Legends of Amacia Return of the Beowulf
Chapter 36: Promises Kept

Approximately twenty-five minutes after leaving Tal’s shop, Hannibal, Selina, Kida, and Muriel entered the living area to be greeted by Josephine, Nathanael, Electra, Morpheus, Emma, Hunter, and Andrew. They were sitting on the couches and chairs as Hannibal rolled Selina up in her wheelchair with Muriel and Kida walking right behind them. “Ah, a few more than expected. Good,” Hannibal crowed as he stopped Selina beside the love seat where Nathanael and Electra were sitting.

“All right, Hannibal,” Nathanael said pointedly. “What is this about?”

Hannibal grasped Muriel’s cybernetic hand and led her to the middle of the circle, saying to all, “It’s about promises kept, my Lynxian friend.” He put his hands on Muriel’s shoulders, declaring, “I promised this precious creature here that if and when we got her out of the darkness of Acheron, I would help her remember who she is. Part of that has already been achieved right here in this very room with the expulsion of the demon that guarded the memories that were sealed up by the Cadre. The Almighty says it’s time has come for her to know who she is.”

Josephine’s eyebrow rose at Hannibal’s declaration, yet she remained silent.

Just then, Nemesis entered with Enoch and Seras, son of Hrothgar. Hannibal noticed their entrance, noting Seras was with them. “Ah, some late arrivals,” Hannibal chimed. “This is good timing.”

“What’s going on, little brother?” Enoch asked as he stopped next to Selina.

“Movement, Enoch. Movement,” Hannibal stated plainly. “The Almighty has moved on me, telling me the time has come to unlock the secrets of Muriel’s past. I promised her that I would do it when I brought her out of the Acheron citadel.” The room got quiet as a tomb.

“So how do we do such a thing?” Andrew asked after as few moments of dead silence.

“With a telepathic assault on the mechanisms the Cadre used to imprison Muriel’s mind, Andrew,” Josephine declared. “That’s the only way it can be done. I remember when Zaros’ father had the Cadre imprison Muriel’s mind. They locked away her identity, but left her technical expertise unlocked so they could access whenever they wanted.”

“Do you remember what her name was before that?” Hunter asked.

“I do,” Josephine replied. “However, it will not mean anything to Muriel because it’s sealed in the telepathic vault they built inside her mind. Only by breaking open that vault will it mean anything to her.”

“How old is she?” Enoch asked. “We know from her own mouth that she’s at least six hundred cycles, but she’s not sure if that’s correct.”

“I’m not going to say,” Josephine said wryly. “I’ve spoken to her about this and she made me promise not to tell her or anyone...at least not until she can remember it. I will say this. Apart from me and the drakens, Muriel is the oldest being on Antilla, maybe even in the entire caverns.”

“Is this true, Muriel?” Hannibal asked.

“It is,” Muriel replied softly. “I want to find out for myself how old I am. I’m sure Jo knows how old I am for real, but it won’t mean anything to me unless I discover it for myself. My true age is connected to who I really am. I’m certain of this. We find out who I really am, and then my age will make sense. But I cannot do this alone. The Cadre locked my identity and age away inside my mind. They stole my very soul and locked it away behind massive walls and vaults inside my mind. I’m powerless to penetrate them. Furthermore, the defense mechanisms around those walls and vaults are lethal. They’re designed to keep me in darkness for all eternity. Please, help me remember. Hanna promised to free me just like she did for Amelia when she rescued me.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Hannibal stated. “We will free you, Muriel. You will know who you really are and how old you are.”

“If Hannibal could pluck me from my eternal prison inside the Black Fortress, he can surely break the locks on your mind, Muriel,” Josephine declared. “He’s the One, the Last Caverias and the hand of the Ancient of Days. I believe in him.”

“Did you see what they did to Muriel?” Hannibal asked Josephine.

