The Order of the Mortal Knights
by Elnauhual

Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.

Chapter XIII
The Search

Still was night but a faint glow in the sky announced dawn would arrive soon. A man moved along a path in woods, lit by the uncertain light of a flashlight. The path was steep, because instead of following the main road, the man cut directly through a path in the forest towards the top of the hill. He moved without hesitation, it was not the first time he rove this way, this was a ritual he repeated frequently. Finally reached the top, where there was a small pre-Hispanic pyramid in ruins. He looked with some distaste at the place because he knew most of the damage was not because of the ravages of time, but by tourist. Finally, with a fatalist sigh, he shrugged and climbed to the top of the pyramid. In a few minutes sunrise would arrive, and at the edge of the mountain range surrounding the valley he saw a faint red glow, as if the mountains top were on fire. He breathed deeply to fill his lungs with the cold and refreshing morning air, then closed his eyes for a few seconds, to set free his imagination, and then slowly looked around.

It was a fantastic and beautiful view. The mountain stood lonely amid a sea of light. At the North, the "sea" expanded beyond the horizon and at the south it was interrupted by the mountains, where it looked as is if it were trying to invade them. This mountain, in fact an extinct volcano a few thousand years old, was like a lonely island. He tried to imagine how it must have been in the past, when this was a real island amid an ancient lake. A beautiful and ancient lake, full of life, with migratory birds, fisheries, and surrounded by a fertile land, where the industrious inhabitants of the place managed to get several harvests a year. This large lake lay like an inland sea, filling this vast valley surrounded by mountains and extinct volcanoes. To the north in the middle of the lake, there was the great artificial island where the Great Tenochtitlan, one of the largest cities of its time, had been built.

But this beautiful lake had gone, and knew that within minutes that beautiful sea of lights would disappear when the sun would reveal instead the sea of concrete and asphalt of modern Mexico City. The man was on top of Citlaltepetl, which in Nahuatl mean "Mountain of the Star", an ancient sacred place of the Nahua people. Slowly the flashes of the sun began to appear along the edge of the mountain range. Soon the wind would bring the smell of petrol, diesel and the noise of the awakening city. But he wanted to continue imagining that his mountain was a still an isolated island. All this helped him forget his problems; he would soon have decisions to make.

He stayed the a little more time to enjoy the magnificent spectacle of sunrise. Few could enjoy an observatory as appropriate; it was one of the few privileges he enjoyed as director of small and forgotten museum of "Museo del Fuego Nuevo" at the mountainside of the Citlaltepetl.

It was time to return to his office, only 15 minutes of descent, so he had time to spare. He chose to diverted his way and go through some of his favorite caves. Five thousand years ago, a volcano had emerged in the middle of the lake bed, and the encounter of the lava and the water had resulted in hundreds and hundreds of caves. Caves that the ancient inhabitants of the valley hold as sacred. In his path he found new offerings consisting on flowers and feathers. He did not know how they manage to do it, but he had never been able to meet those anonymous people, yet they never failed to put new offerings. This time the offering had the bright orange flowers from the flower of the dead, the Cempoalxóchitl. But there was a place where he would not find any offerings. A place that seemed to be cursed, and yet place full of treasures.

After a few minutes later he entered the museum building. He greeted and old guard, who unhappily told him one of the sanitariums again was out-of-order because a broken pipe. Upon hearing this, Dr. Jorge de León Rivera gave a sad sigh. He would be lucky if he could fix it within a week and may need to pay the repairs from his meager salary. Then he looked at the old exhibits. He had no budget to update them and they were already showing their age: missing lights, blurred signs, and there was no way to integrate the new archaeological finds that lay packed in museum basement.

Finally he went to his office where he had to sit down with care, since the chair was about to break. While the museum had been built 40 years ago as an architectural novelty, still had a modern look, but could not hide the neglect that had fallen upon it.

