Legends of Amacia Heart of Darkness
Chapter 20: Syracuse and Caronadons

Meanwhile, some six hours later in the forests of Frygia, Amelia and her team reached the outskirts of Syracuse with no problems or casualties. During the trek across the forests, they dodged and hid from several taroks and gerat packs successfully. As they approached the ruins of Syracuse, the first thing they encountered was the ruins of small houses. The forest had grown and swallowed the whole city. The buildings were crumbling with trees growing out of some of them. The forest fell strangely quiet as they moved into the ruins, which caused Amelia to be a bit on edge. “Do you hear that?” Kahn asked.

“Hear what?” Ned asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” Amelia returned. “There’s absolutely no noise at all. This is not good.”

They moved on for another ten minutes and as they did, the horses became fidgety and nervous. As they topped a hill, the forest parted somewhat and they looked on the great city of Syracuse. “Oh, my god,” Sam exclaimed in utter wonder.

Similar exclamations of awe and wonder issued from many of the other team members. Amelia reigned back on her horse and stopped their progress, saying, “Behold, the great city of Syracuse. This used to be a thriving center of trade in minerals mined out of the highlands. Many a great machine had its inception in this fabled place. Now, it’s but a ruin, lost for many millennia.”

They all looked upon the cyclopean city, which covered nearly twenty square miles. It laid nestled back against the Draken’s Teeth with its largest structure being a tremendous fortress with soaring towers and walls carved out of one of the mountains. The central keep rose some nine hundred feet in height while the walls around the fortress rose some five hundred feet with crumbling towers rising nearly seven hundred feet. Out from the central keep laid a city of towers and great skyscrapers that rose six and seven hundred feet in height, rising out of the green canopy of the forest that had overtaken the city. Many of the buildings had crumbled into colossal piles of rubble with trees covering them. Some of the buildings and towers were partially collapsed with giant trees growing from their sides and roofs while some structures stood tall like great sentinels. Amongst the towers and buildings, the team saw gigantic statues, some partially broken with vines and trees growing out of them. A gargantuan wall that rose eight hundred feet in height and eighty feet thick surrounded the city. In many places, the wall was breached as if some calamitous event had cast them down.

As the team stood gawking at the great ruined city, Amelia felt a prick in her mind and looked up, seeing Argus gliding toward the central fortress. She smiled slightly and as she looked toward the fortress, she saw dozens of Caronadons circling the city. It wasn’t long before everyone else noticed the great birds as well.

“What’re those?” Cracko asked Amelia, pointing to the birds circling the fortress some five miles away.

“They’re caronadons,” Amelia replied. “They have apparently taken this city as their domain. We must be careful as we approach. Make no aggressive actions toward them in any manner. Our help lies near the fortress. Come on.” At that, they moved on cautiously.

Twenty minutes later, they approached the wall and Ned whistled, saying, “Man that’s beyond big!” Spontaneous agreements rose from many of the rest of them. Five minutes later, they found a breech in the wall and tried to lead the horses through the breech, but the horses stubbornly refused, aggravating some of the team.

When Amelia saw that the horses were going no farther, she said, “Looks like we’ll have to walk from here.” They all dismounted, gathered their weapons and supplies from their saddlebags.

“What about the horses?” Sam asked.

“They know the way home,” Amelia answered as they proceeded into the city.

“I hope so,” Cracko stated. “I’d hate for them to become dinner to one of those dinosaurs roaming the forests.”

“They’ll be fine,” Kahn insisted. “Horses of this savage land are very cunning and adept at survival. They have to be.”

“That’s good to know,” Ned chimed.

“Okay...enough talk guys. Be watchful and quiet. We’re in the caronadon’s territory now,” Amelia warned the team as they moved through the wall into the city, leaving the horses at the wall breech. Taking one last look as they passed through the gap in the wall, she noticed the horses disappearing into the forest. “Be same, my friends,” she whispered to the horses as they vanished into the forest like ghosts.

Turning her attention forward, Amelia led the team into the city. As they moved quietly through the city, Amelia could sense the caronadons watching their progress. Occasionally, there would be a rustle in the trees or a shadow flying over their heads, causing some apprehension amongst the team. “Steady fellas,” Amelia said calmly as they moved on. After a couple of hours moving through the city, they entered a large courtyard relatively free of trees and saw Argus waiting for them perched on a large toppled column like a giant gargoyle. The courtyard lay about a mile from the central fortress. Amelia smiled as she walked up to Argus with the rest of the team close behind her. “Well, Argus. It’s good to see you again,” she chimed.

