Legends of Amacia: Mysteries of Tiamat
Legends of Ancient Places

Hannibalpulled up to Harry’s house in a used blue 1998 Chevy Tahoe. He sat for a minutein his tan shirt and khakis just looking at the modest two-story brick housebefore getting out of the truck. A row of boxwoods lined the front of the housewith a slate step-stone sidewalk stretching from the driveway to the frontdoor. Only the fifty-foot ham radio antenna on the north end of the house setit apart from the other houses in the neighborhood. The antenna tower bristledwith smaller antennas below the main one. A single thought ran throughHannibal’s mind while approaching the front door with a small backpack slungover his shoulder: Amacia. As he raised his hand to knock, the door openedrevealing Harry wearing a gray T-shirt and jeans. “Come in, come in. Don’tstand there like a goof,” Harry chimed, sporting a large smile.

Hannibalreturned the smile and shook Harry’s outstretched hand firmly as he went in.“Nice place you got here,” he mused as Harry closed the door.

Harry’s soncame running into the living room where they stood wearing a T-shirt andshorts. The boy ran right to Hannibal with his outstretched hands. “HiHannibal!” the boy cried with delight.

Hanniballeaned down, scooping up the boy. “Hi there, Dennis!” he answered pleasantly,hugging the boy and sitting him down. “You’ve been keeping out of trouble,haven’t you?”

Dennislooked around smugly, looking everywhere except at Hannibal. With a shrug ofhis shoulders, he answered, “Yeah.”

Hannibalglanced at Harry and grinned. “In trouble again I see. What did he do thistime, Harry?” Hannibal inquired.

“He wassuspended from school for fighting,” Harry answered in a condescending tonedirected at Dennis.

“Really…didhe start it?” Hannibal asked Harry, turning his gaze to Dennis, who sat in oneof the two recliners looking at the both of them with a sheepish look.

“No,” Harryreturned after a sigh. “He did, however, finish it.”

“Oh youdid, did you?” Hannibal asked seriously, turning his attention to Dennis.

Dennisnodded yes; however, his smug sheepish look melted into one of shame. “I didn’twant to fight,” Dennis declared. “Jeff punched me first and tried to take mylunch money!” He was on the verge of tears as he re-lived that awful moment.

Hannibaland Harry looked at each other, and then Hannibal went to Dennis’ side,squatting down. “You know fighting is never a good way of solving things. Ithurts everyone that is involved,” Hannibal stated in conciliatory tone. Dennisnodded yes. “This boy you fought with is a bully, isn’t he,” Hannibal asked.Once again, Dennis nodded yes, looking at the floor with tears of remorse inhis eyes. Hannibal reached out and touched Dennis’ shoulder. Leaning close toDennis’ ear with a slight smile on his face, Hannibal asked, “Did you clean hisclock?”

Dennislooked up and saw the smile. “Yeah,” he replied. “Maybe now he’ll leave mealone.” When Dennis realized he wasn’t in trouble, his face and demeanorlightened up.

“Justremember, fighting is always the very last resort,” Hannibal instructed. “Andalso remember, you can’t fool me. I knew you had a problem the moment I sawyour reaction when I asked you whether you were in trouble or not. Your bodylanguage gave you away. But don’t worry about it. You’re not in trouble with mefor defending yourself. You have a right to do so.” At that, Hannibal rose andthen sat down on the sofa, laying the pack down by its end. Harry sat down inthe recliner next to the sofa. Hannibal looked at Harry, and then at Dennis fora moment. “Oh yeah!” he chimed. “I have something for you, Dennis.” As herummaged through his pockets, Hannibal instructed, “Close your eyes and holdout your hands, Dennis.”

Dennis didso excitedly. Hannibal brought out a small item wrapped up in an old linencloth, placing it in Dennis’ hand. “Okay, you can open your eyes now,” Hannibalsaid leaning back. Dennis opened his eyes, saw the cloth, and immediatelyproceeded to open the cloth. To the astonishment of both Dennis and Harry, theobject in the cloth turned out to be an emerald scarab the size of a large golfball. Hannibal watched the expression on Dennis’ face. Then he looked at Harryand chuckled softly. Once the shock of the gift subsided, Dennis bolted fromhis seat and hugging Hannibal tightly, thanking him. He then ran to Harry andshowed it to him. Harry handled it gently and then gave it back to Dennis, whothen rushed into the kitchen to show it to his mother as she cooked dinner.