With a gesture of despair, he took a document from his desktop. It was written in the elegant letterhead of a major pharmaceutical company. Actually there were three copies of a document in Japanese, English and Spanish. It had arrived a couple of days ago and already knew the content by heart. The lab offered a significant donation to the museum. At reading the amount offered, he had almost broken his rickety chair, but in return ... and that was what made him doubt ... he should give full support to a certain person. Dr. Kenji Shugahara specialist in Ethnobotany, who needed to obtain certain archaeological piece,

He hit the desk in anger. The idea of gave away an archaeological piece, a piece so special, he even had not dared to announce its existence, to avoid been robed. Then he looked around at the museum he loved, that was going through a slow but inexorable decline. He wished he could renovate the museum, give it the importance it deserved; he wished to make new excavations in the area, with special equipment to locate the hundreds of archaeological sites he was sure to find. Everything, in exchange for forgetting his integrity and sell a piece. A very special piece.

No, He could not do it.

Then heard a knock at the door. The museum guard entered and nervously and announced he had visitors.

Dr. Rivera was intrigued, it was still very early, but actually could hear a rumor of at least half a dozen voices. He did not expect so many visitors. He took the document and left his office, then was stunned by a strange sight.

The first thing that caught his attention was a man with startling clothing. Surely he was Hindu. There were also two men, who spoke animatedly, he was almost sure they were Japanese. One of them had to be Dr. Shugahara, then looked more carefully to the older man and almost jumped in surprise. He was his idol, Dr. Saburo Sugiyama, the famous researcher who for more than a decade had explored the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon at Teotihuacan.

What was he doing here? Surely he could not possibly agree to submit an archaeological piece in exchange for a donation!

Also there were several young men, by their clothing, jeans and long hair; he could guess that they were his archeology students. They carried several boxes that seemed quite heavy.

Dr. Saburo Sugiyama approached and greeted him kindly.

- Dr. Rivera is a pleasure to meet you, for long I wished to visit your museum

Dr. Rivera attempt to recognize a mocking attitude, referring to his ramshackle museum, but apparently he was serious.

- Dr. Sugiyama, I have no words to express my admiration, for years I have followed your work, I did not expect to see you here in this small museum.

- Small museum? I hope that would end, through the proposal of Dr. Shugahara.

- Dr. Sugiyama, I hope no offense, but I think I cannot accept the offer, I cannot give that piece, and it belongs to our country.

To his surprise, as response, he heard the merry laughter of Dr. Sugiyama, who happily looked to the other and exclaimed in English to his peers.

- I told you, he is a good man. He had fought for years to rebuild this place, and his integrity is beyond question. I warned you, your letter could be misunderstood.

Dr. Sugiyama added a few words in Japanese to Dr. Shugahara. In response, Dr. Shugahara smiled and approached the puzzled director of the museum, made a polite bow and spoke in a heavy accented yet comprehensible Spanish:

- "Por favor, necesito su ayuda, el Dr. Sugiyama le explicará todo"

Half an hour later the group of men was in a cave in the middle of the mountainside of the volcano. They had to remove the rocks blocking a hidden chamber at the bottom of a cave. Because of fear of archaeological looting, the chamber had been sealed again after the discovery, until he could get budget and resources to have for a formal excavation.

While the students cleared the entrance Dr. Sugiyama asked.

- So you discovered this cave, because there were no offerings here? It was a risky and strange conclusion. How do you got to that reasoning?

Dr. Rivera was a little nervous, as a student who needed to explain his reasoning to a teacher. Suddenly they were interrupted by Dr. Shugahara, who with an enthusiasm that seemed almost childlike, was studying a bouquet of striking orange flowers he had picked up from an offering along the way to the cave. In his enthusiasm he was speaking in Japanese, so Dr. Sugiyama had to translate.

- How do you call these flowers? What are they used for? Do they have any magical or therapeutic property? Why are they used in the offerings?

After a barrage of questions, Dr. Rivera could not help but smile at the enthusiasm. He began to like this person, so he answered:

- It is known as Cempoalxóchitl or flower of the dead. There have no known therapeutic properties, but its aroma is said to help the spirits of the dead to find their way back home to visit their families. They are considered as a beacon for the spirits. I will ask my staff at the museum to send you some samples and documentation if interested.

