A/N: Chap 11 review responses are in my forums as normal. Thanks for reading.
Chapter Twelve: The Wrath of the Gods
Harry crossed through the gate, and the transition from pleasant spring day to bitterly cold night startled him. At the foot of the gate, he saw Langford and the Jacksons pulling on coats from their backpacks. Hermione and Luna shimmered in warming charms.
"Wandless?" Harry asked over the wind.
"Yes!" Hermione crowed proudly.
From the nearby ruins, Harry saw movement and looked up in time to see Bra'tac walking toward them, still in the same armor and cloak as before, though the cloak now was over his shoulders in a protective shroud, rather than carried over his arm.
"You have returned," he said neutrally.
Harry looked briefly to his wives before walking to the older Jaffa. "We don't understand everything, Bra'tac, but the world we returned to was not the world we left. That was not our home, and we won't be going there again."
The old Jaffa studied Harry's face for a long moment before accepting his statement with a barely perceptible dip of his bearded chin. "And those?" he said.
"Tau'ri we think might be helpful," Harry said. "The gate was not usable when we arrived, and they helped us fix it so that we could return. They do not speak Goa'uld, though."
"They shall learn quickly, then," Bra'tac said. It was a statement of fact, more than anything. "What is it you wish to do now, Ha'ri Potter?"
"I have a promise to keep, for one of those colleagues. We will collect her mate, lost on a forgotten world. And then we will return to Cartago. The world is rich in natural resources and will make a good base of operations."
"The Byrsa have little love for the Jaffa," Bra'tac noted carefully.
"And I have little love for the Byrsa. They handed my family and me to Apophis. But they will accept us, one way or the other."
"So be it," Bra'tac said, before turning and walking back to the shelter.
Harry looked back to the others. "Hermione, Luna, will you stay with the Jacksons? And perhaps start helping them with learning Goa'uld?"
"That's a good idea," Hermione said. To Claire, she said, "It's the lingua Franca of the greater galaxy, for better or worse. Much like ancient, pre-dynastic Egyptian."
Harry watched as his wives escorted the Jacksons into the ruins. Catherine Langford stepped to his side, shivering despite her heavy coat. "What is this place?"
"An alien world," Harry said. "Thousands of years ago, the Goa'uld conquered it to mine the mineral used in the gate. And when the mineral deposits were exhausted, they killed the world, and all the people who lived on it. Just to ensure they would never be a threat."
"These Goa'uld sound terrible."
"Because they are. Are you ready?"
Langford took a long, deep breath. "Not at all. Shall we go?"
Harry held Hermione's notes on the address and dialed them quickly. The wormhole formed, and without any hesitation, they stepped through.
Catherine tripped as they emerged from the gate; Harry caught her automatically. They stood in what looked like a reception hall of a crumbling, ancient castle. It actually reminded Harry a great deal of Hogwarts.
And in front of them, his jaw gaping, stood a man with lank, thinning brown hair and the tattered remains of cloth worn like a diaper. His bare chest was not broad, but he had the wiry muscles of a man accustomed to hard work. But most importantly, he was alive and in what seemed like, at first glance, good health.
Catherine covered her mouth. "Oh my God! Ernest, is it really…is it really you?"
~~Stars Alone~~
~~Stars Alone~~
Harry left the two to get acquainted as he took a brief tour of the castle. It was obviously not of human design—he could see that just in the way the walls were joined. It reminded him vaguely of Duros architecture in the Corusca galaxy, during his brief life as a Sith. If anything, the structure looked almost like a primitive, digital library.
He could hear the long-lost lovers speaking—he heard tones of pain, loss and regret. Eventually, though, he heard Catherine calling for him. When he arrived, she stood next to the dialing device with a stricken expression. "It's broken," she said. "The dialing device. That's why Ernest was never able to come back."
Harry felt a surge of anger at himself for not bringing the generator, before he blinked with a new thought. Langford said back on Earth that the gate would accept almost any form of energy. He walked to the gate and then lashed out with a brief touch of Force lightning. And just as Catherine said, the gate sucked in the energy eagerly. "Bugger me," he muttered. "Okay, problem solved. Ernest Littlefield, my name is Harry Potter. Are you coming with us?"
