Legends of Amacia Rise of the Caverias

Morpheus turned to Harry, seeing from the display Harry gave at Hanna’s miraculous return that he was a very close friend of Hanna. “You are her friend?” he asked Harry.

“For almost thirty years,” Harry replied. “My family is the closest thing she’s ever had to a real family. We owe her our lives on several occasions. I would die for her. I’m pissed though that I couldn’t do anything to stop the Emperor from mutating her. It makes it confusing knowing that Hanna used to be a man, but I’ll stand by her no matter what form Hanna’s in. She’s my friend.”

This loyalty surprised Morpheus. “It’s admirable that you continue to stand by her despite the mutation. That trait is in very short supply these days,” Morpheus said. “Technically, we can leave here by way of the other caves, but we don’t do it very often. The outsiders such as this fellow here do not take kindly to us,” he added, referring to Carver, who was shadowing Harry and Amelia as they stood before Morpheus.

“I regret to say that is true,” Carver stated plainly. “Our people have never looked at anything that comes out of this place with pleasure. I suspect it has to do with our constant skirmishes with the Murians. We have warred with them as long as I can remember.”

Morpheus looked at Carver saying, “I can assure you, Murians we are not. In fact, this very prison protected us from the mutant Chimera that spawned the Murians. The virus never penetrated in here to infect us. As I said, according to the accounts, the only Cadre ever to come here was past the contagious stage of the pestilence when he came. When the madness strikes, the plague ceases to be contagious by airborne vectors. At that point, it could only be spread by direct contact with the victim. That man never touched any of our ancestors before diving into the chasm.”

“When would you go out?” Harry asked.

“Only to hunt or work in our gardens just outside the cave entrance. You see, the cave entrance is hidden in a small secret valley that cannot be penetrated by outsiders. The only way into our valley is the way you came in. The mountains that ring the valley are impassable because of the 1500 cubic cliff walls surrounding it, sheltering it from the harsh climate and beasts of the highlands. The valley is warmed by the volcanic activity of this area. It also has a good water supply from snowmelt and numerous mineral springs. Because of those factors, we have a very well developed and self-sufficient food supply. When the gloom of these caverns begins to wear on us, we go out to the valley. However, not all of us can go out there because the way is treacherous. Only the hardiest of us can trek through the caves to get out, so some of us have never seen the sky. Aeolus and Tethys haven’t seen the sky since they were banished here. But some of their children have.”

“How far is it?” Amelia asked.

“It’s roughly a league through a series of narrow grottos and passages. They do happen to be free of the Devourers because their only outlet is in this cavern. The rest of the rooms and antechambers along the way do not connect with the Devourer’s domain.” Morpheus replied.

“Well, that’s good to know,” Enoch chimed in.

“But you can get seriously lost if you don’t know where you are going. In fact, only a handful of us know the way through the maze of tunnels and grottos. One misstep or wrong turn can be disastrous,” Morpheus stated.

“You have aroused my curiosity,” Amelia stated. “Would it be possible to see your valley, please?”

Morpheus looked over at Aeolus as if to ask permission and he nodded, saying, “I believe it would be all right. Go ahead. They will not betray us.”

“Absolutely not!” Harry blurted out. “We will not betray this trust for we know all too well what it is like to have our trust betrayed. It has happened time and time again since we left Tiamat.”

Aeolus’ face wrinkled with surprise. “Tiamat? How is it that you know that name?” he asked strongly.

“I am Hanna’s best friend. Beowulf was a name that she took in her earlier days as an agent of evil before she switched sides and long before her mutation. Hanna spent many cycles searching for Amacia and in that search, she found Tiamat in one of the most forbidding and remote jungles on the face of the Earth. She found it, explored it, discovered its secrets, and its machines. We are now using it as a base of operations from which we launched our incursions into the caverns of Amacia. We have explored it, used the machines, accessed the Archives, and secured the Temple from the evil men and women on the surface. As of now, there are almost a hundred men, women, and children living and working in the Temple, exploring and searching out its secrets. My wife and son are among them. Hanna herself handpicked all the people there. All are outcasts and believers in the one true and Almighty God…the Ancient of Days as I’ve heard him called here. Tiamat used to be a haven of darkness. Now, with the power of our God and the leadership of Hanna, it is a fortress of light.”

