The Buried Campaign
By Nicholas Ledhe
What follows can only be described as nothing short of an archaeological miracle. On March 14th, 2024, teams of underwater archeologists sponsored by the Ferdinand C. Ashley Foundation of Massachusetts uncovered a small collection of still intact papyrus scrolls located approximately 10.7-miles northwest of coastal Alexandria, Egypt. The means of how these scrolls were so well preserved is due to their encasement within five bronze cylinders, sealed with a unique mixture of wax, crystalized honey, and powdered coral, ensuring a vacuum seal of the cylinders’ contents. Current archaeologists theorize the cylinders might’ve belonged to a downed trireme, possibly dating back to early Imperial Rome due to other similar practices during that time for state and private religious rituals, bureaucratic documents, and personal records for extended periods.
Whatever the reason, upon opening the first cylinder under controlled conditions, researchers were astonished to see that the papyrus scrolls and various shards inside were instead much older than initially reasoned.
Researchers are still uncertain of when the scrolls were encased, but upon closer inspection of the papyrus fragments and the Greek script, it can be speculated that the fragments themselves date back to at least 323 BCE. This is because, upon translation, researchers were again overwhelmed when learning of the documents’ author.
What follows is a rough translation of the scrolls for modern scholars.
“I write this for it must be written. What sits within my chest and stomach must be expunged in the same manner as venom lingers within a man’s veins. But only in such a manner that only a trusted few may bear witness.
“A writing like this must be understood through clear context. Society, even the one created during my time, will have difficulty understanding what befell the likes of myself and the few others that accompanied my journey in what I can only describe as a small but painful misadventure. A thorn in my being, this experience appeared during my journey back to old Babylon, the seat of mankind’s greatness. It came with no real herald and it came to pass only out of what I will say was my arrogance.
“It was three years before my return to Susa, and shortly after the end of the army’s mutiny. The great armies of Macedon, Persia, and all others of the civilized world were departing from their journey into the land of the Indus, and it was after our victory over the citadel of Mallia that we braved through the traitorous terrain that the outside kingdoms called Makdar. To this day I say that this was a disastrous decision from which the great armies had only themselves to blame. The empire beyond the Gangas was in a state of unrest with its poor bureaucracy; the kingdoms upon the River Gangas were only united because of a mutual unease created by Darius and his spies years before; and the few victories that the coalitions of India had won were already waning as floods ravaged their countryside. But I must digress. The great armies under my command and the command of my most loyal were within the pale land of Makdar that my soul, and the soul of mankind itself, was tainted.
“What I remember is precise. The experience started shortly after the great armies’ advance into the plateau and when the peoples of this harsh land drew first blood against my soldiers. The land of Makdar was comprised of harsh deserts and high rocks. The soldiers of the great armies would say that this was a land no better than those of the Afghans. I listened to their grievances and resentment, after which I would say back, ‘Would it be better that we go back in that direction? Would it be better that we go back to those high-summits and distant salt-fields?’ to which I would receive no answer. I would only receive their continued obedience. Still, I recall within the second week upon our journey through Makdar that my friend, my companion, and my right hand, Coenus, spoke to me about the conditions of the great armies and the belligerent natives of the plateau.
“He said to me, ‘My lord, this land is a tainted and sickly place. The winds bring rain and the sun brings warmth here, but time after time the armies experience nothing but distress. We can only supply ourselves with the caches we bring and we must guard it with greater vigor than ever before. The natives, these Fish-Eaters, are a strange lot and they seek only our doom.’
“We were in my tent when Coenus said this to me. I said back, ‘What else is there? We have faced armies that attack our supplies. And all natives are strange to our eyes. What difference is there with this corner of the world?’
“I saw Coenus lower his head, and to this day I remain uncertain if this was out of shame or out of fear. He said back, ‘These people, these Fish-Eaters, are strange for they all don’t seem to speak, my lord. I and others in the army have only come to call these people Fish-Eaters because the villages we find are usually stocked in only that manner. Otherwise, these people do not speak and we have had no chance to bring them to reason. It’s because of this, lord, that I must insist that we should only hug the coast. We should heed the word of our Indian allies and leave Makdar to wither away like everyone wishes.’
“It was here that I looked at my right hand with only the manner a king can give to his fearful appendage. ‘I heeded your word before, Coenus. When you came to me acting as the mouthpiece of these soldiers, claiming the armies’ homesickness and fatigue, I embraced you with heavy sadness and said I would listen. As king, I will listen. But you must understand; my compliance does not mean my relinquishing of power. I am the King of Kings, and leader of all our civilized peoples. And as such, my word is final.’
