by Carl Cupper
***
4
The Oracle of Apollo
The dragon and the gargoyle left the town of Bangor taking a course to the southeast. During the voyage, they were hit by a sudden and persistent storm that made their journey more difficult. In addition, strong wind and blinding lightning threatened to cast them from the sky.
Exhausted, Hayex could no longer manage to maintain the strong pace set by Califax, who, with a renewed spirit flapped his wings as if challenging the forces of Nature. With a last push of strength, Hayex grabbed a hold of his companion’s tail, which allowed Califax to drag him sluggishly, using the dragon’s vast powerful wings that he flapped in time like a powerful motor.
After a few hours, they arrived at a place where the wind and the rain took pity on the travelers and gave way to the reddish sun of the dawn.
“What city is that?” asked Califax, with great curiosity.
“Its name is Londinium[42].” the gargoyle informed him. “The Romans founded it on the banks of the river which the Anglo-Saxons call Thames. It is the largest city in the Kingdom of Essex. The river is used to transport soldiers and merchandise from the ocean to the entire region.” he continued with a know-it-all air.
“Do you know what that enormous, circular construction is, Hayex?” asked Califax, pointing to the building with a claw.
“It is an arena. My grandfather once told me that slave men and women fought to the death there for the amusement of the Romans. They called them Gladiators. They also often fought against ferocious beasts, brought from distant lands.”“What? As if they do not have enough death with the wars, they rage among themselves? How strange men are, my friend!” Califax exclaimed perplexed.
Following the Thames River, they left the populated city of Londinium behind. They then pushed on toward to the city of Canterbury which is located in the southeastern end of the Island of Briton.
The brave adventurers circled the city, trying to avoid being seen by men, before venturing out into the Straits of Dover.
“Here lives a man who predicted that this city would be destroyed by fire by the Roman’s god.” said the gargoyle, informatively.[43]
“It seems that the preferred weapon of the gods is fire.” observed Califax.
“Not only of the gods, my friend.” replied Hayex. “My grandfather told me that in very remote lands men discovered a way to send fire over greater distances. Just imagine the wars that could be waged once the invention becomes well known!”[44]
“I often find that reality can be scarier than the imagination. I imagined what the wars could be like in Dragonia, but I never thought they could be so gory until I saw one with my own eyes.” said Califax.
“That is true. Before meeting you, I could only imagine how ugly dragons could be.” said Hayex, sarcastically.
Continuing along their route, the dragon and the gargoyle crossed the Straits of Dover until they reached the beautiful coast of Calais, in Gallia Comata[45] which, at the time, was ruled by General Clotaire II who governed the ferocious Francs.
Since the victory of Merovech over Attila the Hun, in the Catalonian fields in 451, the Francs already governed four Gaul regions: Austrasia, Neustria, Aquitania, and Burgundy, which Clovis the First later divided among his successors.
In these lands, disputed by several Barbarian peoples,[46] the valiant explorers initiated a new and exciting stage of their adventure.
In an area near the fishing village of Calais, they stopped to rest and decide what to eat before continuing with their journey. Fish was out of the question, therefore Hayex decided to delight Califax with a delicious suckling pig which he himself would roast for the dragon.
From the top of a huge tree, the gargoyle watched carefully before approaching a small farm and he saw a litter of piggies whose mother was away from her babies. Hayex seized the opportunity to snatch one of those delicious creatures. Soaring down from the treetop, Hayex rushed towards one of the pigs in an attempt to catch it in-flight, but the great weight of the piglet dragged them both to the ground.
Despite his inability to take the pig in-flight, Hayex grabbed the squealing piglet and walked briskly toward the forest on the other side of the farm. He tried in vain to silence the pitiful squealing of the piglet. When he turned the corner of the property, the would-be thief came face-to-face with the furious, indignant mother. Hayex, with a sheepish grin, slowly and gently put his loot on the ground and patted the head of the young pig. The mother attacked the gargoyle with a burly butt of her head sending him headlong into the pigsty. After landing as a rocket on a target, he leapt to his feet and fled, covered, yet again, with mud. He rushed to get away and to get the mud off before the sludge hardened and turned him into a grotesque statue again.
