Epic Unearthed

by Thomas Turner

  Chapter XXIII

  Betrayal

  One month before the summer solstice, the Atlantean Emperor is at the Great East Wall, training eight of his divisions. Unaware of what happened in Mantineia, Aten thinks he has another month to prepare his men for invading Sabathea with the Ladonean Empire. Melercertis’ messengers ride back and forth, telling Aten that everything is going according to plan.

  Four elite Atlantean divisions already fortify the Great East Wall, giving Aten a total of twelve divisions, numbering three-hundred-thousand warriors. With this kind of force and weapon technology, Aten is confident his empire is safe from invasion.

  If and when the Atlanteans are attacked, the entrance of the Great East Wall will force an enemy into a bottleneck. There is only one mile of width between the two mountain ranges. In the center is the Atlantean gate. The gap is too small for a major attack from an enemy. With Atlantis’ weapons, the entire battlefield can be destroyed within twenty minutes. Five gates and defensive walls are also inside the mountain range between the peninsula and the continent. Three-hundred giant crossbows and four-hundred catapults face the continent. Because of the high elevation of Aten’s artillery, the enemy’s weaponry cannot come near the gates without being destroyed. The Atlantean artillery personnel have been trained to hit with great accuracy anything that nears the wall.

  Outside the main gate are two towers, standing two-hundred feet high. The fires from the two pillars have burned continuously for five-hundred years. It is said throughout the Atlantean Empire that as long as the walls are standing and the pillars burn, God will be in the hearts of their civilization. Because of their devotion to religion, every Atlantean citizen works on the East and Western fortification for one year of their lives.

  On each side of the gate and near the pillars, are two statues: one representing God and the other, of the first Atlantean Emperor. Each statue is one-hundred-fifty feet tall, facing toward the continent. Construction required thousands of laborers, and took decades to complete. The statue on the right of the gate represents what the Atlanteans think God would look like if He was mortal, holding a sword. The grand statue to the left is a carving of Atlandreous, the first leader who united the Atlantean people, holding an arrow and a bow aimed toward the heavens. Between the two monuments stands the one-hundred-foot gate crafted of wood and steel. The doorway into Atlantis weighs twenty tons. The gate is so perfectly constructed that a child can push it open with ease.

  Two-hundred yards in front of the gate are three pyramids, each standing sixty feet and constructed of black marble. Atop each pyramid are glass light towers. From a distance on a pitch-black night, the fire coming from the pyramids seems to float in air.

  Another Atlantean barrier into the peninsula is the mountain range. Beyond the man-made defensive barrier into Atlantis, the mountain range is too steep for any enemy invader to climb and gain entrance. The Atlantean civilization has found the perfect natural barrier to defend the empire from potential enemies on the continent.

  By foot, the only other way into Atlantis is through the Great West Wall near the Valtearean border. That defensive barrier was built at the same time as the East, but has not yet been upgraded to an impenetrable degree. Two divisions are stationed there, with one-hundred giant crossbows and one-hundred catapults facing the mainland.

  Aten’s family has been ruling from the beginning of its civilization. The first Atlantean Emperor, Atlandreous, first brought order to the peninsula and helped construct the East and Western walls. He also brought the word of God to his civilization, and everyone on the peninsula converted to one religion.

  During the early hours of that morning, the emperor’s thoughts are interrupted by a servant yelling. “A messenger is coming toward us, my Lord!”

  The scout approaches on horseback, with panic in his eyes. Two grandmasters follow Aten to meet the messenger. The Atlantean Emperor can see the issue must be very important.

  The scout yells, “The Sabathean Army is at our doorstep!”

  Aten turns to his grandmasters and says sharply, “Sound the bells for a full alert. Send a messenger to my son, telling him what is transpiring here…!”

  The scout interrupts and says, “There two-hundred-thousand men outside our gate, but not yet within firing range.”

  Aten mounts his giant elk and rides to the front gate. The bells peal, infusing the Atlantean Empire. He knows the Sabatheans cannot win this battle alone. The Atlantean army goes on full alert, running throughout the gate’s fortification to take their positions.

