Atlantis 9

          At last, after a long and bloody campaign, the victorious Atlanteans reached the Middle East, where the continents of Europe, Africa and Asia meet. The army stopped on the bank of the longest river in the world. For the Atlanteans, the whole campaign had been one, huge success. It had occupied thousand of square miles and in the process destroyed many cities, towns and villages. A lot of people had been killed and their property taken from them. They had encountered very little, if any, resistance.
          “Those Southerners were scared to death the moment they saw our mighty armies,”  Sunder boasted. “Even Akula seems unable to convince his armies to stay and fight us.” As far as the Atlanteans were concerned, the war was already won. Their enemies were on the run and they had no reason anylonger to worry about them. At least, that is what they thought..........
          Akula had waited patiently. He had allowed the victorious Atlanteans to march deep into the heartland of Africa and claim victory over his forces. Klamath, Liu Tzu and especially Kano were all very upset at him for letting the Atlanteans advance as far as they had. In their view, Akula had made a big mistake by retreating. But Akula saw things differently. He had a plan.
          “They do not understand. If you want something, you have to give up something in return,”  Akula said to himself. “Sure the Atlanteans have conquered a lot of territory, but they have also divided themselves over of vast territory. Every time they conquer one more mile, they are getting further and further removed from their ships, with which they invaded the continent. Their lines of supply are getting longer and longer, while ours are getting shorter and shorter. They have thus made themselves very vulnerable. Not to mention that they must be very tired by now after such a long campaign.” Now that the Atlanteans had stopped at the river, Akula realized that the moment had come. Now was the time to strike..........
                                                                  
          The Atlanteans were caught completely by surprise by the attack. They had never thought that Akula had enough strength left to launch the offensive. Their enemies were supposed to be defeated. Akula took full advantage of the fact that the army of Atlantis was severely stretched and attacked them on both flanks, where their defenses were the weakest. The Atlanteans, who guarded the supply lines to the main force, resisted fiercely and fought ferociously, but in the end, the well-rested soldiers of Akula were victorious over the Atlanteans, who were drained after months of constant fighting and on top had to guard along a front thousands of miles long. Akula had succeeded in surrounding the Atlanteans and in cutting their lines of supply. All he had to do now, was wait until their meager supplies had run out and the Atlanteans would be forced to surrender.
          Sunder was beside himself. He was outraged at his soldiers for allowing his enemies to breach their defenses. It was only a short time ago that they were marching victorious through the country. Now the situation did not look so bright. In fact, the situation was very bleak. His entire army was caught in a pocket and if they did not find a way out very soon, they would have no choice but to surrender or starve to death. Surrendering to the enemy was out of the question. Atlantis’ generals never surrendered and Sunder did not intend to be the first. On the other hand, starving to death was not exactly a valid option for Sunder. He was desperate.
          “There has to be a third option,”  Sunder said, “and there is.”  It had never been done before and Sunder had no assurances that it would work. But he had no choice, he would have to do it.

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 Click on Part 10 for what happens next in this series.

Atlantis 10

          Akula was very enthusiastic. His plan had been a complete success. Kano, Klamath and Liu Tzu all offered their apologies for doubting him. Hokum also congratulated him for his genius. Akula had the mighty army of Atlantis on its knees. There was another benefit for Akula as well. Because he had waited so long, many more Southerners had been killed by the Atlanteans than there would have been, if he had attacked quickly and this was a perfect fit in his plans. Akula was looking towards the future. He had to take this opportunity to weaken the Southern Kingdom as much as possible.
          “Atlantis is my first objective, but the Southern Kingdom will be next,”  Akula said. “Eventually it too will fall under my control. Besides I never did like those Southerners and their fat ruler, Kano. I am glad to see that so many were killed.”  Akula smiled at his deviousness. “Soon, very soon, Atlantis will be mine,” Akula said to Hokum. “I will become sole ruler of Atlantis for all eternity, just like it was meant to be. So it is written..........”
          “And so it shall be done,”  Hokum added.

