Legends of Amacia The Awakening
Chapter 16 Ancient Weapons of the 1st Age

Hanna walked into the Red Tower’s Armory and gazed at the impressive array of medieval weapons mixed with advanced projectile, energy weapons, and armor of every possible type. Putting her hands on her hips, a smile came to her lips. “Impressive,” she crowed softly. “Very impressive; I just wish I knew what I was looking for.”

You’ll know it when you see it, a familiar voice echoed in her mind. Follow your instincts.

A sigh escaped Hanna’s lips as she started browsing through the weapons. “My word,” she breathed. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It makes Bolthor’s Armory at Skull Pass look mundane.” As she walked through amongst the swords, Hanna suddenly stopped at what appeared to be an ancient katana in a strange sheath decorated with golden draken icons. Picking it up, a chill raced down her spine. “Wow,” she murmured. “Look at this. It’s magnificent.” Pulling the sword from its sheath, Hanna instantly noticed a strange writing similar to what she saw on the Relic and Thoth’s sword on the blade that glowed softly. The writing made her shudder, as it seemed incredibly familiar. “What are you?” she whispered, examining the blade closely. “You’re no ordinary blade. That’s for sure. And look at this.” She noticed a gun trigger built into the sheath, cleverly concealed near where the belt loop sat along with what appeared to be a small cartridge clip right in front of it. “This is really strange. Why does this thing have a trigger and clip on it?” she asked. The urge to pull the trigger rose, but she resisted it. “No, not here,” she murmured. “If this thing is some kind of gun, I don’t want to risk discharging it in here. It may damage something important. I’ll take you to the Arena to test you out.” With that, she sheathed the blade and continued her search.

Sensing something else calling to her from amidst the projectile energy weapons, Hanna followed her instincts into that area of the armory with the katana in hand. “Where are you?” she whispered, searching intently. Within three minutes, her eye fell on an odd set of electronium forearm guards that seemed to be more than just armor. A gasp escaped her lips as she recognized them as the same weapons she wielded in the dream of the saber cat, only they weren’t gold. “Oh, my god,” she breathed in astonishment. “They’re real.” Sitting the katana down, Hanna picked up the right forearm guard, examining it closely from all sides. It looked like an oversized bracelet with an odd diamond-shaped shield that formed around the arm. A strange draken icon lay engraved into the shield. It had three barrel-like holes just beneath the shield. “This has to be the strangest piece of armor I’ve ever encountered,” she said softly. “What is it? It’s definitely armor, but it’s also a weapon of some kind.” Slipping it on her right arm, Hanna felt a strange chill race up her arm and down her spine. The strange bracelet adjusted to her arm by itself, shrinking down to fit snugly, but not too tightly. Instantly noticing the piece only covered her lower forearm, she pondered the thing for a moment. Without thinking, Hanna clenched her fist and the guard suddenly expanded up to her elbow and down on to her fist, providing full armor on the outside of her arm and significant protection for the inner forearm. She noticed a circle of red cartridges wrapping her arm visible on the inside of the arm. “Whoa,” she cried in wonder, seeing what appeared to be a slide on the outer part of the armor. Jerking her arm back as if she were throwing an elbow strike behind her, the slide moved same as the bolt on a rifle, just as it had in the dream, allowing her to see it loading a strange round. “Oh, man,” she said with amazement. “This thing is acting just like the one in the dream. I bet I can shoot plasma rounds with this thing.” She relaxed her fist and touched the palm of her hand with her middle and ring finger. The weapon reacted, folding into itself and taking on its original appearance. Hanna quickly grabbed the other arm guard, sliding it on her left arm. It form-fit to her left arm, same as the right one had. “Hmm,” she murmured. “They’re not heavy at all. I wonder where the ammo is for these things.”

