Legends of Amacia Srandi: Last Bastion of the Caverias

Two hours later, Hannibal lay in a deep dreamless sleep on one of the Healer’s tables with a soft snore echoing from his throat. The healing beam from the Healer’s crystal bathed him in a warm soft green glow. On the table next to him lay Selina, who lay bathed in a stronger green beam than the one that enveloped Hannibal. Like Hannibal, Selina was sound asleep with a look of perfect peace on her face. A soft melodious hum emanated from the Healing Machine as it remedied their fatigue and ailments.

Without warning, something dark intruded on Hannibal’s deep dreamless slumber. A deep frown bordering on a snarl crossed his sleeping lips as he stirred from the nameless intrusion on his rest. He jerked and gasped in his sleep as the healing beam and music from the machine faded away. Moments later, Enoch walked in followed by Harry, Kida, Assad, Kusanagi, Liam, Nemesis, Anastasia, Leya, Tau, Draco, and Samantha. When Enoch saw Hannibal stirring rather violently, thrashing in his sleep, he held out a restraining hand, saying, “Hold on; something’s not right here. The last time I saw him act like this in here, he woke screaming like a lunatic. We’d better stay back until he wakes, just in case.”

“Does this happen to him on a regular basis?” Tau asked with a bit of concern.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Nemesis answered, “He’s constantly tormented by nightmares from not just his past, but also from direct psychic attacks by his enemies. However, since the awakening of his elemental power, his awakenings can be right down dangerous because sometimes these violent awakenings can trigger an uncontrolled release of those powers. I’ve seen it happen several times with my own eyes, but this time seems different. I think something else is going on here for each time it happened before, my sensors could detect the buildup of elemental power and tension before it happened. I don’t sense it this time. His elemental abilities seemed to be quiescent right now, though that can change in an instant. That’s why we need to be ready for anything.”

“You may be right, my Xenian friend,” Draco rumbled darkly. “I should be able to telepathically see what’s ailing him, but I’m being blocked by a higher power. What’s even more troubling is I can’t tell whether this force is benevolent or malevolent. The only thing I can really sense is that whatever is happening here isn’t triggering his elements right now. Regardless of that, we should be very careful in how we approach him.”

Before anyone could blink, Hannibal bolted to a sitting position on the table with a fearful perplexed scream and a wild look in his eyes that indicated he was unsure of his surroundings. He had the look of a cornered animal, ready to lash out as his eyes darted all around the room looking for imaginary enemies. His heart thundered like a jackhammer in his chest as sweat drenched his clothes. As soon as this happened, the healing beam switched back on along with the music, which quickly calmed his heart rate down to a safe level and seemed to quiet him mind. The fear left his face once he realized he was safe, especially when he recognized Enoch and the others looking on with profound concern. With a deep, settling sigh, he pounded the table with his right fist angrily while rubbing his face with his left hand, growling, “This shit has got to stop. I’m sick and tired of having my rest interrupted by these fucking nightmarish dreams and visions. Just when I get to where I’m finally resting, these things come and screw everything up.” He looked around, seeing his audience’s concern and fear as to whether it was safe to approach. With a weak forced smile, Hannibal waved his audience over, saying, “It’s okay to come over here now that I’m awake and in charge of my faculties. The Rage didn’t take me this time. I’m just glad I didn’t set off my elemental powers when I woke.”

“What did you dream this time, bud,” Harry asked, touching Hannibal on the shoulder. “You look pretty rattled, and that scream was almost as bad as the one you belted out earlier when you dreamed of Surtur and that god-forsaken Nameless City.”

“Yes, please share your dream, milord,” Draco replied emphatically. “Whatever was influencing you kept me from seeing it telepathically. I could not break through the wall to see what was causing your distress.”

Hannibal’s eyebrow rose as he looked over at Draco. “You say something blocked you from seeing it?” he asked bluntly.

“Yes, milord,” Draco stated, “It was definitely a higher power keeping me out. It was very much like what the Kings did to block my telepathy in Poseidia during your palaver in the Sacred Circle with them, but I couldn’t tell if it was good or evil. It hid its identity from me.”