          Kano and his soldiers cautiously stepped forward. They were alert and prepared for anything. Kano thought of Sunder’s words.  
          “You know what will happen,”  Sunder said. “When we surrender, Akula, Klamath and Liu Tzu will demand their share of the treasure we have collected from your kingdom to cover their expenses for the war. But if you allow us to escape, we will hand over all the treasure to you only.”
          Kano had to admit that Sunder was right. He was well aware that his companions, and especially Akula, had set their greedy eyes on the loot the Atlanteans had stolen. “There is no way that I am going to share treasure, that rightfully belongs to my kingdom, with Akula,”  Kano said determined. That is why he had struck a secret agreement with Sunder. In return for all the stolen treasure, Kano would allow them to escape.
          “It is better to be careful than to be sorry,”  Kano thought. “For all I know, this could very well be a trap. The Atlanteans could have planned a surprise attack. After all, they had done it before by attacking my kingdom without any warning and there is no reason for them not to do it again.”  But to his relief, there were no enemy soldiers in sight. At last, they reached the top of the hill and Kano could see it all. Sparkling in the sunlight were all the precious stones, golden objects and other valuables the Atlanteans had plundered from the land. The Atlanteans had kept their promise.
          Kano was truly amazed. He had always thought of his peasants as people, who possessed very little. But judging from the amount of gold and other valuables the Atlanteans were able to gather, he had made a grave mistake. “I was a fool,”  Kano said to himself. The peasants had more money than he had ever thought. “But no matter, as soon as this is all over and everything is back to normal, I shall raise the taxes.”  Kano was already calculating how much he could steal from his people and add to his own treasury. “Perhaps this whole ordeal might turn up something good after all,”  Kano thought and he ordered his soldiers to start moving the treasure.
          The soldiers were almost finished when they stumbled upon a large chest that had been hidden under all the gold. It was really something extraordinary and the soldiers were very impressed by it. One of the soldiers wanted to open it, but his commander told him not to. Kano would be very angry if he found out that he had not been informed. Instead, he ordered one of the soldiers to go to Kano and tell him of their curious discovery.
          Kano looked at the magnificent chest, which was lavishly decorated. “It must contain something very valuable,”  Kano thought. “Otherwise its owners would not have bothered to build such a splendid work of art.”  He stepped forward and touched the golden handles. There was no lock as far as he could see. “What a masterpiece!”  Kano said. “I cannot wait to see what is under it.”  He lifted the top and..........in the blink of an eye Kano and his soldiers disappeared in a bright flash of white light.

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 Click on Part 11 for what happens next in this series.

Atlantis 11

          In a split second, an area of five miles in diameter, lit up like the surface of the sun. Every single living thing within this area, whether it was man, animal or plant, was incinerated in one gigantic ball of fire. The enormous heat could be felt from miles away. The land outside this inferno could feel the tremendous force of the explosion. The whole area was flattened by the powerful stormwinds that followed. People and animals ran as hard as they could, but there was no escaping. Trees and houses were uprooted from the ground and just blown away. Only those that were far enough were safe. They could see the huge mushroom that rose up miles into the skies. All that remained of the soldiers of Kano were their shadows on the ground.  
          Although he was many miles away, Sunder had seen the tremendous explosion that had destroyed his enemy. He was absolutely thrilled at what he had seen. “It worked!” Sunder said with joy. “It actually worked!”  Sunder had known all along that his four adversaries did not thrust each other. He knew that those greedy despots would never want to share with each other. The soldiers of Atlantis all began to celebrate.
          “Akula is not the only one that knows how to use deception,”  they said. “Sunder is also skilled in the art of deception.”  The siege that held them paralyzed was finally over. 
          “Now everything has changed,”  Sunder said. “I have the upperhand.”  He ordered more bombs to be made ready. “Akula has to surrender to me,”  Sunder said, “or I will bury him!”
          For many years, scientists in Atlantis had done research on how to use the unlimited power that was hidden within the “Stone of the Gods”. that was given to them by the Gods. They had learned that while its invisible rays were extremely hazardous, it could be used to provide light, heat and energy to the cities of Atlantis. They also discovered that its vast powers had some other use and that was in war. Unbeknown to outsiders, Atlantis had been conducting secret tests in a remote location. It was shown that if the process, through which the energy was harnessed, was left uncontrolled, an explosion would result unlike the world had ever seen before. Nonetheless, Atlantis had reaped great benefits from the “Stone of the Gods”. It was therefore considered benevolent knowledge that had to be protected at all costs. That is why they had persistently refused to share its secrets with Akula, Kano, Klamath and Liu Tzu.
          Akula was absolutely stunned when he learned what had happened to Kano. At first, he didn’t believe the news. But after a while and much confirmation, he knew that it was true. In just a fraction of a section, Kano and his entire army had been completely wiped out. The Atlanteans had managed to break through and end the siege. It was a huge setback that dampened his earlier enthusiasm. But there was something that frightened him even more. Now that the Atlanteans had proven that their new weapon worked, they could easily destroy their enemies, including Akula, and win the war. This new challenge had put Akula’s plans in serious jeopardy. If he still wanted to achieve his goals, he would have to find a solution and quick.
          The gods were extremely angry at the Atlanteans. They felt that the Atlanteans had misused their gift. The Gods had intended the “Stone of the Gods” to be used for peaceful purposes and certainly not for war. An angry Wotan demanded that they stop using these weapons. But the Atlanteans refused to these demands and instead demanded to know why the Gods had not shown similar interest when the army of Atlantis was surrounded by the combined armies of the outer realms and in danger of being totally annihilated. The council confidently proclaimed: “Let one thing be clear to all. Atlantis will not lose the war. We will do whatever it takes to win. If that means that we have to continue using these weapons and destroy all the other continents.........then so be it!”
          Meanwhile Akula was still wrestling with the problem of finding a solution to his problems. But he could not think of anything that had even the slightest chance of success. How could he, or anyone else for that matter, stop such an incredible weapon? For the very first time, this was one problem for which he had no answer. The only one who could possibly have an answer were the all-knowing Gods. “The Gods gave the “Stone of the Gods” to the Atlanteans,”  Akula said. “They must also know how to stop it.”  But he knew the Gods would never help him achieve his wicked goals. “The Gods have to help me. But how can I get the Gods to help me?”  Akula said to Hokum. “Think!”  Akula said. “There has to be a way.”