“Are yousure you want to do that?” Harry asked. “That’s a very expensive piece to begiving to a kid.”

“Yes, I’msure. But worry not...there are a few strings attached,” Hannibal answered. Afew seconds later, both Dennis and his mother came into the living room. Marywore a plain knee-length blue dress and apron that she wiped her hands on asthey entered the room.

Hannibalsaw the expression on Mary’s face and spoke first. “Before you say anything,let me explain,” he stated. “This is just a little token of my esteem to youall for putting up with me.”

Mary’smouth hung open for a few seconds, and then she ventured in a subdued tone,“Thank you. I’ve never seen anything so exquisite. But are you sure you want todo that?”

“Yes,ma’am,” Hannibal replied. “I know exactly what I’m doing. The only thing Irequire of you in order to keep it is that you don’t let Dennis take it toschool and trade it for some gum or something. That scarab is for all of you.”

Dennisimmediately shook his head, blurting out, “Oh no, no, no! I would never evertrade it.”

“I know youwon’t,” Hannibal said. “Still if it’s all right with you, why don’t you letyour dad keep it in a safe place so you don’t lose it?”

“Sure,”Dennis returned, handing the jeweled scarab to Harry, who promptly took it outof the room.

Mary stoodthere in disbelief, speechless. Hannibal turned his attention to her, noticingher shock. “Mary,” he said softly, taking her hand. “It’s all right.”

“But it’sso expensive and exquisite,” she murmured.

“That itis. It’s mine, and I give it to whomever I want, so I give it to you and yourfamily. You, Harry, and Dennis have been like a family to me. My choice oflifestyle has precluded me from having a family of my own, so I just wanted toshow my gratitude for you allowing me to be part of yours,” Hannibal explained.“It’s the least I can do.”

“You havealways been part of our family,” Mary avowed. “And always will be…Always.”

“Thank you,Mary,” Hannibal replied softly. “Now when is supper going to be ready? I’mstarving for a good home-cooked meal.”

At that,Mary snapped out of her shock. “Only a few minutes,” she answered, smilingwarmly. “I was almost ready to put it on the table when you showed up.”

“Then don’tlet me get in the way,” Hannibal said. “Yell if you need any help.”

“No, I canmanage,” Mary said as she went back into the kitchen.

Harry cameback into the living room and sat down. Dennis sat down on the floor and beganto amuse himself with a drawing pad and some pencils.

“Lock itup?” Hannibal asked.

“Yeah…putit in the safe back there,” Harry answered. “Just out of curiosity, how much doyou think that thing is worth anyway?” he asked.

“A similarscarab went for twenty million at a recent auction. The thing about the scarabthey sold is this: it was half the size of the one I gave you and of poorerquality. The craftsmanship was nowhere nearly as detailed. I would guess maybefifty to seventy million for the one I gave you,” Hannibal stated. “Moreover,the one they sold was of the late Mayan period, just before their civilizationcollapsed. The one I gave you is much, much older. It was dated from the megalithicera when Tiwanaku was a thriving port metropolis.”

“Wow! Whywould you give such a thing to us? Isn’t that the sort of thing that should bein a museum or a bank vault?” Harry asked, still trying to fathom the pricelessvalue of the scarab.

“Yes, it shouldbelong in a museum. But the problem is fundamental,” Hannibal explained.“Unfortunately, the scientific community at large has a party line to uphold.Politics inevitably gets in the way of the truth, even with them. That scarabis just one of many items that have been uncovered in recent times that tellhistory in a very different vein. If they got hold of it, it would be lockedaway and its story would never be told. That’s why it isn’t in a museum. Thisadventure I’m fixing to go on very well may end up revealing the true historyof man. That’s what I believe, anyway. Of course, I could be wrong but untilI’m proven wrong, I shall press forward as I always have, believing the truthwill inevitably be known. The Lord has ways of doing that.”