“’I understand, my lord. I do not go against you. I remain loyal, but-’”
“’Loyal’? I said back. ‘I have given you and this army my heart and soul, and now here we are. I have given my loyalty to this army and to mankind.’ I bore my scars that I won from Mallia, and continued to say, ‘I fight with this army, and if it is deemed necessary, I would slit my own throat if it meant to further it. So say you, my loyalist of friends, would you do the same?’
“I saw my Coenus hold himself before knelling before me, saying he would. I was satisfied with his answer and so gave him permission to leave my tent. However, I remember my curiosity about Coenus’s talk about the Fish-Eaters. Before he left my tent I asked again if it was true. Whether these people really did not speak.
“He said back to me, ‘Yes, my king. Many a time when we first came through their villages, no native word was spoken. Not even a blasphemous name or insult in their tongue was heard. They do not have a writing system that we know of, and when our forces clashed with the tribesmen soon after, the only sounds these people make is when their lives were taken in battle. … And even then, there is something cold in their manner. Something I cannot place.’
“And so I thought. A strange but not unique problem since travelling so far away from Macedon and Persia. Someone should know the language of these people. I thought and said to my still right hand, ‘Coenus, go and tell the armies to find a translator. The first man who brings someone able to speak with these Fish-Eaters will be rewarded from my treasury, and their company honored for the rest of our journey back to Babylon.’
“It was strange after that decree. For two whole weeks while going through that desert, no word came of anyone who understood these Fish-Eaters. It came to a point that even I began pondering on how such a challenge could be accomplished. The great armies made every step back towards Babylon, but as the days wore on and we trekked through that plateau, the primitive clans of Makdar eluded the armies both in understanding and in presence. At one point, I ordered my scouts and outriders to ambush any tribesmen they found and ensure at least two prisoners were captured. Two because even if these people would not wish to speak with the civilized world, then surely they would converse with one another. After another two weeks, the moral of the armies and even the moral within my own tent withered beyond hope because not even that could be accomplished. Worse too was the situation of the further lack of suitable water.
“’This place is wicked, my lord.’ I can recall what my then advisor and physician Katuntes said to me. ‘You must ration out your supplies more than anyone else. Water especially.’
“’I have seen at least three oases in this land. And there must be some kind of running water going through Makdar. How else can these people survive here? How can they live?’
“To this my physician shook his head. While he checked my wounds I gained during the siege of Millians, he raised my arm and commented how much my health improved. I valued this, but I was perturbed when Katuntes then told me to only drink one mug of water a day. I had already rationed my own supplies. I asked why and his answer was, ‘This land, or the Fish-Eaters, are tainting what supplies we have, my lord. We are finding more men falling ill, even from what water we bring. … This place is wicked.’
“I believed my physician. I was skeptical of Coenus’s nerves at first, but it was after I asked to see what Katuntes meant about tainted water that I started to wonder if somehow the Fish-Eaters, these Makdar clans that even the most desolate cave-dweller would call primitive, were somehow the most skilled alchemists and poisoners in the known world. Kantuntes showed me one of the tainted caches and revealed that if a man took any more than just a cup of water then he would start vomiting blood by nightfall. I asked how this could be detected since the water shown was clear in my hands.
“Kantuntes shook his head again. He said the armies’ only means to know have been through our dogs. If a dog refused to drink, then the water being used had become tainted.
“But he admitted, that was not always certain.
“It was around the end of the fifth week in that forsaken corner of the desert that news came that someone of Makdar was willing to speak, even if it was just insults. My officers and I learned that upon a far-off cliff, overlooking the sea, scouts found a hut with a series of bramble bushes, jagged rocks, and bizarre whale bones. No one could read the hieroglyphs that were written on those bones; but when the scouts approached, a crone started yelling at them in splintered Kinta-Farsi, they found the armies’ prize. From here this was when the great armies under my command came to acquire their first and only translator for the Fish-Eaters.
“This crone was first brought before Coenus, who then brought the woman to me. When I first laid eyes on the crone I was disturbed by her state. This crone, this grotesque ancient, only glared at me and sneered when I spoke. She was deformed, not just by years, which had left her skin a wrinkled scape of knotted mahogany, but by crimes that I was certain must’ve been deemed appropriate by her people. When I approached, I was repulsed further when seeing that both the woman’s ears were cut off, partially hidden beneath her matted grey hair, and that her nose was cut to the point that only a single hole sat in the center of her misshapen face. The smallest finger on her right hand was missing and the two smallest fingers were gone on her left. When I tried looking into her right eye, for her left was only an empty socket after some clear sign of torture, I was concerned that this crone might’ve been tongueless too. Until she said to me in accented-Farsi, ‘Serpent’s Child!’
