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A Memory of Terra Nithal
- A Memory of Terra Nithal -
As the seasons turned and so turned again, in the youth of the world, there were in the days when the peoples of the elfin races walked the lands of men certain places of great beauty and strangeness, of a sort that some might have called magical. Upon a certain day, in one such place, the waters of the sea took on an almost turquoise hue as the hours of the day hastened unto the time when the golden rays of the sun illuminated the dying day to prepare for the coming of night in all of its' dark splendors. As the ship that bore me pulled into the docks, I turned my gaze westward and thought of those domains that of old had once had a certain allure to me... the places of the gods, where I dared no longer walk or in any way show myself in a form that they might recognize. For me, in that time, the westward path was lost to me, and the ones who along with me had come down from the stars to make this world a home had over time come to regard me as an outcast even among they who had been like unto a family to me. Families even then always had their conflicts, their falling outs, and their troubles. And so it was that in the time of which I now write, I was not on any sort of welcome terms with them. The western horizon had a fey mist to it, the more I gazed in that direction, and I almost feared it might cost me much to so look upon it for too long. And so did I instead look east, and northwards, at the mountains that rose up to dominate the landscape before me. The port city was small and primitive by reasonable standards... and the peoples who dwelt there and called it home were somewhat strange to me, even though I was ever welcome in their midst. They were secretive, somewhat vague to speak with, and were fond at the oddest of times of creating verbal abstractions in order to make simpler matters seem grand. I pulled my black cloak about me, and tried to keep the spray of the crashing waves that kept striking the shores... even upon the docks themselves... from soaking me too much. It had been a rough passage hither, and there had been storms and winds that seemed unnatural which filled our sails and at times forced us to lower them and make with the rowers. The slaves who sat at the great oars did their best, and so did we weather the turbulence without losing our sails. I had been at sea before, and would again, over the long years of my life... a life that at the time was still mostly immortal. For the doom that befell Atlantis and the other nations like it had not yet quite come to pass. Rather, this was in the days of my wanderings... when Lilith still lived in the prime of her days after the downfall of Eden, and she awaited my eventual return at our distant and secret abode that was known to we and but few others. But that return is not in the scope of this account to relate, and so I am to tell of an odd adventure that befell me on this singular occasion in which I traveled to many foreign and strange lands to attempt to understand better what my purpose on this world should be. Thus had I come to the strange shores that I described. I arrived alone.
I was tall in those days, for before I was made human my height was great and I was not diminished as I would be upon the bestowing of mortality was laid upon my person. Tall, and with the sorcery to so weave glamours to make of my appearance whatsoever I desired it to be. On this occasion, my form as I willed it to appear was that of a pale woman with long crimson colored hair, that hair held back by this ornate silver circlet that was no illusion but very real. A circlet containing a circular emerald jewel that could have fit into the palm of one's hand had it not been mounted into that headpiece. It was something of the ancient days from before I came unto the world, a fragment of a greater stone that was no more. The great stone had broken, and now there were many stones from which were cut magical jewels that held great occult power. Of the largest piece of the broken stone, a massive tablet was carved, and unto it the secrets of spiritual alchemy that are known to my kind but a mystery to humanity. Of what befell it, I shall not relate the secret although it is known to me even now. My eyes were also green in the fair form I was wearing at that time I speak of herein, when I came unto those docks... and the build of my body was perhaps average for the height that I was, which no spell could disguise. I wore scarlet robes of soft material, and on my feet were leather sandals. Over my robes, I wore a cloak as black as is night.
The hood of my cloak was over my head, and in the hours of impending twilight the shadows of the day were long and looming, which at times cast my faces in obscurity when I wore my cloak this way. As it was, I found it difficult to share a gaze with mortals because I even now possess the ability to see into their hearts and know their feelings though not their thoughts. There are times when that can be a great burden to bear, and I did not actively seek out moments in which I had to subject myself to such. In time, it would become easier to control... somewhat... but in that ancient era, I had not yet learned how to do so effectively. Even so, I managed to keep myself grounded and I knew myself well enough that I could tell my own emotions from those I sensed in others. The sea foamed upon the rocks that did line the shore for many miles in all directions... this was never a safe harbor to put into, and yet people all the same accomplished this feat. I was not aware of the dangers of that shore until I was well along my way hither, and with no way to go back whence I had come. Within the hour, it would be nightfall, this I knew, and the stars were beginning to appear in places. Already was the moon high in the skies... and ever I found its' beauty breathtaking. The port city before me, I found to be less so. The buildings were all made from sandstone and mud bricks, in keeping with the warm climate of this particular part of the world, and the roofs were either thatched or tiled. During the day, the colors that the buildings' walls were painted with could be pleasant to look upon... but at night, all was gloomy and there was a sense of primitiveness that pervaded everything at least in the harbor district. The residential district had a far more tolerable and pleasing atmosphere, for there could be seen buildings cut from whitest marble... temples, palaces, and plazas of great architectural splendor. The houses and mansions of the nobility as well, which were sometimes made from stone or the rarer wood material. I say rarer due to the fact that in this city it was forbidden to use too much wood in things due to the fact that the elfin peoples who had aided the humans who built it determined that all should kept in a certain harmony with nature. And so they managed what industry they had, with a natural balance in mind. And in the grander districts of the city, where the splendid gardens lay and ivy could be seen on the oldest of all the structures... the balance and harmony felt very real. It was only in the harbor district where things felt unpleasant and the dirt and grime of that area made me hasten my pace as I made my way to where I most longed to be. Anywhere but there! My destination was a great outdoor forum that was open to all visitors, where emissaries of the nobility and oft members of the great noble families who governed the land in which I found myself could meet with people and discuss certain matters openly. There was a good deal of transparency in the government of this particular nation I noticed, and their dealings with the people were fair and proper. And yet, I cynically thought... what do they ever do about those who are living in squalor in the harbor district? Nothing! And so I had little respect for such politicians and their fleeting promises that amount to naught. My business was with one person in particular, and that person was pretty much at the time the only member of that city's nobility that I actually trusted at all. The columns of the forum rose up before me, the high archways and the grand amphitheater that served as the forum's spectacular place of business. It would have been grander, I thought, for parties and for musical performances... but these people were not artists by trade. They were merchants mostly, who lived in this city, and prided themselves on fair trade with other lands. And whilst they loved art, they had no talent for the finer forms of it, although they liked their bards and storytellers... just not in the forum of course. And even then, they were mostly from other lands. Imported diversions, so to speak. The woman I sought appeared somewhat bored as she sat on one of the great benches of the forum, her face having the look on it that says she is trying to pay attention but wished to be elsewhere. She wore a thin green cloak over a green gown of the finest silk, likely imported from the distant lands of the east. Her feet had on them matching green slippers, what passed for such in those days, and she had the dark coloration of skin common to more southerly climes, with long curly black hair that appeared almost a bit wild. Her features were broad and pleasant, and her eyes were dark and appeared to be full of worry.
She was short by human standards, and so seemed even more so to me as I approached her. She did look up at me before I sat down next to her, regarding me with a haunted familiarity. We had met many times before in the past, and she knew what I truly was beneath the glamour I employed. She had seen me in this particular form I wore previously, and that is why she recognized me at all. “I do not recall sending for you this time, Lord Samael.” she whispered, to which I thus replied: “It is Lady Samael, at this time, and actually I would prefer it if you called me instead Lady Anastir. I do not wish for anyone to know of my true identity... mostly, because I have enemies that may be seeking to do me great harm. You have not ever told anyone who I really am, have you? You did swear an oath to me, and I still have the contract you signed in your own blood in case you need a reminder.” I actually did have it on me, it was folded up and kept in the pouch that hung from the black sash belt that I wore about my waist. She did not need the reminder, however, and stated earnestly: “Oh fear not, Lord! I did not pledge myself to you in soul without also having pledged my heart unto you first. By the love I bear for you, which is in truth boundless, I would dare not betray either yourself or any of the secrets we share. I would not wish to incur either your wrath or the Lady Lilith's, after all!” And she felt a tremendous fear well up in her as she thought of all the things that Lilith could do to her, had she a mind to be malicious or wrathful. And so I was relieved to hear her speak these things to me! No one could overhear use, since we were seated in a section of the forum where there was no one else at this hour of the day, with the onset of night's hours falling swiftly and sure. Most business was finished for the day come nightfall, and only criminal cases were brought before the forums come the moon's rising. Also, we spoke together in very low tones and whispers so that only we knew of what we shared. I said to the woman: “Narisha, I know well that you did not send for me... but rather, I came of my own accord this time. I received word that you were troubled by something, and in truth since I myself am troubled as it is... I thought that if it was possible I might aid you in some fashion, then I could forget my own problems for a time and focus on whatsoever you may be needing help regarding.” I was honest with her, and took a reasonable tone. She said unto me in reply: “You are definitely more pleasant in manner with me than your grim paramour is! Lilith frightens me terribly, Anastir. And yes, I shall call you by that name if you would prefer!” she appeared deep in thought for a bit, and then stated: “I have a certain trouble that I do not know how to solve, and it has been weighing upon me heavily. Several weeks ago, a party of elfin peoples of one of the oldest kindred of their race complained in the forum that some of their people who work on farms in these lands were abducted during the night by masked individuals who all wore black cloaks and also black robes. The cloaked men, for men they were, wore golden masks with stylized horns upon the tops of the masks. Seven horns in all, and from my studies there is a dark occult symbolism at work in both those masks and in the attire of the kidnappers. The elfin men and women who were taken were all of different families and houses, none of them noble either... and so this act could not be for ransom. We had sent warriors to track the villains and return those who were taken... but the warriors we sent never returned, nor have we had word either of them or from them. We sent further armed parties, and those managed to trace the previous warriors as far as the great valley of barren stones in the southernmost reaches of this land's boundaries, where they discovered their armor and weapons strewn about among the baked soil of that hot, arid region. I do not know if your travels ever took you there, but is a terrible place and people die from the heat of the sun there, for nothing grows and there is no water to drink of. But it appeared that either the first warriors we sent were robbed or killed, for there was much blood, all of it old and dried by that time, to be found at the location the second party discovered. A trail of blood led to an ancient temple that was sealed tightly and securely so that there could be no entering it. It thus appeared that the kidnappers were using the temple as their base of operations. The second party came back to the city, and that is how we learned all that we know now. I was thinking of leading a party to that place myself within the next several days in order to investigate further, but I am afraid to do this.”