Almost as soon as she spoke, she saw a chest sitting beneath where the strange arm guard weapons were laying. Opening the chest, she saw belts of red rounds the size of twelve-gauge shotgun shells lying in the chest. A belt with a roman-like leather miniskirt eighteen inches long and two pouches filled with ammo also lay there. Hanna picked up one of the ammo belts, examining them closely. “These are strange-looking bullets,” she murmured. “It’s just like the ones inside these Gauntlets. They look like shotgun slugs, but I bet they’re not. I need to find out what these are.” Putting the ammo belt back into the chest, she picked up the miniskirt belt with the pouches on it. Opening the pouch, Hanna saw more belts of ammunition in them. “Interesting,” she chimed, “Reminds me of the belts we used to carry ammo in the military. This one, however, is obviously made for a woman. It’s actually kind of cute.” She put on the belt with the leather miniskirt and pouches, buckling it. It covered her butt and sides, but left the front open, just like in the dream. “Nice fit,” she chimed. “Sexy too; I like it.”

Without warning, she felt yet another prominent telepathic call from the far side of the armory. “What’s that?” Hanna murmured, looking around urgently. “Something’s definitely calling me and the call is getting stronger. Who or what am I supposed to find?” She picked up the ancient katana and started searching again with increased vigor. After ten minutes, she turned a corner and saw an odd weapon sitting in a corner on a weapons rack. It called to her. It looked like a large blaster rifle with what appeared to be a telescopic sight, but it didn’t have a rifle butt, or an obvious trigger. It did have a large six-inch handle on the bolt with a clip large enough to hold ten .50 BMG rounds below the bolt. Spanning four feet in length, twelve inches wide, and three inches thick, the weapon was made of an alloy Hanna didn’t recognize. It had the muzzle on the large end of the weapon rather than the smaller end, which looked more like a handle to swing it like a bat. The alien look of the weapon drew Hanna. “Whoa,” she breathed, sitting down the katana to take a closer look at the weapon. It reminded her of the alien tech in Tiamat. The weapon called to her. “You’re one mean mother fucker,” she murmured crassly. “And there’s a lot more to you than meets the eye.”

Hanna cautiously reached out, touching the mysterious weapon. Upon contact, she flinched, seeing in a flash vision a large man in platinum armor resembling Enoch, but not as tall wielding the weapon in a battle against monstrous alien beings. The man pulled the weapon from his shoulder, pointing it and opening fire, killing a monstrous reptilian with snake-like arms. After several shots, the man twisted the handle end of the weapon as he spun it around. The blaster unfolded into a massive battle scythe with blades facing both to the front and rear as well as a large spearhead on the handle end. Opposite the large blade, two smaller blades sprang out pointing both forward and back with a third circular axe-like blade outside them on the pin. The handle on the bolt became the guiding handle of the scythe. The man then waded into the monstrous alien horde with a brutality that surprised Hanna. None could stand before the scythe as it moved like lightning in his hand, ripping everything it touched to pieces. A groan escaped Hanna’s lips as she staggered back from the weapon, the vision having stunned her.

Shaking off the shock of the vision, Hanna marveled. “Oh, my god,” she breathed. “You’ve a history I can’t even fathom. Yet, you call to me and seem so familiar. Why?”

“What seems familiar?” Enoch called out as he approached quickly when he saw Hanna stagger.

“Have you seen this weapon before?” Hanna asked, pointing to the weapon.

“I can’t say that I have,” Enoch stated with a raised eyebrow. “But it does seem familiar. I bet it’s a battle scythe of some form. Why do you ask?”

“I touched it just now and I was overpowered briefly by a vision from it,” Hanna stated. “I saw a guy smaller than you that favored you greatly wielding it in a battle against what I think were Old Ones. First, he used it as a gun, and then he did something and the gun became a scythe the likes of which I’ve never seen before. He mowed the monsters down with a brutality that’s greater than mine when the Rage hits me. This thing is a very dangerous weapon. I know it.”