The satisfaction in the face of Dr. Shugahara was more than enough to know that he wished that. Then Dr. Rivera asked him and his companion to come closer in order to explain them about the discovery of the cave. Although he felt uncomfortable being the focus of the three experts, he wanted to explain his discovery.

- For thousands of years, the caves of the volcano had been considered passages to the spiritual world and are supposed to open at certain times of year. Even today, people still come here and place offerings to ask permission to communicate to the spiritual world where gods live. It occurred to me there might be undiscovered caves, so I started making a map where the offerings were placed. I found some new uncharted caves, but also I noticed there was an area where there were no offerings, yet there was a known cave there. That suggested to me that the cave could be special, so I decided to investigate further. While exploring the cave, I found a false wall that seemed intact. And this - he said, pointing around him- is what I found behind.

The hidden camera seemed crude and primitive. The walls of solidified lava had been barely modified. Some parts had been expanded and several niches had been carved, but there was nothing like the elaborate reliefs and carvings of prehispanic civilizations, like if this place were from a very different civilization. There were hundreds of pieces of clay idols, others idols were carved in volcanic stone, and scattered among them a few made of gold and silver. The walls also had primitive paintings. They all had something in common. All were facing to the center of the cave as an army of keepers. They were figures of ancient gods, most of them already forgotten. There were also everyday objects made of wood, stone, clay and obsidian and in one corner, a human skeleton arranged as if guarding the place. It would take years of work to study and classify the content of this place; they were all unique and wonderful objects.

But there was something strange. The group had entered the cave with a sense of wonder at the place, but inside they felt a strange feeling. A deep sadness was in the atmosphere. It seemed to be something in the environment. They felt uneasy, as if something ominous were about to happen.

And in the center of the cave was a crudely carved lava pedestal. And in the center of the pedestal rested a gold idol. This seemed crude and ancient. Possibly made by the old method of lost wax.

- Aztec? - Asked Dr. Shugahara in puzzled wonder.

- No, said Dr. Rivera, quietly and with some awe voice- The Aztecs a really very recent culture. Their civilization is barely over 800 years old. This is much more ancient, possibly three thousand years old or even more. These figures are gods and guardians who watch over that idol. Actually today is very rare to find a gold piece. The conquerors took all the gold they found and melted, they were not interested in their artistic or historical value. This piece is very special. Look, is from a time when there was still no writing in these lands, and yet, has marks, as if they were trying to say something. Whenever I come to this place, I get chills; I feel that here is something evil here. Sometimes I wish to close this place, but it's an important discovery, it will change all historical concepts of Mesoamerican civilizations.

As he spoke, the students had opened the heavy boxes, and took out several screens, similar to those used by those working with X-ray equipment. They had a lead lining to protect against radiation. Although they had explained to him their purpose, it was still strange seeing this kind of equipment in an archaeological site. The group followed the instructions they had received and moved behind the screens, which had a special leaded glass in order to be able to see the other side.

After they were in place, Dr. Shugahara put on a heavy lead apron and a special mask. Then picked up a box that had the international radiation symbol and carefully approached the pedestal.

Dr. Rivera felt his heart missed a beat. This man was about to alter the archaeological scene, and his footsteps on the ground would leave marks. Then he saw Dr. Shugahara when he took the gold idol, and could not avoid shouting when it seemed he was trying to break it.

His cry was interrupted by an energetic gesture of Dr. Shugahara. He continued his operation, and finally showed him the results. He had managed to separate the base of the piece and found something inside. It looked like a teardrop jewel; it shined with its own light, and gave a sickly green glow. Suddenly the atmosphere of the place became even more heavy and oppressive. Despite the special protection, some of the power of the crystal came upon them. Dr. Rivera, who was behind the screen, watching, could not help but feel a deep anxiety, loneliness. He began to feel a craving, craving for fame, financial success, power...