“Yes,” Josephine answered, “But only from the outside. I couldn’t see what they were constructing inside her mind because my own telepathic potential had been shut down by my cyberization. However, I watched the rituals, which used the darkest, blackest magic of the Dark Gods combined with their abominable technology. They believed they were building an impenetrable fortress around Muriel’s true identity to lock it away. Her life force and soul was so potent they could not destroy it with their sorcery or technology, so they chose to chain it up and bury it alive inside her mind. They left her technical expertise alone because they needed it. Even before her identity was imprisoned, Muriel was a master engineer with an uncanny understanding of their technology. That was why Zaros’ father Grimbold refused to have her killed outright. He needed her expertise in their dark technology. When she refused to help him, he had his Cadre break her mind and seal away her identity and soul. In its place, the Cadre created a new obedient identity...the one we know as Muriel who would be powerless to resist them. They took her identity and stole her past so she would not remember her old life and self. But now their sorcery and programming is eroding because of what Hanna did by rescuing her. I went through the same thing when Hannibal stumbled on my true identity while he was tortured on the sex floor in that female avatar at my hand. He somehow saw who I was and told me. Once I knew who I was, the Emperor’s programming started to malfunction. One thing led to another and now I’m free of the Emperor, just as Muriel is, and her mind is about to become.”

“Did you ever tell Muriel who she was?” Selina asked.

“I asked her if she wanted to know who she really was,” Josephine stated. “But she insisted that I not tell her. She believes Hannibal is the one destined to free her, just as he freed Amelia from her mental prison. I told her if she ever wanted to know, just ask and I would tell. But she steadfastly refused, and made me promise not to tell anyone until Hannibal could fulfill his promise.”

“That’s true,” Muriel agreed. “Even though I do believe you know who I am, I know down to the depths of my heart that Hannibal is the one who will undo what the Cadre did to me. He promised me when he brought me out of Acheron while he was still Hanna. I owe him the chance to fulfill that promise he made to me. Besides, even if Josephine told me who I am, I’m not sure it would do me any good. In fact, it may cause me to become unstable because I’ve lived with my present identity for over six hundred cycles now. I cannot have two identities warring inside me. I’d lose my mind. I don’t want that. I’ve seen what happens to those who cannot deal with it. It’s not pretty.”

“I can definitely relate,” Hannibal stated. “Having two identities and personas at the same time can be very upsetting and dangerous. I’m glad I had friends around me who helped me to rectify that so I wouldn’t go nuts. What we’re fixing to do is not just a freeing of Muriel’s mind, but a healing of it. We cannot just break Muriel’s identity out of her prison. We must also help her to reconcile that original personality with what she has now. We had to do the same thing with Amelia. Speaking of her, where is Amelia?”

No more than he had asked the question, Amelia entered the room from the passageway that led to the barracks, saying, “Right here, my friend.”

Hannibal’s eyes lit up when she walked up, pushing into the center of the circle with Hannibal and Muriel. Amelia looked at him intensely for a moment, and then at Muriel. “Ah. Now I know why I’m here,” she declared.

Hannibal looked at Amelia for a second with a strange puzzled look, and then asked, “What are you saying? When I called this meeting, I let no one know of my intentions, and you specifically were not called. Did something drive you in here at this time?”

Amelia looked at him with a perplexed look, saying, “How did you know? I was on the north side of the island with Calliope when something told me to get back here as quickly as possible.”

Hannibal closed his eyes and lifted his face to the ceiling, crying out, “Oh, how marvelous you are, Lord. You have gathered everyone needed to perform this task.” He then looked around and said, “What do I see here before me? Why it is the greatest and most powerful telepathic minds that we have.”

Enoch looked at him, asking, “If that’s the case, then what about those of us here who have no telepathic gifts?”

Hannibal smiled, saying, “Why, you are our prayer support, our angelic backup.” At that, he began to explain in detail what had to be done, and what the risks were with a telepathic assault on Muriel’s imprisoned mind. After telling them what the venture would entail, he said, “I promised Muriel that I would help her if I could. I plan to do just that. I will not insist on any of you with telepathic ability to help us. You do not have to do this if you don’t want to. But you can be sure of this: I promised to help her, and that is what I’m going to do.”

“As much as I would like to be part of your team telepathic team, I must decline,” Josephine stated, “My telepathy isn’t strong enough yet to be of help to you. I’m still relearning much of what I lost when Bolthor turned me into a cyborg. But I will be present with the others and pray for your endeavor. It’s the least I can do. Muriel is my friend.”

“It’s quite all right, Jo,” Hannibal replied. “I realize your telepathic skills aren’t up to this because of what Bolthor did to you. I didn’t expect you to be a direct part of this. But your prayers will be most welcome. Prayer proved to be the key in freeing Amelia’s mind. It helped us, and our angelic backup to demolish the monolith that imprisoned Amelia. It energized us, giving us the strength and knowledge to shatter her prison, so don’t give it another thought. Your prayers will be very helpful indeed.”