“I turned to Coenus and nodded my approval. I ordered my right hand to gather more prisoners and try to communicate by using the crone as a translator. Our journey back to Babylon was still the great armies’ priority; but after weeks of water deprivation, starvation, and the audacity of these Fish-Eaters, even I was growing vengeful on what should be done to these peoples of the plateau. I could’ve continued undisturbed as leader of the armies, but as I spoke to Coenus, I failed to notice the crone was still in my tent, watching.
“She said to me in her broken tongue, ‘Son-of-a-Serpent! That is what you are! You smell of it!’
“I thought perhaps she was just trying to insult me again. But the crone continued, even as my guards held blades to her dangling throat.
“’Your mother is a rank amateur! She gave nothing in hopes for their power! She will die! She will die by stone and family! She will die only after you! I see it, Son-of-a-Serpent! Death awaits and you will be her cause!’
“If this woman wasn’t the only translator we had for these Fish-Eaters, I would’ve ended her with my blade then. I restrained myself however, and it was then that I turned to this crone. ‘You are in my presence. You are in the presence of a King of Kings, a lord of man. Leader of these armies. I have been in the presence of oracles and seers all across the world and have witnessed works that you can scarcely imagine. Hush your mouth only until I say so. Less you understand, I am your god.’
“To this the crone laughed. Everyone, guards, Coenus, and myself were troubled by how the crone’s cackle echoed through the darkened rocks the armies camped within. No one spoke the word in that tent, but when I looked into the faces of everyone that night, I heard the words hiding behind everyone’s lips.
“A witch.
“Once she finished laughing, the crone said to me, ‘You are but an ant! Your mother sired an ant when she could’ve been giving birth to a real god! I can see it! I can smell it! Your father knew of this treachery and he fell because he did nothing. You are no god.’ And it was here that the crone smiled, showing that blackened maw within her deformed face. ‘After meeting real gods, the Elders of my people, then you will see what I mean.’
“I ordered my guards to remove the crone from my tent. They did as I ordered, but afterwards, my right hand spoke to me, ‘My lord, forgive me for who I brought. I did not foresee this danger. Execute this creature and let us be gone of this wicked place with haste. If necessary, let us go back to the Afghans or let us try to build ships and sail to Babylon. Anything except trekking through this tainted land any further.’
“I said back to Coenus, ‘You misplace your feelings again, my friend. You do not control me. Worse, you are losing your nerve.’
“He said back, ‘All I do, my lord, is for you. I love you, my king. I mean no offense.’
“’Then stand down and return to your post. Let me think.’
“Coenus did as I ordered. I took some pride in this obedience, but soon I grew troubled by other truths. I continued hearing the crone’s words. That whole night I kept hearing the crone’s words in the shadows of my tent, letting her impudence corrupt me.
“To my men, to the armies of the civilized world, I am a god. As a god, I could not be challenged in such an upfront manner. Worse, I could not let the idea of her primitive peoples’ elders best me. Her words were venom. I could not sleep that night. I could not dream. So when morning came, I went to her, finding the crone chained to a post like the beast she was.
“I said to her, ‘The elders of your people. Were they the ones who did this to you? The torture that befell your body and spirit?’
“Her blackened soul looked at me again. ‘Yes, Son-of-a-serpent. And no. The Elders of my people often demand flesh for their work. Flesh is more than a sign of devotion or nourishment. It is power. Mine when I was young was well prized. But it was because of that that I was cast aside from the Elders. I was too attached to my being they say. When the call came, I became cursed in the eyes of my people rather than their most beloved.’
“In her words, in her manner, I could see the wickedness that lingered beneath her knotted hide. I kept my blade with me, and as I write this, I wish simply to have ended the crone’s misery. But I did not. I only said to her, ‘Where are these elders?’
“’You, Son-of-a-serpent, wish to meet the Elders? I will show you. Yes. Yes I will, and perhaps, you will understand.’ To this the witch held up her tattered left hand. ‘And maybe, you will see what I see.’