The balding man looked from Catherine to Harry with a puzzled expression. "You mean you'd leave me here?"
Harry shrugged. "I admit, it's probably a silly question. What I mean is I won't take you unless you say so. If you wanted, I could return you both to Earth. But I think, Ernest, you would find it a far different world than you know. You are as far removed from it in your own way as I am."
"But…but…where else would I go?"
"There are thousands of worlds with gates just like this one," Harry said. "But you don't have to decide to go to Earth right now. Gather whatever you want to take, and we'll at least get you someplace where you can eat."
"Real food…" he said wistfully. "The only things of value I have are my notes. I'll get them now."
When he returned, Harry used the Force to once again dial Sanctuary. "How are you doing that?" Ernest asked.
"I'm a wizard from an alternate future timeline of Earth," Harry said. "I'm using magic."
"Huh."
Once the address was entered, Harry gathered the Force and blasted the gate. The Force lightning flickered over the cortosis ring, which he knew this galaxy called naquedah, and the Gate sucked it all up and the wormhole burst open.
"Go!" Harry said. "I don't know how long it will last."
With no further prompting, Ernest and Catherine ran through, and Harry followed seconds later.
~~Stars Alone~~
~~Stars Alone~~
That morning, the refugees carried all the supplies Bra'tac and his resistance had gathered toward the gate, struggling under the weight of weapons and food. Bra'tac, one arm trembling under the weight of ten staff weapons, dialed a gate address. Harry noticed that Claire and Melburn were already speaking to a pair of girls in manufactured clothing in halting Goa'uld. Evidently the two archaeologists had a gift of languages.
Despite their burdens, the refugees moved quickly just to get out of the bitterly cold wind.
Harry was the last, and used magic and the Force to carry three huge amphoras of heqet.
He transitioned from a bitterly cold wind, to a bitterly cold blizzard. "Oh, this is much better," he muttered darkly.
"It's this way!" he heard Hermione cry as she led everyone toward shelter. Through the blinding white of the storm Harry saw a large shadow forming, until he grew close enough to see the outline of a large, multi-story building. A few more steps brought him through a pair of large metal doors and into spacious interior room that held in its center a raised, circular platform surrounded by stone rails. All around the building, stone and metal seemed to be the décor.
The refugees shivered and stamped their feet against the cold. Harry spotted Bra'tac and walked toward him. "Hermione has said that this was a Goa'uld structure."
"Indeed," Bra'tac said. "It is an ancient Jaffa barracks. An'hur and I will see if there is any power remaining, and perhaps water."
The two Jaffa left; Harry looked around until he saw Hermione and Luna both casting heating charms around the room using what wandless magic they could. Oil lamps cast a weak, warm glow over the room. Harry added his own warming charms and soon the room became bearable for the poorly equipped refugees.
Ten minutes later, artificial lighting flooded the room. Bra'tac emerged covered in soot and dust, but grinning. "As you see, we have restored power. Say what you will, the Goa'uld generators last forever. An'hur is working on the heating system now."
Overhead, the ceiling vents coughed out huge clouds of dust that billowed down like heavy smoke, indicating the heating was working. Harry began casting powerful air-freshening charms until the dust was gone.
Bra'tac frowned. "I feel I should have predicted that. It is good your magic cleansed the air. So, we have heat, we have power. We shall wait out this storm and then speak to the Byrsa."
That proved unnecessary, however, as just moments after An'hur returned a group of five Byrsa men carrying primitive, ineffectual-looking crossbows rushed into the room. "Foul witches!" one of the men screamed as he ran toward where Hermione stood talking with Catherine and Ernest.
Bra'tac surged forward to come to her aid, as any old warrior would, but Harry just shook his head and smiled. Hermione did not even bother drawing her lightsaber; she raised a hand and unleashed a short burst of Force-lightning that dropped all five men to the floor screaming before they could fire a single shot.