  Back in the Atlantean capital, the message from the bells reaches the ears of Daygun. The emperor’s son is with Kaydence in the garden of their new home. Upon hearing this urgent alarm, all high-ranking generals are to report to the Military Council Hall immediately. The Prince hastily mounts a stallion.

  Kaydence runs from the garden and yells, “Wait, Daygun!”

  As she is yelling, Daygun abruptly turns his beast. When he pulls on the reins, turning the horse toward Kaydence, she sees her husband fearful and angry at the same time. She strokes the stallion’s head to calm him down, looks at Daygun, and asks, “What is happening? Are the Sabatheans at war with us?”

  Daygun says, “I don’t know. I must assemble the Military Council. The Sabatheans are at the Great East Wall. I do know my father is sending a messenger, so we should learn full details in four hours. I must get to the Council and set up our reserves, then send our fleets to sea for scouting. If it is only the Sabatheans, we will defeat them. A million men can’t break through our Eastern defense; over three-hundred-thousand of our warriors are stationed there.”

  Daygun assembles his Military Council and orders all Atlantean ships to sail to sea in search of enemy ships. The Prince orders his generals to prepare the military reserves, and then tells another general to find the location of all Atlantean divisions.

  Four hours later, the messenger from Aten’s army arrives to apprise Daygun and the Atlantean Military Council of the situation. He marches quickly to Daygun, salutes, and says, “The whole Sabathean army is standing out of firing range at the Great East Wall. They wait for us to engage them in combat. Your father wants you to know there are twelve divisions at our Eastern defense. He asks you to order all fifteen-thousand youth archer to the Great West Wall at the border of Valtear. Because of the threat of an amphibious landing, he also wants you to deploy two divisions to Vasic to protect our military port.”

  Daygun says, “It must be more desperate than I thought if he wants us to pull the young archers, no older than sixteen, to defend our empire. My father must think there is more than just the Sabatheans at our border. If the Mantineians or Kyrenians are allies with the Sabathean, they can take the Great West Wall. Should that happen, I want our divisions at our Western defense to retreat into the gates of Masaba. The city has very good fortifications to withstand an attack. I want twelve divisions in reserve in Atlantis. This will be our last stronghold. From here, we can send reserves to Masaba or Halotropolis, if need be. The rest of our reserves are necessary in Vasic. The Vasic King will not give us his ships if he receives nothing in return. Since Halotropolis is so close to the Great East Wall, I want eight divisions to reinforce and protect God’s city. At this point, Masaba is not in danger. If the Sabatheans destroy our Eastern defenses, they will have to traverse two major cities before they can attack our capital. The enemy cannot march straight toward Atlantis without being attacked on two fronts.”

  A general says, “The Senate from Halotropolis will not consider eight divisions enough to protect the City of God.”

  Daygun replies, “I will send Kaydence to Halotropolis. She is of royal blood. The Senate there will compose itself with her present. Now, let it be done.”

  At the Atlantean doorstep, Melercertis, Ryeland, Borealeous, and Origenes, the Sabathean Emperor, look intently at the Great East Wall.

  Borealeous says, “With the Atlantean Army divided and Laptos on the run, we can
take these defenses. After defeating the Atlanteans in Valtear, Nextear should be able to put more pressure on the Great West Wall.”

  Origenes says, “My Sabathean warriors want to be first to attack the walls of Atlantis.”

  Ryeland asks, “With the agreement, do we all agree Ladonea will govern the peninsula after the war?”

  Origenes says, “We all see the Atlantean lands as evil. To our civilization, Atlantis is tainted. After this war, the conquered civilization might be hard to keep under control. Yes… the agreement stands.”

  Borealeous responds, “According to the pact. Atlantis cannot regain its military power of twenty-seven years ago. Right now, we refuse to ignore their imperialistic nature. The Atlantean Empire has disregarded the treaty set forth after the Great War to not attack another empire. They had no right to wage war on Mantineia.”

  Ryeland responds, “For this reason I am here among you. They dishonored the agreement. I will prevent the few survivors from becoming a threat to the continent. What I am doing right now shows respect to you and your empires.”

  Origenes says, “I understand your grief and despair. It must be hard to take control of your civilization. Mankind will change on this day.”

  Ryeland says, “I will help to quickly bring this war to an end. The world will have had enough bloodshed.”