“The great armies of the civilized world moved further into Makdar. We planned on no more full on conflicts, no more great armies since leaving India, but upon the first week following the witch’s direction to where her peoples’ elders lie we were met with increasing resistance.
“The witch’s people were a poor and wretched folk who only armed themselves with bones and sticks. The armies defeated them and took their villages with hardly a man being lost in each clash, but word came of the increasing zealotry these tribesmen showed as we moved closer to Makdar’s heart. Stories came of men flaying themselves just before combat, acting as some kind of bloodied reverence to their elders. There were instances of men charging at the phalanx with nothing at all, not even sticks or rocks, only to be skewered in a joyous frenzy. More terrible was when entire villages, comprised of the men, women, and children, would come at the phalanx and scream with only madness in their hearts. Many soldiers after those weeks became damaged at what insanity the fervor of these peoples’ elders brought. But nothing brought more despair than what news came of what was found inside some of these dark villages, of places where all manner of bones and twisted flesh were left askew.
“There came a point where I asked Coenus what nightmares were found in these dark places. My right hand failed to answer, and upon seeing the smoke and black flames spewing from these dwellings, many of which were nothing but cesspits and burrows, I did not ask again. The dens of these peoples, these monsters that the kings of India held back, that the lords of the Afghan peoples guarded against, and all civilized peoples shunned, were places that no light pierced.
“I asked the witch if this too was brought by her peoples’ elders. She answered back, ‘We are simply nearing the edge of the world. There at The Edge of Leng is where the Elders lie.’
“I never trusted the witch. In those final days before reaching the place she kept calling The Edge, I made sure she was never left alone and that no guard was left alone with her. It was also instructed that if any evil was to appear from her, then the witch’s life was forfeit. She was no longer important as a translator for the people of Makdar, the ones we kept calling Fish-Eaters. Even after finding a town of over five hundred souls, not one of that clan would speak. All they would do is look at us, eyes as empty as grey ice. Even when torches were brought to their being, no words were shared of what horrors they held behind those broken eyes.
“I say those the twilight created by those fires were the most damaging to the great armies. But still, our journey only grew harsher when the desert rocks and the valley walls we entered became nothing else like we saw during our journey into Greater Asia.
“The valley the armies went through was devoid of all signs of life. Rocks made of unfamiliar and unnatural shapes were found everywhere and in the oddest of places. At points we saw unkempt stone sentinels overlooking the whole of the valley during the day, only to then disappear at night. In odd increments scouts would find evidence of vile script stretching across the valley walls, some being etched into the rock while others appeared regularly painted with blood. The oddest of all was when nearing this supposed edge.
“There, even with the full light of the sun beating down on us, there never seemed to be enough warmth. Just emptiness and desolation.
“The witch said to my generals and me that this was a sign that we were close. If we reached what she promised was the end of our campaign, we would be gifted handsomely. During that meeting, it was Coenus who yelled out, ‘What reward rests in the heart of this madness?’
“To which the witch replied, ‘Something that not even your king can provide! Power eternal! Power over souls like no other! The formation of new Elders! Once captured, your armies will replenish and the empire of man can truly be forged!
“The meeting ended soon after in silence. Coenus met with me in my tent once more. Alone, he confided in me that he would follow. He would still be my right hand and he would keep his oath as protector, but I saw his fear. I saw how his hands shook and how his jaw quacked. He would follow, but because of how he trusted me, and his loyalty, I could see his terror and where it lay.
“I dismissed him. Coenus, my most loyal of generals, my most valiant, my companion since crossing into India, was told to stand down and act only as my guard until I deemed it so. I made no spectacle of it. I only waved my hand and decreed that once we return back to Babylon with our prize, he would return to his property and take no more part.
… “I regret this.
“Upon my arrival to the place from which the elders lie, the armies were close to mutiny again. Water was scarce and life harsher than ever before. Rebellion was in the air, until the great armies came to witness the high walls of the temple complex, hidden within the silver twilight of Leng.
“The walls, shaped out of an emerald black stone that seemed to eat the light around us, were monstrous things that even my armies shuddered against. The vastness of the complex was something I cannot even describe because it all seemed so distant yet so real. Black stone arches beyond justification were found everywhere. Cavernous rooms filled much of what could only be described as a hulking beast made of red dust, green-black masonry, and shadow. And the artwork the armies found inside… I cannot describe.
“None of my generals wanted what statues we found in the temple storerooms and naoses. All were so misshapen, so grotesque, and so perverse. And still we went further.
