Legends of Amacia: Mysteries of Tiamat
Strange Dreams of the Past

A couple of weeks passed. Harryand his family adjusted to their new surroundings well and found their place inthe Temple explorations. Harry stayed close to Hannibal as the research on theTemple continued and preparations for the expedition to Amacia proceeded. On aregular basis, Dennis accompanied Harry and helped in any way he could. Maryfound her place in the cafeteria and in the Library, where she learned allabout the vanished culture that had supposedly constructed the immense fortressin which they dwelt. She became close friends with all of the cafeteria staffand the researchers that did most of the research in the Library. She learnedsomething new every day and the research team gave her many ways to apply thenew knowledge.

One day,Hannibal and Harry were working in the second level to the Library examiningthe sarcophagi, trying to discover how to open them. All of the sarcophagi weresealed the same way except for one. A band of metal that was different from theother alloys they found elsewhere in the Temple sealed the sarcophagi with noapparent way to open them. They located the one sarcophagus that was differentand scrutinized it closely. It had a strange dome-shaped protrusion with asmall indentation in the middle of it in addition to the band. The protrusionhad the Stone Language etched on it with the band clear of the writing.“According to the writing here, there’s some kind of special key that fits inthis indentation, Harry,” Hannibal informed as they squatted down, looking at it.The shape of the indentation seemed familiar to Hannibal. “I’ve seen this shapebefore,” he announced.

“Where?”Harry asked as they looked at the lock.

“I don’tquite remember but I know I’ve seen this shape somewhere before,” Hannibalanswered. A sigh escaped his lips as he suddenly sat down cross-legged besidethe sarcophagus with the strange indentation. A weary look covered his face.

“What’swrong, Hannibal?” Harry asked, sitting down facing Hannibal. “You look tiredand moodier than normal. Don’t tell me that this puzzle is messing with yourhead.”

“It’s notthis puzzle that’s the trouble,” Hannibal answered. “I haven’t been sleep wellof late. The bad dreams are really beginning to wear on me.”

“Whatdreams would that be?” Harry asked. “Don’t tell me that you’re having thatscrewy nightmare where you get mutated into a woman again.”

“Well,yeah,” Hannibal admitted, “but I’ve only had that one a few times since thatnight at your house. Each time it’s been different and even more bizarre;however, those nightmares haven’t been as potent as it was the first time. It’snot rattling me like before. If anything, it’s making me curious as to why thatfucked-up dream keeps coming back feeling more like a memory than a dream.”

“Really,”Harry replied. “Has the Lord given you any insight on that mutation dream yet?”

“No,”Hannibal stated glumly. “I wish He’d explain it to me, but right now, theLord’s keeping tight-lipped about it. I suppose He may be using it as a test offaith. Besides, it’s not those dreams that are causing the trouble. It’sanother set of dreams that started up right after the attack on you that forcedme to bring you and your family here.”

“What kindof dreams?” Harry asked.

“I’mconsistently having dreams of a giant fortress in the desert backed up againsta mountain where I’m constantly fighting for my very soul,” Hannibal repliedsoberly. “Millions of people and creatures that defy explanation are locked ina wholesale slaughter while a red planet ten times the apparent size of the sunwith a bunch of moons and a cloud of debris rain fiery destruction down oneverything in sight.”

“Whoa,”Harry murmured. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“It isn’t,”Hannibal replied sullenly. “And the strange thing about it is that the weaponrybeing used is vastly superior to what humanity has now. It’s very similar towhat we’re replaceing here in the Temple, technologically speaking.”

“Really?”Harry asked, surprise echoing in his tone.

“Yeah,”Hannibal answered. “The dream is troubling not because I’m seeing advancedtechnology being used, but because I’m seeing drakens and other monsters onlyspoken of in myth. It’s very unnerving to see Minotaurs, werewolves, goblins,orcs, giants, drakens, and humans locked in mortal combat with one anotherwhile this crazy red planet rains fiery death on everything in sight. It’smaking me very uneasy.”

“I shouldsay so,” Harry stated. “But this isn’t the only thing that’s bothering you, isit? I can tell.”

“You’reright,” Hannibal replied. “There are a couple of other dreams that keepreoccurring that are making me doubt my sanity.”

“Soundslike you’re having a major problem here,” Harry stated. “Maybe if you get itoff your chest like that mutation dream, you’ll be able to handle it better.”

Hannibalsmiled at Harry. “It seems you’re beginning to read me better now that we’reworking together, Harry,” he said softly.

“It’s justbeing observant,” Harry stated. “That’s one of the first things you taught mewhen we first met.”

“That’strue,” Hannibal agreed. “Just being alert and observant in all areas can keepyou out of a lot of trouble.”

“Indeed,”Harry replied. “Now what’re these other dreams you spoke of?”

“One isabout this strange gold draken,” Hannibal stated.

