The Prophesy: Book 4 - Armageddon

 

The boys had left the nest to visit the Pterodactyls and were examining their nesting and juvenile rearing methods. The parents rotated in going out to forage for food. The young ones would give their parents repeated hits on the parental beak's side to induce regurgitation of partially digested fish in their open beaks.

"How do they know it's their young?" asked Jefferson.

"They recognise their cry," said Colibri, clearly revealing a depth of knowledge about nature that far surpassed Jefferson's. Jefferson looked at the young native, wide-eyed.

"He's right Jefferson. I can recognise the different cries. Every juvenile has a specific range and pattern that marks it as distinct to attuned ears. The parents have been imprinted by the specific pattern in the first few minutes that followed hatching," said Ian.

Just then, the laboratory technician appeared besides Paschal, having activated his port key.

"I see you had issues?"

"Yes. She absolutely wanted to see the report and threatened me with jail if I did not give it to her."

"Don't tell me it is Francesca?"

"No, prince Enron, it is not her, but one ambitious bitch that has been trying to take her place. I don't get why Francesca hasn't sent the offender to feed the snakes with rats?"

"Francesca has yet to overcome her own issues and she is insecure. I'll deal with that lady right away. Dad, take the report and hold to it until I get back!"

To the continued fascination of Colibri, the laboratory technician and an infuriated Paschal translocated to the entrance of the Royal Suite. The technician pointed out the offender.

"Lady, since when do you have authority to intercept things destined for the Royal family?"

"There must be order, or else the Royal Family will be flooded with useless things and constant dumb requests!"

"I'll put it this way: No one, and I repeat, no one, has given you or anyone else such an authority. The so-called Imperial secretary acted as food for felines in Africa. If I hear even a peep out of this so-called secretariat, I'll personally feed you to Megalodons! Now clear the area, before I go fishing!"

"But "

The bitch's protest vanished as fast as she did.

"I meant what I said! She is now feeding a school of Megalodons! We will not put up with people taking over our lives and interfering with our hands on management of the kingdom!"

"That's a dictatorship!" said another voice that immediately went silent as the voice box was filled with saline water in the Atlantic.

"Yes, this is a dictatorship. It's a kingdom, fools! When someone comes with a report for me, especially when that report has been commandeered by me specifically, I will not put up with any jackass trying to slow its progress to my desk or the Royal Family's eyes. Find yourself some useful work, or I will!"

Desks, files and other impediments of a secretariat were disintegrated, leaving the twenty or so members with empty space.

"I see that you are still here! Take these: Pail, disinfectant, and brush! Get on cleaning the latrines! Move it! And I better not find out you have been trying to get out of your new job or you won't be getting out of a Megalodon!"

The technician was having a hard time not laughing at the very long faces of the ex-bureaucrats! As the last one left and turned the corner out of sight, he looked at Paschal pensively.

"What happened to their records?"

"While I was busy berating them, I scanned the records. There was nothing worth keeping. It was only to look important they had all that crap. Anyway, I wonder why they still use these old archival methods. The Pyramids keep everything, fully indexed and accessible at a mere thought from our part. They even record what these bureaucrats try to hide!"

"I see."

"Let's go back to dad. I'm curious as to the contents of that report."

"It is interesting. Who is that young boy?"

"Colibri? That's what this report should reveal."

As the two reappeared beside Harold, his eyebrows lifted to his hairline.

"Two bureaucrats are fattening Megalodons, and twenty others are busy cleaning up latrines. These leeches are going to learn to keep their heads down and out of our way or there will be a purge that will give the Megalodons indigestion!"

"I know son. I got rid of two thousand in a go "

"The problem with bureaucrats is they believe they are the blood and guts of the kingdom, that it would not function without them. The fact is, dad, they are the sand in the gearbox, especially with a kingdom that relies heavily on magic and telepathy for data exchange."

"I know, Harp. I know!"

"Are you done observing the Pterodactyls, Colibri? We have other things to do before we go back to our base camp."

"I could stay here for days. These animals are so fascinating. But I will go with you."

Ian took the boy's hand and ported directly to the suite. The others followed, with Paschal taking care of porting the technician.

***

"Before we have dinner, I would like the report from your work, Sitar, then the report on Colibri."

"Harold, we found a doomsday bunker under what was Jerusalem; there was also one under Beijing and Moscow. The one for India was flooded, located under the Ganges, and the one under Islamabad had never been completed. The London and Paris bunkers have yet to be located. The one under Johannesburg had been abandoned before the Cataclysm. The one we expect to find under Brasilia has yet to be located, since we have only a vague idea of where that city is located. Once Ian comes back with that data, we may be able to locate it."

"What about populations?"