“Oh man,” Hannibal moaned, realizing the nightmarish visions he saw was more than just a nightmare. “That can’t be good, but whatever forced this on me didn’t feel dark or malicious towards me personally. It felt incredibly ancient and powerful from my vantage point, just as powerful and old as Cerrelius, but incredibly distant, almost as if it were just waking up. It felt so alien, but strangely familiar as if I knew this presence, entity...whatever it was. The only thing I know for sure about this thing I felt is that it isn’t human and that it was trying to show me something it believed was vitally important.”

“Interesting,” Draco rumbled thoughtfully. “It must be a powerful entity to be able to block my telepathic probes and hide itself from me so completely. It would place this entity on the level of the Kings of Amacia. However, the way you say it felt as if it was just awakening is most intriguing. Many powerful entities from of old, both of the Light and of the Darkness are still not accounted for including the squad of the powerful Elder Gods that mysterious vanished at the end of the Battle of Drakonia along with your twin. No one knows what became of those entities except for maybe the Almighty Ancient of Days Himself. They literally vanished from the annals of history, never to be seen again, but I do not doubt they still exist somewhere out there in the infinite spans of the multiverse. Do you remember ever having felt the presence of this entity before?”

“No,” Hannibal answered bluntly, “I have no recollection of ever having seen or met this entity before, but that means nothing. You all know I have missing time and memories that are shattered because of my past. Just because I don’t remember ever meeting this creature doesn’t mean I didn’t. Because this presence felt both alien and vaguely familiar, I’m betting it’s either another ally or enemy that’s been lost in that black hole of my memories and is now reaching out to make contact. The only thing is I’m not sure if this thing that intruded on me is an ally or an enemy. That’s how vague the sensation is, but I did feel something twitch when you mentioned the Elder Gods and my mysterious counterpart disappearing at the same time at the end of the Battle of Drakonia. It seems once again, that cataclysmic battle reaches out once again from the darkness to haunt me with its enigmas. How I wish I could just put those enigmas to rest and finally know for sure that I’m the one depicted in those images. It’s very disconcerting and troubling.”

“You will find those answers in due time,” Draco rumbled softly. “But until then, you must keep following the clues to your destiny and not get discouraged by your seeming inability to solve this conundrum yet. When the Almighty wants you to have that answer, He will place it within your grasp and you will finally have your answer, but for now, do not let yourself become distracted by this. You need to focus on what’s before you, particularly this new entity you sensed. You sensed it clear enough to know it’s an powerful alien mind that seems to reaching out to you with some message or warning despite the idea you say it feels like it’s just waking up. However, you’re unsure of its identity or whether it’s an ally or enemy. I suggest you focus on what you already know about this creature and try to discover its true intentions towards you.”

“You’re right, Draco,” Hannibal replied as he pondered the emergence of this new power that has touched his mind. “I need to find out who this entity is before we can take anything it says seriously. Still, I must be careful with this unknown. Like I said earlier, the only thing I truly know about this thing is that it’s alien and was trying to show me something it believed to be of vital importance to us.”

“Hmmm, very curious,” Assad growled softly. “As you speak of this presence you sensed, I’m getting the feeling that you may be right. Whatever this thing is that intruded on you may have showed its intentions towards you inadvertently in what it showed you in your dream, if it is truly the one who triggered the dream.”

“That’s a distinct possibility,” Tau agreed, “Maybe you should share this nightmare with us and together we may be able to ferret out the identity of this presence through what it showed you.”

“I agree,” Enoch declared, “Come, little brother; tell us this newest nightmare that has caused you to wake screaming like a lunatic.” He saw Hannibal frown deeply at the comment and quickly added with a wry smile, “Not that you are a lunatic, little brother, but someone who is tormented by powers greater than you that you have no control over.”

Hannibal had to smile at the quick addition. Shaking his head, he admitted, “I do sometimes look like I’m absolutely nuts when I wake from these nightmares, so you’re right to say so, big brother even if I don’t like to hear it. I’m just glad it didn’t set my rage off this time or trigger my elemental abilities. I shudder to even think of what could have happened if it did.”