Having heard the sad tale, I agreed to accompany Magistrate Narisha on her journey to that forsaken temple. My knowledge of the elfin people, and of occult lore and secrets, would make me a great asset on such an expedition. Plus, I was very fond of the lady herself and did not wish any harm to come to her on such a perilous journey. I took her hand in mine before we left the forum to prepare, and she and I shared a deep, passionate kiss that coincided perfectly with nightfall. We loved each other, and I never told Lilith about just how much... she would have found it amusing, me taking a mortal for a lover as I did. But it was not the first time I had, and would not be the last. I found human women alluring, and it was something the gods disliked about me very strongly... for there was a time when they deemed it to be forbidden for our kind to take human lovers. I broke with that prohibition, as did others who thought as I did, and many of my peers were punished for this... and their torments were terrible to ponder. But I was too high, too esteemed in the courts of the gods for them to punish that way without causing more to rebel against their authority in solidarity with me. And so, they simply decided that me having seen what befell those others was a punishment enough for me to endure... and it was hoped by them that in time my fascination with human women would wane, especially given that I had the dark goddess Lilith as my consort. But Lilith understood me well, and encouraged me at times to take such mortal lovers as I found desirable. “Their lives are brief, and they need to love of the gods to give those lives meaning.” Lilith oft told me, and so I showered with love those mortals to whom I felt drawn. Narisha was one of my dearest companions throughout her lifetime, and like Lilith she had a direct manner to her that was blunt at times but always polite regardless. I would never outgrow the fascination I felt with women of Narisha's caliber... for there was a light and love, and passion, within her that would put even the gods to shame if they could but be bothered to look so deeply into hearts such as hers. “One day, if they are wise, they might be like unto us!” I argued with a messenger of the gods once, who sought me out to lecture and chastise me. He merely said of the matter: “Let us hope they never gain such power! It is as likely that it would lead them to destroy themselves.” and sadly the doom of Atlantis would prove his words to be true. But that day was far off in the future at that time, and so I was optimistic for humanity rather than resigned to the pessimism that was frequent within the counsels of the gods regarding such.
Our contract was a formality, a written agreement established between the lady magistrate and myself that she felt bound herself to me officially. Humans had all of these ideas about me, and one of the most enduring of those legends was that a contract could be made between myself and them whereby I would gain their souls and they would gain their hearts desires. I was no magical Jinn, I could not grant people whatever they wished for... but I could teach them how to obtain it for themselves. Narisha wished for a man or a woman of beauty and intelligence to love her, she cared not which it be, for she was lonely in life and her former suitors and paramours were not to her liking. And so I granted her what she wished for the most by becoming her lover myself in both male and female forms of great beauty... and ever I showed her my intelligence, until she found it as attractive as ever she did my flesh. If not more so! She had been a young girl when first we met, and even now in her late thirties she was beautiful still, and filled with youthful spirit. She was practically aglow with that spirit the next morning when we began to plan for our journey to the south... like a child anticipating their parents taking them on a trip. She had a lot of faith in my ability to protect her and keep her safe. I kept on my belt an extendable electric sword that was one of the weapons I carried with me from the planets on which I lived before coming to dwell upon the world you know as Earth. It was in shape like unto a metal cylinder, but when one did press on it a certain button and push the button in a specific direction, the bladed folded up inside of it would unfold and extend, until it was the length of a medieval long sword only light enough that even a child could wield it with ease. The blade would then be reinforced by an energy field that would ensure it remained strong and would not fold back up again unless the button was moved in the opposite way.
Another button elsewhere on the cylinder that functioned as the sword's hilt would fill the extended blade with a powerful electric charge that could incapacitate a person who was struck with the flat of the blade itself in much the same way that a taser gun can. But the sharp edge of the sword was keen enough to cut through even metal. Flesh and bone were like butter before it! The energy field was not visible to the eye, but when the electric charge was deployed through the sword, one could see visibly the lightning-like energy crackling through the blade's entire length. Various colors could be chosen for this display, and the one I chose was a fiery red. The battery that powered it was of a sort that was good for at least one thousand years before needing to be replaced. And... I had just replaced it one thousand years previously! I showed the sword to Narisha and I explained how it worked to her... but she averted her eyes and acted like it was some sort of dark forbidden magic. “The weapons of the gods, we are not meant to look upon! Swords of fire and flame are not of this world.” she exclaimed, and I laughed a bit at the notion before putting it back in its' resting place at my belt. Ere long, we had changed our clothes and made ready for the long paths ahead of us. I had on a red gown of the local style, and wore a pair of black sandals that were more made for long travels than the ones I had come by ship wearing. I tied my hair up and back in a high ponytail so it would be out of my face... a practical precaution in case battle was called for. And around my waist I wore a thin leather belt with a silver buckle, which was sturdier than the sash belts I wore for more casual moments. I put on my black cloak, and explained that it was of a sort that sounded very much like those worn by the kidnappers. I reasoned that perhaps I might be able to pass for one of them and gain entry into the temple where others could not. There was no time to have a mask made like unto the ones the villains were described as wearing, and so that was the one part of my disguise that would be missing. Every minute we wasted, the elves who had been taken may be in ever greater peril we reasoned. And so before too much longer we gathered a group of warriors in the employ of the city and were bound for the south on our dangerous expedition. Chariots were made ready, with fast horses to draw them, and we brought plenty of water and food for the journey with us. Especially water, given that there would be none in the barren domain that awaited us. All of us wore black cloaks and robes to disguise our actual identities. “They will be expecting more warriors... so let us give them something else to consider!” both Narisha and myself recommended. The chariots were all draped with black cloth and leather which were strapped in place to them, and the look of our band was very sinister indeed. Narisha wore a black gown and was given a black cloak like unto mine to wear... and I could not help but notice how darkly magnificent the woman looked in all black. Only my gown, my red gown, made me stand out from my companions, and that was intentional. I wanted those whom we sought to assume I was the leader here, and attempt to communicate with me. I had the advantage of carrying an advanced weapon, and so would be the least in danger if I were to be set upon. Thus was it that so garbed we made our way out from the city and were gone out for many hours across the pastoral countryside. We left in haste, and made our way in haste, stopping only when the horses tired so that we might continue on without losing them... and stopping to rest when it got to be midday. It was late in the afternoon when we arrived in the hot lands to the south, where all was as I had heard it to be. A hellish landscape of baked earth and rugged rocks, with high cliffs and towering jagged protrusions of granite that tore upwards like claws from the ground. The very landscape appeared to have been almost warped at some point in the distant past, but by what power or force it could not be imagined. The skies had been clear for most of the day, but it grew cloudy as it got nearer to dusk and that overcast sky thus made the barren lands before us appear pretty much otherworldly and grim. The men and women with us were all hardened warriors, trained killers of men, and yet they shook nervously to see wherein we now tread. We found the place with the dried blood, the armor and weapons having been taken from the site long before and brought back to the city to show to the families of the missing warriors who were likely all slain, their bodies taken away by the kidnappers. And there was indeed, a trail of blood there!
We followed the trail until in the distance we could make out the temple that dominated the area like a spider dominates its' web. The temple was ancient looking, rectangular in length and shape, but with great towers rising up from its' crenelated walls. It was like nothing from that primeval era, and would have been more fitting in a medieval setting... but there were stranger elements to its' architecture that were almost alien in design, like things not of this world but imported form some other. Bizarre, mad styles could be seen to its' form, and there seemed to be more towers, minarets and spires than should have been possible. There were many outbuildings around the central temple, and the walls of them all seemed to be at weird angles, as if there had been no rhyme or reason to their construction. Statues of demonic winged creatures were arrayed to either side of the temple's main gates, and those were very much like unto sphinxes but with devilish, skeletal faces and bat-like wings. Countless unblinking eyes were carved into as much of the creatures' stone bodies as one could fit them, and I knew from ancient lore that these were some sort of guardian demons of a sort that had once been angelic messengers of the gods. This was how certain ancient cultures imagined such beings to look, and so I could tell that whoever lived in that temple was looking not to the gods for protection, but to the fallen ones. Those like myself, who were far from the gods' good graces. I had the advantage here, if I were to reveal my true nature! But I dared not, lest I offend the warriors we brought with us from the city. The gates were made from stone and metal, not wood, and appeared massive. As did the whole of the temple itself, its' form monstrous and intimidating to behold. I got off from the chariot I shared with Narisha, and made my way to the gates, where I looked to see if there were door knockers of any kind upon them, which there indeed were. I struck the gates with the knockers many times, the metal on metal ringing loudly and hollowly as I did so. Soon, a voice called out from a high window in one of the many towers that rose up above, and said unto me in a tongue native to that region, which I understood: “I see your party down there! Are you here as brethren to us then, or do you mean us some mischief?” to which I replied in the same language: “My people and I have come hither as brethren, as fellow disciples of the dark. We have no love for the elves, and even less for men who keep their company! Would you allow us to enter, so that we might share knowledge and see what an alliance between us might bring forth?” and the man in the tower, for it was a man, answered by saying: “That sounds intriguing, and I must admit you are the first of the other dark sects to reach us in our remoteness here. There was first but one sect originally, but as you can well imagine there was need for secrecy and so we have become many over the years! But we are many, and in numbers there is strength. So be welcome, sister! I would find it a very pleasing thing, to speak with you. We have had less eloquent visitors of late, and we had to deal with them accordingly to their rudeness.” And so the gates were opened by some mechanisms within the temple that automated the process. I could hear great chains moving and gears turning, and I knew that unlike those who lived in the city... these people were privy to more advanced forms of learning. And that is what made them so dangerous if moved to violence! For as good as my weapon was, I had no way of knowing what weapons those who lived within the temple's walls possessed. Nor, the full count of their numbers, which could be great indeed! I signaled for Narisha and the others to follow me, and once the temple gates had fully opened we entered the great building, which felt as if it swallowed us whole as we made our way through its' torch-lit halls. In addition to wall-mounted torches, there had been great braziers within the temple too, often to either side of stairs and to either side of some doors. The chariots and horses were taken by servants to indoor stables to be looked after, and there were all manner of people living within the temple... families and their children, along with merchants and holy men and holy women, although holy might not have been the right word for the worship of fallen gods that others considered demons and devils. These communities appeared not unlike those of the city... only I noticed there were no rich or poor. Everyone was equal here, and everyone seemed to live well. I saw wells that likely led to underground water supplies, and storage areas for food and essential things.