“It’s timeto eat. Everything is ready,” Mary announced, peeking back into the living roomas Hannibal finished speaking. Everyone then followed her into the dining roomwhere a modest meal awaited them. On the table was a plate of roast beefalready sliced and waiting. Large bowls of mashed potatoes and gravy werepresent along with dressing, green beans, and corn. Drinks were already set atthe table awaiting the diners.

Hannibalquickly surveyed the table and complimented Mary. “This looks really good,” hesaid. “I haven’t had a meal like this in months. Thank you.”

“Would youlike to say grace, Hannibal?” Harry asked as everyone sat at the dining roomtable.

“I would behonored to do so,” Hannibal replied. “Our Father in Heaven, we come before youthis evening to give thanks for this food which you have so generously providedus. I would also like to give thanks for Harry, Mary, and Dennis – for theirhospitality and friendship tonight. You have brought us together and given me afamily with them that I would not have had otherwise. Thank you, o great andmerciful Father for all things that have happened to us in the past, good orill, and all the things that may come upon us in the future. For all thingswork to the good of those who believe in you and your precious son, Jesus.Bless this food that it may keep us strong and sound in our bodies, minds, andspirits. As always, thy will be done in all things that we do. In Jesus name wepray and ask these things, Amen.”

The prayerastounded everyone at the table for it was a side of Hannibal they’d never seenbefore. Harry spoke up after a few seconds. “Hannibal, I didn’t know you wereso deep spiritually,” he admitted. “I knew that you were a Christian but I hadno idea of how devout you were until now.”

Mary noddedin agreement. “Yes,” she said. “This is a side of you that hasn’t been seenbefore. It’s a pleasant surprise.”

“Yes, it’sa most pleasant surprise,” Harry agreed, reinforced her assessment. “Now if youhaven’t any more surprises for us, let’s eat before this delicious meal getscold.”

“No moresurprises for now. Maybe more surprises later, but not now,” Hannibal said.“Let’s eat.”

Thus theyate, exchanging small talk about events that happened over the last few days.After about half an hour as they finished their dinner, the conversation turnedto Hannibal’s various expeditions: what he did and uncovered on those trips.Hannibal began to tell of lost cities that he had uncovered and the historythey tell. He also told the tales of Tiwanaku and Machu Picchu: of the strangemegalithic structure and locations of these ancient cities. While he expoundedon those topics, they finished dessert.

“Do youneed any help cleaning off the table?” Hannibal asked as they rose from thetable.

“No, it’llbe all right,” Mary said. “I’ll just put away the leftovers. It’ll take just aminute or two.”

“Here, letme help,” Hannibal said as he started to scrape off the plates. Harry stoodthere for a moment, just a little surprised again and then got into the act.Within minutes, they cleared the table and everyone moved into the living room.

“You surehave been many places,” Mary said. “And your knowledge about these strangeplaces you’ve been telling us about is astounding.”

“Yes, itis,” Harry agreed. “And he’s not done yet, are you Hannibal?”

“Well no;if I haven’t bored you to tears,” Hannibal returned.

“Oh no, no,no; this is fascinating. I love hearing about this kind of thing,” Mary blurtedout.

“Me too,”Dennis crowed, his eyes lighting up with delight. “You’re not boring me. Thisis great. Dad, I want to be just like Hannibal when I grow up.”

“That’sgood, Dennis,” Harry answered. “One day, you very well may.”