Minutes later, the gargoyle met up with his hungry companion.
“Thank heavens that this time they did not cook you in a furnace and place you on a roof, my friend.” said Califax, unable to subdue his outbursts of laughter at his comrade’s misfortune.“Yes, well see how much laughing you will be doing when you are eating a delicious roasted carp again.” he threatened, as he cleaned the mud off his body.After reluctantly eating some fish, the adventurers got ready to sleep. The night before in Bangor had been very exciting and the trip through the storm had taken its toll on the travelers’ strength, for which they decided to doze a little.
Califax found himself trapped in a cold and humid cavern, hearing the thundering echo of his own steps. Suddenly, the shadow of a gigantic man with an upraised cup in his hand appeared on the wall in front of the dragon. “Would you drink of my blood, Califax?” he asked with a deafening laugh.
Califax awoke with a start and in his fright he sent flames shooting out left and right. Once again, the flames reached the tail of his companion. Hayex yelped and howled as he jumped through the bushes until he reached a brook where he extinguished the fire on his blackened backside.
After that embarrassing incident, at the dawn of that day, the intrepid adventurers resumed their journey. They traveled toward the southeast to cross the difficult and uneven mountain range of the Alps.
As they flew over the vast river basin of Paris, they crossed the green prairies of the province of Champagne. Finally, they reached the plateau of Langres, in Burgundy, leaving behind them the city of Dijon and the valley of Saône. Before them, the extensive walls of the lower Alps hid a valuable treasure, the spectacular Lake Leman,[47] where they stopped to take a drink of its cold pure waters. The view from the lake was no less spectacular than the one that was offered from the air, and the anxious travelers could not stop marveling at the immense beauty of the vast landscape.
“The world is a splendid place to live in. Don’t you think, Califax?” said the gargoyle, ecstatically looking all around him.
“But of course, my friend.” he agreed, nodding his head. “I hope future generations take the time to appreciate it. That is the only way they can preserve it.”Suddenly, the air was filled with a strange sound followed by a violent tremor, taking the thirsty travelers attention away from their moment of contemplation. A gigantic army of Burgundies[48] soldiers on the southern slope of the mountain was leading an attack on the Francs army in the valley, commanded by the brave and valorous warrior Chlothar.[49] From their refuge in the forest, the dragon and the gargoyle observed the battle that was staged in that esplanade.The Burgundies, in a violent wave, rushed the Francs, who, with a statue-like stillness and a box formation, awaited them sheltered beneath the precarious safety of their shields. A few yards away, from the front lines; several Frankish soldiers pulled on some big ropes in order to lift into place some enormous traps in the shape of scissors made out of pointy wooden stakes, which faced out towards the overexcited front of the Burgundian army. Those enormous hooks horribly gored a large number of men and beasts.
Once the deadly barricade was drawn, there was an intense hiss of spears and arrows. The horrible sound of swords striking heads, along with the whinnies
of the noble horses, created an ominous choir to accompany the suffering moans of the dying and wounded. The earth, before an immaculate green and ocher color, was now intermingled with the blood and carnage of men and horses, turning the landscape into a chaotic and grotesque picture, full of surrealism. The cruelty of the soldiers in the battle stunned the horrified witnesses to the carnage even more.
Behind a few horrifying and bloody hours, the battle finally languished. The disciplined Chlothar forces had overcome the Burgundies, who fled in a mad dash toward the mountains, where they would regroup to look for revenge for the defeat inflicted upon them.
After watching that horrible spectacle, they hurried to fly across the Alpine Mountains. Stunned at what they had witnessed, the travelers maintained a long silence between them, as the ones that can be felt at a funeral.