“A goldendraken,” Harry asked. “Why dream of that, unless it has something to do withwhere we are?”

“I won’tpretend to even guess why I’m dreaming of this particular gold draken,”Hannibal stated, “but this creature is beautiful beyond description and isalmost the size of a battleship. Its head alone is forty feet across.” Harrygasped as Hannibal continued, “But in no way is this colossal draken everhostile towards me. Each time I dream of this mighty beast, it’s looking me inthe eye with a wry expression on its face. It tells me that the most ancientDarkness is stirring once again and that I must awaken to my destiny. It thentells me to wake the Caverias within to replace the way to peace. With that, thedraken vanishes.”

Harry’sastonishment couldn’t be hid. “That’s truly weird,” he declared, “and what doesit mean ‘wake the Caverias within’? What’s a Caverias?”

“I’m notsure,” Hannibal answered. “But according to what’s come out of the Library sofar, there’s a Thoth Caverias who was the last rightful ruler of Amacia beforea coup by his vizier deposed him. Why the draken told me to awaken the Caveriaswithin is a mystery to me. Is it insinuating that somehow I’m related to thisThoth Caverias? I have no idea or if a sane person would even consider thispossibility.”

“That’sreally strange,” Harry admitted. “All I can say is that maybe it has somethingto do with the Temple here. We’re immersed in a structure that defies humanlogic at every turn. By all that’s holy, this place should not exist at all,but it’s here nonetheless. Maybe the Temple itself is at the root of yourdreams?”

“I don’tknow,” Hannibal replied. “But the draken isn’t the strangest reoccurring dreamI’m having. The one that happens immediately after it is.”

“What’sthis dream about?” Harry queried.

“Well,”Hannibal began, “after the gold draken vanishes, I’m swallowed by darkness andfeel like I’m falling. The next dream always starts with me falling from thesky onto a battlement of a huge tower in a city larger than New York. The cityis under attack, just like the dream of the fortress in the desert. But as Icome down, I don’t crash, my fall slows, and I float down to the battlementlanding on my feet.” Hannibal pauses with a sigh.

Harrynotices the shaken, unsure look on his face. “Go on,” Harry urged gently. “Whathappened next?”

Hanniballooked Harry in the eye, going into detail about the dream.

Hanniballooked around after he touched down on the top of the battlement of the tallesttower in the unknown city. Open war raged around him with humans in mortalcombat with beast-men, aliens, other humans, giants, and drakens with flyingmachines swarming through the air in dogfights and strafing the groundcombatants. Some smaller draken-like creatures with long necks bore black orred armored bipedal beings who guided them. “What in heaven’s name?” Hannibalwhispered as the ground combatants clashed with each other using both medievaland advanced weaponry. Swords, spears, axes, maces, and other types of medievalweapons were used in conjunction with plasma blasters, armor-piercing machineguns, flamethrowers, and rocket launchers. The combatants ranged fromHannibal’s size of nearly six feet up to seventeen feet in height. Strangeclawed bipedal alien creatures with elongated heads, no eyes, tubularprotrusions along their backs, and long tails with bony blades on the ends ofthose tails swarmed the human and giant fighters with heavily armed and armoredbeast-men and giant bipedal reptilians wearing helmets and armor, bearingadvanced weaponry. The roar of battle echoed in Hannibal’s ears as he lookedaround. He immediately noticed he too was armored in a platinum-colored plateand chain mail, bearing a strange glowing sword. The sword stood six feet frompoint to pummel with a five-inch wide blade fifty-five inches long decoratedwith mysterious runes that glowed brightly. Hannibal hefted the sword, replaceingit incredibly light, which intrigued him. The combatants surrounding him didn’tseem to notice him at all. A deep, icy chill raced down his spine at theviolence of wholesale slaughter going on around him. As he scanned thebattlefield on top of the tower, one particular fight to his right caught hisattention.

“Whatthe…,” Hannibal breathed, staring in disbelief as he saw an armored nine-foottall Lynxian woman that reminded him of Selina in desperate mortal combat witha red-armored warrior. She held her own against the red-suited enemy, butweakened against his powerful onslaught, their blades sending showers of sparksas they clashed. Hannibal started moving towards the fight, knowing the Lynxianwarrioress needed help. The moment he moved, the other combatants saw Hannibaland some engaged him. He fought his way through the intervening one hundredyards between him and the Lynxian, many times killing with a single blow as hemoved. As he finished off one of the hostile helmeted reptilians, Hannibal sawone of the long-necked small drakens with a black-armored rider swoop intowards the Lynxian as she knocked down the red-suited enemy she fought with.Ice filled his heart as Hannibal realized she didn’t see the peril. “Look outbehind you!” he shouted desperately over the roar of battle, sprinting towardsthe Lynxian. “Incoming!”