“Incredible!” Morpheus breathed. “It is not a fable then?”

Harry shook his head, saying, “No fable, sir; surely, it’s real as I am.”

“Did he find the Gates?” Aeolus asked intensely with great concern. Harry was puzzled for a moment at the question, and then he realized what gates Aeolus was asking about.

“Oh. You’re speaking about the fable hell gates to the infernal worlds and dimensions, aren’t you?” Harry asked.

“I am,” Aeolus replied sternly.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Harry said soberly. “She surely did and the demons she found there nearly ended her life. She found it in the lowest reaches of the place, well below the Hall of Drakens. She lost several good men to the beasts in there but managed to seal the passage to the gates just outside the Hall of Drakens.”

“How?” Tethys asked intently.

“She blew up the passage with contact explosives, physically sealing off the gate level from the rest of the Temple so none of those demons could get out,” Harry replied. His explanation seemed to satisfy Aeolus and Tethys.

“Why did you ask about the gates there? Argus didn’t?” Harry asked.

“I asked about it because it was my species that guarded those gates,” Aeolus replied. “I personally didn’t guard them, but others of my kind did have that terrible responsibility. Those gates were one of the places where the Emperor could unleash the cursed Old Ones on the world from the Etherian dimensional pit. But thankfully, we were able to contain them with the help of the Ancient of Days. I’m relieved that she didn’t open the gates.”

Harry looked at Aeolus, saying, “She never got the chance to. The place was crawling with demons as I understood it, even though the gates weren’t open. I still don’t understand how demons could manifest physically in our universe. They’re not from our reality, but Hanna told me that they could under certain circumstances.”

“She’s correct about that, and so are you about demons not being of our universe,” Aeolus stated. “It troubles me that Hanna saw demons on this side of the Gate. Tell me…did she say anything about what they were doing there?”

“She said they had been trying to open the Gate when she stumbled on them,” Harry reported. “But they weren’t apparently getting anywhere. Moreover, I think Hanna and her team screwed up what they were trying to do when they killed a number of them, including a rather large demon that apparently was in charge of breaking the seal on the Gate. I may be wrong about that, but Hanna told me that most of the demons chased her and her team into the tunnels. I can only surmise that a number of them were caught in the blast when she blew the tunnel.”

“That’s not good,” Aeolus declared. “But it seems Hanna’s discovery of them trying to open the Gate may have bought the world some time.”

“Is there any way those demons could open it?” Harry queried.

“I’m not sure,” Aeolus admitted. “However, I do know the secret to opening and closing the gates were passed to those who took up the mantle as guardians of the gates. Each gate has its own combination and secret to open or close it. Your ancestors and my species shed much blood to make sure those gates stayed shut. The Old Ones and Etherians must never be released from the Etherian dimensional void again. Otherwise, they will consume all life in the known universe, starting at this planet. From what I understand, that’s why Tiamat was built, to keep them from destroying the known universe and all other realities.”

“Well, that explains allot,” Harry returned.

“Wait a minute,” Magnus said after listening intently to Aeolus’ explanation. “You mean there is more than one gate that can let those monsters out of? More than once, you distinctly said gates, plural.” Everyone noticed his point.

“Ah, so you can speak,” Aeolus returned. “For a while there, I didn’t think you could speak. Tell me…what are you for I’m not familiar with your kind.”