When they arrived at Mont Blanc, whose peak rises above the other mountains with its snowy coat, the travelers felt very small indeed as they stood before its 14,400 feet. However, they felt more alive and privileged than ever to be able to view the magnificent work of the Creator. The surprises would continue to grow as the travelled further. When they crossed the border of Italy, in the Piedmont Alps, and over the Gran Paradiso Mountain, reigning at 12,200 feet, the Etruscan rural provinces welcomed them. The beauty of the countryside brought to mind the beautiful words of the illustrious poet Virgil: "All hail, O earth! All hail, my household gods! Behold the destin'd place of your abodes!”[50]Following the directions on the map, they traveled over the plains and over the Po River, in the dominion of the once unbeatable Roman Empire. Flying over the coasts of the Tirreno Sea, throughout the Liguria and Toscana regions, they reached Mount Amiata and flew over Lake Bolsena. Once in the Straits, they decided to make a short stop at the shores of Lake Bracciano.
“Isn’t it odd to find a lake at this high of an altitude?” observed Hayex.
“Not so odd, the lake is formed inside the crater of the volcano below us. Notice the slight taste of sulfur in its waters.” Califax explained, offering Hayex a drink.
“Ptah! It tastes horrible!” exclaimed the gargoyle, after taking a drink.
“Drink a little more. Sulfur is good for your health in small amounts.” urged Califax.
“It may be good for the health of a dragon,” Hayex clarified, “but not me.”
They flew towards the southeast on a course to the Tiber River. They stopped in a wooded place to the south of Rome, close to the Portuensis road. Califax unfolded the map and determined that they were in the outskirts of that legendary capital of the powerful Roman Empire.“Did you know that Rome was set on fire by its emperor?” asked Hayex.
“What did you say?” Califax exclaimed.
“It is true! My grandfather told me that the emperor, Nero, set the city on fire, and blamed those who first worshipped the Roman god.”
“How strange men are! While I have to complete this mission in order to prevent Helion from setting Dragonia on fire, men take it into their own hands to set their own cities on fire.”
They followed a course along the boot of the Italian coast. As they flew, they surveyed the beautiful earth below. On their left, they saw the great bulge, which formed the Penino Alps, drawn in the distance, and on their right, the blue Tirreno Sea. When they arrived at Calabria, they laid course to the Ionian Sea, where Mount Pecoraro dismissed them with a cold good-bye, from the heroic land of the legendary Aeneas.[51]
The sea was calm and the travelers seemed to float above that blue expanse. They flew slowly and smoothly, as the Roman galleys had done, but their thoughts were as agitated as the frantic rowing of a galley slave, chained forever inside the ship’s gloomy bowels.
After several minutes of traveling, the adventurers arrived at the Ionian Islands. They passed by the straits formed by the Levkas and Kefallenia islands to finally arrive at Ithaka, which awaited them as Penelope awaited the arrival of Ulysses after his long odyssey.[52] The travelers flew down to the mythical island, where they looked for a refuge and something to eat. The dragon decided to continue with his diet of fish after the gargoyle offered a pair of delicious rats which were, at least to the fine palate of the dragon, a delicacy more than repulsive.The afternoon sun covered that beautiful island with its reddish mantle. Just outside the Gulf of Corinth and they decided to take a break, there, for the rest of the day. They unfolded the map to get their bearings and to plan for their trip the following day.
“The easiest way to cross Greece is through the sea of Korinthiakos.” indicated Califax.
“One time, I heard my grandfather say that, here, very close to Mount Parnassus, there is a temple called Delphos,[53] where a priestess predicts your future.” the gargoyle remembered.
“You do not believe in those things, right?” asked Califax.
“They say she is very accurate in her predictions.” replied Hayex.
“Even if that were true, how could we consult with her? If the humans see us, I predict we would be in great trouble.”
“The place is on the way. Once there, we could find a way to consult with her. Perhaps she will give us some information about the Chalice.” insisted Hayex.