Suddenly all those alien thoughts ceased, as if by magic

Dr. Shugahara had placed the jewel in the heavy box with insulation against radiation and when he closes it, it seemed as if someone had turned off a switch.

The oppression felt in the cave suddenly disappeared. Now the feeling had been replaced by an inner peace, as if after seeing the worst of one, you could appreciate the good parts.

Dr. Rivera then realized that everything they had told him was true. The crystal was from a distant past, and had been hidden there to protect humanity from its possible effects. What kind of man would be the Dr. Shugahara who dared to deal with such powers?

Dr. Shugahara turned to him, smiled and offered a little bow. It was like he had read his thoughts. Behind the radiation-proof suit, his face seemed strange and unreal. He raised his hands and showed him the gold figure, so he could see it had not been harmed. Then approached him slowly due the weight of the suit, and gave him the gold figure, now empty and said something he could not understand, but that his colleague translated.

- Gold was the best they had to protect themselves from the crystal influence, it is even more efficient than lead, but it was not enough since they could not understand how it works. The idol is now harmless. With the donation you can now explore this place, but we ask you not say what you have seen, until we understand better all this.

- Then, are there more crystals like this?

- Exactly, there are more. Then Dr. Sugiyama commented: As a specialist, you must know the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan was built over a cave. But we have never posted pictures of the cave. For some reason, we were never able to take any pictures, negatives always were ruined, and digital cameras only capture noise so we suspected some kind of radioactivity, and restricted the access to the cave until we could understand what was happening. Yesterday, Dr. Shugahara taught us what was hidden inside.

- Why are you looking for these crystals? They seem to be dangerous. What are you going to do with them?

- You will know someday, and I hope it will be soon. For now I can only tell you the explanation is more fantastic than you can imagine. Dr. Shugahara should continue his search, and must continue his journey.

Dr. Shugahara approached him, along with the Hindu; he had a solemn expression and made an elegant bow. I his face he found a resolution had not seen before in any other person and it made him shiver. This man seemed to have a divine mission to fulfill. So he imitated his greeting as best he could and wish him the best of luck. The Dr. and his companion leave away, while Dr. Sugiyama decided to talk to him and make a couple of proposals.

- Since we are here with some students, why do not start cataloging this magnificent archaeological site?

- But what about Dr. Shugahara?

- He has a mission to accomplish. I am sure we will hear more from him. And that reminds me of something. Have you heard of the organization called "the primates"? I think you would like become part of it.

After influence of the crystal had disappeared, Dr. Rivera was feeling euphoric. The result was a long and a very productive day. The small museum would see better times.

The next day, Dr. Rivera would find a beautiful offering of flowers at the entrance of the cave, and for a moment he would forget his scientific skepticism to wonder if the old prehispanic stories about gods living with humans would have some truth.

Walharen third class demon and deputy Sysop of Nidhogg cursed his luck. First, his application to be integrated into the combat division had been denied again, and with it his last chance of becoming second-class demon had evaporated. For a demon he looked younger than average, while his clothes indicated he belonged to the despised administrative class, they could not hide a slender, yet athletic body. Despite being responsible for keep the inner workings of their world the administrative class was considered the lowest strata of this society and all attempts to change his status have been viewed with scorn. Bitterly he recalled the assistant of recruitment words.

- Your skills as a Sysop are unmatched, so you will continue in that position, no matter what you've been the best in combat exercises. I'm sure you're combat skills will be useful to deal with ... programming bugs. - The laughter of the assistant, just bit older than him, was still ringing in his ears.

And now, as it had been a prediction, this morning it had been unleashed an epidemic of bugs in the system. The main hall was a beehive of activity, but almost all it was devoted to trying to answer the angry calls of all users, while only the SYS-OP deputy, was really dedicated to solving the problem.