“I walked into the temple, and it was at the heart of this crazed labyrinth that the witch said to my guards and myself, ‘This place, this holy site, is one of the last bastions for the Elders. The others are far and remote, but in them, all the Elders sleep, and dream of their return. One day they may do this, but do not fear, for I’ve seen beyond their shells. I was once one of their most devoted, perhaps the most devoted for how I gave much of myself to them, beyond the petty offerings others had given. And it was because of my devotion that I was given just a glimpse of the truth. They were careless towards me. Careless after so long. They thought that I was nothing, even if I learned so much. So they cast me aside and exiled me to oblivion. I was doomed to wander. Until you came.’
“We came to a pit in the center of the labyrinth. The witch told us that I should only bring those who I trusted most. In this pit, her people’s elders lie.
“I can still see her twisted face when overlooking the abyss. Ecstasy and fear, love and madness were in her when staring into that tomb. I was tempted to cast her into it, the blackness that she called her elder. I even reached for my sword to cut her down, but I saw myself when she turned back and said, ‘Olympia will be proud. She can only dream of places like this.’
“I entered that abyss with the crone leading the way. I had decided only Coenus to accompany me. I instructed my remaining guard to keep watch over the abyss. The temple was empty when we entered, but everyone, even the soldiers who had gone blind after gaining the sickness, could feel all manner of eyes on them.
“We journeyed down the stairs until no sunlight could reach any further and we were forced to use lanterns. The stairs went so far that the air grew cold before growing hot. After so far the stairs disappeared and only a slope hewn into the rock could be treaded. I grew tired, as did Coenus, but the witch did not lose a breath. She only turned to us, beckoning. We did so and after an unknowable amount of time, the slope we treaded on widened and the blackness around us grew into an ocean. The abyss leeched into us to no end.
“I said to Coenus, ‘This cannot be the House of Hades.’
“To which the blackness responded. On my words the first sign came when I felt a drop land atop my head before feeling another. Coenus said he felt the same, and soon the strangest sight I’d seen yet appeared. Somewhere beneath the ground, somewhere in the black that even Dread Persephone would wash her hands of, it began to rain.
“The witch seemed undeterred from this event. She only said to Coenus and myself that we were close. The edge of the world, The Edge, she said, was near.
“We found The Edge in this abyss. It was something I’d never seen before and I wished never to see again. As I write this my hand trembles, remembering how we journeyed closer and came to see rings upon rings of bones littering the ground. Bones of countless men, women, and children, left with only the blackness as company, laid as the abyss gnawed on them eternal. Further on, the ground hardened to form slabs of hardened shadow, creating The Edge.
“A portal of terrible proportions appeared, and when the light of my lamp hit the expanse, the light simply did not disappear into the black. It was devoured.
“Only the faint dripping of the abyss’s false rain broke the silence.
“’We made it!’ The witch sang with glee while standing upon the cyclopean slabs of black. ‘The Elders sleep, but you, my lord, may awaken them! Your prize awaits! With it, you can ensure all of mankind’s devotion! Then mankind will have the Elder it deserves!’
“Coenus bore teeth at this cry. He took his sword and against my orders drew it against the witch. I can still hear him scream, ‘End this madness! My lord, please, let us leave this place and wipe our hands of this evil. This is no place for gods!’
“To this, the witch cried to me, ‘What lies beyond the Edge of Leng is beyond our world! What glories await, oh King of Kings? What new horizons? You can now become a god! A real god! The Elders await!’
“To my shame, I hesitated. I saw my friend, my right hand, stand dumbfounded as I gazed beyond the edge of the world.
“I hesitated, but it was Coenus who chose. He struck down the maddened crone with his sword. He cleaved the demon in half from shoulder to stomach and I saw him shudder after his victory, sickened. But he could not see what I saw. He did not see the blood seep from the witch’s corpse moving towards the Edge.
“In this blackness I saw the witch smile in that last moment of accursed life. With her last breath she whispered her dead people’s tainted tongue.
“I do not know what happened next. I saw our lamps dim and felt the ground shake beneath us. I saw nothing in the black until, all at once, I saw the sacrificed blood dance to life and spring toward the vastness. The blood webbed itself, widening before the blackness until it was like papyrus, so thin that when light tried to shine through it was a translucence. In this blood I saw what awaited within the crimson veil beyond.
“I saw things that could not be unseen. In one glimpse, I saw black stars over distant white horizons, worlds forming out of diamonds and pitch, and endless seas made of crystals, gold, and mercury. In that moment I felt my mind flower to all the sands of time. I saw the blackness and it was in that blackness I saw the shadows waiting, watching. The Elders, I found, were asleep and in that moment I saw that I was not like them.