What I did not see were any warriors or soldiers of any kind, which surprised me. Soon, we came to a part of the temple where we were greeted by several men and women wearing flowing black gowns and robes. The leader of them was a woman, and her face was covered by a golden mask which bore on it the likeness of her features but idealized in the way that masks like that always are. The mask had on it seven horns rising up from its' forehead, all of them small and curving up and back a ways. The woman greeted us warmly, and greeted me warmly in particular, so saying: “Welcome to Legion Temple! I can see that you find our home remarkable, which does not surprise me. After all, it was built by the Titans in ages past and so is shunned by the gods, which suits our needs just fine given we too are shunned by them. Samael, it is wonderful to see you again after so many centuries beyond counting!” and she could see right through the glamour I was using. On hearing the name she spoke, I could hear the warriors of our party swallowing hard and gulping, some of them sweated nervously and all of them tried not to let their anger show. They knew of Samael, of me, only as a demonic being... a god of death, and one who was instrumental in the downfall of Eden. If we ever returned to the city again, they would surely seek to end my life, thinking the slaying of me to be a righteous deed to please the gods! They would fail and in failing their anger would only grow. I could not allow that to happen, especially since they might also seek to harm Narisha, having seen her with me and knowing how close she and I were. They seemed to be afraid of me, but also they were filled with barely contained fury. I needed to quench that fury, but in a way that left me guiltless and not able to be tied to their deaths! I did not at first recognize the masked woman's voice, but when she removed her mask I knew her face very well. It was a face that I had not ever expected to see on this planet, so far from the world on which I had known her so intimately. She had changed, somehow become mortal and human, but regardless of anything else it was still her! Still my old mentor in the dark arts, Sybil of Terra Nithal. She looked exactly the same appearance-wise, as if she had never perished during her attempt to seize the throne of the planet Terra Nithal for herself... and I found her if anything even more beautiful to look upon than ever. Her skin was light in color but not pale, and her hair as she pulled back the hood of her cloak was a rather light shade of blonde, wavy but not curly. She wore dark eye makeup and black lipstick, and her fingers were painted with a black nail polish. On her right hand she wore a black but otherwise unadorned ring upon her index finger, and her eyes were blue and somewhat cold looking... but I knew the warmth that hid within them very well. She then offered: “Or should I call you Gislu, as I did when last we met? It is your choice, of course. I live only to serve you, my Prime Archon!” and she bowed before me, putting her face to the floor as she did so. These people who lived in this temple, I knew then that they would die for me if I asked them to so such a thing, which I would never do. All of the other members of her dark sect then joined her in bowing, and it was then that I began to count how many warriors we had brought with us from the city. Eight or ten, no more than ten I figured it was. If they could but be distracted, I could cut them all down with ease! I said to Sybil: “Sybil, it has been so very long... too long... since last we were in the glory of each other's dark company! But time and fate have brought us back together once more. You may, if it pleases you, call me Gislu... it will be good to be called by that old name again, a reminder of simpler, better times.” and she stood up slowly, smiling in that cheerful, mischievous way her smile always had. I then explained: “But these people who have come here with us... aside from this woman here...” and I pointed to Narisha before continuing: “They are all spies from the city, warriors disguised as acolytes. Their duplicity was made known to me during our journey here, and they must pay for their deception in a way that is befitting of traitors.” I could sense their anger building, their fear now turning to panic as Sybil clapped her hands together and out of the shadows emerged forty individuals who moved a bit stiffly but who were otherwise quite fast, and apparently immensely strong because they subdued and dragged the disguised warriors to a part of the chamber in which there was what appeared to be a dais covered in bloodstains that was reserved for executions. And the warriors were helpless before them!
All of this happened so quickly, that not one of the warriors could draw a weapon in time to act. They all cried out that I had betrayed them, that Narisha, who kept silent the whole time had also betrayed the city and them alike. But we said nothing, and Sybil said only: “Thank you, Gislu! I appreciate how very honest you have always been with me.” and she snapped her fingers with a loud snap. On hearing this, the forty strong ones who had dragged the warriors to their doom threw off the black hooded cloaks and masks that they wore, revealing skeletal faces beneath. I knew what they were now, for I had seen their like before on Terra Nithal! Sybil was creating more of her deathless warriors, likely using the bones of the warriors sent from the city to make them from. They were lifeless constructs with no souls in them, unions of bone and machine, the result of a twisted merging of science and sorcery that was forbidden, and had been for centuries beyond counting even before our kind had come to Earth to live. The awful creatures tore the warriors apart in a spectacularly gruesome fashion, carrying the bloody remains away likely to be used in the creation of more such robotic horrors. It was clear that Sybil must have found in this temple the technologies necessary to create her old soulless servants once again, and it was clear to me also that I needed to stop her from making any more, at all costs. Narisha, on witnessing this, was to my surprise unmoved by the sight... or she was feigning being unmoved by it in order to not give away that she too was from the city, lest she incur the dark sorceress' wrath. I spent the next several days as a kind of apprentice to Sybil once again, as I had been when we met back on Terra Nithal... and from her, I learned everything there was to know about the creation of her deathless warriors. She took me down to the lowest part of the temple, which looked like some sort of engine room of a great spacecraft, and I saw that the walls there were metallic, like a ship's bulkheads, and that was when I began to wonder if perhaps this temple was built over the wreckage of a crashed vessel from another world. I asked Sybil how it was that she came upon this place, and she said unto me: “How did I get here, you mean? Well, for one thing I am not of course in my original body, which was destroyed back on Terra Nithal. I was reincarnated many times over since then, and in my latest life I was born on a distant world very far and removed from this backwoods planet. As bad luck would so have it, that world was dying and everyone had to flee it in various massive generational crafts in order to attempt to reach habitable worlds known to our science. The one I got put on was damaged and ended up going off course, which ended in the whole thing crashing here in this desolate place, on this equally unpleasant planet. The device that had created stable wormholes to travel through exploded in the crash, causing the whole area here to end up warped beyond recognition. I doubt anything will ever grow in that desolation again, not that it was at all much better before the explosion. My people and I were sealed safely in the residential part of the ship, but the bridge was torn apart along with the main crew, and there was very little left to salvage so we repurposed what to had left in order to build this temple and hide the technology we had brought with us once we noticed the native inhabitants of this world were extremely primitive and tribal. That is also why we created this dark cult of ours to play on their superstitions and keep them away from us... and, it is why we are creating my old boneheaded servants once again. Lately, the natives from the city keep getting closer and closer to here, and the elves especially seem to be becoming overtly curious as to what is going on, which is why we had to abduct some of them. Not randomly, mind you! But these ones we took, they had seen inside the temple and we couldn't have them talking about what they saw. As for why I remember Terra Nithal and you, and everything else... it is because like you I was granted the burden of remembering every single past life I have ever had by the powers that govern such things. Or maybe I'm just lucky like that, is all! In any case, now that you know everything going on here what do you intend to do I wonder. I mean, the last time you and that little... child... Sapphira decided to kill me in an incredibly brutal manner. I would like to believe you are more enlightened now, Gislu, and in possession of enough wisdom to know that this time I am not desiring rule over anything except for this one little temple in the middle of nowhere. A new home for my people and I, so we can live in peace.”
And there, in that ancient, long dormant engine room... the engine was being used to power a massive generator that Sybil explained to me was not only the means by which her deathless warriors were able to be activated, but also it powered the vessel's water purification systems so that the water drawn from the wells, and there were several wells throughout the temple, could be purified and any uncleanliness removed from it. “Many people died in the first year after the crash because the water in this region was befouled when the explosion occurred... irradiated so that drinking from it caused people to sicken and die very slow and painful deaths. The first well we dug, became a well of death rather than life! Those you see now have their water sources purified by the system we have in place thanks to the technologies we were able to get working again that allow for this. But if anything should happen to this engine, our entire way of life here, and all of the comforts we now enjoy once again, would be destroyed, forcing us to become wanderers and to live a more primitive lifestyle than we should like. We cannot be expected, after all, to live like the creatures that call this planet their home!” and I cautioned Sybil, saying: “Yet, you clearly worship me as some sort of god in your sect, and not just to play to human fears either! And I call this planet home now, as do many of our kindred from the stars. We are not human any more than you are, and yet many of us have had to live at their level just to survive on this world in places where we do not always have access to the old technologies. Besides, you claimed that this place was built by the Titans in another era and shunned by the gods! Or was that a lie? At least make up your mind which story you wish to tell, Sybil, if you wish to gain my sympathies telling stories at all.” And she blushed a bit, and fidgeted nervously as she tried to correct herself: “I meant, that... rather, this place was... never mind! Very well we stole the craft from Titans who came to visit our planet, in order to escape after the last generational ship had already left, leaving the Titans behind to perish in our place. Technically, this craft was probably the oldest ship we had in all our lives ever seen... and... the gods all do shun this site now, thinking it is cursed. So that is the truth, every bit of it! Are you going to lecture me, about telling the full truth... when you walk about using physio-holographic tech in order to convince people you are casting glamour spells that do not exist? Using assumed names and fresh identities whenever you have need of them, too. We are no different, you and I! Only in what methods we employ to make our lives bearable.” I then said to her flatly: “My life is quite bearable to me, and I have never once had any need of skeletal constructs in order to make it so! I fully intend to destroy this old engine, Sybil, and end this deathless plague you are creating before you even by accident can cause it to spread farther than it has already. I remember what happened back on Terra Nithal, and I swore a profound oath then and there that it would not happen again. I intend to abide by my oath, and if you have to live on the same level as these 'primitive' humans for a time, I suspect that it will do you a world of good, and teach you that oft those you think are lesser than you, are the most worthy of respect of all.” I then cut into the metal of the engine using my sword, cutting through it and releasing a full electrical charge as I went along. The resulting damage was insufficient so I pushed the blade further into the engine and then set the battery of my sword to overload, which was a self-destruct mechanism designed to prevent the weapon from falling into any enemy's hands. It could also double as a suicide method if such was ever needed. But on this occasion, what was needed was a bomb, and for that the weapon would do perfectly. Sybil rushed forward screaming, and tried to pull the weapon out of the engine, fatally electrocuting herself. I did the smart thing and ran as if all of Hell were chasing me. On my way back up to the temple's upper levels, I grabbed Narisha by the arm and told her that we needed to run. Fast! And we rushed out of that temple just as the engine exploded, which caused the entire building to collapse, reducing it to a heap of rubble that would forever serve as a sad monument to Sybil's pride and arrogance. I fell to my knees on the hot ground and wept, not for Sybil's passing which she had brought upon herself... but for all of those of her people who were innocent, who perished along with her. Narisha tried to console me and in the end she brought me back to the city, where the nobles and their elfin allies welcomed me as if I were their hero.