"Jerusalem's bunker was blown up during the war by a nuclear depth charge. The Beijing one never was used, and we have put in a magic detonator for their hydrogen bomb. The one under Moscow was used, but everyone died due to carbon dioxide. Again, we rigged their nuclear device with a magic detonator. Apparently the ventilation tunnels collapsed. As for the one under the Ganges, unless the Ancients had gills Their nuclear device was too corroded to be detonable. The one under Islamabad never got installed. The one under Jerusalem melted when the bunker got vaporised by the depth charge."

"So, that leaves Brasilia, London and Paris?"

"Yes."

"You know what to do Ian. Locate the ruins of Brasilia and call Sitar. He is the God of War, not you, is that clear?"

"Yes dad."

Colibri was wondering how powerful that God of War was if his idol could dispose of his grandfather without even a sweat!

"Paschal, that report?"

"You had it in hand longer then I, dad. Let me have a look at it and discuss the results with the technician and Harp."

The report passed to Paschal again and he went to a corner table to peruse it with the technician. The number of whistles coming from him or the assistant was driving the others nuts! What could that report have revealed for Paschal to be so excited?

Meanwhile, Colibri was busy looking at the room in detail, as either one or other of the Royals explained to him what he was seeing. What fascinated him the most was the white stuff he could see falling outside.

"That's snow, Colibri. It is water in flakes. And if you look at the bottom of the window sill, you can see solid water, of which you know about already, Ian told me."

"Can I see it close?"

"Sure. Come here!" said Harp.

The prince of magic created a snowflake out of the humidity in the room,

"It is so small!"

"Let me make it bigger for you," said Harp as he created a binocular microscope and floated the snowflake so it was in suspension just below the lenses.

"Ok, use that little knob there to adjust this movable part so the image is clear while you look through the eyepiece."

Colibri discovered a world he had never suspected existed just under the lens. The snowflake was beautiful to see, and, as Harp slowly controlled its growth and melting, it changed shape like a living crystal. After five minutes, Harp replaced the snowflake with a drop of water; the discovery of millions of tiny animals living within the drop of water was another shocker to the overwhelmed boy.

"What are they?"

"Very primitive life forms, that can get you sick if your body does not fight them," replied Sitar. "Some are friendly, others are deadly, and others are necessary for us to live."

"Guys, we are ready to expose the result of the genetic analysis," said Paschal, to get their attention. "Harp, I need an electronic microscope with retro-projection capabilities. I could create it myself, but I still got to order my thoughts as to how to present the results. Could you do it for us?"

"Certainly. But why recreate the material you already have in your laboratory? Just port it here."

"I'm too in shock to think straight. Do it."

After a few seconds, a complicated apparatus appeared against the far wall of the living room, with a power line directly into the wall. A silver screen also dropped from the ceiling, letting everyone have a clear view of what would be projected, while the glass turned black by cross-polarization.

"Ok, sit along the table, while I'll do the presentation," said Paschal.

As soon as everyone was sitting, Paschal dimmed the light, and a very fine image of a cell taken from Colibri's blood sample appeared.

"This is a phagocyte, or white blood cell, in charge of recognizing invaders in the body. Now, the first thing we saw that caught our attention is that new organelle. This is totally unknown and its function is a total mystery to us. The next thing that caught our attention is this other organelle, the hyper-mitochondria, which is typical of all Atlanteans; and third, there is this crystalline structure enveloping a crystal of orichalque, that is typical of all magic-able beings. Note how many there are. That means Colibri is powerful. He has less power then us, but certainly above normal. We did an estimate. He is at five hundred and eighty-two percent of normal population level. Ian and Harp are some six thousand times above the norm, but since there are only two of them they have little impact on the normal value. The Royal family as a whole, including Dragons, Wolves and Equines, only push the normal value by a negligible fraction. This is the distribution curve of magical levels. Notice that the shape is highly skewed, with a lot more low-power mages then high-power ones. We are all in the upper tail end of the curve, including Colibri."

Paschal took a sip of icy water, and then continued.

"The analysis of the DNA contained in the mitochondria is composed of the same proportion of human and Atlantean genetic material as us, but it shows a drift, consistent with an isolated population combined with a reseeding of Atlantean genetic material at some point. Knowing the respective drift rate for these genes, the female that supplied the egg for his lineage dates seventeen thousand years ago take or give a few hundred years. That tribe met with pure Atlanteans at the time that merged with this population. Knowing that mitochondrial DNA is only transferred via the mother, and that the cross-breeding of the humans and Atlanteans predates the fall of the Baby Moon, that woman was part of the team that probably travelled across the Amazon during the fallout."

After another sip of water, Paschal continued.

"Now comes the fun part. The mitochondria also show more recent impart of genetic material in the form of a plasmid. This intrigued us. Mitochondrial DNA is usually totally devoid of plasmids."

"What is a plasmid?" asked Jefferson.

"A plasmid is an isolated, circular strand of DNA. Plasmids are usually found in the nuclei of a cell, after a viral strand had infected he cell's nucleus."

"Ok."