Finally after a whole day of frantic activity, the strange bugs had disappeared, but he knew it was not because of his skills. A few days before he had observed activity of unknown origin. Almost had sworn it was a targeted attack, yet he knew Heaven would never try something like that. There was a tacit agreement, since the existence of Heaven and Hell depended on the smooth working of those extraordinary supercomputers Yggdrasil and Nidhogg, it was assumed that interfere with them would be almost suicidal, so any attempt and was heavily punished by both sides. The last demon that had tried to interfere in Yggdrasil had been sentenced to become a non-sentient being, so he did not believe that someone from Heaven would to try to do something similar. Yet, he could not put aside the suspicion that this was some kind of attack.

But to inform of his suppositions to his superior had resulted in a new frustration:

- Since it´s your discovery, it is your duty to go with Hild and inform her personally. The credit will be all yours!

The ominous laughter of his superior reminded him that Hild did not appreciate receiving bad news, especially since it was only a guess. Now he was on his way to the council chamber. He really was in no hurry to arrive, so decided stay a few hours at the Hall of the records and leaves his affairs in order, just as a precaution. Actually he had nothing important to fix, but he thought that leaving his suspicions in writing, could be useful to his successor.

It was afternoon at the Morisato residence; all was strangely silent when the old TV screen came to live. Urd was returning home.

The screen lit up and materialized the beautiful figure of the goddess, but she was still floating in the air when she cried in surprise.

The atmosphere was full of magic. It was very powerful magic that permeated everything, not only that, but the magic surround her as if trying to identify her. It was like a living thing that wanted to touch her. She felt invigorated and euphoric by contact with the magic; since after it recognized her, it welcome her. Then she understood. It was Belldandy´s magic, as a first class goddess, only she could do this kind of magic. So powerful and yet so gentle and kind.

What she was doing? It was extremely advanced magic and possibly it was against regulations. Then hear voices in the yard and rushed to find out what was happening.

At the sight of what she found, even Urd, heir of the most powerful beings from heaven and Hell could not help but express admiration.

Floating in the air was Belldandy, but it was not sweet Belldandy, the perfect girlfriend and the innocent girl, but the powerful goddess Belldandy, in her full ceremonial dress and carrying out the most complex spells.

On the floor was laid out an incredibly complex symbol, which received all her power and reacted as if it were a living entity, since it twisted, changed shape and information as it spread its influence throughout the temple. This magic was really an incredibly complex program that altered the structure of space to give it new properties.

At one end of the courtyard was Keiichi, both amazed and proud to see the power of his love one. He had rarely seen the display of her power at this magnitude, and then he remembered one of her titles. A title he had found after he entered the archives of heaven, "Belldandy, a goddess among gods"!

She was singing a magical chant, but Keiichi for experience knew very well that was more than just a simple song. On the surface it sounded like a simple tonal theme in Doric mode, but it was full of complex information which was channeled through the symbol, getting into the fabric of space-time around the temple. Her face was serene and majestic, while manipulating the forces of nature like they were a delicate lace.

Then she stopped when she felt Urd´s presence. With an elegant gesture, she stopped her handling and floated toward her sister.

Urd had begun to recognize the purpose of this magic. She was creating several layers of protection, interconnected and at the same time differentiated one from another, each one with a different purpose. The magic structure had such power, even her mother would find difficult to penetrate. The question was why she was doing it?

-Belldandy, what does all this mean? Using your power at this level could cause problems with heaven.

But Belldandy did not answered, instead approached Urd with a look of surprise and gently touched her face.

- Urd. What happened to you? Your markings!

Urd suddenly became aware of her new status. The strange atmosphere at the training center and its adaptation to that environment had prevented her from recognizing Lind had removed her seals as a second class goddess. But now, on earth she could feel the difference. That explained why it had been easier for her to release her power at the training camp. The Valkyrie had changed her license to be a goddess first class, but why?

- Lind, this is the work of Lind, she said there were in danger - and then Urd laughed merrily, as she realized what it had been done - It seems I have been recruited. Lind really has a sense of humor - She touched her new marks to read her new status: "Valkyrie in training, temporary license as a first class goddess". This is the last thing I expected to become: Valkyrie! - Then she became serious and looked at the complex magic Belldandy was releasing- I can see you have created several layers of magic barriers. The external one creates an illusion. The next one would enclose any energy release, you could have a nuclear attack inside and nothing would be detected, but the inner layers are behind my comprehension. Why are you putting this? Did Lind warn you about the danger? Then Lind must have told you things she did not explain to me.