“I am Magnus and I’m a seventh generation Xenian prototype bioweapon: the first of my kind. I am the result of the Cadre’s genetic manipulations to create the ultimate killing machine. They did this to me.” Magnus growled, holding up his arms and hands for all to see. “I used to be human; at least I think I did. I still have dreams of being a man without these mechanized attachments or this feline fusion of my genetic structure. I am one of four prototypes bioweapons the Cadre created some four hundred cycles ago. Along with me, they created a bear, a spider and a reptile. The spider and reptile are sold out heart and soul to the Emperor. The bear is with us against the Emperor. The Cadre engineered us and from us, they mass-produce clones of us to fight in the Emperor’s army. The clones do not have the free will that we prototypes do. They are soulless machines designed and programmed to do whatever the Emperor wants, which is usually death and destruction of his enemies. Xenians are the pinnacle of genetic manipulation in the search for the ultimate killer. The clones of us prototypes have everything we do except for the will.

“If the Emperor is permitted to unleash them on the world at large, the world will fall in less than a week. They will sweep across the planet like a plague and destroy all that lies before them like locusts. I stand with Miss Hanna to see that this does not happen.”

Aeolus sighed, saying, “The Cadre has indeed been busy since the abandonment of Acheron. I remember their attempts in my day to create the ultimate soldier. But they were not at the level I see before me now. Surely, they must be stopped or the whole world is lost. As for your question, yes: more than one gateway exists. There used to be one of those gates in this very mountain. However, it was destroyed long ago in the great cataclysm. Miss Hanna witnessed the ruins of it in the chasm and now, according to her, the Earth itself has risen and destroyed the remnants of that cursed gateway. The Devourers are but a small portion of the unholy hordes that could have been unleashed. Since they had a gateway here, I must figure they have a gateway where they are now. You must understand. The Old Ones give the Cadre its power. Cut them off from the Old Ones and the Cadre will have no more power.”

“Now that’s an interesting thought,” Enoch said. “For thousands of generations have the Cadre worked their abominable work, treating and using people as fodder for their wicked experiments. And no one seemed to know how or where they got their inexplicable knowledge or power. But you knew, oh ancient one. That must be why they imprisoned you here. If we could cut off their communication links with the Old Ones, then they would not be a threat to anyone.”

“Easier said than done,” Magnus returned sternly. “The Cadre are hand-picked by the Emperor himself and endowed with power by him. They are very powerful wizards capable of summoning demons physically. It would take a power greater than the Old Ones to do this. As I see it, the only way to deal with the Cadre is to end their miserable existence. Send them to meet the Old Ones in the infernal fires of the Etherian dimensional abyss.”

Harry abruptly interrupted, saying, “Ah, but you are forgetting one very important point. It takes a greater power to deal with the Cadre than the Old Ones. We have that very power in our midst. Surely, you understood what Hanna was telling us earlier. Baal the Belrock, the Devourer, Dagos: not only were they powerful demons, but they’re all part of that group called the Old Ones.”

“That’s right!” Hunter blurted out. “She said they were Old Ones and by her very return, her account has to be true that she bested them. Her God has given her the power over and above the Old Ones. She is the Sword of the Ancient of Days! She is the Last Caverias.”

Finally, it sank in on Magnus the power and position that Hanna was given, so he returned, “True. She seems to be the very hand of her God, if He exists, which I’m beginning to believe may be the truth. If that is the case, then the Cadre’s days are numbered.”

“Trust me, our God does exist, even though we’ve never seen Him face to face,” Harry insisted. “I know He exists because of Hanna’s continued survival after everything that’s happened to her. I know He exists because I’ve seen the archangels Michael and Gabriel with my own eyes in my own house just before we embarked on this epic adventure. He exists because of the demons I’ve encountered and by the very fact that this savage land exists almost a dozen miles below the surface of the Earth. Our God is real because I’m standing in the presence of drakens and mutants who believe in the one true God, the Ancient of Days, as Hanna and I do. I believe because of Magnus here...the very spawn of evil who resists the very evil that created him. Too many things have happened to not just me, but all of us that go well beyond coincidence. Only an all-knowing, all-powerful god who knows not just the past, but also the present, and all the infinite possibilities of the future could have orchestrated this. One example that affects me personally is this. I had the key the special collections in the Tiamat Archive without realizing it.” Harry then explained how he came to possess the key to the core of the Tiamat Archive, including how his great-grandfather found the key by accident. Everyone listened attentively, marveling at his account.

