3.54 The Time

Halios glanced down Main St on his way back to the Villa, there was a hive of activity in the square outside Headquarters, an ad hoc gathering to watch the Final Ceremony, no longer scheduled for the royal stage. He could perhaps enjoyed this evening, had there not been last minute delays leaving last minute loose ends. An eerie silence had befallen the city, the last minute changes had him doubting his own plans. He paused to catch his breath and gaze beyond the activity, the Grand Courtyard still smoldered, the glow of destruction illuminated the now angry looking statue of Medel, it wasn’t the backdrop either side had envisioned.

         Feeling stressed, he took a deep breath and hurried up the street to the Villa, hoping he hadn't been missed. He knew how much this moment meant to Atalon, this was not a good time to be late.

         "You're late!" Atalon hissed as the General arrived on the balcony for the ceremonial moment, but before Halios could offer an excuse, the gongs bonged from the Headquarters square. Cheers and claps of applause erupted from the balcony, now filled with the gods and their VIP guests, gathered for the Final Farewell to their old and very much loved, empire.

         Up in the cave openings of Mount Ekar, the soldiers stood to attention as the gongs bonged from the square, marking the end of the Old Empire. This was it. This was the biggest moment in the history of the Atlan Empire and they were on the front lines. The feeling was a rush, it was worth losing their lives for it. Sharply they snapped in salute, then without any more delay, turned the salt timers upside down and lit the ceremonial torches to signal the bombs had been set.

         "Hail Medel!" Cheers and toasts erupted from the Villa balcony as the Midnight Hour struck and the torches were lit up on the dark mountainside. This was it! The Time had finally come!

         Far away across the water and rolling hills of Lemuria, Neter heard the gongs bong over the music playing inside the Crystal Temple. He sat up with great concern, knowing what they were. He wasn't the only one, either. Like awakening sleepers the old Origians sat up when they heard the ancient Anunnaki war gong. Knowing glances were exchanged across the room; the rumors were true.

         Deeply disturbed, he wandered outside to check on the Unicorn, his coat was still damp, he too was disturbed. He followed the Unicorn's gaze toward Falias, in the distance he could see the sky light up, the torches blazing on Mount Ekar... The moon was almost full. Tomorrow was obviously the big day, just like Mina had predicted.

         Difficult questions had accumulated at the eleventh hour. Like, how come the Nefilim didn't hear any rumors about the dogons? Or, how come Vikkar didn't know the truth about the Underworld? How did Ku know where to look for the Panthers if they never knew the truth about the Underworld?

         Some questions demanded answers before the big day. Like, where were the Panthers? The Panthers ought to have arrived by now. The worry that he had made a mistake trusting Ku was gnawing at his gut… Without another thought, he began to saddle up.

         Concerned by the sound of the gongs, Mina hurried outside only to find Neter saddling up.

         "It's midnight! Where are you going?"

         "I'm going to find Ku… I’ve got a bad feeling. There's been so much deception I feel I can't trust him. In my gut, know I was wrong to trust him."

         "But it's the eclipse tomorrow! Those are War Gongs!"

         He didn't know how to reply, he could sense the worry in her voice, he didn't intend to alarm her with extra fears, tomorrow was still several hours away.

         "I understand…" Mina could tell he was divided about leaving her. "I have a bad feeling too" she confessed, not wanting to stop him, but at the same time begging him not to go. "I've been tormented by Black Panthers all day."

         "Me too" he confessed. The panther reference wasn't coincidental, it only added to his convictions. He turned toward his dearest friend and held her in a warm embrace. "I promise I'll be careful" he whispered in her ear and kissed her head. "Promise me the same? I’ll be back, no matter what. You know that."

         "I know… I do…" Mina felt his love, his fire inside, he was being driven by a greater force than anything mortal. "Wait just a moment. Let me pack you some food."

         Even though Mina knew in her heart that Neter had no choice but to follow his Flame, his midnight trip at the eleventh hour left her fighting a fearful heart. Conversations were low vibrational and the fire was burning out, the mood somber for a Solstice celebration that ought to have been an all-night celebration filled with laughter, joy and cheer.

         Jasun noticed the growing fears were disabling the musicians, no one was on stage, no one was immune. He tossed a few logs onto the fire and gestured to his band to take their place on stage.

         "Brothers and Sisters…" From the stage he stoked the embers in their hearts. "I'd like to offer a round of applause for our friends from Atlan who so bravely took a chance on Love!"

         Like magic, the room exploded in whistles and cheers, joy once again filled the temple.

         "For Love is the Greatest Power of all!"

         Another wave of applause filled the room, enthusiasm was unanimous, Love was good. Feeling the vibrations rising, Akku made a drum roll, stoking the flames. Jason strummed a chord, resonating throughout the hall. "Because of Love, I wrote a song!"

         Nepheus recognized the chord and played a bar, teasing the audience with a beautiful melody.

         "I'd like to dedicate this Love Song…" Jasun turned towards Nina, sitting in the shadows of the temple. "…to my companion... The mother of a beautiful new life... A beautiful new life that was created by Love!" Every set of eyes in the temple turned towards Nina.