I had to explain, why the elves who had been taken by Sybil could not be saved... explaining that we never were able to find them or discover what became of them. I had to omit huge portions of what so passed between Sybil and I, and pretty much her entire story that she had told me... I said only that she was a dark sorceress and a bandit of sorts, who was attempting to raise an army of the dead in order to keep people away from the temple that she had claimed for herself, and that there were others of her coven who lived there with her, and that they were attempting to start up their own civilization there. And that despite being dark and twisted, they had only wished to be left in peace. A part of me wanted to honor Sybil, and give meaning to her and her peoples' deaths, and I longed to repent of having acted so rashly and in a way that ended with innocents perishing. The mayor of the city, a rather plump and gray-haired man in his late sixties who wore a dark blue robe that looked like a tent on him, whispered something to the beautiful spokeswoman for the elves who lived and worked on the mayor's lands. She was about six feet tall in height, pretty much the average for her people, and that is to say she was not very tall at all according to elvish standards. Like many of the nobles of her race, she wore gauzy robes that were delicate looking, and of light colors, in her case light green with pale blue trim. Her hair was long, pale blonde, and braided in a fashion that was distinctively elvish. Her skin was tan and had a bit of a subtle glow to it, but that may well have been the sun given that we were outdoors in the forum for this solemn occasion. I had known others of her race, but those I had made the acquaintance of were of the darker haired variety who were known more for their xenophobia towards outsiders. This woman was of a vastly older race than they, one that had originally come from the legendary other world that had always been a highly integral part of the most secretive and sacred of all known elvish traditions, and which was a place that no one who was not of their kindred had ever laid eyes upon. The elf lady's eyes were the color of pale lavender, a shade not found in the colors of human eyes. She smiled at me very sweetly and graciously, before declaring: “For your heroic deeds, and for escorting back to us in health and safety the person of Magistrate Narisha of the House of Bharlin... and, for dealing with this scourge that stalked both our peoples in these blessed and gods-protected lands... it will be my personal pleasure to present you with a title and lands befitting of a member of this great city's nobility. You will have servants to tend to your needs, and farmers to tend the fields of your lands... you will...” and she went on and on like that, bestowing upon me everything a human might have wanted but which to me seemed all very hollow and meaningless given that in my present body at the time I was going to just end up outliving everyone there anyway and eventually witnessing the city's eventual decline. I had a mind to ask for the hand of Magistrate Narisha on top of everything else, and so I did exactly that. It had always been my intention to take her back with me to the place that Lilith and I called home. And she had always been very pleased with the idea whenever I brought it up saying that she longed as it was to leave the life of a magistrate behind her, finding it dull and boring in the extreme. Once all of the present formalities were concluded, and I was given all of the official scrolls and tablets on which were recorded the details of my new position in the city as Lady Anastir... a title that was now official, whereas before everyone called me that only because of how nobly I carried myself... the wedding was conducted whereby Narisha and I were joined together as wife and wife. In that city, in those days, this was a very common practice for people to marry others of the same gender whom they so loved. And, in this modern era I am living in now as I write this account, I am pleased to see that this has become very much a common practice once again! After the wedding was over and the honeymoon days had come and gone in pleasure and bliss, I renounced my noble title the same day that Narisha resigned her position as magistrate, giving the job to an woman of the elvish race who was said to have just the right aptitude and qualifications for it. We set out upon the journey back to the place whence I had come, to where Lilith awaited my return. My dreams were haunted by the memory of Sybil and her people and of what befell them, and the guilt I felt over it... but with my two brides at my side, I would heal with time.
As the seasons turned and so turned again, in the youth of the world, there were in the days when the peoples of the elfin races walked the lands of men certain places of great beauty and strangeness, of a sort that some might have called magical. Upon a certain day, in one such place, the waters of the sea took on an almost turquoise hue as the hours of the day hastened unto the time when the golden rays of the sun illuminated the dying day to prepare for the coming of night in all of its' dark splendors. As the ship that bore me pulled into the docks, I turned my gaze westward and thought of those domains that of old had once had a certain allure to me... the places of the gods, where I dared no longer walk or in any way show myself in a form that they might recognize. For me, in that time, the westward path was lost to me, and the ones who along with me had come down from the stars to make this world a home had over time come to regard me as an outcast even among they who had been like unto a family to me. Families even then always had their conflicts, their falling outs, and their troubles. And so it was that in the time of which I now write, I was not on any sort of welcome terms with them. The western horizon had a fey mist to it, the more I gazed in that direction, and I almost feared it might cost me much to so look upon it for too long. And so did I instead look east, and northwards, at the mountains that rose up to dominate the landscape before me. The port city was small and primitive by reasonable standards... and the peoples who dwelt there and called it home were somewhat strange to me, even though I was ever welcome in their midst. They were secretive, somewhat vague to speak with, and were fond at the oddest of times of creating verbal abstractions in order to make simpler matters seem grand. I pulled my black cloak about me, and tried to keep the spray of the crashing waves that kept striking the shores... even upon the docks themselves... from soaking me too much. It had been a rough passage hither, and there had been storms and winds that seemed unnatural which filled our sails and at times forced us to lower them and make with the rowers. The slaves who sat at the great oars did their best, and so did we weather the turbulence without losing our sails. I had been at sea before, and would again, over the long years of my life... a life that at the time was still mostly immortal. For the doom that befell Atlantis and the other nations like it had not yet quite come to pass. Rather, this was in the days of my wanderings... when Lilith still lived in the prime of her days after the downfall of Eden, and she awaited my eventual return at our distant and secret abode that was known to we and but few others. But that return is not in the scope of this account to relate, and so I am to tell of an odd adventure that befell me on this singular occasion in which I traveled to many foreign and strange lands to attempt to understand better what my purpose on this world should be. Thus had I come to the strange shores that I described. I arrived alone.
I was tall in those days, for before I was made human my height was great and I was not diminished as I would be upon the bestowing of mortality was laid upon my person. Tall, and with the sorcery to so weave glamours to make of my appearance whatsoever I desired it to be. On this occasion, my form as I willed it to appear was that of a pale woman with long crimson colored hair, that hair held back by this ornate silver circlet that was no illusion but very real. A circlet containing a circular emerald jewel that could have fit into the palm of one's hand had it not been mounted into that headpiece. It was something of the ancient days from before I came unto the world, a fragment of a greater stone that was no more. The great stone had broken, and now there were many stones from which were cut magical jewels that held great occult power. Of the largest piece of the broken stone, a massive tablet was carved, and unto it the secrets of spiritual alchemy that are known to my kind but a mystery to humanity. Of what befell it, I shall not relate the secret although it is known to me even now. My eyes were also green in the fair form I was wearing at that time I speak of herein, when I came unto those docks... and the build of my body was perhaps average for the height that I was, which no spell could disguise. I wore scarlet robes of soft material, and on my feet were leather sandals. Over my robes, I wore a cloak as black as is night.
The hood of my cloak was over my head, and in the hours of impending twilight the shadows of the day were long and looming, which at times cast my faces in obscurity when I wore my cloak this way. As it was, I found it difficult to share a gaze with mortals because I even now possess the ability to see into their hearts and know their feelings though not their thoughts. There are times when that can be a great burden to bear, and I did not actively seek out moments in which I had to subject myself to such. In time, it would become easier to control... somewhat... but in that ancient era, I had not yet learned how to do so effectively. Even so, I managed to keep myself grounded and I knew myself well enough that I could tell my own emotions from those I sensed in others. The sea foamed upon the rocks that did line the shore for many miles in all directions... this was never a safe harbor to put into, and yet people all the same accomplished this feat. I was not aware of the dangers of that shore until I was well along my way hither, and with no way to go back whence I had come. Within the hour, it would be nightfall, this I knew, and the stars were beginning to appear in places. Already was the moon high in the skies... and ever I found its' beauty breathtaking. The port city before me, I found to be less so. The buildings were all made from sandstone and mud bricks, in keeping with the warm climate of this particular part of the world, and the roofs were either thatched or tiled. During the day, the colors that the buildings' walls were painted with could be pleasant to look upon... but at night, all was gloomy and there was a sense of primitiveness that pervaded everything at least in the harbor district. The residential district had a far more tolerable and pleasing atmosphere, for there could be seen buildings cut from whitest marble... temples, palaces, and plazas of great architectural splendor. The houses and mansions of the nobility as well, which were sometimes made from stone or the rarer wood material. I say rarer due to the fact that in this city it was forbidden to use too much wood in things due to the fact that the elfin peoples who had aided the humans who built it determined that all should kept in a certain harmony with nature. And so they managed what industry they had, with a natural balance in mind. And in the grander districts of the city, where the splendid gardens lay and ivy could be seen on the oldest of all the structures... the balance and harmony felt very real. It was only in the harbor district where things felt unpleasant and the dirt and grime of that area made me hasten my pace as I made my way to where I most longed to be. Anywhere but there! My destination was a great outdoor forum that was open to all visitors, where emissaries of the nobility and oft members of the great noble families who governed the land in which I found myself could meet with people and discuss certain matters openly. There was a good deal of transparency in the government of this particular nation I noticed, and their dealings with the people were fair and proper. And yet, I cynically thought... what do they ever do about those who are living in squalor in the harbor district? Nothing! And so I had little respect for such politicians and their fleeting promises that amount to naught. My business was with one person in particular, and that person was pretty much at the time the only member of that city's nobility that I actually trusted at all. The columns of the forum rose up before me, the high archways and the grand amphitheater that served as the forum's spectacular place of business. It would have been grander, I thought, for parties and for musical performances... but these people were not artists by trade. They were merchants mostly, who lived in this city, and prided themselves on fair trade with other lands. And whilst they loved art, they had no talent for the finer forms of it, although they liked their bards and storytellers... just not in the forum of course. And even then, they were mostly from other lands. Imported diversions, so to speak. The woman I sought appeared somewhat bored as she sat on one of the great benches of the forum, her face having the look on it that says she is trying to pay attention but wished to be elsewhere. She wore a thin green cloak over a green gown of the finest silk, likely imported from the distant lands of the east. Her feet had on them matching green slippers, what passed for such in those days, and she had the dark coloration of skin common to more southerly climes, with long curly black hair that appeared almost a bit wild. Her features were broad and pleasant, and her eyes were dark and appeared to be full of worry.