Harry put a comforting hand on Hannibal’s shoulder, saying earnestly, “But it didn’t happen, bud, so don’t give it a second thought. What you need to do now is tell us more about the dream itself since, as Master Assad suggested, it may give us a clue as to what this thing really wants.”

“Harry’s right,” Nemesis agreed, “You need to share this with us now so it won’t distract you when we go to Srandi. First, what makes this one different from the others you’ve shared with us?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Hannibal admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Unlike the other crazed nightmares I’ve had, this one wasn’t coherent with a set course of events like the one with Surtur in Vendikar or even my dreams of the Battle of Drakonia. This one was very chaotic without any set pattern that I could see. Moreover, it came as brief flashes, images really appearing and disappearing completely at random with the last one being the strangest and most bizarre. I’m still trying to remember them, but they seem to be drifting away like smoke in the wind. If I don’t share it now, I feel I might lose them completely and not be able to figure out what it was about.”

“Then you should share it, my friend,” Assad replied, “And don’t waste time. What did this strange entity show you?”

“Well, the first one is pretty bad as dream visions go,” Hannibal answered grimly, “I’m sure it was just a brief glimpse, but time seemed to have no meaning. I couldn’t tell how long I looked at it. Well, anyway the first one consisted of a cyclopean temple on a dead island in the middle of a terrible lake of festering putrid black water. I saw...I hesitate to speak of it, but I saw a glimpse of a horde of Triaskus Spiders and basilisks battling inside this temple. It was total carnage; far beyond anything even the Emperor could think to unleash in his wrath. It was as if the battle had been frozen as it happened, allowing me to see everything. Then before I could comprehend what I saw, the nightmare shifted and I was lost in a fog very similar to what Selina and I encountered when the Kings took us to the Sacred Circle. I could feel a deadly menace in the fog that wasn’t the entity I felt at first, a horror beyond all comprehension that made my blood run cold. I heard a deep rumbling growl from the fog that made my hair stand on end. As quickly as that happened, the dream switched again and I saw the same island again, only this time it had a pyramid temple on it in a different location from the other temple. In the shadows of this temple, I saw a silhouette of an enormous creature that I swear looked like a gigantic minotaur bigger than Nemesis. However, I couldn’t see its form clearly. It was a shadow in the darkness. The only thing I could actually make out was its eyes. Oh man, its eyes...those blazing yellow catlike eyes looked right at me. No, they looked right through me as if they could see my soul. It made my blood turn to ice, especially when I heard a distinctly animalistic rumbling growl come from the shadow. I knew I didn’t want to intrude or confront this creature, not on what I figured was his home turf. Then as quickly as it came, the scene vanished and completely changed again to a place I know I’ve seen before.” He paused and shuddered visibly.

“What did you see, Hannibal?” Samantha asked, coming up and touching him on the hand. “It must be bad if it’s making you shake like this.”

“You’d shake too if you saw what I did,” Hannibal answered in a low, fearful tone. “This one is what woke me.”

“Go ahead,” Selina called out groggily while sitting up slowly. “Tell them what we saw, Hannibal.”

Hannibal turned to Selina and saw her with a fearful grim look on her face that matched his. “You saw the nightmare?” he asked urgently.

“I did,” Selina replied softly, rubbing her eyes while trying to shake off the grogginess. “The only thing I can say about it is that it’s nowhere near as bad as some of the other shit we’ve had to deal with in our dreams, but it was definitely up there with its bizarreness. Go on. Tell them what we saw at Srandi in that hellish vision.” Kida immediately went to Selina’s side and put an arm around her since she was wobbling as she sat on the healing table of the Healer.

“What, you mean the last part of this dream was at Srandi?” Enoch asked incredulously. This got everyone’s attention.

