Chap­ter XI begins with Cartho­ris regain­ing con­scious­ness in a silent ruin, sur­round­ed by echoes of recent con­flict and the absence of his com­pan­ions. Thu­via and Kar Komak are nowhere to be found, leav­ing him dis­ori­ent­ed and uncer­tain. Injured and dehy­drat­ed, he drags him­self toward the des­o­late ruins of Aaan­thor in search of water. The aban­doned city looms like a for­got­ten mem­o­ry of Barsoom’s past, its crum­bling walls offer­ing only ghosts and dust. As he press­es deep­er into its maze-like cor­ri­dors, his vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty grows. But the dan­ger doesn’t remain hid­den for long. With­out warn­ing, Cartho­ris is ambushed by white apes—creatures of brute strength and mind­less aggres­sion.

He is quick­ly sub­dued and bound in the damp, cav­ernous pits beneath the city. The dark­ness there is sti­fling, thick with the stench of decay and the sound of unseen move­ment. Shack­led and alone, he pre­pares for the worst, but fate offers an unex­pect­ed reprieve. In a neigh­bor­ing cell, he hears a voice—Kar Komak, the loy­al phan­tom war­rior, has also been cap­tured. Their reunion brings a moment of hope, though their sit­u­a­tion remains bleak. Sur­round­ed by tow­er­ing apes who plot their even­tu­al death, the two war­riors share sto­ries and strate­gies. Kar Komak’s past encounter with green men of Torquas reveals just how far-reach­ing the chaos of their jour­ney has become. Time, how­ev­er, grows short, and the apes grow rest­less.

A des­per­ate idea takes shape. Cartho­ris remem­bers the abil­i­ty pos­sessed by cer­tain Bar­soo­mi­ans to give life to imag­ined forms. He urges Kar Komak, whose mind has long dwelled in the realm of mem­o­ry and myth, to call forth an army from thought. Sum­mon­ing focus, Kar Komak con­jures an illu­sion of bowmen—phantom sol­diers who fill the cham­ber with spec­tral pres­ence. The white apes recoil in con­fu­sion and fear, mis­tak­ing the mirage for a real threat. In that brief moment of chaos, Cartho­ris and Kar Komak break free. The illu­sion gives them just enough time to escape the pit and flee through the ruins, hearts pound­ing with urgency.

They make their way to a pair of unat­tend­ed thoats and ride hard across the Mar­t­ian wilder­ness. Their weapons are dis­card­ed to mask their ori­gin, for to be rec­og­nized as Heli­u­mites in Dusar would mean cer­tain cap­ture. Their trek is silent and tense, minds focused on sur­vival rather than con­ver­sa­tion. The vast plains offer lit­tle shel­ter, and each noise in the dis­tance might mean dis­cov­ery. They ride for hours, nav­i­gat­ing ter­rain shaped by cen­turies of dust storms and ancient con­flict. Even­tu­al­ly, they reach the fer­tile lands near a canal—an area under cul­ti­va­tion, sig­nal­ing the approach of civ­i­liza­tion. The thoats are released, and the pair con­tin­ues on foot, cau­tious of every step and every gaze.

A mod­est farm offers a pause from dan­ger. There, they meet Hal Vas, a sim­ple man whose kind­ness is offered with­out sus­pi­cion. Shel­ter and nour­ish­ment are giv­en freely, and for a moment, Cartho­ris feels the weight of pur­suit ease. But ques­tions linger. They are in the domin­ions of Dusar, and the name of Cartho­ris car­ries risk. Any hint of iden­ti­ty might unrav­el the brief safe­ty they’ve found. So, Cartho­ris con­ceals who he is, watch­ing care­ful­ly and plan­ning their next move. Even in peace, the shad­ow of con­flict remains close.

Carthoris’s thoughts drift back to Thu­via. Her image is ever-present, a dri­ving force behind every deci­sion. The chal­lenges they face are not just personal—they are root­ed in a larg­er web of alliances and betray­als. Astok’s obses­sion has already pushed Mar­t­ian nations toward war. For Cartho­ris, each choice must weigh not only his sur­vival but the sur­vival of peace itself. And while the jour­ney has been marked by vio­lence and loss, it is also defined by loy­al­ty and resilience. His bond with Kar Komak, born from belief and test­ed in fire, serves as proof that even illu­sions can shape real­i­ty.

The chap­ter draws atten­tion to the unique blend of Mar­t­ian mys­ti­cism and strat­e­gy. The imag­ined bow­men serve not just as a trick, but as a reminder of how belief can man­i­fest pow­er. On Bar­soom, courage often depends not on weapons, but on the will to act when action seems impos­si­ble. As Cartho­ris and Kar Komak con­tin­ue their mis­sion, their minds sharp­en. Every chal­lenge deep­ens their resolve. And though the road ahead remains uncer­tain, their pur­pose burns brighter: to reach Thu­via, to restore order, and to pro­tect what hon­or still sur­vives in a world at war.