“That’snice, Dennis,” Hannibal said plainly. “These tales of my journeys andadventures sound fun, but every account that I speak of entails countlesshours, days, and weeks, and months and sometimes, years of study and hard,sometimes dangerous work. But for those who are willing to do the work, therewards can be equally as great. Take the scarab I gave you for instance. Ifound that little item in the most unlikely place: an archaeological excavationin the jungles of Indonesia on the island of Sumatra that’s still ongoing.Eight years of having my face buried in the ancient texts had led me to thewestern end of Sumatra, high in the mountains. Reports came to me saying someof the locals had found something strange carved into a cliff deep in thejungle. The natives of the area had said the same area was sacred, cursed bysome unspeakable evil. The research I was doing at the time was on an obscurecult of the Babylonian goddess of chaos, Tiamat. Tiamat was a giantthirteen-headed draken worshipped in ancient time...supposedly the veryincarnation of chaos itself and the very source of our world. During thoseeight years of research following the various clues, I discovered this drakencult went further back into antiquity than I previously thought and that theyhad various locations where they gathered. The cult, I discovered, wasworldwide at its height and they had thirteen locations worldwide where theygathered. The scrolls and writings I pored over about these locations revealeda pattern to them. These temples were built in locations where natural magneticand electrical anomalies are located. When you look at satellite views of theseareas, the pictures are usually blurry, even at high magnification. Live imagesshimmer violently and the color is all askew.

“The NewAgers refer to these places as energy vortexes; place where they believe thatother dimensions are accessible: dangerous places not to be trifled with. Manyunexplained things happen in these places,” Hannibal explained.

“You’retalking about places like the Bermuda Triangle, right?” Harry asked.

“Yes, Iam,” Hannibal returned. “These energy vortexes seem to coincide with where theancients claim these centers of the Tiamat cult worshipped. Magnetic andelectrical anomalies plague these areas and no one seems to know why. Well,enough of the science lesson on the vortexes. Let me tell you about Sumatra. Myresearch on these locations showed a very general pattern with one majorexception, Sumatra. For some reason, Sumatra kept showing up in the writings.Of course, the ancients didn’t call it Sumatra. They had as many names for itas there were peoples that lived but no matter what they called it, the meaningwas always the same: the land of the drakens where the gates of the underworldwere rumored to be.

“This landwas described as a land of magic, with tall majestic mountains and dense junglesthat teemed with all manner of mythical creatures that guard the gates. Theyconstantly fought amongst themselves, only ceasing hostilities against oneanother to hide or flee from the great drakens who preyed on them constantly.The drakens, according to the ancients, would fill the sky in this land, like aswarm of locust, and devour all they could replace. Apparently, the drakens ofthis land were the ones who actually ruled. Just as there are racial divisionsin the human race, so were there in the draken species. Some were good, somewere evil, some warriors, some scholars, etc.... Also, just as we humans havewars, so did they; however, according to the ancients who state that thesedrakens are as old as the world itself, there was a certain clique of thedrakens that physically guarded the gates, devouring all who try to open thegates. According to the writings, they seem to know the hearts of those whocome to the gates and would only let a being that was of pure heart and mindwith no malice or evil intent to pass unfettered. Those who fail to measure upwere immediately devoured and their souls sent through the gates into theunderworld forever. According to the ancients, it is a place of nightmares atthe ends of the Earth where only the bravest and most pure could ever go andreturn. Every creature in this land is hostile, especially to outsiders. It’s avery dangerous place. The jungles, beaches, and mountains were littered withthe gleaming bones of those who dared to trespass. Well, that’s enough of whatthe ancients say about this place. Let me tell you now about how I found theTemple.”

Everyonesat in astonished silence as Hannibal expounded his tale on the Sumatraexpedition. “As I stated earlier,” Hannibal stated, “after eight years ofback-breaking research, I managed to zero in on the general location in westernSumatra. Still, Sumatra is a very big island and rather than waste preciousresources wandering blindly through one of the most dangerous jungles on theplanet, I sent out some of my most trusted associates to the area to gatherintelligence from the locals and the natives. Six months, a year passed withoutas much as a rumor. Another three months passed, and then the crucial tip camein that spurred me into action.

“One of myassociates, Dan Zubriar, had found a remote tribe in the western jungles quiteby what I believe is an act of God. He was sitting in a bar in the town ofKutacane in central Sumatra having a drink when, according to him, a localprospector came in, white as a sheet, looking like he’d seen a ghost orsomething with his clothes in tatters,” Hannibal stated; describing Dan’sencounter with the prospector after a brief pause.