"The genetic mapping of the plasmid was done in parallel with the genetic mapping of the cell nuclei. We are running protein synthesis tests in the laboratory and simulations of their impact on protein synthesis in the cell at large and in the hyper-mitochondria in particular. The results are pending."

Paschal scratched his chin, a clear mark of perplexity and nervousness. Then he resumed his exposé.

"The next stage was the analysis of the nucleus' genetic material. There came another surprise. You know we have integrated our genetic material in the human genes, adding three pairs to it in the process, thus bringing the total to twenty-six chromosomes. Well, Colibri presents thirty chromosomes! Yes, you heard me right, he has four more, and they are rather long chains. What they code for, what they do, we have no idea. But it tells us that, very recently, a life form of unknown origin has made contact, intimate contact, with that tribe."

The number of oh and ah from the assembly was considerable.

"The Pyramids are currently busy trying to find out what these chains code for. As with the plasmid, we have to wait on results."

"Could the two events be linked?" asked Theresa.

"Definitely. But there is more. It may be less dramatic then the first two discoveries, but remember Colibri's given name was Hebrew? Well he shows the Cohen genes. His human side was definitely Hebraic. We know from the Ancient's manuscripts that some did indeed migrate to South America, but that particular combination of the Cohen genes is pure, totally pure. They are the oldest repositories of the Cohen gene pool ever recorded since the First Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed. All others were mixed with other people as the Jews were reduced to slavery by Nebuchadnezzar II."

"What do you make of this?" asked Harold. "Because, to be honest, this just does not add up. The First Temple was destroyed very recently relative to the Baby Moon's collapse."

"If it were not for the presence of these genetic anomalies, I would say we found the missing thirteenth tribe of Israel. Everyone looked for them in Africa, but apparently, they moved a lot further afield, and isolated themselves in that valley where Ian found them. And someone else."

"And that black mage."

"Yes Ian, and that black mage. Let's not forget that. But I think he abused Colibri and the entire tribe. He abused Colibri by calling himself his grandfather. He is no grandfather to anyone, but an impostor that tried to build his own little hell in the valley. Since he had magic, he used it to play God and impress them, with malignant intentions."

"Again, Paschal, this does not address the major inconsistency. The Temple got destroyed say seven thousand five hundred years ago; the baby moon fell on us seventeen thousand years ago. That leave a gap of ten thousand years to explain, how could that missing tribe be in two places, separated in time by that gap and space?"

Ian raised his hand, getting the others' attention.

"What if we were dealing with this the wrong way? What if the issue isn't them moving from Israel to the Amazon but the other way around? Why do we assume that they travelled one way but not the other way around?"

"The impact of that idea would be considerable, Ian. Are you suggesting that Israelites are the result of a schism in Colibri's tribe?"

"Not all of them, but the Cohen marked ones, maybe. It was the thirteenth Tribe, and they were always seen as different. No one clearly described that difference. But could it be that the difference was due to the fact that they had come and merged with the original twelve tribes of Israel? You know humans, especially tribal-based ones. Even a thousand years will not erase in their memory a perceived difference, even if it has long been wiped out by inter-marriage. These immigrants could have made their way to the Middle East over the ten thousand years that followed the upheaval of the Baby Moon's fall-out and the destruction of the First Temple, and with ample time to spare! Once they met with the proto-Israelite tribes, they took on a prominent role, probably because they could do magic. That would explain Moses' capacity, and Aaron's as well. Remember! They were Aharon AhKohen, or, more commonly, Cohen! And it would also account for the fact that the Cohens were later considered to have migrated deep into Africa to escape enslavement. I suspect it is the sudden appearance of the AhKohen tribe in their midst that glued the Israelite tribes together and give rise to their distinct flavour of society. In Hebrew, Kohen means priest, and they were the core of the unity of these people."

"It would indeed make sense, and explain a lot of events we are hard put to understand in the history of these people," noted Paschal.

"What do we do with this information?" asked Sitar.

"Nothing until we have completed the analysis. We cannot take any decision based on incomplete data, given how much is missing, how sensitive that data is, and how critical it is to our comprehension of what has happened."

"I will lock this report into the box. It is too critical to be freely distributed until we have understood its meaning. Is everyone agreeable?"

There was a nod from everyone, including the technician, who was privileged to the data and the decision. Harp looked at the man and made a small finger move, effectively locking the data in the man's mind in a place even the most powerful telepath could not find it. The man retained the memory of the information, the work session, and the decision, but would only be able to talk to those present about it, in that private room or other secluded safe areas.

Harp blinked at Colibri, who wondered what it meant. Harp decided not to play with Colibri's memory. After all, a few minutes of training would lock the data in that cute little head better then in Fort Knox.

"I need to train Colibri to mind control before we go to lunch, dad. Give me five minutes."

"All right. We will wait here. Use the couch in the den to do it."

It took only three minutes flat for Harp to train Colibri into the art of misleading mind explorations and another two to teach him to detect mental probes.