Surpriselit her face as she first heard, and then saw Hannibal carving his way throughthe enemy fighters coming towards her, pointing insistently behind her. Theroar of the small draken reached her ears and she turned in time to see thebeast with the black rider land behind her and chomp her on the chest andabdomen, pinning her sword arm against her side in its jaws. Her face wentashen as a shriek of pain erupted from her while the beast shook her like a ragdoll before slamming her to the deck.

“NO!”Hannibal shrieked; his rage blossoming like a nuclear fire. As he plowedthrough those between him and the Lynxian, he also noticed a squad of giantsrushing to towards the Lynxian too with great concern and agitation on theirfaces. Not concerned with what they looked like, Hannibal reached the fallenLynxian first, standing between the black rider and the Lynxian. “You will nottouch her again, beast!” Hannibal roared, his blood burning with rage.

The blackrider spoke in a language Hannibal didn’t understand and spurred his mount toattack. The mount snapped its head forward to eat Hannibal. He advanced on thecreature, splitting the head of the rider’s mount with his huge sword, cleavingit in two back to the spinal column. The small draken jerked and slumpedviolently to the deck with a groan, throwing the black rider from its back.Hannibal saw the rider fall and rushed the black-armored enemy, slicing itdiagonally in two across its chest just as it staggered to its feet. The twohalves of the rider fell to the deck next to his mount...its blood spewing andguts tumbling out. Hannibal turned with a blood rage on him, ready to vent hisfury on anyone who would try to attack the Lynxian. He saw one of the giantsdismember the red-armored enemy the Lynxian fought with while the others droveback all other combatants. The battle around them shifted toward the far sideof the tower, giving Hannibal and the defending giants a brief reprieve fromthe fight.

Hanniballooked down at the gravely wounded Lynxian and his fury subsided. He rushed tothe fallen warrioress and knelt beside her, removing her helmet. She moanedsoftly as Hannibal cradled her head. “Don’t move,” he said in a gentle tone.“You’re badly injured.”

When theLynxian woman focused on Hannibal, her eyes grew wide. “Thoth, what…happenedto…you? How’d you…get…so small?” she asked.

Amazed thathe understood her, Hannibal murmured, “Don’t talk. It’ll make your injuriesworse.”

Just then,he heard a cry from one of the giants. Hannibal looked up as one of the giantsknelt down beside the Lynxian woman, trembling with tears flowing. “Leila!” thegiant cried, taking the Lynxian from Hannibal as the other giants surround himand the Lynxian.

“Ezra,” theLynxian gurgled. “I just…couldn’t…hold the line.”

“Don’ttalk, Leila,” Ezra the giant cooed. “You’re gravely wounded.”

Hanniballooked up and gasped as he saw two of the giants were his virtual twins: onewas twelve feet tall and the other nine feet in height. His blood burned inrecognition within him at the sight while icy chills once again raced down hisspine.

Thetwelve-foot giant knelt down next to him and glanced at Hannibal. The giant’seyebrow rose with surprise as he turned to the Lynxian Leila being cradled byEzra. “I’m so sorry, Leila,” he apologized in a voice that sounded exactly likeHannibal. “We tried to get here sooner, but we got hung up back there with theXenos and the Draconians.”

Leilalooked at the giant, and then at Hannibal with an ashen, puzzled look. “Thoth,why…didn’t you…say…you had a…little brother,” she wheezed. “He came…to…myrescue.”

Thothgently put his hand on Leila’s head. “Because this man is not my brother,” hedeclared, “but I’m so glad he came to your defense.” Turning to Hannibal, Thothtouched Hannibal on the shoulder and said sincerely, “Stranger…you have myundying thanks and gratitude for saving Leila from the werack and its BlackRider. But I must ask; who are you that you look like a miniature version ofme? And where did you get that blade?”

Hannibalstared into Thoth’s ice-blue eyes, seeing a perfect reflection of himself inThoth. Shaking his head, Hannibal admitted, “I am called Hannibal by myfriends. But my enemies know me as the Beowulf. How I came to be here in themidst of this strange battle I know not or even where this is. All I know isthat when I came to my senses, I was in the middle of this wholesale slaughterwith this blade in my hand. When I saw the Lynxian in distress, I tried to getto her before the monster attacked her, but I wasn’t fast enough. I’m so sorryI couldn’t get there in time to stop it.”

A shockedlook crossed Thoth’s face as he stared in disbelief at Hannibal. He looked upat the nine-foot giant that looked like Hannibal, and then back to Hannibal.Astonished murmurs arose among the giants surrounding them. “The prophecy,father,” the nine-foot giant resembling Hannibal whispered in astonishment toThoth. “It’s true. He’s here with the Ragnaros like Cerrelius predicted.”

“What?”Hannibal asked innocently because of the giant’s reaction. “What’s wrong? Did Ido something wrong?”