The light of dawn had hardly begun to brighten the land, when the adventures resumed their trip. They flew towards the Gulf of Corinth, as they had planned, and in a short time, they arrived at the imposing Mount Parnassus. While looking for the Oracle of Delphi, they found an enormous site in ruins. Rocks and columns lying here and there indicated that a catastrophe had recently affected the place which created the current chaos. It was apparently deserted, and for that reason they decided to land and investigate. They flew down to the middle of the site. Before them rose a series of stairs, formed in the shape of a half moon, rising towards the sky and facing in towards a flattened area in front.[54] The footsteps of the explorers echoed in the open aired enclosure. They walked further and came up a conical stone,[55] similar to a Celtic soldier’s helmet, which they admired in silence for a while. Later, they walked up a ramp that seemed to lead, in another time, to the main entrance of the temple.
A foul smell seized the air, and the smell reminded Hayex of the taste of the waters at Lake Bracciano.
“It seems this place is empty.” whispered Hayex, peering into the temple.
“Let’s enter. Perhaps we can find something interesting.” suggested the dragon.
Rocks and effigies littered the floor of the temple; Califax and Hayex entered the underground room lighting their way with a flame the dragon had lit with his snout. After reaching the end of the adytum,[56] a murmur arose in the mournful room which was illuminated by a great flame.[57]
“Come in, tired pilgrims, eager for wisdom and knowledge.” an old, feminine voice said, encouraging them to come closer to the Kassotis spring.[58]
The adventurers stood petrified, feeling exposed. In front of them was a strange woman with snow-white hair whose face was a mass of wrinkles, some so deep they appeared to have carved by Cronos.[59] Nevertheless, once they got a closer look, they could see that she was completely blind.
Once they were sure of that fortunate fact, they breathed a sigh of relief.
After observing the place for a few moments, the adventurers dared speak to the woman.
“What place is this?” the dragon asked, intrigued.
“This temple is the dwelling of the god Apollo.” she answered, gravely. The woman was sitting on a stool while she held laurel leaves and a beautiful copper vase.
“But… What happened? Why is it all in ruins?” asked Califax, disturbed.
“I am Pythia, the last pythoness. Theodosius sent Typhoon to engulf this sanctuary in great flames.[60] Years later, it was reconstructed, but Gaia, jealous of Apollo, shook violently to destroy it.[61]” she said.
“Who is Typhoon?” inquired Hayex.
“The dragon of a hundred heads, who was conquered by Zeus. It lives in the bowels of Mount Etna, and its moans can be heard in this temple.” she explained, point
ing out the sulfur fumes that Hayex had noted before.
Califax paled before that horrible story. Gazing all around him, he looked for Zeus as if he had to prepare to save his scales from the wrath of the terrible Greek god. After a few seconds of ceremonious silence, the pythoness asked:
“Tell me your names and what you want to know.”
“My name is Califax and I come from a very distant land. I have come looking for the Sacred Chalice and I desire knowledge as to where I can find it.”
Then, deeply inhaling the heavy air that wafted from beneath her stool, the priestess extended her hand heavenwards, and with a haunting voice, she said:
“The fish is the fisherman who throws his nets in the desert.”
Upon hearing those words, the daring adventurers glanced at one another, strangely. Califax then asked:
“Will the Chalice save my country?” Califax inquiring with certain hope.
“He, who hides in the dark, inquires: Would you drink of my blood, Califax?” she answered ecstatically.
At those fateful words, the dragon and the gargoyle ran quickly away, falling and tumbling among the rocks and statues on the temple’s floor. The frightful, recurring nightmare of Califax seemed to have come to life in the words of that mysterious clairvoyant.
A handful of men and women who were walking to the temple, watched, in horror, the flight of the ‘diabolic figures.’ After recovering from their shock, the villagers assigned an unjust epithet to the two frightened travelers: “Typhoon! Typhoon!”
Almost out of breath, the dragon and the gargoyle resumed flight at full speed and in his panic Califax seemed to be navigating without a course. After a few minutes of intense confusion, Hayex calmed his scaly friend. In a wooded place, not far from the Oracle of Delphos, they rested to recover the original color of their faces.
Still scared by the words of the pythoness, Califax asked himself if the adventure which he had undertaken was destined to failure or if it would lead to the unlucky end of his life. When Hayex saw the dragon’s concern, he encouraged him to continue with the mission.