Reformation (21 page)

Cora was not
easily impressed, but the size and meticulous shaping of the pyramid mound was truly impressive.  With modern machinery it would take perhaps a few months to complete an earthen pyramid standing five hundred feet tall and a quarter mile long on each base.  The time and manpower to complete the project with rudimentary tools available to these people two thousand years ago was just staggering.

“That is
one big pile of dirt,” her carrier observed.  “Do you know where Kuanti and the others are inside?”

“The entrance sits about a mile east of the mound
, and he has guards stationed there at all times who should show us where to go,” Cora said.

As her party approached a cluster of four human guards
, it did not take Cora long to realize they were also being tracked by a pair of Alpha warriors.  They were doing an admirable job of remaining hidden along the far tree line in case they were needed in a fight to repel intruders.

Realizing the newcomers were fellow Alpha warriors cause
d them to step out of hiding and escort them toward a set of stairs descending into a brightly lit tunnel.

Kuanti must have felt her presence drawing near.  For the first time in months
, she was able to feel his excitement through his surprisingly stout mental barriers.  Something was off though.  This was not the mild excitement one might feel before reuniting with a long lost friend.  This had the feel of true elation at achieving the grand accomplishment of a lifetime.  It put Cora on edge and caused her to look around before being carried down into the tunnel.

Her carrier stopped in his tracks and saw the same phenomenon she did.  Harsh sparks and crackles at the tip of the pyramid coalesced into a bright blue light which grew in intensity until suddenly the amassed power pushed downward and out across the four sides of the pyramid.  Without a sound
, the flash of light washed over the nearby landscape and finally dissipated into the ground like it never was there at all.

The even
t may have carried no sound or physical impact, but the toll it took on Cora was profound.  The animated presence of Kuanti, overwhelming only seconds before, was nowhere to be found.  She had shared his mental presence for thousands of years and now it was completely gone.

“What in the
name of Mother Creator was that?” Cora insisted.

One of the human guards
, who looked almost bored with the whole ordeal, delivered a lazy reply.  “Something to do with the new chamber they built inside.  It happens at least half a dozen times a day.  Don’t worry, you will get used to it.”

By the laws of nature I will not
, Cora thought.  “Get me to that chamber immediately.  Something has happened to Kuanti’s relic.  I can feel it, or rather don’t feel it.”

Her carriers knew better than to ask questions given the urgency in Cora’s words.  They descended a wooden set of stairs that brought them nearly thirty feet underground.  The ten foot wide subterranean corridor would not have felt claustrophobic at all if the ceiling were not so low that the pointed ears of the Alpha scraped along it. 

The group moved with purpose for a hundred feet until the tunnel opened up to a forty foot high domed expanse two hundred feet wide and eight hundred feet long.  It contained eleven parallel corridors paved with small bricks running east to west.  The ceiling was supported by large beams and posts.  The wooden ceiling consisted of reed mats and layers of clay for waterproofing.  Above ground the structure would have looked just like any other rolling hill.

Facing east and s
tanding at full attention were thousands of life-sized clay soldiers complete with armor, spears and swords coated with chromium oxide to keep them sharp enough to still split hairs. 

“What is this place?” Cora asked of their two escorting Alpha warriors.

“About fifteen hundred years ago the fool buried inside that pyramid had a clay army created and set into place to protect his tomb in the afterlife,” one responded while leading them between the rows of the inanimate protectors.

Cora admired the craftsmanship as the party made their way through.  Each figure had the same basic body shape, but the armor, hair styles, and facial features were all subtly different.
  “What a waste.  That superstitious fool actually thought these clumps of baked clay would come alive to defend him against his enemies or grave robbers?” 

She focused he
r attention on the last soldier standing at attention on the left before they entered another cramped tunnel.  Even the figure’s mustache showed the fine detail of individual hair follicles.  Just when they were about to move past the last clay soldier, a reddish tan arm with a razor sharp blade in its hand crossed their path. 

“I find the man to have been a true visionary,” the suddenly very animated statue said in the Alpha language.

Without hesitation, one of Cora’s protectors grabbed the statue by the throat with both hands and attempted to squeeze the life out of it, but the life-sized figure just laughed. 

“Surprisingly durable aren’t they?” the statue
went on and then delivered a swift punch to the Alpha warrior’s stomach that sent him staggering back several paces, “and strong too.  Cora you really need to try this.”

All six Alpha warriors made ready to gang tackle the statue before Cora finally regained her composure and spoke.  “Kuanti
, is that you?”

“In the flesh; as it were.”

“You...you’ve reanimated?” Cora managed.  “How can this even be possible?”

“The clay that makes up these statues consists of organic materials and
minerals,” Kuanti instructed.  “Given the right transfer of energy, the iron metal can magnetically attract a life force and the organic cells reanimate to allow physical movement once more.”

“Energy?
  You used Mother Nature’s precious energy to reanimate your life force once more?” Cora asked in disbelief.  “That is the very essence of the Novi’s Nexus device that we despise.  It’s...it’s blasphemy.”

Kuanti lowered his sword wielding arm to his side and shook his head in frustration.  “No
, it’s not.  The pyramid focuses the gravitational forces at work between this planet and its sun.  If not used, that energy dissipates without benefiting anyone or anything.  I’m not diverting any of Mother Nature’s resources away from anything other than the cold, harsh vacuum of space.  Come, follow me.  You’ll see, you will all see.”