"Never block a probe. Direct it where you want it to go. The best is to feed back frivolous ideas, to look dumb. If you block a mind probe, it will become a fight of will, because the other one will know you are actively blocking him. The trick is to occupy your mind with enough garbage to give the impression you are a total pervert, a dimwit, or whatever image you decide to project, and mislead the snoopers on who you are. I have a full room in my mind of just such contents. The probe comes in, bursts that door open and all he sees is a lot of garbage. I had one smart arse try in front of me, and he puked. It was hilarious. One last thing: never blank out your mind. Project all the time, otherwise a telepath might wonder how come you are alive and brainless. That's a give-away of mental power. Colibri, I'm giving you these tips so you can protect yourself and us. It may not be official yet, but it is very apparent from how Ian reacts that you will become part of this family sooner rather then later. Consider me and the other boys as brothers in waiting."

Colibri was shocked, and hugged to Harp, eyes leaking tears. He just had been told he would be a God, and a brother to his Idol to boot!

***

The dinner was held in the mess hall, and Colibri saw the evening shift take its duty from the day shift. He understood the overall idea, as he had seen a shift of the village guards from night to day shift every morning, and he had taken part in such rituals when he shifted watch.

As the meal came to a close, he noticed that some people prepared to leave. His questioning eyes brought a smile from Ian.

"You wonder where they are going? They are going to Africa to resume their duty. It is day there, in fact it is almost two hours past sext at their base camp."

The wide eyes that shone in Colibri's face showed his surprise.

"The Earth is round, Colibri. When the Sun has just set here, it is standing high in the sky in Africa. Do not worry yourself about those facts right now. Let nature be. Let's go have some fun with Jefferson. I'm sure he has learned some tricks from my big brother Harp. Tomorrow is another day, and we will be going back to work."

Ian led Colibri around the huge city, bringing him in to visit friends. He brought him the Equine mares, introducing his new friend to Silver Moon's mother, and then they went to visit the warhorses, whose size scared the jollies out of the diminutive native. A visit to the Centaurs revealed a new life form to Colibri; the Unicorns were another surprise, but less impressive in his eyes then the Centaurs. The next big shock was meeting the Pegasuses that were doing some night flying exercise within their segment of tessaract. Later, after taking a swim in the pool, the boys made their way to the Dragons Lairs and Ian introduced the Mother Queen to the more then impressed boy.

"One last visit before we go to bed for the night. Let's go visit the Trolls. I heard that the Fairies have moved in with them. Talk about a study in contrasts!"

The comment left Colibri perplexed, but he soon found out what Ian had meant! Alongside these huge furry animals were delicate creatures that could best be described as babies of babies! Yet the two lived together in perfect harmony.

"Ok. Let's go to bed, Colibri. We'll hop by Greywolf's family and say good night before heading off."

The boy immediately understood that these animals were dangerous predators, but the confidence that transpired from Ian as he walked amongst the different dens as he headed to Greywolf's family told him he was totally safe. The Wolves would bend on their belly, looking up at Ian with the same look he had for him; Ian, in turn, would scratch a nose here, an ear there, and a belly somewhere else. They made slow progress through the throng of canines that were begging for a little attention, but Colibri decided to help and began tentatively to do what Ian was doing.

"Good. They understand that you do not yet speak their language, but your hands are extension of mine. Continue."

After twenty minutes of this, the boys reached the desired den and walked in. Greywolf's pups had grown to near adult-size and were somewhat less playful. The biggest of the wolves, easily twice the size of the bitch, was focussed on doing a magical exercise with Ness, but the others received the visitors with all the decorum of a very happy family.

«So, Felicia, how is the reconstruction of your mate going?» Ian asked.

«He has wolf shape and is now easily recognizable. He changes shape every twelve hours, and Lord Paschal tells me it is normal as he runs through his mappings. Each shift drains his magic almost completely, and it takes twelve hours to recharge for the next shift. »

«That is because his magic core reserve is low. Once this phase is done, he will receive his memory set and while this consolidates, his magical core will get loaded to capacity. Has he taken dragon form yet? »

«No, but Lord Paschal tells me it is only a question of time. »

«Are you happy of Ness?»

«Yes, he is a very patient godfather for the pups. He is helping my youngest with his magical exercises now.»

«That big fellow was the runt of the den?» asked Ian in wonder, for he had missed the explanations given to Harold when he accompanied Colibri to the bathroom.

«Yes. I did not know he was so underfed, but since Ness has been giving him milk, he has taken to growing like weed on fertilised soil. Now his brothers and sisters no longer push him around. It is good he is gentle and does not hold grudges otherwise some of them would have had their hair shaken off their body.»

«How are the hunting lessons going?»

«They are doing well. Ness really knows his hunting! I know now why my mate liked Ness so much. Even I have learned new tricks. Ness says that within a couple of months, the pups will be adults and ready to take their place in the Canine Army. I feel sorrow to see them go, but it is the call of duty to the Alpha of Alphas, and none of us would ever consider even thinking of escaping his service.»