Bra'tac stopped in his tracks, while all the refugees stood frozen in shock and even a little fear as they stared at Hermione. Harry, however, walked calmly to the fallen men, and with a wave of his hand summoned the cross-bows into a pile on the other side of the room. He picked the leader who had shouted, and with a gesture levitated him off the ground.
"Why did you attack my wife?" he asked.
"You are a witch!" the terrified man screamed.
"I prefer wizard, but my family are witches. That does not answer my question. Why did you attack us?"
"They brought the wrath of the gods down on us!" the man wailed. "All is lost! The Matrona and the elders are all dead. So many are dead, and our food has been burned! All because you have angered the gods."
Harry dropped the man and looked to Bra'tac. "Any idea what he's talking about?"
"Apophis is easily angered," Bra'tac said. "You and yours destroyed his beloved Amaunet and one of his favored offspring, so his anger would be great. And since you were offerings from the Byrsa, his anger would extend to them as well."
Harry looked at the cowering man, and now that the immediate threat was over, he noticed all five looked thin and hungry. "When the gods attacked, was it from the heavens, or from the Chappa'ai?"
"They came through the gate!" the man cried, weeping now. "They came in great numbers and marched to the caves where we lived. They took our food and burned that they didn't take. They shot the Matrona and all the elders, and then collapsed the caves on the younger people. My wife and my children are in those caves!"
"Then this world is dead to Apophis," Bra'tac said grimly. "He will not come again, not for many years, and then only with new slaves to farm for his Jaffa."
"So instead of being angry with Apophis for destroying their civilization, they're angry at us for angering him?" Hermione summed up, incredulous.
"That is the way of things," Bra'tac said. "The gods are what they are. To curse them is to invite even greater wrath. Far safer to curse those who invoke the gods' wrath."
Harry released his hold on the man, who fell with a yelp and scrambled back to his fellows. "We have food and drink," he said to the men. "A little, anyway. We can't do anything until the storm passes. When it is over, lead me to the caves and I will do what I can to help you."
"We do not want the help of witches!" one of the other men snarled.
"Then leave," Harry said coldly. "And you shall not receive it."
The man stood on trembling legs. "Himilco, come!"
The first man who Harry interrogated did not move, however. Instead, he stared up at Harry. "You…you would save my family?"
"If they still live, yes," Harry said simply.
"Himilco, he is a witch! He invites the wrath of the gods!"
"I'm going to kill your gods," Harry told the other man. "He struck out at you because he could not kill me. And when I am done with your people, he will not even be able to strike at you. I returned here to make you strong. If you wish to continue being weak, leave. I have no use for you. But if you join me, not only will you fight for me, I will fight for you, and protect those you cherish."
"The wrath of the gods shall fall on you, Himilco!"
"It already has, Tesson," Himilco said. He looked to Harry with tears in his eyes. "Save my family, I beg of you, and I will do anything you say!"
In disgust, the other Byrsa named Tesson turned and stalked out of the building and into the blizzard. The remaining three men appeared torn between their choices, but when Hermione opened an amphora of beer, the promise of sustenance alone was enough to sway them.
~~Stars Alone~~
~~Stars Alone~~
The storm lasted throughout their first day and finally broke during the early morning hours of the second. They woke up to wan sunlight streaming through the doors of the building.
Harry, clad in a thick coat transfigured from a blanket, opened the doors inward to find the way blocked by a solid wall of snow. Luna stepped up beside him, past the four Byrsa men. "Oh, how lovely!" She pursed her lips held out her hand, and muttered the snow clearing spell aloud as she had not had to do since Hogwarts.
The snow shifted enough to spill some onto the floor. Frowning, she repeated the spell louder, and this time the snow flew away in a flurry of powder until a path extended six feet past the door. On either side, walls of snow as tall as their heads glistened in the morning sun. "Oh, that was exhausting without a wand," Luna muttered in dismay.
Himilco breathed out in awe. "Can you do this all the way to the caves?"