She was short by human standards, and so seemed even more so to me as I approached her. She did look up at me before I sat down next to her, regarding me with a haunted familiarity. We had met many times before in the past, and she knew what I truly was beneath the glamour I employed. She had seen me in this particular form I wore previously, and that is why she recognized me at all. “I do not recall sending for you this time, Lord Samael.” she whispered, to which I thus replied: “It is Lady Samael, at this time, and actually I would prefer it if you called me instead Lady Anastir. I do not wish for anyone to know of my true identity... mostly, because I have enemies that may be seeking to do me great harm. You have not ever told anyone who I really am, have you? You did swear an oath to me, and I still have the contract you signed in your own blood in case you need a reminder.” I actually did have it on me, it was folded up and kept in the pouch that hung from the black sash belt that I wore about my waist. She did not need the reminder, however, and stated earnestly: “Oh fear not, Lord! I did not pledge myself to you in soul without also having pledged my heart unto you first. By the love I bear for you, which is in truth boundless, I would dare not betray either yourself or any of the secrets we share. I would not wish to incur either your wrath or the Lady Lilith's, after all!” And she felt a tremendous fear well up in her as she thought of all the things that Lilith could do to her, had she a mind to be malicious or wrathful. And so I was relieved to hear her speak these things to me! No one could overhear use, since we were seated in a section of the forum where there was no one else at this hour of the day, with the onset of night's hours falling swiftly and sure. Most business was finished for the day come nightfall, and only criminal cases were brought before the forums come the moon's rising. Also, we spoke together in very low tones and whispers so that only we knew of what we shared. I said to the woman: “Narisha, I know well that you did not send for me... but rather, I came of my own accord this time. I received word that you were troubled by something, and in truth since I myself am troubled as it is... I thought that if it was possible I might aid you in some fashion, then I could forget my own problems for a time and focus on whatsoever you may be needing help regarding.” I was honest with her, and took a reasonable tone. She said unto me in reply: “You are definitely more pleasant in manner with me than your grim paramour is! Lilith frightens me terribly, Anastir. And yes, I shall call you by that name if you would prefer!” she appeared deep in thought for a bit, and then stated: “I have a certain trouble that I do not know how to solve, and it has been weighing upon me heavily. Several weeks ago, a party of elfin peoples of one of the oldest kindred of their race complained in the forum that some of their people who work on farms in these lands were abducted during the night by masked individuals who all wore black cloaks and also black robes. The cloaked men, for men they were, wore golden masks with stylized horns upon the tops of the masks. Seven horns in all, and from my studies there is a dark occult symbolism at work in both those masks and in the attire of the kidnappers. The elfin men and women who were taken were all of different families and houses, none of them noble either... and so this act could not be for ransom. We had sent warriors to track the villains and return those who were taken... but the warriors we sent never returned, nor have we had word either of them or from them. We sent further armed parties, and those managed to trace the previous warriors as far as the great valley of barren stones in the southernmost reaches of this land's boundaries, where they discovered their armor and weapons strewn about among the baked soil of that hot, arid region. I do not know if your travels ever took you there, but is a terrible place and people die from the heat of the sun there, for nothing grows and there is no water to drink of. But it appeared that either the first warriors we sent were robbed or killed, for there was much blood, all of it old and dried by that time, to be found at the location the second party discovered. A trail of blood led to an ancient temple that was sealed tightly and securely so that there could be no entering it. It thus appeared that the kidnappers were using the temple as their base of operations. The second party came back to the city, and that is how we learned all that we know now. I was thinking of leading a party to that place myself within the next several days in order to investigate further, but I am afraid to do this.”
Having heard the sad tale, I agreed to accompany Magistrate Narisha on her journey to that forsaken temple. My knowledge of the elfin people, and of occult lore and secrets, would make me a great asset on such an expedition. Plus, I was very fond of the lady herself and did not wish any harm to come to her on such a perilous journey. I took her hand in mine before we left the forum to prepare, and she and I shared a deep, passionate kiss that coincided perfectly with nightfall. We loved each other, and I never told Lilith about just how much... she would have found it amusing, me taking a mortal for a lover as I did. But it was not the first time I had, and would not be the last. I found human women alluring, and it was something the gods disliked about me very strongly... for there was a time when they deemed it to be forbidden for our kind to take human lovers. I broke with that prohibition, as did others who thought as I did, and many of my peers were punished for this... and their torments were terrible to ponder. But I was too high, too esteemed in the courts of the gods for them to punish that way without causing more to rebel against their authority in solidarity with me. And so, they simply decided that me having seen what befell those others was a punishment enough for me to endure... and it was hoped by them that in time my fascination with human women would wane, especially given that I had the dark goddess Lilith as my consort. But Lilith understood me well, and encouraged me at times to take such mortal lovers as I found desirable. “Their lives are brief, and they need to love of the gods to give those lives meaning.” Lilith oft told me, and so I showered with love those mortals to whom I felt drawn. Narisha was one of my dearest companions throughout her lifetime, and like Lilith she had a direct manner to her that was blunt at times but always polite regardless. I would never outgrow the fascination I felt with women of Narisha's caliber... for there was a light and love, and passion, within her that would put even the gods to shame if they could but be bothered to look so deeply into hearts such as hers. “One day, if they are wise, they might be like unto us!” I argued with a messenger of the gods once, who sought me out to lecture and chastise me. He merely said of the matter: “Let us hope they never gain such power! It is as likely that it would lead them to destroy themselves.” and sadly the doom of Atlantis would prove his words to be true. But that day was far off in the future at that time, and so I was optimistic for humanity rather than resigned to the pessimism that was frequent within the counsels of the gods regarding such.
Our contract was a formality, a written agreement established between the lady magistrate and myself that she felt bound herself to me officially. Humans had all of these ideas about me, and one of the most enduring of those legends was that a contract could be made between myself and them whereby I would gain their souls and they would gain their hearts desires. I was no magical Jinn, I could not grant people whatever they wished for... but I could teach them how to obtain it for themselves. Narisha wished for a man or a woman of beauty and intelligence to love her, she cared not which it be, for she was lonely in life and her former suitors and paramours were not to her liking. And so I granted her what she wished for the most by becoming her lover myself in both male and female forms of great beauty... and ever I showed her my intelligence, until she found it as attractive as ever she did my flesh. If not more so! She had been a young girl when first we met, and even now in her late thirties she was beautiful still, and filled with youthful spirit. She was practically aglow with that spirit the next morning when we began to plan for our journey to the south... like a child anticipating their parents taking them on a trip. She had a lot of faith in my ability to protect her and keep her safe. I kept on my belt an extendable electric sword that was one of the weapons I carried with me from the planets on which I lived before coming to dwell upon the world you know as Earth. It was in shape like unto a metal cylinder, but when one did press on it a certain button and push the button in a specific direction, the bladed folded up inside of it would unfold and extend, until it was the length of a medieval long sword only light enough that even a child could wield it with ease. The blade would then be reinforced by an energy field that would ensure it remained strong and would not fold back up again unless the button was moved in the opposite way.
Another button elsewhere on the cylinder that functioned as the sword's hilt would fill the extended blade with a powerful electric charge that could incapacitate a person who was struck with the flat of the blade itself in much the same way that a taser gun can. But the sharp edge of the sword was keen enough to cut through even metal. Flesh and bone were like butter before it! The energy field was not visible to the eye, but when the electric charge was deployed through the sword, one could see visibly the lightning-like energy crackling through the blade's entire length. Various colors could be chosen for this display, and the one I chose was a fiery red. The battery that powered it was of a sort that was good for at least one thousand years before needing to be replaced. And... I had just replaced it one thousand years previously! I showed the sword to Narisha and I explained how it worked to her... but she averted her eyes and acted like it was some sort of dark forbidden magic. “The weapons of the gods, we are not meant to look upon! Swords of fire and flame are not of this world.” she exclaimed, and I laughed a bit at the notion before putting it back in its' resting place at my belt. Ere long, we had changed our clothes and made ready for the long paths ahead of us. I had on a red gown of the local style, and wore a pair of black sandals that were more made for long travels than the ones I had come by ship wearing. I tied my hair up and back in a high ponytail so it would be out of my face... a practical precaution in case battle was called for. And around my waist I wore a thin leather belt with a silver buckle, which was sturdier than the sash belts I wore for more casual moments. I put on my black cloak, and explained that it was of a sort that sounded very much like those worn by the kidnappers. I reasoned that perhaps I might be able to pass for one of them and gain entry into the temple where others could not. There was no time to have a mask made like unto the ones the villains were described as wearing, and so that was the one part of my disguise that would be missing. Every minute we wasted, the elves who had been taken may be in ever greater peril we reasoned. And so before too much longer we gathered a group of warriors in the employ of the city and were bound for the south on our dangerous expedition. Chariots were made ready, with fast horses to draw them, and we brought plenty of water and food for the journey with us. Especially water, given that there would be none in the barren domain that awaited us. All of us wore black cloaks and robes to disguise our actual identities. “They will be expecting more warriors... so let us give them something else to consider!” both Narisha and myself recommended. The chariots were all draped with black cloth and leather which were strapped in place to them, and the look of our band was very sinister indeed. Narisha wore a black gown and was given a black cloak like unto mine to wear... and I could not help but notice how darkly magnificent the woman looked in all black. Only my gown, my red gown, made me stand out from my companions, and that was intentional. I wanted those whom we sought to assume I was the leader here, and attempt to communicate with me. I had the advantage of carrying an advanced weapon, and so would be the least in danger if I were to be set upon. Thus was it that so garbed we made our way out from the city and were gone out for many hours across the pastoral countryside. We left in haste, and made our way in haste, stopping only when the horses tired so that we might continue on without losing them... and stopping to rest when it got to be midday. It was late in the afternoon when we arrived in the hot lands to the south, where all was as I had heard it to be. A hellish landscape of baked earth and rugged rocks, with high cliffs and towering jagged protrusions of granite that tore upwards like claws from the ground. The very landscape appeared to have been almost warped at some point in the distant past, but by what power or force it could not be imagined. The skies had been clear for most of the day, but it grew cloudy as it got nearer to dusk and that overcast sky thus made the barren lands before us appear pretty much otherworldly and grim. The men and women with us were all hardened warriors, trained killers of men, and yet they shook nervously to see wherein we now tread. We found the place with the dried blood, the armor and weapons having been taken from the site long before and brought back to the city to show to the families of the missing warriors who were likely all slain, their bodies taken away by the kidnappers. And there was indeed, a trail of blood there!