«They will stay within the Canine community, Mother of the Den. They may even stay with you until Greywolf is back. It would be unfair to deprive you of your family while your mate is healing.»

«Oh, I know. The oldest has offered to stay; the runt has already received his call to that special school, and has begun living off the den for most of the week.»

«The College of Magic has called on him already? Do you know who is tutoring him?»

«The Alpha of Magic, not the caretaker.»

«I wonder how Nestor would take to being referred as the caretaker! But I'm glad Harp has taken your pup under his tutelage. One of the pups with me already works with Harp, and the other one will begin as soon as my mission is done.»

«I can smell my pup on that one, the one he calls Jefferson. The other one has a strange smell about him, unlike any I have met before. He is not wolf that is for sure. But he is not of any Alpha I have met either.»

«You are right, Colibri, for such is his taken name, seems to be totally different from what we have met, not in shape but in composition. We will find out in time what happened for him to be that way.»

Just then Ness and his student came out of their training trance and realised they had visitors.

«Good evening, Alpha Ian of the Wolves.» said the pup, showing he had matured considerably and had gained an understanding of hierarchy he lacked before.

«Good evening Ian, I did not expect you tonight. The last I heard, you were stuck in a wet place with so many mosquitoes they blackened the sky.»

«You are not too far from the truth. Each morning, the yellow roof of the tent is black with the critters trying to get inside. They are stubborn and have yet to understand they stand no chance at sticking their sucking darts into rocky skins.»

«What brings you in these forsaken lands?»

«A trial for high treason, held against one Elf Black Mage. It is done and dealt with.»

«Knowing Enron, the punishment must have been swift and pretty bloody.»

«As for swift, it was. But as for bloody, much less then what I would have expected from Enron. I was sure he was going to take his time to skin the bastard with a butter knife, but instead he offered a fight for honour to the mage with one young trainee. The Mage lost.»

«I should have known! Enron never does anything without thinking. Had the Mage won, he would have lost his honour anyway, and since he lost, the issue is moot.»

«Enron was in turmoil for a week, Ness. He broadcasted his fury so loudly even the castle walls could hear it I was told. Something made him reconsider doing a bloody mess, but I have not probed to find out. It would not be fair to do so. He did his work after the triggering event and came to the right conclusion. That is all that matters.»

"I must admit that I have spent a lot of time with the pups training them."

"It doesn't matter much. Anyway, we have to rest before going back to work tomorrow. It was nice talking to you Ness, Felicia, pups."

"The same with you, Ian."

«Have a good night, Alpha of the Wolves,» replied Felicia and the pups.

***

Yamato had been gone for twelve hours when Ian and his team, enriched by the presence of Colibri, returned to their base camp. Everything was as they had left it, and no triggers had been tripped by the passage of big animals, which came as a surprise to the team.

"The area is drying up, and they should be trying to reach water. What is holding them off?" commented Colibri.

"Our odour must be disturbing to them. We are a mix of many animals; animals fear the unknown above all," replied Raja.

"Anyway, up the Ucayali we go," said Edwin. "I just finished lifting camp, and everything is in the pirogue. Colibri, you take the second seat and keep an eye out for anything unusual. Hildegard, you take front seat. Ian, sit beside Xianathan. Raja, on the next seat; I'll be handling the rudder. Let's not go too fast, to give time for Colibri to see things and inform us of anomalies."

Everyone took the assigned seating position, and Edwin pushed the pirogue in the river, lightly jumping on its stern. He then turned the prow of the trimaran upriver and they slowly made their progress.

They had been sliding up the wide river for an hour when Colibri lifted his right hand. Edwin eyed the right bank but saw nothing.

"What is the issue?" he quietly enquired.

"Two observers. They are up in that tree over there, which leans over the river. One just left, the other stayed."

"Let's see what their intentions are. Maybe, for once, things will be more peaceful."

"That would be a change, Ian, a real change. Should I get closer to the river bank?"

"No, it might be seen as aggressive."

The pirogue continued moving up the Ucayali for another hour, winding along meanders, when a group of about twenty pirogues came into view around a bend.

"Let's see what happens. Stay calm, and let's continue moving upriver at the same speed," decided Ian.

"That is a large village if I count the number of people in these pirogues. They are thirty per pirogue, for a total of six hundred on the water," noted Hildegard.

"Not counting those along the riverbanks. I see their thermal signatures. They must have brought out everything they had except the invalids!" added Raja.

"Probably because they didn't have enough wheelchairs!" commented wryly Edwin.

"Did you know there could be such a big village near yours?" asked Xianathan of Colibri.

"No. But then, I didn't know the world was so big!"

"We are getting close. If they wanted to shower us with arrows, they could do it easily now," said Hildegard.