“I was better.
“My vision blurred. My stomach churned. I started moving forward, seeing more horizons within the endlessness. I was not like those hidden within these passages, these creatures, but I stood my ground at that black edge. I drew my blade and it was here that I saw them twist within their voids.
“I could hear them screaming. I could see they were famished, suffering endlessness and eternity. It was here that I raised my blade and I beckoned them to see me as I was.
“I waited, and the monsters beyond the Edge did nothing. I was sickened. I saw these creatures stand beyond their gate, watching from their infinite thrones, and the only thing they did was linger beyond my sword.
“The crimson veil then closed. The horizons of countless worlds and endless cities throughout time. The Elders sat dormant and it was here that I realized that even if I drew more blood, opposing them as a king, they would not meet my challenge. I was denied my right. My right to challenge these nightmarish things. All because these creatures, these abominations, saw it not fit to.
“I saw through them.
“Coenus was the one who awoke me from my daze. His words came to me before my realization that I was still there, in the darkness, in a place humans call Terra. I heard him say, ‘My lord! Please wake up! Gods on high! Zeus! Awake!’
“I was taken away from that blackness. Coenus watched over me as I was pulled from the abyss. I was withered during my time there. I had to be carried back to my tent, worse than I had been after my conquest of the Millians. In my weakened state I barely had enough strength to even tell my generals to destroy what was around them. I ordered no sculpture to be left intact and no wall to be left standing. I said to them, ‘End this cursed place. Let no shadows lie.’
“My word was done. The armies of mankind brought that temple to false gods and monsters to ash so only the sands could claim the blight.
“I was weakened. I was hurt, but I cried more for my companion. I learned Coenus was greater afflicted than I. We tried to provide my right hand with enough untainted water and alcohol, only to see Kantuntes, my personal physician, turn back with a lowered head. He knew not what ailed my most loyal of generals. In a matter of days, all of Coenus’s ebon hair fell and his eyes sunk into his skull. He bled as his fingernails fell from his body. His person withered and his stomach could not take anything that we could provide. He became a corpse, doomed to live those final days in agony.
“I was there for my dearest companion when he walked into the House of Hades. I felt how weak he was and how his life was stolen by those beasts from beyond the crimson veil.
“My right hand, the one who advised me to turn back, the most faithful of my followers, slipped away while I laid in the bed next to his. I can still see how his broken eyes stayed open, blood red from plight.
“When the armies returned to Babylon, I made sure he was buried with full honors and that his men were given proper recognition for his sacrifice. Coenus would’ve wanted this for his men.
“I thought I should tell others of what we saw at the world’s edge and what nightmares await, but in my weakened state, I decided not to, fearing what terrors such knowledge would inspire. In my current state, as King of Kings, I cannot betray such truth. Man must persevere unless the monstrosities seen within that abysmal desert be victorious. That is why I tell my generals and advisors to only show my best visage in paintings, and that only the strongest will lead.
“The campaign in Makdar, into the Plateau of Leng, has become a distant nightmare and I intent to keep it that way. Buried. Dead. Forgotten by all until I command it.
“I sit here in Babylon, where mankind’s greatness began, and I know there is much to be done. I have been weakened by that blackened temple on that edge of the world. I suffer from the illness that befell Coenus and so many other soldiers who journeyed with me into that accursed land. All my hair has fallen and my hands struggle, but I will remain strong. My will is that of any god.
“The witch said that there were other places where The Elders slept. She said these cursed places are far and remote, but I will make sure mankind will reach them. And conquer. I will ensure it.
“Even in my state I will organize armies and gather my generals. I will regain strength and in time mankind’s armies will march against those abominations. I have already established plans to move the armies toward the Arab tribes and search for the unnamed city hidden within their deserts. I will then move beyond the seas, and lay siege to the lost cities of Dioda and R’lyeh so their evil cannot awaken. Greater still, I will instruct my descendants to go beyond those thresholds, scouring the frozen wastelands I foresaw and ensure the final destruction of the dark cities there.
“And we will go on.
“I am growing weak. I have instructed my generals and advisors. They may squabble, but as their King of Kings, my will be done. When I regain my strength we will ensure that mankind holds true and conquer the unnamable demons waiting in the darkness.
“One way or another, mankind will see these monsters again.
“I will ensure it.”
THE END