To End an Age

Asag lay quietly in the hammock he had set on the porch. His half closed eyes still beheld the beauty of the night as it neared rest in the far west. The soothing hooting of an owl, the chirping of crickets had worked their magic as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Suddenly he was awake and fully alert. The sounds of the night had ceased. He rose from his rest and walked to the railing, looking for what might have caused the symphony of the night to grow silent."You look for me,...
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Asag lay quietly in the hammock he had set on the porch. His half closed eyes still beheld the beauty of the night as it neared rest in the far west. The soothing hooting of an owl, the chirping of crickets had worked their magic as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Suddenly he was awake and fully alert. The sounds of the night had ceased. He rose from his rest and walked to the railing, looking for what might have caused the symphony of the night to grow silent."You look for me, my sweet." Asag jumped, nearly tumbling over the railing, his heart pounding as he stopped his fall and spun around, the darkness of the porch revealed nothing. "How sweet it is that you are here to greet me on my return." Two hands encased the back of his head and the heart pounding fear turned to joyous excitement."Inanna, one night you will cause the death of me." He turned and in the shadows of the night he could feel her beauty and the power she exerted over him. "GoldVine looks for your return but not as much as I." "You my sweet must wait for I need to rest. The journey was rewarding but tiring. Let GoldVine know I have returned, but wait until he rises. As I said, I need my rest." As she came, so she went. Asag, never actually seeing her, knowing only her presence by her caress and hint of jasmine on the air.The sorceress moved quickly but ever so quietly through the dimly lit corridors of a home that held uncountable secrets. As she moved deeper into the depths of the building, what little light there had been vanished. This slowed her not in the least. She knew each turn, each room better than Akem. "Was it not Inanna, with the ear of Bellum, who went before Belial and convinced him of his need for a foothold in Psak-Din?" this thought guiding her on. Belial's quick approval had taken her off guard, but convinced her that even the Horned One could be manipulated. She directed Tsefal, more than two hundred years before, to create an underground fortress to house many fighters and to create holding dungeons in which she could experiment on the fools entrapped by her special brand of rubus. It was in one of these rooms that Hairaza had been held and tortured. She had surmised immediately that he had not the information sought by Belial. Of course, all were fools, especially Rabishu who knew he held the key. Akem Manah was so fearful of Rabishu that he trembled in his presence, unable to tell the fool Hairaza knew nothing.Turning the finally corner, by instinct, she knew before her was a black marble wall, polished to a mirrored finish. Not needing to see with her eyes the strange glyphs and even stranger and more grotesque creatures that adorned the marble, she commenced to move her hands, speaking an ancient egis. An outline of a door appeared before her and with both hands she pushed at its heart. The door swung open, she entered, waved her hand and it shut silently behind her.She was now in her own private inner sanctum. No one knew of its existence. It was here where she found rest and would study the text that predated Belial's release. Now, she sought only rest and the only thing she appreciated that Akem could offer, VinLand Rubus. It irked her that she could not decipher the formula he used but that mattered little, she was able to manipulate its properties and that was all that really counted.Sipping the clear, red sweetness, she slowly undressed, knowing well that those who viewed her were seduced without a word or touch. Finishing her pleasure, she stretched out on the furs that covered her bed, touched the wall by her head and watched the stars fade as daylight filled her chamber.