"Stop and let the pirogue run on its momentum, Edwin," ordered Ian. "Then maintain it immobile relative to shore."

The pirogue slowed quickly and came to a stop, holding position as the others continued to come to it from upriver. The oarsmen brought their own pirogue to a stop less then five feet from the Atlanteans position. The two parties began eyeing each other.

«We are waiting for a move and they are waiting for one.» said Hildegard.

«Colibri, what would you do in these circumstances to signify peace?» asked Ian silently.

«Stand and open my hands palm out and down, with fingers open to indicate I hold nothing.»

«Do you think you could start the mime talk for us?» continued Ian.

«Me? Talk in the name of the Gods?»

«Yes! You, Colibri! Consider this training into becoming one.»

Colibri stood up and presented his two hands, palm forward, fingers spread as wide as possible.

The pirogue nearest to them contained a collection of impressive warriors, and one had a headdress made of several hundred feathers of parrots. Clearly, this was an important individual. After some seconds, the man stood up and answered to the boys' offer with a similar gesture. He then added another series of hand movements.

«He wants us to follow him,» Colibri reported.

«Tell him we accept, under his protection.»

After another series of complicated moves, the pirogues turned around and headed upstream. The Atlantean trimaran followed behind, easily keeping up with the hard-working paddlers.

Due to the strong current, it took them two hours to reach a muddy and narrow stream coming out of the right bank of the Ucayali, in which the pirogues entered one after the other. The boy's trimaran negotiated the stream with some difficulty, and, was it not for magic, would have been stuck behind roots or fallen trees quite often. Rather then getting into the water, Ian lifted the canoe out of the water by magic, sliding its sides on the slimy tree trunks. It made for a rough ride, but they did manage to keep up with the last canoe ahead of them.

Finally, the canoe train came to a widening in the stream, just below a fall. The boys noticed the pirogues working hard to get as close as possible to the fall, then, one after the other, they moved beyond the veil of water, disappearing from view.

"That's a neat trick! Unless someone knows the stream continues beyond the fall, they would think these people vanish into thin air," said Hildegard, impressed.

"Let's follow suit. The population has been following our progress from the shores," noted Raja.

The trimaran made it easily to the fall, and Ian made sure the magic dome blocked the water so they would stay dry and the canoe empty of water. Beyond the thin silvery mask of the fall was a short tunnel that opened to a wide lake, which allowed for easy manoeuvring. At the far side of the lake was a gentle slope of sand. The pirogues were now heading toward the sandy beach, and a set of long piers.

"I'll come sideways along the tip of the left pier. That way, we will be able to disembark by walking on the false deck to the left shell and reach it safely, since the canoe will act as counterweight."

Edwin did as he indicated, and the boys quickly left the trimaran, with Edwin tying its midsection to the pier as he left.

"Don't you find it strange they led us to this very secluded and private lake? After all, they do not know us one bit!" said Xianathan, as they walked along the pier behind the paddlers and the leader of the tribe.

"No, my lords, it is so not strange. That man gave his word on the life of his son that nothing would happen to us, and that bond is worth a blood oath. We are part of the tribe until we depart," Colibri informed them. "And there is the fact that some long lost prisoners have returned to their tribe and talked about the Gods walking the Earth again, giving a pretty precise description of your looks!"

"Ah, it finally pays off!" said Ian. "Let's hope this continues!"

"Yes, that is a good dividend on our policy to force the return of prisoners to their tribe," added Xianathan.

"And how did you get that much information out of hand signals?" wondered Ian.

"Mimicking is a game played by all children. It is the way we learn to hunt. You cannot talk when you hunt, it scares the prey away."

The boys reached the end of the pier, and walked on the cool sand. They followed the others along a very narrow passage that climbed up and finally opened on a plateau overlooking the river from the right side. From there, they could see a long distance, and watch maritime traffic as it winded its up and down the Ucayali. The boys realised they had been spotted well before the two watchmen had even seen them.

"Now I know why there is such a crowd. It's not a village; it's an entire tribe. They probably already know what we will ask." Ian noted.

The six boys were rapidly guided to a hill, which overlooked the Ucayali in the distance. On top of the mound was a plateau that held a series of freestanding structures made of assembled stone. The stone structures themselves supported huts, whose main skeleton was composed of young tree trunks forcibly bent into place and tied with twine. The outside was covered in animal skin, and a flap let the persons enter the structure.

"That's a new architecture. Usually, the huts are less permanent, but the emplacement of these ones are clearly marked by the groves in the floor where the ends of the trees come to butt," said Hildegard as he examined the structures.

"And they are more easily defended from predators as well. Notice the ladders are retractable," added Xianathan.

"Let's keep up with them, guys. I notice we are invited in that particular hut. There must be a reason," said Ian, as he guided Colibri to follow him inside the indicated hut.

The inside of the hut turned out to be occupied by the elders of the tribe, including the man that had led the warriors. In the middle of the hut was an idol, carved out of a single piece of obsidian.