Without another word
, Kuanti moved his newly animated clay body into a corridor that would take them under the pyramid and into the burial chamber.  As they all walked the only sound that broke the eerie silence were the heavy, wet footfalls of Kuanti as he lumbered along in his new form.

The shock of it all was too much for Cora.  Her mental barriers let down to allow Goron’s consciousness inside her inner thoughts.

Even from four thousand miles away Cora felt the full intensity of Goron’s rage.  “HE DID WHAT?”

“I know,” Cora communicated and quickly regained control of her thoughts.  “I don’t even know where to begin to address this with him.”

“There is no beginning,” Goron insisted.  “There is only an end.  You must put an end to this.  He intends to bring every relic from Mars to that pyramid and some might choose his path.  This could corrupt our entire society, the very essence of what it means to be the Alpha race and not vile abominations of nature like those Novi.”

“I know,” Cora responded instinctively to the idea of reanimation.

“Do you?” Goron asked with a healthy dose of doubt.  “I’ve been inside your head.  Remember?”

“
What is it
with you and large naval engagements?” Gallono asked of his captain on the deck of a modest sized vessel that served as Zhu’s flagship for the fleet.

“Oh come on.  Once every thousand years isn’t that excessive,” Hastelloy chuckled
while surveying the nearly one thousand vessels in the fleet.

“N
ext time could you please arrange it so we have the advantage?  This being outnumbered three to one stuff, and the enemy having larger ships to boot, is getting old.  Are you out to try and prove something?”

Gallono just shook his head as he looked out across the open waters of Lake Poyang.  The massive body of fresh water stre
tched for almost five miles in every direction, but obstructing the view straight ahead was the remnants of the Huang forces assembled to present a formidable armada.

Most intimidating were the
highly vaunted tower ships which were basically one hundred foot tall floating fortresses.  Each of them featured heavy timbers for armor, hundreds of archers and a half dozen catapults to devastate any vessel unfortunate enough to venture too close.  Their only weaknesses were a complete lack of mobility and a requirement to remain in deeper waters during battle.

To combat these shortcoming
s, the enemy positioned their bulwarks in the lake’s center, thus forcing the attackers to come to them.  Enhancing the impenetrable center even further were chains running between the ships to hold them together and afloat in case any of the virtually unsinkable boats did start to founder. 

Haste
lloy put his arm around Gallono.  “My friend, have you ever known me to voluntarily give battle when I didn’t have the advantage?”

**********

When Liu was given command of his own boat he beamed with pride at the great honor bestowed upon him and his son.  Zhu and the other great men leading this fleet trusted them to execute instructions without hesitation, and Liu vowed never to let them down in that duty.

Even with the absolute faith
Liu carried in the wisdom of his leaders and his vow taken, he found the orders almost impossible to follow.  Liu put his arm around his son to steady the young man, and by extension himself.  Pang was actually quite brave for his age, but staring straight ahead at a towering blockade of floating fortresses launching arrows and flaming balls from catapults was enough to shake the nerves of a hardened veteran, let alone a wide-eyed farmer and his eleven year old boy.

“Steady.  We
have our orders to sail directly at them to provide a distraction for the rest.  We must trust the wisdom of our betters,” Liu said as they both took cover under a makeshift canopy aloft over the steering wheel area to avoid the disturbingly accurate archery fire coming from the enemy ships.  Repeated thumps let him know the straw men in clothing positioned around the deck were taking the brunt of the blows.

“Do you trust this is best for them or us?” Pang cynically asked.

To draw strength, Liu and Pang looked behind their boat expecting to see they were not alone in facing the monstrous tower ships, but they were.  The trailing fleet was now separating to sail left or right of the floating fortresses leaving Liu’s ship and six others on a similar course to fend for themselves.  That was the first moment when real doubt entered his mind.

His doubts vanished when he saw dozens of his own ships launch flaming canisters of pitch toward the enemy, bu
t the trajectory looked low.  In fact, it looked almost directed at him and the other six vessels sailing directly at the enemy’s center.  Before his mind could fully comprehend the situation, two flaming canisters landed on the deck of his ship and exploded with flames that quickly engulfed the entire boat. 

Dozens of smaller explosions raced across the deck letting
Liu know his ship was rigged to blow.  He grabbed Pang by the shirt and raced for the railing amid a barrage of enemy arrows and friendly flames alike.

By the searing heat
, Liu knew his clothing was on fire, but the plunge below the waves extinguished them immediately.  He surfaced with Pang in his arms in time to see the boat he once so proudly commanded plow in between two tower ships.  The tiny boat lurched to a stop, but the flames continued moving and spilled over the railing onto the enemy ships.  The transferred inferno seemed to double in size with every passing second. 

The flames did not take long to find the pitch cauldrons and black powder magazines of the tower ships
, igniting deafening explosions that shot tall pillars of fire into the air throughout the fortification towers.  Like a suddenly disturbed anthill, men piled out of the towers and jumped overboard to escape the flames, but only a few made it out before the flames and smoke suffocated and charred the soldiers within.

Liu
and Pang thrashed and swam with all their might in the water to get away from the blazing heat and flaming debris falling on top of them, but it was no use.  As the massive vessels began sinking beneath the waves, suction was created that held them in place and inch by inch drew them in.

Liu
drew some comfort from the knowledge that his sacrifice had most likely won the battle.  The fact that he and his son would not live to know for sure stole much of the moment’s luster, however.  In the end, his eleven year old son was far smarter than his blindly obedient father.  It seemed great men did indeed do what was only best for them.