She frowned. "Hmm, not by myself, I'm afraid. Harry can, though, so no worries. Feather weight charm please, Harry?"
He placed the charm on her and with a gesture levitated her onto the snow. Her feet were protected by a pair of transfigured boots he'd made the night before. The others could only stare at the girl who could walk on fresh fallen snow without sinking into it.
Harry led the way out of the building into the bright, bitterly cold morning. Bra'tac walked behind, while An'hur and Teal'c stayed with Hermione and the other refugees.
Before they reached the end of the section Luna cleared, Harry cleared another section. It too was six feet long, not because Harry was weaker, but because the spell itself had a set effect area. Harry could have used the Force or just sheer brute power to clear the snow, but the Snow Plow charm was the most efficient and easy way to do it. And with his magic, he could do it without pause all day long.
He was on his fifth section when a rosy-cheeked, red-nosed Luna looked over the edge of the snow-wall. She was no longer smiling. "Apophis destroyed everything, Harry. All the Byrsa structures and crops are gone. Keep your senses out for me so you don't accidently plow me."
She winked at the double entendre and then disappeared. At Himilco's direction, Harry continued charming snow out of their way in a steady rate. The snow walls insulated them somewhat, but since there was not even a breeze, the air was as still out of the trench as within it. It took nearly an hour to go those two miles, but by the time they reached the caves, Harry had created a solid, semi-insulated trail within the snow.
They found Tesson frozen to death on the scree-pile that covered the entrance to the caves, barely recognizable in the snow. Himilco rushed forward with a cry of dismay. "My old friend," he said sadly. "Oh, my dearest old friend. You were always so stubborn!"
Harry, meanwhile, cleared a large area around the mouth of the cave. He was just finishing when Luna appeared. "I found bodies," she said sadly. "Thousands. It looks as if Apophis just lined them up and shot them."
"That is what happened," Himilco said with tears in his eyes. "I was a coward! I and my hunters watched from the trees as they shot the Matrona and all the elders, and so many more. I did nothing."
"Which is why you still live," Bra'tac said wisely. "There is no honor in throwing your lives away."
Harry, meanwhile, studied the rock fall. "Luna, give me some probabilities. With the cave collapse further if I just blast it away?"
"Yes," she said quickly. "Though I don't need the Force to tell me that. Remove the stones one at a time from the top. I would help, but you can do it faster on your own."
"Fine." Harry turned to the Byrsa and Bra'tac. "All of you stand behind me. Do not venture to either side or you might be crushed."
The men complied quickly, while Luna merely stood a foot or two behind and two his left. With a deep breath, Harry centered himself in the Force. Magic could levitate large objects with relatively little energy expenditure, but it would be slow going using set spells. So Harry used the Force.
Stones began to fly away from the top. Large or small, they flew into the air on either side far enough to clear the plowed area. Soon, more stones joined them, accompanied by a rain of dirt and gravel. Whenever he came to a truly large stone, he felt Luna use the Force to take the large stone so that Harry could work quickly on the greater pile. It was not easy by any means, moving tons of stone and dirt, but after almost twenty minutes, the entrance to the cave was at least exposed.
Once Harry dropped his arms, Himilco ran into the cave, followed moments later by the other men. Bra'tac stood beside him. "You display great power, Ha'ri Potter. What are you going to do with such strength?"
He met the older man's gaze. "I'm going to kill your gods."
Bra'tac dipped his chin. "It is a hard thing to kill a god. You will need help."
"Yes. Yes, I will."
~~Stars Alone~~
~~Stars Alone~~
Hermione fought back tears as she entered the Byrsa caves for the first time that afternoon. She and Luna were never allowed before because they were outsiders. Now, however, the Matrona and all the elders that would have prevented them were dead. She looked intently for anyone over thirty, but the oldest people left alive appeared to be in their mid-twenties, if even that.
When she and the others found where Apophis and his forces had casually thrown the bodies of those they killed, all restraint had left and Hermione wept openly as she walked by piles of bodies so high not even the heavy snow could hide them all. Harry walked beside her, holding her hand as he too surveyed the mute, frozen evidence of genocide.