We followed the trail until in the distance we could make out the temple that dominated the area like a spider dominates its' web. The temple was ancient looking, rectangular in length and shape, but with great towers rising up from its' crenelated walls. It was like nothing from that primeval era, and would have been more fitting in a medieval setting... but there were stranger elements to its' architecture that were almost alien in design, like things not of this world but imported form some other. Bizarre, mad styles could be seen to its' form, and there seemed to be more towers, minarets and spires than should have been possible. There were many outbuildings around the central temple, and the walls of them all seemed to be at weird angles, as if there had been no rhyme or reason to their construction. Statues of demonic winged creatures were arrayed to either side of the temple's main gates, and those were very much like unto sphinxes but with devilish, skeletal faces and bat-like wings. Countless unblinking eyes were carved into as much of the creatures' stone bodies as one could fit them, and I knew from ancient lore that these were some sort of guardian demons of a sort that had once been angelic messengers of the gods. This was how certain ancient cultures imagined such beings to look, and so I could tell that whoever lived in that temple was looking not to the gods for protection, but to the fallen ones. Those like myself, who were far from the gods' good graces. I had the advantage here, if I were to reveal my true nature! But I dared not, lest I offend the warriors we brought with us from the city. The gates were made from stone and metal, not wood, and appeared massive. As did the whole of the temple itself, its' form monstrous and intimidating to behold. I got off from the chariot I shared with Narisha, and made my way to the gates, where I looked to see if there were door knockers of any kind upon them, which there indeed were. I struck the gates with the knockers many times, the metal on metal ringing loudly and hollowly as I did so. Soon, a voice called out from a high window in one of the many towers that rose up above, and said unto me in a tongue native to that region, which I understood: “I see your party down there! Are you here as brethren to us then, or do you mean us some mischief?” to which I replied in the same language: “My people and I have come hither as brethren, as fellow disciples of the dark. We have no love for the elves, and even less for men who keep their company! Would you allow us to enter, so that we might share knowledge and see what an alliance between us might bring forth?” and the man in the tower, for it was a man, answered by saying: “That sounds intriguing, and I must admit you are the first of the other dark sects to reach us in our remoteness here. There was first but one sect originally, but as you can well imagine there was need for secrecy and so we have become many over the years! But we are many, and in numbers there is strength. So be welcome, sister! I would find it a very pleasing thing, to speak with you. We have had less eloquent visitors of late, and we had to deal with them accordingly to their rudeness.” And so the gates were opened by some mechanisms within the temple that automated the process. I could hear great chains moving and gears turning, and I knew that unlike those who lived in the city... these people were privy to more advanced forms of learning. And that is what made them so dangerous if moved to violence! For as good as my weapon was, I had no way of knowing what weapons those who lived within the temple's walls possessed. Nor, the full count of their numbers, which could be great indeed! I signaled for Narisha and the others to follow me, and once the temple gates had fully opened we entered the great building, which felt as if it swallowed us whole as we made our way through its' torch-lit halls. In addition to wall-mounted torches, there had been great braziers within the temple too, often to either side of stairs and to either side of some doors. The chariots and horses were taken by servants to indoor stables to be looked after, and there were all manner of people living within the temple... families and their children, along with merchants and holy men and holy women, although holy might not have been the right word for the worship of fallen gods that others considered demons and devils. These communities appeared not unlike those of the city... only I noticed there were no rich or poor. Everyone was equal here, and everyone seemed to live well. I saw wells that likely led to underground water supplies, and storage areas for food and essential things.
What I did not see were any warriors or soldiers of any kind, which surprised me. Soon, we came to a part of the temple where we were greeted by several men and women wearing flowing black gowns and robes. The leader of them was a woman, and her face was covered by a golden mask which bore on it the likeness of her features but idealized in the way that masks like that always are. The mask had on it seven horns rising up from its' forehead, all of them small and curving up and back a ways. The woman greeted us warmly, and greeted me warmly in particular, so saying: “Welcome to Legion Temple! I can see that you find our home remarkable, which does not surprise me. After all, it was built by the Titans in ages past and so is shunned by the gods, which suits our needs just fine given we too are shunned by them. Samael, it is wonderful to see you again after so many centuries beyond counting!” and she could see right through the glamour I was using. On hearing the name she spoke, I could hear the warriors of our party swallowing hard and gulping, some of them sweated nervously and all of them tried not to let their anger show. They knew of Samael, of me, only as a demonic being... a god of death, and one who was instrumental in the downfall of Eden. If we ever returned to the city again, they would surely seek to end my life, thinking the slaying of me to be a righteous deed to please the gods! They would fail and in failing their anger would only grow. I could not allow that to happen, especially since they might also seek to harm Narisha, having seen her with me and knowing how close she and I were. They seemed to be afraid of me, but also they were filled with barely contained fury. I needed to quench that fury, but in a way that left me guiltless and not able to be tied to their deaths! I did not at first recognize the masked woman's voice, but when she removed her mask I knew her face very well. It was a face that I had not ever expected to see on this planet, so far from the world on which I had known her so intimately. She had changed, somehow become mortal and human, but regardless of anything else it was still her! Still my old mentor in the dark arts, Sybil of Terra Nithal. She looked exactly the same appearance-wise, as if she had never perished during her attempt to seize the throne of the planet Terra Nithal for herself... and I found her if anything even more beautiful to look upon than ever. Her skin was light in color but not pale, and her hair as she pulled back the hood of her cloak was a rather light shade of blonde, wavy but not curly. She wore dark eye makeup and black lipstick, and her fingers were painted with a black nail polish. On her right hand she wore a black but otherwise unadorned ring upon her index finger, and her eyes were blue and somewhat cold looking... but I knew the warmth that hid within them very well. She then offered: “Or should I call you Gislu, as I did when last we met? It is your choice, of course. I live only to serve you, my Prime Archon!” and she bowed before me, putting her face to the floor as she did so. These people who lived in this temple, I knew then that they would die for me if I asked them to so such a thing, which I would never do. All of the other members of her dark sect then joined her in bowing, and it was then that I began to count how many warriors we had brought with us from the city. Eight or ten, no more than ten I figured it was. If they could but be distracted, I could cut them all down with ease! I said to Sybil: “Sybil, it has been so very long... too long... since last we were in the glory of each other's dark company! But time and fate have brought us back together once more. You may, if it pleases you, call me Gislu... it will be good to be called by that old name again, a reminder of simpler, better times.” and she stood up slowly, smiling in that cheerful, mischievous way her smile always had. I then explained: “But these people who have come here with us... aside from this woman here...” and I pointed to Narisha before continuing: “They are all spies from the city, warriors disguised as acolytes. Their duplicity was made known to me during our journey here, and they must pay for their deception in a way that is befitting of traitors.” I could sense their anger building, their fear now turning to panic as Sybil clapped her hands together and out of the shadows emerged forty individuals who moved a bit stiffly but who were otherwise quite fast, and apparently immensely strong because they subdued and dragged the disguised warriors to a part of the chamber in which there was what appeared to be a dais covered in bloodstains that was reserved for executions. And the warriors were helpless before them!
All of this happened so quickly, that not one of the warriors could draw a weapon in time to act. They all cried out that I had betrayed them, that Narisha, who kept silent the whole time had also betrayed the city and them alike. But we said nothing, and Sybil said only: “Thank you, Gislu! I appreciate how very honest you have always been with me.” and she snapped her fingers with a loud snap. On hearing this, the forty strong ones who had dragged the warriors to their doom threw off the black hooded cloaks and masks that they wore, revealing skeletal faces beneath. I knew what they were now, for I had seen their like before on Terra Nithal! Sybil was creating more of her deathless warriors, likely using the bones of the warriors sent from the city to make them from. They were lifeless constructs with no souls in them, unions of bone and machine, the result of a twisted merging of science and sorcery that was forbidden, and had been for centuries beyond counting even before our kind had come to Earth to live. The awful creatures tore the warriors apart in a spectacularly gruesome fashion, carrying the bloody remains away likely to be used in the creation of more such robotic horrors. It was clear that Sybil must have found in this temple the technologies necessary to create her old soulless servants once again, and it was clear to me also that I needed to stop her from making any more, at all costs. Narisha, on witnessing this, was to my surprise unmoved by the sight... or she was feigning being unmoved by it in order to not give away that she too was from the city, lest she incur the dark sorceress' wrath. I spent the next several days as a kind of apprentice to Sybil once again, as I had been when we met back on Terra Nithal... and from her, I learned everything there was to know about the creation of her deathless warriors. She took me down to the lowest part of the temple, which looked like some sort of engine room of a great spacecraft, and I saw that the walls there were metallic, like a ship's bulkheads, and that was when I began to wonder if perhaps this temple was built over the wreckage of a crashed vessel from another world. I asked Sybil how it was that she came upon this place, and she said unto me: “How did I get here, you mean? Well, for one thing I am not of course in my original body, which was destroyed back on Terra Nithal. I was reincarnated many times over since then, and in my latest life I was born on a distant world very far and removed from this backwoods planet. As bad luck would so have it, that world was dying and everyone had to flee it in various massive generational crafts in order to attempt to reach habitable worlds known to our science. The one I got put on was damaged and ended up going off course, which ended in the whole thing crashing here in this desolate place, on this equally unpleasant planet. The device that had created stable wormholes to travel through exploded in the crash, causing the whole area here to end up warped beyond recognition. I doubt anything will ever grow in that desolation again, not that it was at all much better before the explosion. My people and I were sealed safely in the residential part of the ship, but the bridge was torn apart along with the main crew, and there was very little left to salvage so we repurposed what to had left in order to build this temple and hide the technology we had brought with us once we noticed the native inhabitants of this world were extremely primitive and tribal. That is also why we created this dark cult of ours to play on their superstitions and keep them away from us... and, it is why we are creating my old boneheaded servants once again. Lately, the natives from the city keep getting closer and closer to here, and the elves especially seem to be becoming overtly curious as to what is going on, which is why we had to abduct some of them. Not randomly, mind you! But these ones we took, they had seen inside the temple and we couldn't have them talking about what they saw. As for why I remember Terra Nithal and you, and everything else... it is because like you I was granted the burden of remembering every single past life I have ever had by the powers that govern such things. Or maybe I'm just lucky like that, is all! In any case, now that you know everything going on here what do you intend to do I wonder. I mean, the last time you and that little... child... Sapphira decided to kill me in an incredibly brutal manner. I would like to believe you are more enlightened now, Gislu, and in possession of enough wisdom to know that this time I am not desiring rule over anything except for this one little temple in the middle of nowhere. A new home for my people and I, so we can live in peace.”