- No, it was not Lind but Sensei Shugahara.

- Kenji? But how? , He should not even know that we are goddesses!

- I think you've underestimated him. He already knows much more than we thought it would be possible. But let's talk about that later, we can use your new powers. Help me to complete the protection barriers. Between the two we can make them even more powerful. Then I'll explain you everything.

At the thoughtful expression of her sister, Urd decided to join the effort and defer her curiosity. As a newly appointed first class goddess, it was a new challenge to try to be at the same level as her sister. The two goddesses floated above the magical path and began to sing. A song so beautiful no mortal would be able to forget. Delicate and powerful, primitive and complex.

Keiichi was the only witness to such a marvel. The vision of two Goddess releasing their powers made him feel small and humbled by the cosmos they represent. But also, to know he was loved by a goddess like Belldandy, made him feel he would be able to face the universe for her love.

Finally the spell was completed. The two goddesses descended slowly to the floor, while around the magic seemed to fade, but Keiichi knew it was just an illusion. Belldandy had explained to him the magic protection would be undetectable. It was a protection, but they also were setting a trap.

So when the goddess touched the ground, it seemed nothing had changed and Belldandy changed her ceremonial dress of a goddess, for the simple garb of a common girl. For a fraction of second, Keiichi had a glimpse of her perfect body. Belldandy could not help but blush, noticing the look of Keiichi. She was very conscious of the impact her body had on him. But Keiichi simply approached her and took her divine hands into his hands, then looked at her with worshiping eyes. It was a gesture new to him, and that filled the goddess of happiness. But then both recalled Urd´s presence. Keiichi was the first to react and spoke to Urd:

- Two days after you left, I received an email from Dr. Shugahara- He produced a folded paper from one of his pockets and gave it to Urd - It has a strange tale about a goddess called Giörel, who was killed while serving her mission to grant a wish for a mortal.

Urd gasped in surprise at hearing the name of Giörel. She had died! Keiichi also trembled as he uttered those words and took Belldandy's hands again, as if he feared she would disappear.

- There is no way it could be a hoax, all details are correct, Belldandy knew Giörel, her description fits, and there is even a the image of her business card. Dr. Shugahara went to meet the man who had to receive the wish, is a young Hindu.

An incredulous Urd had been reading the letter from Dr. Shugahara. It was written with his usual precision. All details explained and verified. He had gone to great lengths to verify the story.

- Kenji! Then that's what was so urgent that he had to leave immediately. Because he had to check it personally - Her eyes grew moist as she realized he was doing it on behalf of his love.

Belldandy spoke, as echoing her thoughts.

- Sensei Shugahara spoke personally with me by phone. He knows very well what we are, I even think he understands it better than anyone, seems he have managed to decipher completely your notebook, I never expected a human could do it. He was very scared and insisted that we should do something to protect us. Then he commented he was trying to find a way he could help to protect us.

- Did he say that? - Urd exclaimed shocked - If it were someone else, I would not have to worry, but Kenji? He is beginning to understand magic; he can try to do something dangerous. We must stop him. Where is he?

- I don't know, but I trust him and I think you should do it too, I feel he has enough wisdom to know what is he doing, he is very special. But seems you also have news from Heaven. What did you found?

- I also heard about Giörel, but I tough she had just disappeared since nobody wants to talk about her. There is fear. For the first time since the war ended, there is fear in Heaven. They believe war could return.

Belldandy was surprised at the news.

- Are you sure? Despite everything she has done, Hild has always sought peace.

- Hild wants peace, but there is another person who is seeking her position. Belldandy, this is serious, I think the responsible for the death of our father and your mother is behind everything is happening.