When he finished explaining how he came to have the key to the Tiamat Archive, Harry declared, “When we discovered my lucky amulet and stone were the keys to the Tiamat Archive, I suddenly realized how the Lord had planned this whole thing from the beginning, from a time long before I ever existed. The statistical probability of all that happening as I said is so infinitesimal that no one with a firing brain cell in his or her skull could deny it. Our God exists. I have no doubt of it.”

“Goodness,” Morpheus chimed. “That’s quite an extraordinary proof you provided, and it not only demonstrates your incredible faith in the Ancient of Days, but also your love and faith in your friend. It’s refreshing to bathe in such light. Thank you for sharing your faith with us.”

“Indeed,” Aeolus agreed, “Your passion and faith in the Ancient of Days is truly remarkable. And even though I already know our god exists, I marvel that you, a human with such a short lifespan, can provide such proofs of our god’s existence through incidents you experienced. Even more astounding is how you figured out how He was guiding you and Hanna from these experiences. It shows a resilience of the human mind that few humans ever reach in their short lifespans. I am impressed, Master Harry.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Harry answered humbly. “I didn’t actually figure it out by myself. The Lord used Hanna to help me figure this out this stuff. I’m not nearly smart enough to have discovered this by myself.”

“And modest too,” Tethys chimed. “It’s a very good trait to have as a human.”

“True,” Harry conceded, “If I learned anything from Hanna and our long friendship, it is this. There’s always someone stronger, faster, smarter, or more clever than you are. Hanna always insisted that I question everything and to never stop learning from those who are willing to teach.”

“She’s a very wise woman to say that,” Morpheus said with a smile. “And you seem to have taken it to heart, which is good. It seems I’ve once again underestimated her.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Harry stated, flashing a friendly smile. “I underestimate her all the time, so it’s nothing to be concerned about. One thing I can say about her is that she has a stubborn streak that is a mile long. At times, it can get in the way.”

“But it also saved her,” Magnus reported. “I saw it myself. Her stubbornness and strength of will saved her in the Arena and it kept her alive while she mended from her wounds. The wounds she took in the Arena should have killed her, but Death just couldn’t take her. When I saw her recover from her wounds with no apparent damage to her mental capabilities, I realized she was no ordinary mutated woman. She has a stubborn streak that rivals the Emperor’s own stubbornness.”

“But it just wasn’t her stubbornness that kept her alive,” Harry insisted. “Yes, her stubbornness and strength of will may have helped to keep her alive, but I can safely say it only had a marginal effect. It’s my belief that her stubbornness kept her breathing until she reached us at Acheron. You saw the wounds, Magnus, and gave Arabella the prognosis. Even with Amelia’s stabilizing healing touch and our little portable first-aid/healing kit we brought from Tiamat, Hanna should have succumbed to those injuries a couple days after arriving in Acheron, but she didn’t. She lived and came out of that two-week coma with her mind intact and no apparent brain damage. Her stubbornness and will didn’t do that. Our God did that to show that He alone as the power of life and death.”

“How bad were her wounds?” Morpheus asked.

“Bad enough that she shouldn’t have survived the Arena,” Magnus stated, “I’ve never seen someone take a blast of Lord Hades’ infernal fire full force and survive it. It always incinerates its target to ashes.”

Morpheus looked puzzled and Harry ordered, “Tell them what you found when we first brought Hanna in to treat her.”