And there, in that ancient, long dormant engine room... the engine was being used to power a massive generator that Sybil explained to me was not only the means by which her deathless warriors were able to be activated, but also it powered the vessel's water purification systems so that the water drawn from the wells, and there were several wells throughout the temple, could be purified and any uncleanliness removed from it. “Many people died in the first year after the crash because the water in this region was befouled when the explosion occurred... irradiated so that drinking from it caused people to sicken and die very slow and painful deaths. The first well we dug, became a well of death rather than life! Those you see now have their water sources purified by the system we have in place thanks to the technologies we were able to get working again that allow for this. But if anything should happen to this engine, our entire way of life here, and all of the comforts we now enjoy once again, would be destroyed, forcing us to become wanderers and to live a more primitive lifestyle than we should like. We cannot be expected, after all, to live like the creatures that call this planet their home!” and I cautioned Sybil, saying: “Yet, you clearly worship me as some sort of god in your sect, and not just to play to human fears either! And I call this planet home now, as do many of our kindred from the stars. We are not human any more than you are, and yet many of us have had to live at their level just to survive on this world in places where we do not always have access to the old technologies. Besides, you claimed that this place was built by the Titans in another era and shunned by the gods! Or was that a lie? At least make up your mind which story you wish to tell, Sybil, if you wish to gain my sympathies telling stories at all.” And she blushed a bit, and fidgeted nervously as she tried to correct herself: “I meant, that... rather, this place was... never mind! Very well we stole the craft from Titans who came to visit our planet, in order to escape after the last generational ship had already left, leaving the Titans behind to perish in our place. Technically, this craft was probably the oldest ship we had in all our lives ever seen... and... the gods all do shun this site now, thinking it is cursed. So that is the truth, every bit of it! Are you going to lecture me, about telling the full truth... when you walk about using physio-holographic tech in order to convince people you are casting glamour spells that do not exist? Using assumed names and fresh identities whenever you have need of them, too. We are no different, you and I! Only in what methods we employ to make our lives bearable.” I then said to her flatly: “My life is quite bearable to me, and I have never once had any need of skeletal constructs in order to make it so! I fully intend to destroy this old engine, Sybil, and end this deathless plague you are creating before you even by accident can cause it to spread farther than it has already. I remember what happened back on Terra Nithal, and I swore a profound oath then and there that it would not happen again. I intend to abide by my oath, and if you have to live on the same level as these 'primitive' humans for a time, I suspect that it will do you a world of good, and teach you that oft those you think are lesser than you, are the most worthy of respect of all.” I then cut into the metal of the engine using my sword, cutting through it and releasing a full electrical charge as I went along. The resulting damage was insufficient so I pushed the blade further into the engine and then set the battery of my sword to overload, which was a self-destruct mechanism designed to prevent the weapon from falling into any enemy's hands. It could also double as a suicide method if such was ever needed. But on this occasion, what was needed was a bomb, and for that the weapon would do perfectly. Sybil rushed forward screaming, and tried to pull the weapon out of the engine, fatally electrocuting herself. I did the smart thing and ran as if all of Hell were chasing me. On my way back up to the temple's upper levels, I grabbed Narisha by the arm and told her that we needed to run. Fast! And we rushed out of that temple just as the engine exploded, which caused the entire building to collapse, reducing it to a heap of rubble that would forever serve as a sad monument to Sybil's pride and arrogance. I fell to my knees on the hot ground and wept, not for Sybil's passing which she had brought upon herself... but for all of those of her people who were innocent, who perished along with her. Narisha tried to console me and in the end she brought me back to the city, where the nobles and their elfin allies welcomed me as if I were their hero.
I had to explain, why the elves who had been taken by Sybil could not be saved... explaining that we never were able to find them or discover what became of them. I had to omit huge portions of what so passed between Sybil and I, and pretty much her entire story that she had told me... I said only that she was a dark sorceress and a bandit of sorts, who was attempting to raise an army of the dead in order to keep people away from the temple that she had claimed for herself, and that there were others of her coven who lived there with her, and that they were attempting to start up their own civilization there. And that despite being dark and twisted, they had only wished to be left in peace. A part of me wanted to honor Sybil, and give meaning to her and her peoples' deaths, and I longed to repent of having acted so rashly and in a way that ended with innocents perishing. The mayor of the city, a rather plump and gray-haired man in his late sixties who wore a dark blue robe that looked like a tent on him, whispered something to the beautiful spokeswoman for the elves who lived and worked on the mayor's lands. She was about six feet tall in height, pretty much the average for her people, and that is to say she was not very tall at all according to elvish standards. Like many of the nobles of her race, she wore gauzy robes that were delicate looking, and of light colors, in her case light green with pale blue trim. Her hair was long, pale blonde, and braided in a fashion that was distinctively elvish. Her skin was tan and had a bit of a subtle glow to it, but that may well have been the sun given that we were outdoors in the forum for this solemn occasion. I had known others of her race, but those I had made the acquaintance of were of the darker haired variety who were known more for their xenophobia towards outsiders. This woman was of a vastly older race than they, one that had originally come from the legendary other world that had always been a highly integral part of the most secretive and sacred of all known elvish traditions, and which was a place that no one who was not of their kindred had ever laid eyes upon. The elf lady's eyes were the color of pale lavender, a shade not found in the colors of human eyes. She smiled at me very sweetly and graciously, before declaring: “For your heroic deeds, and for escorting back to us in health and safety the person of Magistrate Narisha of the House of Bharlin... and, for dealing with this scourge that stalked both our peoples in these blessed and gods-protected lands... it will be my personal pleasure to present you with a title and lands befitting of a member of this great city's nobility. You will have servants to tend to your needs, and farmers to tend the fields of your lands... you will...” and she went on and on like that, bestowing upon me everything a human might have wanted but which to me seemed all very hollow and meaningless given that in my present body at the time I was going to just end up outliving everyone there anyway and eventually witnessing the city's eventual decline. I had a mind to ask for the hand of Magistrate Narisha on top of everything else, and so I did exactly that. It had always been my intention to take her back with me to the place that Lilith and I called home. And she had always been very pleased with the idea whenever I brought it up saying that she longed as it was to leave the life of a magistrate behind her, finding it dull and boring in the extreme. Once all of the present formalities were concluded, and I was given all of the official scrolls and tablets on which were recorded the details of my new position in the city as Lady Anastir... a title that was now official, whereas before everyone called me that only because of how nobly I carried myself... the wedding was conducted whereby Narisha and I were joined together as wife and wife. In that city, in those days, this was a very common practice for people to marry others of the same gender whom they so loved. And, in this modern era I am living in now as I write this account, I am pleased to see that this has become very much a common practice once again! After the wedding was over and the honeymoon days had come and gone in pleasure and bliss, I renounced my noble title the same day that Narisha resigned her position as magistrate, giving the job to an woman of the elvish race who was said to have just the right aptitude and qualifications for it. We set out upon the journey back to the place whence I had come, to where Lilith awaited my return. My dreams were haunted by the memory of Sybil and her people and of what befell them, and the guilt I felt over it... but with my two brides at my side, I would heal with time.
Published 16th Oct 2022
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16th Oct 2022 8:33pm
Wonderful scribed! A tale including elves always finds my eye, as one who loved Tolkien barely out of my teens. The clandestine activity appealed to me as someone also glued to the words of Gene Roddenberry and George Lucas. The common trait is the depiction of a narrative framed around mythology. What a fabulous story you give us.
25th Oct 2022 8:53pm
The best tales are always those which contain a good dose of magic, a core of truth, and mythical elements that sing to the hearts of those who come to hear the tale unfold. This tale is also an account of an event from one of my past lives... always for me an endless source of inspiration for many of my writings... and therein lies the core of its' truth. In the ancient days, many advanced civilizations existed, and some of them had been touched by the hand of those who came to this world from others originally. I was amongst those who came down, and oft were times when one had to be extremely clandestine in order to fit in better with the inhabitants of those civilizations which were not as developed or capable of more fully understanding the difference between science and magic. It has oft been said that the science of today would have been viewed as magic in days past... but the science of those lost civilizations such as Atlantis, and that which was practiced by those who had gifted Atlantis a great deal of its' own science to start with... would even today be looked at as magic or at least as supernatural due to how far beyond what we have today it was. Though it was lost when the end came for Atlantis, with only fragments surviving her and there, and in various forms throughout time. A lot of what we have today is not so much as new as people believe... but rediscovered forms of technology that was once as common as it is becoming in this age.