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 Click on Part 12 for what happens next in this series.

Atlantis 12

          Akula and Hokum were both thinking on how to find a way. “Why don’t we attack and subdue the Gods and then force them to tell us?”  Hokum suggested. “The Gods are not that strong and we possess a vastly numerical advantage.”
          “Do you know what makes power?”  Akula said in response to Hokum.
          “A mighty army?”  Hokum answered. Akula shook his head.
          “Knowledge,”  Akula said. “Knowledge is what makes power. The Gods may not be great warriors on the battlefield, but they do not need to. All they need is their knowledge and when it comes to knowledge, the Gods do not have their equal. So in that sense, the Gods are the most powerful force in the world.”  Hokum had to agree with the logic of Akula. “Remember,”  Akula said. “The pen is, and always will be, mightier than the sword.”
          “What about Zhuk?”  Hokum asked again.
          “What about him?”  Akula responded. “Well, didn’t you tell me he possessed a Wishstone?”  Hokum said.
          “Of course!”  Akula shouted. “Why didn’t I think of it myself? Karna gave Zhuk a Wishstone for saving his life. With the Wishstone, I can make any God tell me what I need to know.”  Akula was delighted at the prospect of having his problem solved.
          “There is just one problem,”  Hokum interrupted. “Zhuk is not stupid. He will not give away his Wishstone for no reason. He will want to know what you want to do with the Wishstone. And when he finds out what your intentions are, he will never give up his boon, even if that means your defeat. As far as he is concerned, you should not have started the war in the first place.”
          “Do not worry about my son,”  Akula said. “I know him and I guarantee you, he will cooperate. There is nothing that will stop me from becoming ruler of Atlantis..........not even my own son, Zhuk.

          As usual, Zhuk was out in the forests hunting. Suddenly, a herald approached. He seemed to be very upset. “What is wrong?”  Zhuk said.
          “A tragedy,”  the herald answered. “Akula and Hokum were just about to leave the castle to speak to you, when Akula’s horse suddenly and unexpectedly jumped. Akula fell from his horse and injured himself severely.”  Zhuk was told to return to the castle, because they feared for his fathers' life.
          Zhuk and the herald were well on their way, when they encountered Hokum. “Hokum,”  Zhuk said. “How is my father?”  Hokum just shook his head.
          “Be strong,” Hokum said,  “for I bring bad news.” “The injuries suffered by your father were too much for even one as strong as your father........I’m afraid that Akula is dying.”
          Even though Zhuk did not agree with Akula’s aggressive ways, he did love and care for his father. “There has to be something that we can do to help my father,”  Zhuk said, “there just has to be.”  Zhuk thought about it for a moment. “You are a skilled healer, Hokum,”  Zhuk said to Hokum. “You have fought many battles and therefore you have seen many wounds and injuries. Tell me, is there anything we can do for my father?”  
          “Alas,”  Hokum replied. “I have seen this kind of injury many times before and it requires knowledge we simply do not have. There has never been anyone who has lived to tell about it.”  Zhuk felt hopeless and bowed his head.
          Suddenly Hokum said: “Or perhaps..........no, it would never work.”
          “What is it,” Zhuk said.
          “I was thinking,”  Hokum said. “Maybe ordinary people like us don’t have the knowledge to heal Akula, but the Gods do. If I had the right information, I might be able to operate Akula and save him. But the Gods would never do anything that might save Akula.”
          “In that you are wrong,”  Zhuk said. “I have never told anyone about this, but one of the Gods, Karna, has given me this relic, which will force the Gods to help me. It’s called a Wishstone and with it, the bearer can ask any God for one wish.”
          He handed the artifact to Hokum. “Here take it and now go,”  Zhuk said. “Use it to help my father.”
          Hokum took the relic from Zhuk and said with a sinister smile: “Oh, I am very sure it will help Akula.”

--o--

 Click on Part 13 for what happens next in this series.