Magnus sighed, and then rattled off the list of Hanna’s wounds. “Why she didn’t die in route to Acheron I cannot answer,” Magnus stated. “I only know Princess Amelia there treated Hanna several times to stabilize her condition on the way to Acheron. That’s the only reason I can see beyond divine intervention for Hanna’s survival before we arrived at Acheron.”

Morpheus glanced at Aeolus with an astonished look. A deep rumble echoed from Aeolus’ chest as many of the other listeners gasped in amazement. “Thank you for sharing such vital information with us,” Aeolus said softly. “You are right in saying the Ancient of Days is controlling these events. He has taken Hanna into His mighty hand, and now protects her from the Darkness, giving her incredible elemental and fighting prowess to be His weapon against that Darkness. After hearing what she survived at the hands of the Emperor, and seeing her miraculous return from the dark abyss of the Devourers, I am convinced Hanna is the one the prophecies foretold would come to destroy the Emperor and drive back the Darkness he unleashed on this universe. As Master Hunter there rightly states, Hanna is the Last Caverias, and as such, we have an obligation to assist her in any way we can. Though I can’t see how we can help her while imprisoned here.”

A smile crossed Enoch’s face as he jumped into the conversation. “Don’t worry about that, my ancient guardian,” he stated. “I’m sure we can figure out how to get everyone out of here, including you and your brood.”

“That would be splendid,” Aeolus chimed. “But where would we go?”

“I suggest we wait for Hanna to return to answer that,” Hunter stated matter-of-fact. “She may have something in mind.”

“So true,” Enoch agreed, “But let me say now that you and your family are welcome at the Red Tower, Aeolus.”

“What about us?” Morpheus asked.

“You and your people are welcome there too,” Enoch stated, flashing a warm smile at Morpheus. “When we came down here, we had no idea none of you were down here. All Hanna said was that Muriel was down here and we needed to find her. Your presence here caught us completely by surprise. I’m sure Hanna will want to free you, as I do. But I think Hunter is correct. Hanna has a plan, and since I’m sure she’s the heir to the Amacian throne, I’m willing to wait until she tells us what she wants to do. What do you think?”

Morpheus extended his hand with gratitude to Enoch, who shook it firmly. A trembling sigh escaped Morpheus’ lips as he said, “We thank you from the bottoms of our hearts, my friend. The prophecies given us foretold that the Caverias would come and end our exile in this outer darkness. Now, you are here and Hanna is facing the deadly guardians trying to find Muriel. They will kill anyone who approaches her.”

Hunter’s face fell with dismay and anger. “Why didn’t you tell her about the guardians killing anyone who tries to find Muriel?” he asked hotly.

“Because there is a way to get by them,” Morpheus answered. “If she does like I told her and goes very quietly, she may be able to slip by them. But if she attracts their attention, then she and her friend are dead. No one escapes the guardians once they’ve noticed you.”

“We must go warn her,” Magnus insisted.

“No,” Aeolus retorted. “If you go to warn her, then your presence will surely attract the guardians. You must believe she can slip by them. Do you not understand what Master Harry was trying to tell us? Hanna has the very hand of the Ancient of Days on her. If He didn’t guide her steps, she wouldn’t have survived her bout in the Emperor’s Arena, nor would she have survived her fight with the Baal, Dagos, or the Devourer’s leader out there in the Devourer’s abyss like she did. We must wait and let whatever must happen transpire. It’s her destiny to go and meet with Muriel. If we try to change it by warning her, it may be the death of her and of us all. If Hanna is the Last Caverias as I now suspect, she will return and free us. We must wait and have faith.”

“Aeolus is correct,” Harry stated soberly. “Hanna went down that path knowing what may lie at its end. She knows what she’s doing and so does our God. We must have faith the Lord will not lead her into a pit. Besides, Hanna promised to come back, and she’s yet to break a promise. Shit, she came back from the Emperor’s domain, didn’t she? We should wait and let the Lord do His work with her.”

“So how long do we wait?” Hunter asked bluntly, his anger still seething.