“You too,” Argus replied pleasantly. “I’m pleased to see that you made it through the forests without incident.”

“So are we,” Amelia returned. “The forests are a bit more dangerous than I remember. The taroks and gerats were everywhere, but we managed to slip by them. Okay, what do we do now?”

Argus roared loudly to the sky and seven of the Caronadons gliding over the fortress suddenly dove toward the square, causing the team sudden fear as they saw the great birds come at them. Argus noticed their anxiety and said, “Don’t be afraid. They won’t hurt you. These are your rides.” In seconds, the seven giant birds lighted on the ground, encircling Amelia and her team. Argus jumped off his perch and stood in the circle as the prominent male caronadon approached Amelia, looking her in the face. It was dead quiet as they looked at each other for what seemed to be an eternity, and then Amelia smiled, asking, “You wish to help us, great one?” The great bird chirped and bobbed its head in response. “Thank you, my friend,” Amelia responded to the bird, who settled down so she could mount its back. As the bird sat down, it chirped again and the other birds did likewise, sitting down.

Ned looked at the birds with great wonder and asked, “We’re going to ride on their backs?”

“Yes,” Amelia replied. “They’re going to take us to Amacia. Everyone buddy up. I want those who haven’t flown with the caronadons before to buddy with someone who has. Now, let’s mount up.” In a matter of minutes, everyone had teamed up and sitting on the backs of the great birds. Cracko sat behind Amelia. She looked at Argus and said, “Wish us luck and thank you for your help.”

“Any time, Princess, any time,” Argus replied pleasantly. “As soon as we get the people moved, I’ll come and check on you. When you reach Amacia, remember to keep your head down and remain as inconspicuous as possible. It’s a very dangerous place with many fell creatures lurking in the shadows waiting for unsuspecting victims.”

“We will,” Amelia answered nodding. “I have no intention of getting caught again.” Argus smiled and Amelia said to the bird, “Okay, whenever you are ready, my friend.” The bird stood up and shrieked. The other birds shrieked and in a matter of seconds, they were airborne, flying high over the forest of Frygia. It was a completely new experience for those who had never done it before. Cracko held on to Amelia with all his might, deathly afraid of falling. So did the others that had never flown before, holding on tightly to their partners.

Amelia chuckled as Cracko held on to her with his arms wrapped around her waist. “New experience for you isn’t it?” she asked Cracko.

“Yes. I hate to say this, but I’m afraid of heights, at least of being this high,” Cracko admitted.

Amelia put her hand on his and looked over her shoulder at him, saying, “Relax Cracko. You’re as safe as in your mother’s arms. He’ll not let us fall. Relax and enjoy the view and experience. You’re going to see more now than you could on the ground.”

As the bird reached an altitude of five thousand feet, Cracko slowly began to relax as he became accustomed to the new mode of transport. He started looking around at the land below him. Suddenly, he saw the 5th Division moving toward Draken Pass. “Is that the 5th Division everyone’s talking about?” he asked Amelia.

Amelia looked down at the army moving and said, “Yes. They’re moving faster than expected.”

“My God...it’s so many of them,” Cracko exclaimed as he saw the ground crawling with soldiers and equipment for mile after mile. “How many do you think there are?”

Amelia did a quick estimate and said, “About twenty-five thousand, and look at what they have with them. Those must be the new machines we heard about.”

Cracko looked at the army on the move and saw the giant war machines rumbling through the forest, decimating anything that stood their way. There were hundreds of the machines, which looked like strange tanks. Some resembled giant spiders while others looked like giant robot men with all manner of strange armaments. Still others looked like giant insects with all manner of weaponry attached to their hulls. “I sure hope they get the people away in time,” Cracko commented.