One amusing thing to me is when I hear scientists speak of their theories regarding faster than light travel. It always amuses me that they stop with the notion that nothing can physically travel faster than light. But in true faster than light travel, the physical barrier can be totally bypassed by means of devices capable of temporarily converting physical matter to energy and then sending that energy forward beyond the normal limitations of conventional ideas of speed that is bound by the standard laws of physics... with the effect being temporary enough for the journey required and at the end restoring the energy back into matter again. Star Trek's idea of a pattern buffer... whilst it can indeed work for teleportation (but with more safeguards and fail-safes in place than they ever show in Star Trek)... it is also the core concept behind how those devices that I mentioned that enable faster than light travel can serve to restore the energy back into matter again once the journey is complete. But in order to keep the info in the pattern buffer and keep the pattern buffer itself physical so it can retain its' memory and data intact... one would have to reduce it to a quantum state and secure it quite well to the craft or vessel that is using it. Energy fields that could be made to move at the same speed as a faster than light capable craft are a good means to keep the pattern buffer in place and keep it from being left behind once the ship goes faster than light too. But the means to achieve all of this are always more costly and risky than simply using a generator capable to creating a totally stable wormhole that can be used to get from one point in the universe to another almost instantaneously, without the need to mess around with going faster than light at all. Quantum navigation systems are the best means for charting a course through such a wormhole too, as well as for aiding the generator in the creation of the wormhole each time it is needed. The generator would also need to have a device attached to it that would link to the front of the outside of the ship. That way, the wormhole will be created in front of the ship rather than inside of it (which would result in a horrible disaster for the whole crew if it manifested WITHIN the vessel). Both of the two methods I mention for interstellar travel were used by those ancient "aliens" that I speak of in my accounts of the times before the fall of Atlantis. And they used a huge amount of power and energy, which is why vessels that used it had to also have quantum generators that could provide immense amounts of energy but still be small enough to fit on a ship of any reasonable size big or small. Massive generational crafts were the slowest since they used a combination of sleeper crews in suspended animation aided by navigational AI and people whose consciousness had been downloaded into robot or android bodies in order to survive the long years of the journey and wake those who were "asleep" when they got to their expected destination. Generational crafts were a throwback from a time prior to the discovery of a valid means to achieve faster than light travel, and before the invention of the stable wormhole generator. But due to their lower energy and fuel costs, they were still in use right up until the time when Atlantis was in its' prime on Earth. And to me, all of these higher concept metaphysical-based science related things are just so very logical, to borrow a popular phrase that Spock form Star Trek might use. But my understanding of space, time, matter and energy is on a different sort of level anyway! At the rate that the current science is headed, it would take some tremendous leaps for it to reach a point wherein Earth's scientists can begin to think outside the box enough to create these sorts of technologies, or the closest thing to them creatable by this world's understanding of such matters anyway. Given that, I would not hold my breath for it!
So yeah, the mention of Gene Roddenberry actually made me think of a lot of that and how on the right track a lot of the science in his Star Trek really was sometimes. The whole concept of space folding in Dune and charting a course through the space fold is also pretty good, though in order to be accurate it would require a navigational computer assisted by a person assigned the task of navigator. So, in Dune their prohibition on using technology, robots and AI would be to everyone's detriment since in actuality they would be unable to achieve those space folds (or any space travel at all) without at least some mechanical instrumentation and computation. But that is part of what makes Dune a bit more science fantasy than science fiction. I do love the Dune stories and movies though! I often wonder if a lot of other... beings... like myself watch some of those movies and read some of those books and notice the inaccuracies, going: "Hey, wait a moment here! That's not how we used to do it." Definitely a bit of food for thought! In any case... I am pleased you enjoyed giving my work here a read. And thank you very, very much, for popping by to comment as well! *Smiles* :D
One amusing thing to me is when I hear scientists speak of their theories regarding faster than light travel. It always amuses me that they stop with the notion that nothing can physically travel faster than light. But in true faster than light travel, the physical barrier can be totally bypassed by means of devices capable of temporarily converting physical matter to energy and then sending that energy forward beyond the normal limitations of conventional ideas of speed that is bound by the standard laws of physics... with the effect being temporary enough for the journey required and at the end restoring the energy back into matter again. Star Trek's idea of a pattern buffer... whilst it can indeed work for teleportation (but with more safeguards and fail-safes in place than they ever show in Star Trek)... it is also the core concept behind how those devices that I mentioned that enable faster than light travel can serve to restore the energy back into matter again once the journey is complete. But in order to keep the info in the pattern buffer and keep the pattern buffer itself physical so it can retain its' memory and data intact... one would have to reduce it to a quantum state and secure it quite well to the craft or vessel that is using it. Energy fields that could be made to move at the same speed as a faster than light capable craft are a good means to keep the pattern buffer in place and keep it from being left behind once the ship goes faster than light too. But the means to achieve all of this are always more costly and risky than simply using a generator capable to creating a totally stable wormhole that can be used to get from one point in the universe to another almost instantaneously, without the need to mess around with going faster than light at all. Quantum navigation systems are the best means for charting a course through such a wormhole too, as well as for aiding the generator in the creation of the wormhole each time it is needed. The generator would also need to have a device attached to it that would link to the front of the outside of the ship. That way, the wormhole will be created in front of the ship rather than inside of it (which would result in a horrible disaster for the whole crew if it manifested WITHIN the vessel). Both of the two methods I mention for interstellar travel were used by those ancient "aliens" that I speak of in my accounts of the times before the fall of Atlantis. And they used a huge amount of power and energy, which is why vessels that used it had to also have quantum generators that could provide immense amounts of energy but still be small enough to fit on a ship of any reasonable size big or small. Massive generational crafts were the slowest since they used a combination of sleeper crews in suspended animation aided by navigational AI and people whose consciousness had been downloaded into robot or android bodies in order to survive the long years of the journey and wake those who were "asleep" when they got to their expected destination. Generational crafts were a throwback from a time prior to the discovery of a valid means to achieve faster than light travel, and before the invention of the stable wormhole generator. But due to their lower energy and fuel costs, they were still in use right up until the time when Atlantis was in its' prime on Earth. And to me, all of these higher concept metaphysical-based science related things are just so very logical, to borrow a popular phrase that Spock form Star Trek might use. But my understanding of space, time, matter and energy is on a different sort of level anyway! At the rate that the current science is headed, it would take some tremendous leaps for it to reach a point wherein Earth's scientists can begin to think outside the box enough to create these sorts of technologies, or the closest thing to them creatable by this world's understanding of such matters anyway. Given that, I would not hold my breath for it!
So yeah, the mention of Gene Roddenberry actually made me think of a lot of that and how on the right track a lot of the science in his Star Trek really was sometimes. The whole concept of space folding in Dune and charting a course through the space fold is also pretty good, though in order to be accurate it would require a navigational computer assisted by a person assigned the task of navigator. So, in Dune their prohibition on using technology, robots and AI would be to everyone's detriment since in actuality they would be unable to achieve those space folds (or any space travel at all) without at least some mechanical instrumentation and computation. But that is part of what makes Dune a bit more science fantasy than science fiction. I do love the Dune stories and movies though! I often wonder if a lot of other... beings... like myself watch some of those movies and read some of those books and notice the inaccuracies, going: "Hey, wait a moment here! That's not how we used to do it." Definitely a bit of food for thought! In any case... I am pleased you enjoyed giving my work here a read. And thank you very, very much, for popping by to comment as well! *Smiles* :D
Anonymous
- Edited 29th May 2023 7:45am
17th Oct 2022 6:29am
<< post removed >>
25th Oct 2022 9:29pm
I am delighted and greatly pleased to see how much you enjoyed reading my account here! Your comment is beautiful, insightful, and shows a very deep understanding of the magical side of things, and of those things that are magical within this work of mine. There have always been two sides of the world we know... and the Other World that I mention in so many of my writings is one of those two sides. It is most easily explained as being a kind of parallel Earth that exists in a plane of existence that occupies the same physical space as this world, this Earth, but in another dimension. Only, that world unlike this one is almost exclusively the domain of beings such as the Elves, their kith and kin, and other races that people might consider fantastic or supernatural in nature. I speak a lot of the greater history of the Elves in my two-part work "The Blood of Kalaborea", which also details the downfall of Atlantis and the very earliest origins of the people who would one day become known as the Fomorians, or to borrow a term from Tolkien the Orcs. Which were, as he correctly stated in the Silmarillion, Elves originally. But true Orcs could more have been properly called Dark Elves rather than Orcs, a word that actually means "Demons" in Old English. Since that was what they were, Elves that embraced the darkness within them rather than the light that their brighter kindred favored. Though some of the Dark Elves, the Fomorians, did degenerate far into a primal, savage nature that was quite demonic seeming. So, in some ways, the term Orc is not too far removed when describing them. But the greatest secret that the Elves kept was that they had originally been a race of ancient "aliens" from the Aldebaran star system. And on their home world, there was also an Other World... and many worlds, many planets have their own version of one. But the secret of reaching it was something the Elves understood well, and the science of it was known to them. Today, human science is beginning to grasp it with the understanding of the Multiverse and the accepting of the truth that parallel worlds and also whole parallel universes exist beyond the physical reality humans know. So, from the Elven point of view Earth was indeed Elven at one point especially during the days of their greatest empires of old such as the empires of Hyperborea and Kalaborea, which once were greater even than Atlantis itself at its' height. And more than a few of the ancient gods had their share of Elven blood in their veins, and vice versa! I do indeed possess Elven blood in my veins, and as such I have an innate ancestral understanding, as well as a great spiritual understanding, of all things Elvish, in addition to the knowledge that my past life memories impart upon me. For me, each time I write one of these accounts of ancient times and lost histories, I am in many ways filling in the blanks for people when it comes to having a more accurate and complete understanding of the origins of things both on Earth and in the greater universe itself, and beyond as well. You are right about another things... Elven culture was, and is to a large extent, rooted in deep sorrows and equally deep laughter. A balance between light and darkness, joy and despair, where one is not focused on the imperfections of things, but rather on all that is best in things. Trying to find the light even within the void between the stars, being one example form a philosophical standpoint. I think the reason that we, both the Dark Elves and the bright, remain amongst humans still is so that we can teach them, guide them, and aid them in ways that only we are able to. Much like how many of the human spiritual masters, mistresses and gurus have done much the same over the centuries. It is simply a yearning we have, to try and better the world and heal it when healing is needed. And that is always a noble desire for anyone to aspire to!
Such greetings from the Elves of your island are always very well received indeed, dear sister! As are your lovely comments. Be well!
Ever your sister and friend,
--- Kara :)
Such greetings from the Elves of your island are always very well received indeed, dear sister! As are your lovely comments. Be well!
Ever your sister and friend,
--- Kara :)
Anonymous
- Edited 29th May 2023 7:45am
27th Oct 2022 11:24am
<< post removed >>
