PreviousLet me not be light my Lady
Let me not be light my Lady
Let me bend to the earth
As ripened fruit fall
Let me return to mirth
Let him return my call
Let me not be light my Lady
Let me not be light my Lady
As you took him
So return him
As you sought him
So find him
He is mine, before you
Half my soul in another
Like two lungs, eyes too
One needs the other
Let me not be light my Lady
Let me not be light my Lady
Sunless dawns need not rise
As dough rises to bread
My lady heed my cries!
My lady weave the thread!
Let me not be light my Lady
Let me not be light my Lady
From war return him
Let me not be light my Lady
To love return him
Let me not be light my Lady
To me return him
Let me not be light my Lady
Let me not be light my Lady
Let my not be light my Lady
-Hymn to Ishtar, Goddess of Love and War
"Will he return mother, if I sing?"
"Of course, my dear one, Ishtar is merciful to those in love." The younger, smiles, trails of tears upon her cheeks, she dries with her palms.
"Then I shall sing till my voice breaks. Until my Musamsu returns to me, I shall sing."
"He shall surely return then, if only to hear your voice." The older, far-seeing, farther-seeing, smiles showing her teeth - onceuponatime white, but now broken and yellow - she lies with her mouth, but in her eyes she tells the truth. The younger sings, believing her unborn will meet his maker. Her mouth lies too, in song. But her eyes too, tell the truth.
"So, Arlore what is your decision?"
"I shall bet."
"Well! Excellent! The wager?"
"It seems only fair that I choose my own avatar to the men I do not know"
"And here I thought you were a weasel..." George laughs at his own joke.
"But I must ask her before I impose such a burden upon her"
"Hmph. Are you a god or a servant? ...well go then. Go on."
You excuse yourself and go to Eve. She is waiting on horseback with the rest of her company. Gezaru is close by, as is Suha. They are all watching the battle, silent as stones.
"MORTAL." She gasps as you speak to her and clutches her head.
-My Lord?
"I HAVE A TASK FOR THEE"
-Name it my Lord, and it is done
"YOU SHALL FIGHT IN THIS BATTLE AND YOU SHALL SLAY IN THIS BATTLE."
-I...If you will it my Lord. Who am I to oppose? Name he who has incurred thy wrath, and he shall be lain low by my arrows.
You think about whether to tell her about the wager, probably best not to.
"THY TIME WILL COME, YE SHALL KNOW WHO TO STRIKE AND WHEN. BE NOT AFRAID FOR I AM WITH YOU."
-I will wait my Lord. I shall not fear, for my shield is Arlore and my haven is Arlore and my Lord is Arlore.
You go back to Ishtar.
"So? Is the girl agreeable?"
"Yes."
"Good. We have the players. Let's roll the dice...I choooooose, him." She points to a soldier not far from Eve's age, but of a higher rank. He is on horseback guiding the strikes of his men from the rear and giving orders. "George, make it so"
"Yes, yes." Once again he waves his fingers like a conductor. You watch as flags are held up in the direction of Gezaru's men. You can almost see the perspiration on Gezaru's forehead and lips. Then he unsheathes his sword and gives the order to march forward with his men...directly toward the man Ishtar pointed out.
"Hmm, too far, much too far. Lets get closer." She points her finger and suddenly you are watching the battle on the battlefield itself. You recoil in surprise as an arrow swishes through your body and men fight through you. Now you truly hear the din of war and it terrifies you. Drums and metal. Drums and metal.
Gezaru's men are almost near the man Ishtar choose. Suddenly the man breaks through the ranks and a group of cavalry emerges from the woods striking at Eve's flank! The man rides around the main force, joining the charging cavalry, brandishes his spear and yells:
"I am Musamsu of the tribe of Neveh, tonight one of us shall dine in hell!" Then he charges toward Eve's men.
"Flashy" says George
"Hush!" Ishtar seems to be enraptured.
Eve realizes this man is the target (you help things along by guiding her vision toward him). She orders her men to begin firing at the cavalry and riding behind the foot-troops. Gezaru is pale and stammering his orders. His men are being slaughtered by the flanking cavalry and Musamsu's men from the front. Eve's hyper-senses kick in and she starts shooting her arrows with deadly aim. Every single one of her arrows meets its mark among the enemy. She takes out 15 of the charging cavalry by herself. Seeing this, Musamsu charges toward her, lance ready.
He throws the lance. And in that same instant draws his sword from his saddle. The lance sails through the air and catches Eve's side, stripping away a chunk of flesh. You wince as she screams in pain and the arrow which was to hit Musamsu's head flits uselessly onto the ground.
Ishtar claps.
Musamsu charges forward, his sword raised at this side. Eve pats her saddle, blind, trying feel for the sword, the pain at her side makes her dizzy and nauseous.
Musamsu, draws nearer.
Eve keeps searching for the sword, not daring to turn away from the stroke, lest she miscalculate and get decapitated.
Musamsu draws nearer, a foot-soldier tries to spear his horse and he casually brings his sword down, cracking through the soldier's helmet splitting him to the breastbone.
Still Eve cannot reach for her sword...wait! Yes! The hilt!
Musamsu reaches back, holding the reins with one hand, stretching his body backward as far as possible. Eve struggles to lift the blade, her side throbs as she tries to bring the heavy bronze to bear. Musamsu swings his whole weight forward, releasing the blade like a whip at Eve's throat! Like a hummingbird in flight, sharpened bronze hums toward Eve!
tbc.
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Topic: You Are a Minor God (Read 104797 times)