“Yes,” Hannibal said grimly. “And this is the only part of the nightmare where I wasn’t alone. In this part of the dream, Selina and I were standing on top of Srandi’s keep, looking out over the wastes. We saw colossal stone titans beyond enormous out on the perimeter, toppled and buried in the sands of the encroaching desert. Out beyond those ruined statues we saw the largest demoniac horde ever assembled and they were racing towards us at full speed. It only took a fraction of a second for us to realize this was the Emperor’s Army coming for us. The sands were alive with Xenians, Zarukars, droids, humans, and dare I say it, even physical demons and other creatures I’ve never seen before. Fighter aircraft along with demons riding on hideous flying creatures filled the skies. Terrible war machines lumbered alongside the mechanized infantries. Then there was the thing that made my blood run cold.”

“What was that?” Kusanagi asked.

“High above the fliers, I saw the sky...the real sky as seen from the surface,” Hannibal said with a tremor in his voice. “It was filled with two giant red celestial objects, one of them having multiple moons and both having a haze of asteroid debris around them. The debris was breeching the atmosphere and raining down on everyone, including the Emperor’s Army. Before either Selina or I could even blink, we heard a booming voice from the sky that literally shook the ground, rattling our very bones with its enunciations. It said, ‘Arise and defend, Guardians of Srandi. Smite the enemy and protect your people.’ Then we saw the impossible. Those colossal titan statues that were toppled and buried in the sands suddenly stood up and wreaked bloody havoc on the Emperor’s Army. Do you have any concept of what it’s like to see a mountain get up and attack as if it were a living being. Selina and I stared in disbelief, totally blown away by these stone giants waging war against the forces of the Emperor. The next thing I know, I see a giant fireball from the sky coming down right on our heads from the rogue planets in the sky. Just before it hit, I screamed, shielding Selina with my body and all went black. When the darkness lifted, I saw you guys standing off at a distance with a very worried look on your faces. Now can you see why I’m so tired of these screwed up nightmares? I wish they’d just leave me the hell alone.”

The account silenced everyone. Draco finally broke the silence, saying, “This is important. Whoever or whatever this entity is that showed you this is obviously not working with the Dark Powers to have shown you these things as if to warn you about these places. Furthermore, it appears to me this montage of dream images is some sort of premonition. Maybe the Almighty is using this entity to send a warning about what’s coming. I hesitate to say that you may actually find these places since you have an uncanny record of your dreams turning out to be real, Beowulf.”

“I agree,” Assad concurred, “It seems to me that this dream may have been a heads-up for what you’re about to face next.” When he saw Hannibal’s face fall with dismay, he quickly added, “But we can’t be sure of that, or what the dream actually entails. Dreams are very queer in that fashion. Often time, they can have one meaning at one time, but at another time have another. Then again, they may have no meaning at all that we can deduce. All I can suggest is that you remain cautious. To me, I feel the dream is a warning...a premonition as Lord Draco suggests, and that you should take extreme caution in what you’re about to do next. If these places you describe are real along with the events taking place there, you will find out soon enough.”

“Master Assad and Lord Draco are right,” Nemesis agreed. “This isn’t the first time you had dreams like this, Hannibal, and I don’t think it will be the last. It’s part of who you are. You’re becoming even more sensitive to the movements of both the Dark Powers and those working with the Almighty. This entity who seems to be warning you about these places is not showing its true intents with this dream, so you must be extra cautious. However, if by some strange twist of fate you are led to these places, you must be ready to face them head on. Time is against us. Srandi must be opened now, which is why we’re here. We came to get you when you didn’t show up when you said. Two hours have elapsed since you brought Selina here. The team is assembled in the portal chamber awaiting you. It’s time to go to work. Srandi awaits you.”

This news snapped Hannibal’s mind into focus. He immediately got off the table, standing up while saying, “You’re right, Nemesis. This damned nightmare caused me to forget about Srandi again. It’s as if something is trying to keep me away from Srandi by constantly diverting my attention from it. No more waiting: we go and unlock Srandi now. I can dissect this nightmare later now that I’ve gotten it off my chest and recovered my focus.” Turning to Selina, he asked, “Will you be coming with me, Princess?”