“Me too,” Amelia replied, “If that machinery gets across Draken Pass before everyone evacuates, they’ll be wiped out.” Cracko looked over the army, and then looked off to his left and then right, seeing the other birds lined up in the wake of the bird he and Amelia were riding on like geese in formation. Suddenly, the bird went higher and the others followed suit, gaining speed as well. The caverns suddenly opened up before them as never before as they found themselves flying through the clouds. They could see the Crags of Shiar out in the distance to the south southwest, hanging there like an evil mirage. From their lofty perch, they could see all of Frygia, Myria, the eastern parts Zaraphath, and Elar as well as a portion of Tauria to the west and the Plains of Blood to the southeast far beyond Myria.

Cracko became so amazed with what he was seeing he totally forgot to be afraid and relaxed his grip on Amelia. Looking off to his right, he saw the snowcapped mountain wall extend into the distance to the southwest and asked Amelia, pointing to the right, “What’s over there?”

Amelia looked, stating, “Those are the steppes of Zaraphath and beyond that are the savage peaks of the Avernian Mountains. They separate the wastes of Azrael and the plateau of Tauria from Zaraphath, Calui, and Frygia. Azrael is the second most dangerous place in all the caverns, next to Amacia and Tartarus. You no doubt remember Nicodemus talking about it when we were deciding what to do about the Emperor’s coming attack.”

“Yes, I do remember,” Cracko replied. “It wasn’t a very nice place from what Nicodemus said as I remember. What’s Tartarus like?”

For a few moments, Amelia remained silent. “Tartarus is a barren wasteland filled with shifting sands and jagged peaks that belch fire and ash,” Amelia reported. “Vicious beasts of all sizes roam there, many of which are products of the Cadre’s diabolical manipulations. Water is virtually nonexistent in the greatest portion of Tartarus. Just think of it as hell on Earth.” Cracko sat silent for a few moments as he tried to visualize Tartarus. “It backs up to the plateau of Amacia and in a way, Amacia is part of it. We’re going to have to be very careful when we get there,” she continued. Cracko looked to the east and saw the 5th Division continuing to move like a swarm of ants toward Draken Pass with its thousands of soldiers and hundreds of war machines. He sighed and leaned on Amelia’s back as he held on to her. She smiled and patted his hands that were clamped around her belly, sensing that he was beginning to go into sensory overload. “You’re a good man, Cracko,” she said pleasantly. “Don’t be overwhelmed by what you see.”

“I’ll try not,” Cracko replied in her ear. “All of this is such a new experience that it’s hard not to. Any idea of how long it will take to get there?”

Amelia shook her head, replying, “Not really. I suspect it may take a couple of days to get there, but I could be wrong. I trust our guide here. He knows where we’re going and I’m sure he’ll give us a break when we need it; right, my friend?” The giant caronadon bobbed its head and chirped in response. “So just relax and enjoy the spectacle,” Amelia ordered as they crossed over into the steppes of Zaraphath moving in a south southwesterly direction, leaving behind the meadows and forest of Frygia.

The steppes were a bit more arid with much fewer trees. The land was mainly grassy hills with most of the trees near the river that flowed out of Frygia and Cimmeria. The grasslands extended off into the distance to the south and west from the wall of the Avernian Mountains. Off in the distance, they saw the ruins of a great city near the river. It covered nearly ten square miles and tended to be collapsed with very few buildings or mounds taller than thirty feet. The central fortress of the city lay broken down and collapsed as if a great explosion destroyed it along with a large portion of the rest of the city’s structures. When Cracko saw it, he nudged Amelia and asked, “What’s that there along the river?”

“That was once the city of Iotia. It was once a great city of merchants and commerce. It was a place where anything could be bought for the right price,” Amelia told him. “At its height, it was a great vibrant metropolis with nearly a million inhabitants. Now, it is a desolate ruin with nigh a person setting foot in it for over twelve thousand cycles.”

Cracko looked on in silence as the ruins slowly passed by in the distance. “Do you know what happened to it?” he asked.

“No one really seems to know,” Amelia replied. “All I know is what was handed down to us in legends from that time. Some say that the Emperor sacked the city. Others say it was destroyed in divine retribution for its sin against the Ancient of Days. One thing is for certain: it took something very big to destroy it so utterly.”

“What do you believe?” Cracko asked.

For a moment, Amelia didn’t answer. “I tend to believe a little of both,” she admitted. They flew on at an altitude of almost two miles toward the mountains to the south across Elar heading to the Crags of Shiar and the bleak desolation of Tartarus beyond.