“If she doesn’t return in twelve hours, she will not return,” Morpheus replied soberly. “And it would be pointless to go after her because the guardians devour their prey whole. There would be no body to find. I pray to the Ancient of Days and Fate that Hanna doesn’t find her end that way.”

“She’ll be back,” Harry said calmly. “The Lord is with her. He’ll bring her back.”

“I wish I had your confidence, Master Harry,” Magnus admitted. “If she doesn’t come back in twelve hours, I’m going down there to kill whatever guardian that killed her.”

“And I’m coming with you,” Hunter agreed.

“No, you won’t, Hunter,” Enoch rebuked. “I’m not going to let you throw your life away so recklessly.”

“But Dad!” Hunter balked.

“No buts,” Enoch declared sternly. “If Hanna doesn’t come back, then we have been mistaken as to who the Last Caverias is, and I’m going to need you to help me take on the Emperor. We must be patient and wait.”

“This sucks,” Hunter grumbled.

“I know it does, son,” Enoch stated in a softer tone. “I don’t like it any more than you do. But we must not doubt. Remember what happened when we first came in here. We thought Hanna died out there in that bottomless pit, but she didn’t. She came back. She’ll come back this time too.”

“Okay, Dad,” Hunter conceded. “I’ll wait.”

“So will I,” Magnus stated. “I’m actually curious to see if Hanna’s god brings her out of there.”

“I’m sure He will,” Morpheus replied. “She survived the Beast of Fire and two more Old Ones in that pit. She’ll certainly be able to slip by the guardians without any trouble.”

“I hope so,” Magnus murmured. “She’s my friend.”

“We all have a soft-spot for her,” Carver muttered, stepping briefly into the conversation. “She’s our little sister.”

“That she is,” Enoch stated, smiling. His smile suddenly vanished as he remembered something important. “Aeolus, didn’t you say there was a gateway out there in that bottomless pit?” he asked.

“I did,” Aeolus replied. “Hanna said she saw its ruins destroyed.”

“And while we were talking about the gateway, you said that in the 1st Age your kind guarded those gateways, plural...right?” Enoch continued.

“I did,” Aeolus stated, sensing where Enoch was going with his line of questioning. “There were several of those infernal gates on this planet, some made by your kind and some built by an alien race far older than humanity. I know of four gates humans were not responsible for: the gates of the Four Winds.”

Harry gasped with surprise as Enoch’s eyebrow rose. “You know of the Four Winds?” Enoch asked.

“Of course,” Aeolus replied. “The Four Winds were legendary even in the 1st Age. Legends say the Four Winds was an array of planetary generators built by the Etherian conquerors long before humanity arrived on this planet: four on this planet, and one on this planet’s primary moon. The machines on this planet tapped the highly energetic core of this planet and its moon in order to alter reality and warp space-time to create their refuge: the Nexus. I vaguely remember a sixth component to this array that helped to control the other five machines, but I’m just not sure if my memory is correct on this. Furthermore, I don’t completely recall how they used the machines to do this, only that they did. What I do remember is when they created the Nexus, they didn’t make just one entrance or exit. They built smaller gates deep beneath each of the machines to allow them to escape if something happened to the main gate: an escape hatch if you will. These gates were too small to take their colossal starships through, but were big enough to allow them and their minions to get out bodily. We drakens took it upon ourselves at the order of the Ancient of Days to secure these gates, which we did. Unfortunately, by the time of my capture, the Emperor and his Cadre discovered the secret to creating gateways into the Nexus without the use of the Four Winds. As I said, one such gate used to exist beneath this mountain. These gates were not as stable as the Four Wind gates, but they were stable enough for him to receive not only technological information from the Etherians inside the Nexus, but also to summon battalions of Old Ones to help him overthrow the planet and galaxy. All praises to the Ancient of Days for the Emperor’s defeat and the destruction of those human-created gates. The only saving grace about those gates was they were never able to make them big enough or stable enough to bring an Etherian out of the Nexus. Had he done that, we would not be having this conversation.”

