PART 6

The colossal gates of the great Pyramid closed behind them as Ian, Raguel, and Orus walked into the gigantic structure. Ages ago, three of these monuments stood on this place. Their nature and their purpose long forgotten. And along with the rest of the world during the Last great War, the once mighty stone monuments were destroyed. When Orus descended to reclaim the land, one of the first things he built was the Great Pyramid. With his magic and his people, he rose the large stones and laid them one on top of the other. It took a full year to merge all the stones, rocks, and pillars all together. Another entire year to carve out the caverns below, the rooms and halls within, and to install the impenetrable Solidum gates. It was all in all, a mighty feat.

As they walked, torches began to light one by one. Again Ian could see guards posted at each turn. Despite the casual nature of the god-pharaoh, this place was heavily guarded and lies under the watchful eye of his soldiers.

Orus spoke. “Please do not mind the guards and their silent gaze. They are merely here because they could not be productive elsewhere. If it were up to me, they would all be sleeping in their bunks or partying wherever Sun Soldiers party these days. It’s Lamia who keeps a close watch on the postings and the duties of the soldiers. It was her whom you met earlier this afternoon my dear boy.”

“Yes, the Raksha, who…or what exactly is she?” Ian asked.

“A good question.” Orus replied. “Many tales and legends during the First Age were understood as myth and untrue. But before man became too civilized for his own good, beings walked the earth that simply put, were quite extraordinary. Vampires, werewolves, creatures of the deep, and even angels such as my good friend Raguel, here resurfaced after the decimation of the Great War. After the horrific chaos, humanity was almost wiped out! Finally, these beings had an opportunity to go out from the shadows from which they hid in for hundreds upon hundreds of years and emerge into the world. You already know that the atmosphere was destroyed by the nuclear and chemical weapons that humans used, this left the surface barren, desolate, and almost entirely uninhabitable. But these beings, blessed with gifts that set them apart from the humans, saw this as a chance to live among us! Now some clung to their dark ways and remains to be a threat to the resurging human populace, but others like Lamia, sought a life of purpose and honor. She was one of the first that I recruited when I started to build the Ancient Dunes. I found her roaming the sands at night. I was surprised that a young lady would be able to survive walking alone in the desert without being torn to shreds by wild creatures and without melting away in the toxic air. But there she was! Pale and healthy as the moon on a clear sky. She sensed me at first I guess, no doubt sharing my wonder of an unharmed individual walking freely when we should be both dead on the spot. Attacking me was her first mistake.”

Raguel smiled at this, Orus continued.

“Now to be fair, I doubt that anyone had a history of attacking a full-fledged god back then. Even the mortals in the ancient days learned to treat the gods with respect, or fear, or both! In any case, I was surprised at the speed and ferocity of her attack. She was quick, quicker than any normal woman had any right to be, and she bared her fangs at me. That was when I knew that she was a vampire. Now the myths about vampires may have been varied in the past. If I recall correctly, they were a bit of a fascination for humans back then. Creating stories and films for their own amusement even if they didn’t have a shred of truth in their understanding of these beings.”

Ian was soaking this all in. In his head, vampires were still a piece of ancient fiction. Not in his entire stay at the Elysian Fields did he study or hear about vampires being real. Orus continued to speak as they turned and walked along many different halls and corridors inside the Great Pyramid. Raguel listened casually and remained quiet.

“Vampires are extremely misunderstood individuals. They have been depicted as lustfully hungry and blood-crazed creatures that did nothing but feed and multiply like a disease. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Like all beings on this planet, vampires are part of the creation of the gods. As part of the natural order, vampires were the natural predator of humans. At first, they were to maintain the unique balance between their numbers and man. But as usual, man multiplied and developed, they began to create weapons and use their intelligence to solidify their status as the lords of the earth. The vampires could not cope. Unlike the legends, vampires do not multiply just by biting into you and turning a mortal into the undead. The life essence of a vampire can only remain in one individual at a time. When they turn someone, their spirit becomes part of the new vampire, and the host vampire gives up his or her life so the fledgling can live. Thus, in essence, they can never truly increase their numbers. There can’t be more than a hundred vampires at any single time on the face of the planet as of today. And my Lamia is one of them. But some of the legends are true. They do not age or die of natural causes. They are almost impervious to harm and are not susceptible to the toxins and diseases of man. Vampires are fast, lethal, and have centuries of knowledge within them. The older ones are much more powerful. And Lamia was there even before the Last Great War. She’s about half a millennia old! Such amazing beings they are!”

“But Lamia, during the contest, she did something, she summoned lightning!” Ian said.

The god-pharaoh gave a joyful laugh. “Yes she did! And as I recall, she tried the same trick with you didn’t she Raguel?”

The angel smiled and replied. “Yes she did, and with the same dissatisfaction if I might add.”

“Lamia is different in that aspect because I trained her.” Orus explained. “I told you that Lamia was one of the first I recruited in building this country. And she was the first one I shared the powers of the Triune Jewel with.”

The three men stopped in front of a huge block of Solidum. It was like polished stone 10 feet high and 5 feet across. It stood at the end of a long hall where they had been walking. Orus placed his palm on the block and muttered something Ian could not understand. Then his hand glowed and a low rumble went through the entire hall. The entire wall in front of them shook and slid away, revealing a small room with a lone pedestal in the center. A high note rung all around the room as they walked in, the Solidum door closing behind them. It was like music Ian has never heard before in his life.

It was Orus who spoke first. “It’s time you start facing your destiny dear Ian. I present to you, the Triune Jewel.”