“I’m glad I can do something to help,” Josephine stated. “I saw them commit that heinous atrocity on Muriel, just as I saw them do it to Amelia, and to countless other victims. I’m honored I can be here to see the Cadre’s diabolical work smashed and Muriel’s true identity free once again.”

“I know you are,” Hannibal chimed. “By the grace and will of the Almighty, Muriel will know who she is. I swear it. Every soul should be able to live their life free of the Darkness knowing who they are.”

“Amen for that,” Selina chimed.

Silence reigned for a few moments after Selina spoke. Kida looked down at Selina and put her hand on Selina’s shoulder, asking, “Are you going to help him, sis?”

Selina looked up at Kida and with a sober smile, replied, “Absolutely. We are one. Not to help Hannibal in such a noble venture would be a sin for me. Besides, I’ve seen the wastes of Muriel’s mind up close. I know the hardship and torment she has endured for so long. I want to help her as much as Hannibal does. Besides, he needs me.” The last comment she spoke with great pleasure. “I love helping him do what the Almighty has asked him to do,” she added with a happy, ecstatic look on her face. “I live for this sort of thing.”

Kida smiled as she looked at Selina, saying, “Well then. In that case, I will help as well. I love you both very much, and will not stand idly by as you do something that is so blatantly dangerous.”

Nathanael glanced at Electra for a moment, and then called out, “We’re with you, son. I remember Amelia’s deliverance. It was a hard-pressed desperate fight to break the monolith that imprisoned her mind. From what you said, Muriel’s is at least twenty times as bad. We will help. Muriel will know who she is.”

“Yes, we will, son,” Electra chimed in. “I offer my services in any way I can.”

Hannibal glanced at Amelia with a raised eyebrow and a smile as she said, “Yes, I’m with you, my king. Together, we will undo what the Cadre has wrought and destroy their works. Muriel will know the wonders and pleasures that I experienced when I was freed. I’m with you.”

Morpheus walked up to Muriel and Hannibal and said, “So am I. Muriel is my friend. I will see her mind freed of the Cadre forever.”

Hannibal looked Morpheus in the eye and noticed something he hadn’t before. Morpheus was gifted in ways Hannibal couldn’t even comprehend. Telepathy was just one of his many talents. “Well now. This is interesting,” Hannibal stated as he beheld Morpheus with great interest. “You hid your skills from me. This is indeed a strange turn of events.” He looked deeper into Morpheus’ eyes and declared, “You’re hiding things from me right now, things about your past.”

Morpheus smiled pleasantly, saying, “You’re growing in power, Beowulf. I was wondering how long it would take you to see.”

“What is going on?” Hunter asked, feeling like he was in the dark.

“Morpheus has a very powerful mind with many skills that he’s kept hidden from us,” Kida explained. “Telepathy is just one of them. Hannibal just broke through his screen. But you didn’t lower your screen, did you Morpheus?”

Morpheus shook his head, saying, “No. I did not, which is why I’m impressed. Aeolus himself taught me everything I know about telepathy and elemental power. Everything I learned about my gifts came from him. Is he going to be part of this assault?”

Hannibal patted Morpheus on the arm, saying, “Not just him. Argus and Tethys are going to be part of it as well.”

Morpheus smiled, saying, “You know, with them, this might actually work.”

Hannibal’s grin grew wider as he said, “I’m supremely confident that it will. The Almighty has burned it into my spirit to do this since we evacuated Acheron. Now, He’s made it perfectly clear we need to do this now. We can’t put it off any longer.” He turned and looked directly at Nemesis. “What say you, great bear?” he asked. “You’re one of the most powerful minds here, and I know that you have the telepathic gift as I do. You use it to keep people from knowing what you’re up to. It worked very well with the Emperor and his minions. I know part of it is the Cadre’s engineering, but I also know that a very large portion of it is a true gift. So, what say you, great bear? Will you honor us with your assistance?” Hannibal looked into the eyes of Nemesis and saw his guardian angel Tsang looking out.

“You have come far since our first meeting, Hannibal,” Nemesis rumbled. “I would be honored to help you.”

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