“Wait a second,” Ned called out, feeling confused. “If there are five, possibly six of these alien machines, why is it called the Four Winds? Why not call it the Five Winds or Six Winds?”

“You are Hanna’s friend from the surface?” Aeolus asked Ned.

“Yes,” Ned answered. “I am and so is Sam here. She saved our lives.”

“I can see you both are loyal to Hanna to a fault,” Aeolus observed. “Your question is a legitimate one. The array is called ‘The Four Winds’ because the four main generators are on this planet: one at each end of the planet. The fifth generator, which lies on this planet’s primary moon, is basically a gigantic failsafe to prevent the four main generators from tearing this planet apart while the array is engaged. The Etherians realized they needed to have a means of regulating the phenomenal power they needed in order to create the Nexus. Think of the machine on the moon as a relief valve or power regulator. It doesn’t have the generating power of the four main machines on this planet; only the ability to act as a power regulator. The sixth component is what you would call a supercomputer the Etherians used to actually direct the array and control the main four machines and its power regulator on the moon. Therefore, the computer and the moon regulator are subcomponent of the main array, which consists of the four planetary generators, one of which is Tiamat. Does that help you understand it?”

“Some,” Ned replied. “So you’re saying it’s called ‘The Four Winds’ because of the four giant alien machines buried on this planet.”

“Yes, Master Ned,” Aeolus stated soberly. “All species who have come in contact with these machines have referred to them in this manner. The Four Winds Array is a legendary relic of the Etherian conquests of the universe long before your species appeared on this planet and is known all over the galaxy.”

“Whoa,” Sam breathed in awe. “I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around this.”

“Me too,” Ned agreed.

“There’s no need to try and understand it,” Aeolus declared. “Just know it exists and is almost as old as this planet is, created by a malevolent race long since vanished from this galaxy. Besides, my memory of these legends is vague and fragmentary. I know there’s more to it than I’ve told you, but I cannot remember it. Twelve thousand cycles of isolation from my kind and the outside world has me at a disadvantage when it comes to this sort of thing.”

Ned smiled warmly. “I understand,” he stated. “I’m sure at some point we’ll wrap our minds around this strange legend. For the moment, I’m not discounting anything. If Hannibal taught me anything in the little time I’ve been with him, it is not to dismiss legends. Legends brought him into my life and into this savage land.”

“Well said,” Morpheus agreed. “Hanna chose well to have you and your friend has her companions.”

“We’re all we have now,” Sam stated. “Everyone who came with Hannibal into this forgotten world beneath the surface has lost everything. We had nothing left to hold us to the surface. As crazy as it sounds, I’m glad I came.”

“Me too,” Ned stated.

“Aeolus,” Enoch intruded. “Getting back to the gates, you said you knew of four alien gates along with some made by humans. Do you know if there are any more of these gates other than the ones at the Four Winds?”

“I don’t rightly know,” Aeolus replied honestly. “But you can be sure of this: wherever the Cadre is headquartered now, they likely have a gateway set up. I suspect the Old Ones may inhabit the clones Magnus speaks of. I do know this from my experience with the human gates of the 1st Age. As long as the gates remain closed physically, the Old Ones need a body to affect this realm of existence. However, if a gate were ever opened, they would be able to manifest in their true abominable forms on this plane. They must never be allowed to do that.”

“I think that we are all agreed on,” Enoch said. “At the present time, the wicked wizards hold up in the city of Kartoom in the wastes of Tartarus. I have watched the terrible clouds of Tartarus from the Red Tower.”

“Tartarus?” Aeolus returned grimly. “A very fitting place for the Cadre to do their wicked experiments. Kartoom is near a bottomless chasm like the one here. The only difference is that it is much bigger than this one and much more likely to be a point to access the Old Ones. Let’s pray they do not open the gates.” Everyone agreed with Aeolus’ statement.