Belldandy turned pale at these words. The death of his parents had been a deeply traumatic event. Among mortals, death was considered a natural and inevitable, but her parents were meant to be immortals. Even after millennia the pain had not decreased. For a god thousand years was barely yesterday. Belldandy felt weak so Keiichi rushed to embrace her, fearing she would faint. Belldandy tried to speak, but the emotion was too powerful. Of the three Norn, she had been closer to her parent. Skuld was very young, and Urd was living with Hild. Belldandy always had been easy on tears, and this was no exception. At that time she ceased to be the powerful goddess, and become fragile young woman. Her feet refused to support her and Keiichi had to hold her. Belldandy made efforts to stand, but the sudden excitement had weakened her, so Keiichi lifted her in his arms, and pressed her body against his chest. Then he gave Urd a hard look, making her responsible for the words that had brought pain to her loved one.

-Urd, you're hurting her, you should not keep talking about it - But Belldandy turned her sweet face towards him and said.

- Keiichi-san. On the contrary, I think it's time to speak, is just that Urd is stronger than me, but I'm sure she feels the same. Please take me inside, soon I'll be fine, but we have much to explain to you. Maybe it´s time I will answer your question about who I really am.

By Hell standard, this was a very small room, especially considering the number of upstanding figures in it. It was a room that looked freshly excavated, the walls were plain and bare, and magic had barely touch it´s walls. Maybe that is why it was the perfect location for a conspiracy. The room was almost in darkness as if those involved were afraid that their faces were recognized.

In the center of the room the Shaikh Anan-Reng heard a status report from the head of the council:

- Hild has put again the council meeting on hold. It is an outrage to our endowment. But we cannot do much; she has the authority and the last word.

The powerful Shaikh Anan-Reng commented in triumph

- This confirms our suspicions. She is afraid. In ancient times she would be the first to attack and show her position. Now, this only means one thing: She is weak and she is afraid to show it.

- But that has barely use for us, we do not know how weak is she, even with a diminished power she is still more powerful than any of us. We cannot afford take a chance.

- Cowards! That is exactly why we should take risks. She may be more powerful than any of us, but she is not more powerful than all us together. We just have to dare to act.

- Do not use that word so lightly. If this were an open meeting I would challenge you test your words. But that's not the point. If you cannot prove that she is really weak, we would not support you. It may be just a trap.

- Then we must force her to act. So we can test her powers.

- And how you will force her? We've tried everything.

The Shaikh Anan-Reng laugh for himself.

- There is a way. The key is not here. It's now or never. I need five volunteers to join me.

There was a murmur, while several of those present walked away into the shadows and then simply disappeared. Soon only a few stayed. Half-dozen major demons were still in the room.

- I knew it, they are simply cowards. But with your aid it will suffice. But we also must bring some guards with us.

One of them replied with a mocking tone.

- Three Shaikh, two tribunes and several guards. Do you think it will be enough?

Anan-Reng looked at him with anger at his rebuke, but he was his ally and had to tolerate his insolence, at least for the moment, so he just replied:

- If we have power, we should use it. I'm sure will be fun. Hild will be bound to have a council meeting and eventually will be the true rulers of our destiny.

Two men were standing on top of a huge block of stone. One was an old and experienced engineer and the other his young assistant. They seemed tiny compared to the monumental block of solid granite. It had a 60 feet long, twelve feet high and wide, and was estimated to weigh over 1,200 metric tons. Other slightly smaller blocks were used to build the foundations of the nearby Temple of Bacchus, in the ancient city of Heliopolis in Lebanon. But this particular block, the largest mass of stone that had been tried to move in the ancient world, was only a few meters from the quarry where it had been cut. Many believed that it had simply been too heavy to move, but the letter that the old engineer had in his possession, had another and very different explanation. It had not been abandoned, had been placed there to hide and protect something. But the letter was clear, he should not comment about it. That information was given to him, only so he could take it into account when he tried to move the block. The contract required him to remain silent until the publication of the full scientific report. The engineer was not surprised by the request. He had previously worked with Archaeologists and knew how important was to publish first in a peer review scientific journal.