         Nina’s feelings were electrified as he dedicated his love to her in front of all these people, the Love Song was magical. He made her feel so special, much more special than she really was, she knew how blessed she was to have such a good friend, such a trustworthy companion and loyal lover by her side, she could only pray that all of the refugees could find such Love here.

         Dena studied the interactions with growing interest and subsequently found herself studying Nepheus with opened eyes as he played his pipes on the stage. There was no doubt he was the sexiest thing she had ever slept with, he was so handsome, so toned and attractive with his rebellious leather outfit and embellished hair… She had no reason to excuse herself. The truth, however, was that Nepheus couldn't sing like Jasun could, and for that reason, he would never sing her a Love Song on stage... The cold hard truth was that all Nepheus could ever do was back some other Music God's Love Song.

         Overstimulated from multiple shots of espresso, Nolan tossed in his makeshift bed on the chaise in the lounge of the Villa, listening to the sounds of sleeping VIP’s, camping out around him, it was a ridiculous setup, the king could have reserved a few rooms at the Hotel Medel, could he not? As the moon crept into view, illuminating the room, he got up, slipped on his shoes, crept down the stairs and headed outside into the night.

         Below the sleeping city, the Underworld was still teeming with final activity. The aribu hired to load the cargo ships would be busy all night in preparation for the big day.

         Nolan made his way to the Shipping office, surprising the crew with his irregular midnight arrival.

         "Your Honor!" The porter snapped to attention as the god of Desire arrived unannounced. "Is everything alright?"

         "I’m here to find out" he replied. "I overheard a rumor about one of the shipping orders at the Villa tonight… I just wanted to check up on the shipment to see if it was true."

         "Oh? Which shipment?"

         "The kegs to Fomora."

         "The kegs for Fomora… Wow, they were just here…" He scurried into the storage area and pulled out a cart, ready to be taken down to the harbor. "You’re just in time!"

         "Where’s the tablature?"

         The porter shuffled through the tablets on his desk, retrieving the corresponding order. "Three BloodWine and one MoonWine" he checked the tablet.

         Nolan took the tablet to examine the order. "Ah... I was right... I'm afraid there's been a mistake" he smiled. "Good thing I checked! It’s a simple dyslexic error. It should have been three MoonWines and one BloodWine going to Fomora! We can’t give the New Nefilim Breeders BloodWine!!! Make it right!"

         "Yes, Your Honor!" The porter lifted the two extra BloodWine kegs onto his cart and rolled them away.

         For a moment, Nolan was stunned, stunned regarding the ease in which things could be manipulated in broad light, in what was supposed to be a secure system. Unattended now, he circled the cart heading to Fomora and stood the BloodWine keg up. He unscrewed the tap, reached into his pocket and pulled out the small package. With amazing grace, as if rehearsed a thousand times he skillfully popped the vials open and poured the solutions into the keg, screwed the tap back on and rolled the keg back on it's side, with only seconds to spare before the porter returned with the correct order. Nolan checked the labels.         "Very good! Send them away! Now your job has been saved!"

         "Thank you, Your Honor!" The porter loaded the kegs onto the shipping cart and fastened a new shipping label to the kegs.

         On the morning of the big day, the sun was shining brightly, the gods were up early, breakfast was lavish and festive in preparation for epic journeys into the New Empire.

         "We still need to do our final inspections" Halios reminded again as Atalon finished his croissant.

         "My ship leaves right after the Final Meeting" Torus reminded, "there will be no time. We need to inspect the bunker before we all meet. Like, now."

         But Atalon, feeling the pressure, was in no hurry to make an extra trip up the hill when they were going up there later anyway. Not only that, Main St was filling up with aribu released from their Underworld duties, they were filing out from the Headquarters like a swarm of locusts, sent up to the reserves bunker for storage, or to the cargo ships for shipping. Every direction was mayhem, the last image he wanted to leave behind was of him, mingling with livestock.

         "We'll have enough time to applaud your hard work after the Final Meeting" he replied, raising his Orange Bubbly in a toast. "It won't smell so bad out there by then."

         Halki and Halios were the first to make their way to the Meeting Room, only to discover the door was ajar, unusual given the high security levels of the penthouse floor.

         "Mighty Medel!" Halios gasped as he entered the room. Seated on his chair was the decapitated body of Bakkon, his head skewered onto a telescope laying on the table in a pool of coagulated blood, this was a huge blow, this was definitely not part of the plan.

         "Oh. How did we miss this!" Halki pushed past the stunned General to investigate the scene closer. "Look!" He picked up some scrolls from the floor, bent and torn indicating an altercation of sorts. "The records... The Firmary files... Where's Torus? Why didn't Security find this?"

         "Don't you DARE blame my department for this!" Torus hissed upon receiving the news, trembling with rage when he saw his beheaded brother. "This is SORCERY! LOOK!" He pointed at the telescope. "That's a BLATANT STAR TRIBE signature!" He turned toward Halios, eyes blazing. "YOU were supposed to protect us from those Lunies, you IDIOT! Now we have NO ASTRONOMER!"