"Hey, that rock isn't found here! It had to be carried over thousand of miles!" exclaimed Hildegard as he recognized it immediately.

"That in itself is remarkable, but look at what the idol represents: a Unicorn! That one's for you Xianathan!" said Ian.

"Maybe, but I'm too big to transform in here!"

"And that thing was carved with a very fine tool too, you do not see any mark of the cutting knife. If it was possible, I would say it was done with a laser!" exclaimed Edwin, as he looked at it closely.

"Guys, they are looking at us expectantly. Let's invite them outside and Xianathan can transform for their satisfaction," suggested Raja. "Colibri, we can now speak their language, but we do not want to shock them too much; can you mimic what I just asked for their benefit?"

After the proper gesticulations, everyone followed the Atlanteans outside and climbed down to the plateau. Xianathan immediately took his Unicorn shape, and the entire population fell on their knees at the sight of their God walking the Earth again.

"Colibri, come here. I'll transfer their language to you. Relax. I find mimicking fun to watch, but what we have to say is too complicated for that mode of transmission, even if it is one that cannot lie. We want you to understand what we say and for you to be able to interact with them at the same level as we will be able to."

Ian did the language transfer, and Colibri felt a bit dizzy for a few minutes. After that it was like his ears were being cleared of water: he could understand the other tribe and exchange with them.

"Xianathan, you deal with the tribe. First thing first, where did they ever get that idol?"

The chief understood Ian's question and immediately offered to answer.

"It comes from the tribe across the wide river. They gave it to us as a sign of friendship. They said that one day, people would come on a strange dugout, and would float on the water silently. At first, when you came, we thought you were the return of our enemies; they too had strange dugouts, but they were so noisy they scared the animals away from the water; but yours is silent, and can fly like a water insect over the logs and rocks. This is how we knew you were the ones we had been told to wait for."

«I do not understand everything, but apparently, that idol comes from the left bank of the Ucayali river. That, at least, is clear,» said Ian to the others, including Colibri.

"Have you met that tribe recently?"

"They are reclusive, and hide deep inside the forest. But we know how to get to the edge of their lands."

"Is that tribe a big tribe?"

"It was bigger before, but it is getting smaller. They are too peaceful for the forest."

"What do you mean?"

"They used to roam the forest a lot, and it was not uncommon to meet a party of theirs far from their land, trading with tribes. But eventually they have stopped trading and isolated themselves."

"Would you guide us to their land?"

"We were told to guide you to them when you came, after we were sure it was really those foretold. Now we are sure. But the night is falling, and the forest is unsafe at night. Let us wait until the Eye of Ra appears over the horizon to bring light and life to go visit them."

Ian looked at the others with shock.

"Ra is the name given to the brightest object in the sky by our people, elder. Where did you hear it?"

"It has been named so when the First Gods made their way into the sleeping quarters of Ra to never return. They blazed their way through our land, and carried the Heart of Ra with them. They told us the sky would fall on us for trying to stop their progress, and it did. Ever since then, we know they were gods."

«That probably is how they describe the passage of the Atlanteans column carrying one of the Crystals to the Andes for safekeeping, just prior to the fall of the Baby Moon,» said Ian. «The name stuck, especially since it was hammered in with chunks of moon rock!»

"You said your people call the Eye of Ra by its true name too?" wondered one of the other bystanders,

"Ra is from our language, Atlantean. In yours it would translate into primary star," replied Ian.

"Then you are really the First Gods returning! This is a day to mark with a pile of white stones."

«For once, they aren't talking about human sacrifices!» commented acidly Raja.

"Come and share our food. It is not every day the tribe can offer a feast to Gods."

The whole tribe enjoyed a superb evening meal, composed entirely of venison and fruits from the farms dispersed around the surrounding forest. As matins was getting near, the Atlanteans and Colibri were invited to retire in a specially set up hut.

"I wish we could sample their genetics. I wonder if they have the same thirty chromosomes our friend here has?" asked Ian.

"We could while they sleep. After all, magic has its uses!" said Edwin.

"Ok. Let's do that with the current children, they are all already sleeping, while the adults are too nervous to shut eye. Let me give some warning to Paschal for the reception of a massive amount of genetic samples for immediate analysis."

"Aren't you afraid the tribe will hear us talk?" said Colibri, who understood the need for stealth.

"Even if they did, how could they figure out what we are talking about, little buddy? We are talking Atlantean, unless you didn't notice? Do you think I only transferred one language when I did? You now speak every language we do. That's why you went dizzy for a few minutes earlier today. I don't have time for partial linguistic downloads."

***

The first rays of the sun were trying to eat up the fog when the Atlanteans met with the tribe's elders. The number of individuals had grown during the night. Every single village had been emptied within a fifty-mile radius, bringing with them their elderly, their livestock, and anything they valued.