“Oh no,no,” Ezra called out. “It’s just that we never expected to see you like this inthese circumstances. I thank you for saving my wife’s life, Hannibal. But she’sstill gravely wounded and needs immediate medical assistance.”

Thothpatted Hannibal on the shoulder with a warm smile. “Thank you for your help, myson,” Thoth said soberly. “You saved my wife’s sister from a gruesome fate.Thank you.”

“You’rewelcome,” Hannibal replied. “I always help when I can. Besides, she reminds meso much of Selina that I had to help.”

Thenine-foot giant squatted down beside Hannibal and shook his hand. “It is anhonor to meet you, brother. My name is Beowulf Caverias. Thoth here is myfather. Whether you realize it or not, Cerrelius of Drakonia foretold of yourappearance here...a prophecy that spoke of one of our distant descendantsbecoming a temporal anomaly in our time and helping us in our darkest hourusing the sacred Ragnaros to beat back the Darkness. It doesn’t get much darkerthan it is now. I think the reason everyone is so shocked by you actually beinghere is no one really believed the prophecy. But I didn’t have any doubt andneither did Aunt Leila. We knew you’d come and help us defeat this insidiousdarkness. The fact you wield the Ragnaros removes all doubt.”

“Hannibal,”Leila wheezed, finally having understood who Hannibal was.

“Yes,Leila,” Hannibal replied, still mystified by what was going on as he graspedher hand.

Leilastared into his eyes and a smile crossed her lips, despite her pain. “I knewit,” she whispered. “The prophecy; it’s true. Don’t forget…me, Hannibal. Andthank…you. I now believe.” She fell unconscious, her hand slipping fromHannibal’s grasp.

Ezra wailedand Hannibal checked her pulse. “She’s still alive,” Hannibal announced. “Butshe won’t stay that way for long if you don’t do something quick.”

“Don’tworry, my son,” Thoth said. “It’s not her fate to die yet.” With those words,the incredibly vivid dream faded away.

Hannibalsighed deeply as he finished sharing the dream with Harry while they sat besidethe special sarcophagus in the second level of the Library. “After that part ofthe dream faded away,” Hannibal murmured. “I had another, much shorter dream concerningthe Lynxian Leila. I was inside a vault of some kind with a sarcophagus in itbig enough for Leila to lie in. But it wasn’t a normal coffin. The coffin andthe vault itself were part of some kind of machine used to put Leila in a formof suspended animation. In the dream, I remember looking down on Leila in thesarcophagus with Thoth, Ezra, Thoth’s son…Beowulf, and someone named Gordo, whomade the machine. It upsets me tremendously…this part of the dream. They sealedLeila in the sarcophagus to save her from some sort of poison she got when thebeast tried to eat her. The dream always fades away as they close and seal thesarcophagus.” Tears dripped from Hannibal’s eyes. Wiping the tears away, hewhispered, “Every time I have that dream, I feel like a piece of my heart isripped out and wake up crying. It reminds me of when I lost my family to thosethugs a lifetime ago.”

Harrystared in utter amazement at the vivid, graphic account of the strange dream.After a few moments trying to formulate an answer for Hannibal, Harry shook hishead solemnly. “I don’t know what to tell you, bud,” he replied. “That’s onedoozy of a screwed-up dream. It’s as messed up as the one you had at my houseafter we had that visitation by Gabriel. But when I think about it, the dream,nightmare, whatever you want to call it, is so detailed that it seems more likea memory than a dream. From what we know now from the Library, this ThothCaverias was the last king of Amacia, so this dream appears to be a dream ofthe remote past. But is it really a dream or something more? I just don’t know.By the way, how do you feel now? I remember the last time you told me about abad dream. It helped you by telling it. Did that work this time?”

Hannibalcocked his head to the side slightly as he pondered the question. A smile creptacross his face. “You know, I think it did,” he replied. “I’m still tired, butI don’t feel quite as antsy as before. Thanks for lending a sympathetic ear.”

“Noproblem,” Harry stated with a smile. “What’re friends for, anyway? You mightwant to share that dream with Selina and Nathanael since it seems to have aLynxian involved in it. I’m sure they’d want to hear it, and they may havebetter insight into it than I do. I’m just a dim-bulb compared to those two.”

“Youunderestimate your intelligence, Harry,” Hannibal chided. “You’re much smarterthan you realize, plus you haven’t let your common sense be pushed out by yourbook-learning. That’s a feat not just anyone can accomplish.”

“You don’tneed to patronize me,” Harry retorted. “I know I’m not the brightest light inthis place. But that’s okay. I like it that way. It allows me to just bemyself. Now what about this lock here? Do you have any thoughts on it now thatyou’ve cleared your head of that junk?”

Hannibalsmiled warmly. “You’re right,” he replied. “It’s time we got back to work here.Let me think about it for a minute.”