“Indeed,” Enoch replied, stepping forward and lifting the weapon off the rack. “It’s strange weapon indeed; obviously 1st Age from what I can see. But I’m unfamiliar with it. At first glance, it looks like some kind of sniper weapon, but I think there’s more to this weapon than being a projectile weapon. Fact is I seldom come into this area of the Armory. I was told by my father and grandfather the weapons in this area were extraordinarily dangerous and not to use them except in great need.”

“Is that so?” Hanna asked as Enoch continued to examine the weapon. “That is interesting. Could I see that?”

“Sure,” Enoch answered, carefully handing the weapon to Hanna.

“It’s not nearly as heavy as I thought it would be,” Hanna observed, carefully feeling the weight of the weapon. “It reminds me of Thoth’s sword. Even though Thoth’s sword is huge, it doesn’t weigh all that much. It even has a strange energy about it that strengthens me when I use it.”

“I noticed that,” Enoch agreed. “Thoth’s sword reacts to the Caverias line, but it apparently only obeys you as the heir. When you had me use it to break Selina’s bonds in the raid, I instantly noticed it held back. I seriously doubt that anyone but you could use it to channel elemental attacks like you did in the throne room.”

“You may be right about that,” Hanna admitted. “I’ve sensed Thoth’s sword has a will of some form from the moment I recovered it from the Acheron gate. I sensed the same thing with Ezra’s sword, which I lost down there. Somehow, these weapons are forged with a rudimentary will that allows them to choose who will wield them. I’m sensing this from this weapon here. It’s choosing me as its master somehow, just as these gauntlets on my wrists. I dreamed of them this morning, Enoch.”

“You don’t say,” Enoch murmured as Hanna sat the big weapon back on the rack. “May I see?”

“Sure,” Hanna replied, holding her arm up so he could examine them. “They’re not just armored gauntlets. They’re a weapons system of some kind. Watch this.” She took a fighting stance, clenching her fists while jerking her arms as if she were throwing elbow strikes. The gauntlets opened up, covering her entire forearms while the slides cocked.

“Impressive,” Enoch stated. “Where did you find them?”

“Over there where the projectile and energy weapons area,” Hanna stated, pointing to the far side of the Armory near where the armor sat. “These gauntlets called to me too. When I put them on, they instantly adjusted to my arms. They use some kind of heavy ammunition. See.” She opened the pouch on her belt and pulled out a band of bullets. “They’re unlike any bullets I’ve ever encountered. I suspect they may be some kind of 1st Age plasma rounds, but I’m not sure. I need to check with the Teacher about them and how to use these gauntlets.”

“I remember tales about gauntlets such as you have here,” Enoch said. “It’s said they could be used either in close, hand-to-hand combat or at a distance. However, their distance was limited. Your thought to check with the Teacher about these weapons is a wise move. You know nothing about them.”

Hanna rolled her wrist and the gauntlets returned to their original bracelet-like orientation. “True,” she agreed. “But I have an instinct about them that I cannot ignore. These gauntlets and that weapon we were just looking at feel so incredibly familiar, like Thoth’s sword does. I have to find out what they are.”

“Then do so,” Enoch encouraged. “I’m curious as to what these weapons are as well. As I said, I seldom frequented this part of the Armory. My father and grandfather warned me to be extremely wary of the weapons in this area because of their phenomenal power. Only in great need should I ever use these weapons and to respect them at all times.”

“I’d say that’s a wise thing to do,” Hanna stated, picking up the large weapon she’d examined earlier. “I have the distinct feeling these weapons are only for the most formidable of warriors. I’m going to the Teacher to do a bit of research on these weapons. Have the Arena ready for me in about an hour or so. I’m going check out what the Archive says about these weapons.”

“Okay,” Enoch stated. “I’ll have everything set in an hour.”

“Thanks,” Hanna chimed, retrieving the ancient katana as well, “This should prove interesting. Let’s go.”

“I believe it may,” Enoch agreed, following Hanna out of the Armory.

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