hanna asked bluntly, still shaken from the experience. “I’m just a single mutated woman. What can a single woman do against the Old Ones? They’re so many and powerful, and I’m but one woman.”
Caverias put a hand on Hanna’s knee, saying pointedly, “Oh, you of little faith. You still don’t understand that you are not alone. Do you still not understand what Jesus has set you to do? At your command are the hosts of heaven and the very elements of creation. At the proper time, the Lord will give you the signal and you will send them into action against the Old Ones and the demon hordes. But the time is growing very short. You must act and quickly. Nicodemus has been taken by the Dark Riders. You must act now, so wake up and get to work!” Caverias put his hand on Hanna’s head and the dream suddenly ended with Hanna jumping up off the healing table, looking around like a mad woman. The tendril IV in her arm instantly retracted the moment Hanna woke, jumping off the table. The instant her feet hit the floor, they gave way, sending her sprawling on the floor.
The fall irritated Hanna to no end and the Holy Spirit asked her in gentle reproof, “Why are you angry? Get up. You have much work to do.”
Hanna nodded, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. She reached up and grabbed the table, hoisting herself to her feet. For a few moments, she leaned on the table, and then pushed off. Her feet and legs were suddenly sound and full of strength. The gashes and her damaged ribs were healed completely. In seconds of walking, she realized that her ribs were whole and the fever was gone. Her mind was razor sharp and her reasoning faculties were ready to go. Moreover, Hanna realized the fear of what was happening to her had vanished. When she realized what had happened, she knelt and gave thanks and praise to the Lord God Almighty. After thanking the Almighty, Hanna rose and ran out of the healing chamber.