"We will move your people to our home, elders. You will be going with them. All we require is a single guide to the edge of the territory of these strange people, then the guide will be joining you. Do not worry, your farms have already been transported there, the moment they were out of sight. So will, in due time, the forest. We do not intend to leave you without resources. The sick will be healed. We notice you did not bring any prisoners?"

"We heard of the Divine Edict concerning prisoners, and we obeyed. There are some not of our tribe with us, but they were free to go. After hearing what happened to their tribes, and having no place to go, they decided to stay. Only those that still had tribal lands have left, generally in groups of twenty to forty for their own mutual safety."

"That is fine by us. It seems they were well treated."

"They were not initially, but given the message carried by those you freed, we decided to review our ways and means, and have been working hard to treat them with respect and care of valued guests."

«That chief is sure candid. I like him.»

«He is candid to a certain point, my lord. It is fear of getting caught lying that has him so open. If he had even a clue he could shove a leaf over your eyes, he would do it to look better.»

«Is he that transparent?" asked Raja, while maintaining his gaze on the chief.

«Yes. He takes slightly too long to answer when you ask a question, like he is pondering what he should say. An honest and candid answer would be instantaneous.»

«You are turning out to be a precious asset, Colibri. I am proud to count you as a friend.»

Colibri beamed so brightly it probably sped up the lifting of the fog!

«Paschal, we will be porting a vast number of individuals to Thebes. Ready some sixteen thousand cryogenic chambers for long term stay. Also program the cryogenic chambers to do a cytological sampling for genetic mapping. We are expecting more surprises.»

«I've just given the yellow alert call. And everyone is running around like crazy to activate enough Nitrogen containers for the cytological samples. We should be ready to receive them in slices of a thousand every five seconds starting in five minutes. What is the deal?"

"Other Colibri, that's what I'm expecting. I think the tribe we are ready to port was in intimate contact with the one that added the four chromosomal strands and the plasmid. And they were also in contact with our ancestors, to the point of keeping some Atlantean in their language."

"Ok. I've pushed the alert level to red. This is too serious to be handled solely by technicians. I'm calling in all mages including family. Start porting on my signal; the rate has been brought to two thousand per five seconds. Begin porting now!"

Less then forty seconds later, the entire human population had been moved out to Thebes. Next came the Ark project, where all domesticated animals, except the dogs were ported for treatment. Quite a few ended up in species-specific cryogenic cells anyway, but some did make it to holding pens. Then the dogs were moved to cryogenic cells specific for canines, to be readied for enrolment in the canine army. The last step was the displacement of inanimate object, including these strange rock mounts with huts on the top.

«Paschal, have a look at the central hut of the village we ported in tessaract twenty-two, layer fifteen, segment A, room 399. You will understand why we are excited.»

«All right, I'll do that as soon as the biopsies are in progress. Have a good day, Ian. I know you like walking in water!»

«Tease me about the jungle and you will be walking in the North Atlantic!»

"Lead the way to that mysterious tribe, guide. We will follow you," Xianathan said, mindful he was in charge of this specific contact.

The first part of the trip brought them back to the shores of the Ucayali, as the Atlanteans made their trimaran fly over the rough water and the logjam of the narrow stream. Then the guide invited them to move up river. The trip took them an hour before the guide signalled to them to move to the left shore. By then the fog was slowly lifting on the wide river. By then the Ucayali was mostly white-water, and the guide were astounded the pirogue could still move upriver. As they engaged into a fork, Ian couldn't help but whistle in surprise.

"What's up?" asked Raja.

"That is the river that leads to Cusco, were we stored one of the Crystals we already recovered. I'm surprised Harp did not see that tribe when he came through here."

"He flew, my lord, and he had other issues in mind."

Just then, a narrow gravel beach appeared after a particularly sharp twist in the river. The guide signalled they needed to beach their canoe there.

"I wonder how they made it to here? That water was rough, even for me!" wondered Edwin.

"There was a landing at the start of the fast waters, way below this point, my lord. I have been able to see a trail twist along the shore. If you look carefully, between these two red flat rocks there is a narrow path. It is where it exits to reach this beach."

"You do have eagle eyes. I think we have reached the end of where our guide has knowledge of the land."

After confirming things with their guide, Ian ported him to Thebes.

"Now what?" Xianathan asked.

"Let's follow that trail between the two mountains, it seems it has not been used in a long time, but from the fog that is flowing down, it must lead to a very humid and wet valley."

Everyone followed behind Colibri, well aware that his tracking abilities were vastly superior to theirs. They had been walking for an hour when the narrow valley opened, revealing a lush tropical forest with a wide variety of moss, lichens, and ferns wrapped around giant trees falling over each other. Colourful birds, mostly parrots, competed with howling monkeys to ring the alarm as the small party made its way through the thick vegetal cover. Icy streams flowed everywhere, coming from the surrounding ice caps. As the boys made their way to a narrow stream, a strange biped appeared in front of them.