Selina shook her head, saying, “No, I think I’ll stay and keep an eye on things here. I don’t believe it would be a good idea for us to be in the same place at the same time considering all that’s happening, especially after that cluster-fuck of a dream you had. Moreover, I still need time to gather my thoughts and recover my strength from what that thing did to me earlier.”

Hannibal walked over to her, put his hand on her shoulder and leaned in, touching his forehead to hers as she sat on the table. “I understand,” he said softly, “...and in light of what’s been going on, I think you’re right. Both of us going into the unknown of Srandi at the same time may not be the best idea. Something bad could happen to us both if we go together and that would be catastrophic. If I go without you, at least you’d be safe if something went haywire. We have no idea what kind of traps or denizens still prowl those ancient halls. Better to be safe than sorry; besides, you will be monitoring us from the portal, right?”

“Of course I will,” Selina answered emphatically. “At least I will after I get something to eat. I’m absolutely starving.”

Hannibal chuckled and kissed her gently on the lips. “Then you should get something to eat, princess,” he said pleasantly. “The moment we secure the keep, I’ll send for you.”

“That’ll do,” Selina purred, “Now you be careful, my prince. Don’t do anything stupid. I won’t be there to stop you.”

Hannibal smiled broadly saying in mock hurt, “Hey princess, this is me you’re talking about.”

“That’s why I said it,” Selina scolded softly. “You have this way of drawing bad things to you. Just keep your cool and your eyes open. If you let something get you again, I’m going to beat you to within an inch of your life. I’m not going through losing you again.” Her sarcastic last comment brought both smiles and chuckles from those present, even Draco.

“Yes ma’am,” Hannibal replied sarcastically with a smart salute, “As you wish, my queen.” Seeing her disdain to his sarcasm, he quickly added with great sincerity while caressing her cheek with his hand, “But don’t worry, Selina. I won’t do anything stupid. After all, I’m going to have Leila, Jo, Nemesis, and Harry with me along with a whole team of guys. They’ll make sure I don’t do anything I shouldn’t.”

Selina’s countenance relaxed and she smiled softly, holding his hand to her cheek. “That’s my prince,” she purred lovingly. “Now go and open Srandi. You don’t have any more time to waste. The Rising is coming down the tracks and I can see the train now, as can you.”

“That I can,” Hannibal agreed soberly, cupping her other cheek with is other hand. “I will come back to you, Selina. I promise.” With that, he again kissed her ever so gently on the lips before backing away.

“I will hold you to that, mister,” Selina answered dreamily.

“I know you will,” Hannibal said knowingly, “Now as soon as you get something to eat, come to the portal chamber and help Elias watch for us.”

“Got it,” Selina purred, giving Hannibal a thumbs-up.

With that, Hannibal turned to those watching saying, “Let’s do this.”

“You’re certainly not going to Srandi like that, are you?” Enoch asked.

Seeing a chance at some crude humor, Hannibal replied, “Of course not, Enoch. I thought I’d just strip and go butt naked without so much as a pocket knife.” Laughter rolled around the healing chamber, with Samantha laughing hysterically at the comment while Enoch blushed deeply, completely taken off guard and totally embarrassed by what Hannibal said. Noticing Enoch embarrassment, he said sincerely, “I’m sorry, Enoch. I was just teasing. I didn’t mean to embarrass you like that. Of course I’m going in properly prepared. I know better than to go into the unknown without the proper gear. Besides, I know I need to bring a few things along anyway that may be useful in getting us into the place.”

“This is no time for joking, Hannibal,” Enoch chided. “We’re running out of time.”

Hannibal patted Enoch on the side of the arm, saying, “You’re right. We have work to do, so let’s get to it. First, I need to go to my quarters and properly prep for this excursion. Harry, Sam; I want you to come with me to help me prep. The rest of you go to the portal chamber and wait for me. I should be there in about a half hour. Okay?”

“I’m going to stay with sis to make sure she’s okay,” Kida called out.

“That’s just fine, Kida,” Hannibal stated, “It seems we have a purpose now. Let’s do it.” He slapped his hands together and headed towards the door. Everyone else except for Selina and Kida followed.