Meanwhile, he looked at the block. It seemed incredible that such a mass of rock had been moved without modern technology, and now, more than two and a half millennium later, a few engineers and technicians, were ready to put modern technology to test and compare their work against what the Roman engineers had solved with ingenuity and an army of men.

- So everything is ready? Have you run a test on the hydraulic cylinders? Is the crew ready?

- All is tested and ready. But I would prefer we had more time to plan this. It is not something that our engineering firm does every day. If we did not record this, no one will believe us. I do not understand the rush. Even the archaeologists didn't know that to expect.

The old engineer smiled - You should not worry about them, I am sure they will be happy. But I'm not really interested on their findings. This feat is what will make us famous. Vitruvius would be fascinated by our technology.

- Who's Vitruvius?

The old engineer nodded in resignation to his young assistant.

- Vitruvius is the most famous Roman engineer! He described how the Romans could move these weights. What the Romans managed with hundreds of pulleys and army men, we will do with just 20 hydraulic jacks, each one able to lift one hundred tons. You ought to know more about those ancient engineers. We can still learn from them. Now go to your position and wait my orders.

The huge block was supported by a series of steel scaffolding structures, divided evenly to support the weight. They were much more resistant than those wood structure used by the Romans to move this block, and the energy from several diesel generators would be enough to replace the army that had contributed with their muscular effort.

The younger engineer descended from the block by a rope ladder, and once in position, took out his radio, waved and signaled he was ready to receive the orders.

The senior engineer then began to issue his instructions:

- Open the valves start with ten bars of hydraulic pressure applied to each piston.

The block received a gentle shock as the power was applied. The engineer waited a few seconds to make sure nothing was loose. Then he gave new orders.

- Now increase the pressure, give me an increase of ten bars every five seconds.

The engineer inclined to check an accelerometer that was attached to the rock. He smiled with satisfaction, while he felt no movement, but his instruments were able to measure it. Millimeter by millimeter, the block began to move.

- Now, keep increasing until the pressure reaches 650 Bar and hold it for 30 seconds.

This time the block started to move in a visible way and yet the movement was so smooth that practically it was not felt. He just needed to move laterally the block twelve feet, according to the agreement he had signed. The pistons could move it only two feet at a time, but it would be easy to repeat the maneuver. He had been tempted to offer to move the block to the foot of the temple of Bacchus, so he could really compare his job against the ancient Romans.

Still, his look of triumph was evident. This would be the most dramatic moment of his career.

Just half an hour later, the monolithic block at the Baalbek quarry had been moved twelve feet and the engineer's crew began to cheer, ready to celebrate their feat. One of them did not hesitate to fill his helmet with champagne and offer a drink to everyone. The general uproar announced a great celebration. While this had been planned years ago along with an engineering faculty, just a week ago, they had to found an unexpected donor.

Meanwhile, a small team of archaeologists, trying not to attract attention to much, were looking around the newly exposed ground. Suddenly one of them called for attention. He had discovered what a carved entrance seemed. He could not hide the thrill in his voice. Until that moment all this procedure seemed like a wild guest. They would have to wait until all were celebrating to enter without witnesses. Trying to make as little fuzz as possible, some workers left some heavy boxes nearby the concealed entrance; one of them was painted with a signal. The international symbol for radioactive danger.

End of chapter XIII

Notes:

- "El museo del fuego nuevo" I live nearby this small museum in Mexico City, while the museum staff is very enthusiastic the museum really need repairing. The view from the pyramid on top of this small volcano is really wonderful.

- I dared to include Dr. Saburo Sugiyama in this fan-fic. For more than a decade he has worked in archaeological excavation at Teotihuacan.

- The pyramid of the sun, the second biggest prehispanic pyramid was built over a sacred cave; unfortunately the cave was empty, yet archaeologist keep searching in the hope to discover something.

- In 1990 it was discovered a huge monolith in the quarry at Baalbek (Lebanon), with an estimated weight of 1,242 tons is the largest stone block carved in one piece. It was meant to be carried to Heliopolis.