"I wonder if this is what Luna saw for our future, years ago," Harry speculated aloud. "Piles of bodies and blood."
"I think she was talking about if we stayed on Earth."
"Maybe. But in a real sense, this happened because of us."
Hermione sobbed at the thought; Harry put an arm around her shoulder. "We're not responsible for this," he said gently. "It may have happened because of us, but we're not responsible. Only Apophis can be blamed for this. And we're going to make sure it doesn't happen again, aren't we?"
Hermione nodded, despite her tears. "I can use rune craft even without a wand," she said. "I'm going to ward that gate until any Goa'uld stepping through won't live to regret it!"
"I know you will. In the meantime, I'll use the Gemino charm on our food supplies to stretch it out as much as possible, and maybe form hunting teams. Himilco said there were several large herbivores in the forests around here we can hunt for food. We won't let anyone else here die. We weren't responsible for this slaughter, but we will be responsible for their recovery."
Hermione could only nod as she stared at the piles of frozen bodies, many of whom stared back with frozen expressions of horror and pain.
~~Stars Alone~~
~~Stars Alone~~
The next evening, the few thousand survivors of the Byrsa apocalypse gathered in the trampled snow and stared at the mounds of bodies. They moved as if in a dream, faces still frozen in shock or despair. They eyed the three Jaffa warily; they eyed Hermione and Luna in open horror. But they came when called because with all their winter food stores destroyed, the newcomers were their only hope for survival.
Harry picked out Himilco, who hovered protectively around his still gaunt wife, and stepped toward him. "Do your people have any funeral rites? Prayers or rituals?"
"We light pyres so that the souls of dead may be lifted to Kheb," the man said. "As the flames rise, so to do their souls. But now…there are too many. Even their souls will be lost."
Harry nodded, hoping for such an answer. "It was Apophis that did this to your people, Himilco. He is no god to you or your people. I will make sure your people's souls find their place on Kheb."
He left the man and rejoined his family. "What'd he say?" Hermione asked.
"Fire," Harry said. "Step back."
Hermione and Luna both nodded and backed away as Harry raised both hands. Overhead, the small, twin moons of Cartago shone down on the snow, casting it in shades of deep, cold blue. That blue turned red as a pillar of fire exploded into the air. All those watching reared away in shock as the fire took the form of a great winged beast that roared into the night, before plunging down into the bodies.
The fire raged in a great cyclone just feet from where Harry stood, hands raised, as he fought with every ounce of his power to keep the Fiendfyre under control. It was the magical nuclear option—able to burn anything. And if it escaped his control even a little, it could immolate the entire continent.
But as the demonic flame raged and surged against his control, he knew it would not win its freedom. He pushed more and more magic into controlling it, and then with a last surge, he extinguished it entirely.
When the flame died at last, it revealed a wide, open field where Apophis had ruthlessly thrown the bodies of thousands of Byrsa. Now, the land stood empty and blackened.
Despite his personal power, Harry couldn't help but feel exhausted from the effort. Still, he turned and faced the silent, stunned Byrsa. With a simple Sonorous charm, his voice boomed across the field. "Fire burns and destroys, but purifies as well. Per your rites, this fire has ensured the souls of those you lost will walk on Kheb. And by this fire, I swear to you now that never will the Goa'uld do this to you again. I am Harry Potter, and I swear to defend you and your world. More than that—I will teach you and your people to defend yourselves as well. This is a dark time for you, but just as the fire lifted the souls of your families to Kheb, it has purified your people. You will be stronger because of this, and you will prevail."
Harry was expecting many things, but having the Byrsa kneel down in front of him as a people was not one of them. He stared in dismay, until he saw a small pocket to the side that did not. Catherine Langford, the Jacksons, and Ernest Littlefield were staring at him with expressions of utter shock.
However, next to them, Bra'tac nodded in satisfaction before turning to walk back to the barracks.
