The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix

by Ava D. Dohn

  * * *

  The little café was all a’ bustle this evening, the owner hustling about to wait on his customers in a timely manner, promising that additional help would soon arrive. The fellow, a certain JemShoul, after spending several centuries mining for crystals on distant asteroid fields far out in the Northern Rim, had decided to take up the occupation of tavern keeper. Leasing an out of the way place far up the northern concourse from the Winter Gardens, JemShoul had settled down some twenty years before to the serving culinary delights along with ale and hard ciders of his personal making.

  Being rather out of the way, Café Jem’s was usually quiet this time of season, a favorite place for those who enjoyed good food and drink in a restful atmosphere. Tonight, though, was far different - different ever since news of the Prisoner Exchange had reached the ears of the inhabitants of EdenEsonbar and its surrounding territories. Now was come the gathering of the birds to the Great Evening Meal, or at least symbolically so. Few had paid attention when announcement was earlier made of an upcoming prisoner exchange, fewer cared. But when news arrived regarding events during this last one? Well, things appeared different now.

  So, so many exchanges there were in the past, all with similar results, a volley of rebukes and threats followed by goods passing from the Empire’s hands into the League’s in exchange for a few half-dead, sometimes dead comrades and companions. The diplomats would return, waving hands high in self-adulation, while Asotos ranted over imagined insults, and everyone would go back about their business until another egregious act threatened the tenuous peace. Asotos would again capture a few hapless victims, accusing them of great atrocities, and the children would gather up more of their precious wealth to buy the victims back. So it had gone many times.

  This exchange had broken the cycle. There was a certainty in the air that things were different. Just as one can smell the coming night frost on a chilled, breathless eve, the news of events carried on the air a message of change, a big change. Already sojourners from nearby territories and star systems were arriving at Palace City to await their new king’s return. They were also eager to learn more about this Field Marshal Trisha and the strange band of warriors who made such a fool of Asotos. There was also a great deal of curiosity regarding a certain Darla and the part she played in all this.

  These were the reasons that JemShoul found himself hustling about so this evening. Not only were the regulars present in greater numbers, the new arrivals pressed the resources of all the business in Palace City, including Café Jem’s. Also was the case that, since so few rooms remained available, many customers often lingered at tables long after meals were eaten, the people having no place in particular to go. Jem’s mead and grog was happily quaffed so one could keep his or her place at the table, but it did make the crowded tavern tumultuously hectic.

  Into this lighthearted mayhem walked a man newly arrived from a long sojourn in the wild jungles of EthoHule, far to the south of Palace City. In a booming voice, he announced his presence, plunging forward to press the flesh and gather hugs from old friends and lovers.

  A grinning Jem rushed over, slapping the man on the back, shouting above the din, “Apollonius! Apollonius! I feared your demise, or that maybe the Whispering Sirens of EthoHule had stolen you away. Good to see you, my friend!”

  Apollonius laughed, denying any tryst with the witches of the jungle, though he’d wished for their company at times. “They say their loving touch is next to none, and their beauty worthy of the Immortals. Lo, the creatures found no delight making me their captive, though I do believe I heard their hypnotic songs at times, especially after consuming some of the golden fungus that grew in the jungle’s haunting caves.”

  Jem replied humorously, “You’ll find no fungus here that will give your mind the siren’s call, but the food and drink is good, the women comely… and looking for such a handsome man as yourself to walk with them in the Winter Gardens. You know SuanTorrie? Of course you do. She’s been moping about ever since you left us. If you wish, I’ll tell her you’ve arrived.”

  Apollonius beamed. “Oh, sweet SuanTorrie! She was my guiding light, teaching me in the ways of your people, my first love in this world. I remember her pouting kisses the day I departed. So she’s here?”

  “Yep...” Jem answered. “Came in tonight to give me a hand... Find a seat and I’ll send her over with a sudsy drink - some of my special brew.”

  After thanking Jem, Apollonius worked his way through the packed room, searching for old friends while feasting his eyes on the beauty of the many naked women roving about, several who shot him flirting glances as he passed. Apollonius’ old Roman world was a wild place, and nakedness was common, but usually it was slaves or prostitutes that carried on that way. When a younger man, he had searched out the later to satisfy his desires, considering love to belong to romantics.

  In this world, Apollonius quickly learned that love was natural to Lowenah’s children, and given the freedom to express it, he found that it only grew. Many were the women he had come to love here, each romantic encounter only strengthening love’s bonds. Oh yes, the dream shares were an added delight, but there was more. Conjugal interludes no longer satisfied merely the flesh, but lifted the spirit to new heights, creating a sweet longing to be again with old lovers.

  (Author’s note: Before the Rebellion, flirtatious courtship of sorts was long practiced by the children of the Upper Realms. Sweet interludes of intimate romance were often preceded by rather lengthy intrigues where a couple might spend weeks or possibly months and longer in the romancing ritual. A coy glance might be followed by quiet conversation, later the holding of the hands while taking a carefree walk along a flowered lane. Gradually, usually by the suggestive invitation of the woman, there would come the gentle touch and soft kiss.

  In time, if the man had followed the unwritten rules of courting, long established by this people, the woman might permit a sensual touch, embrace, or a teasing squeeze. Of course, the man must maintain a steady stream of poetic prose filled with words of promised fealty and enduring love and devotion. Also during this period of time, the woman would play a teasing game of hard to get, or having possibly lost interest. The man would then have to double down in his endeavor to gain his prize. The woman, in turn, would play harder to get, yet seducing the man with her feminine wiles.

  In time, often during one of the many festivals, or at some unexpected moment, the woman would surrender the tease and give up her love to her suitor, the two promising enduring devotion to each other. After consummating their vows of devotion, the couple might escape into a lonely place to spend time alone together. Possibly eons might pass before they would reunite with civilization, often living a monogamous relationship during that time.

  This did not mean that during such a courtship either party would avoid other lovers and companions. Still, the game of ‘chase and run away’ was played to the full, the emotion of the heart lived to the extreme. Passion denied when at its height leads to untold, sweet frustration. But oh how wonderful when its dreams become reality!

  By the time the wild men from the Lower Realms arrived, the many years of rebellion had change this courting custom, love making being a much more hurried affair than in the past. This was only exacerbated by the anxious disposition of the children from the Realms Below. These men made love aggressively and with a passion rarely experienced by the women from the Upper Realms. As gossip spread in regards to their manly prowess, curious intrigue grew among the female host to the point of the men being searched out, the roe chasing the buck so to speak.

  There were few of those men entered this Upper World in the days before the King’s War. The few who had arrived were well known and highly sought after by the curious and wanting of the women in that land. So it was, the night Apollonius arrived back in Palace City, that flirtatious eyes follow the man as he made his way among the people in the crowded tavern.)
>
  With those thoughts on his mind, Apollonius searched the tavern with aching anticipation in hopes of seeing SuanTorrie flitting about the room. As his eyes probed the shadowy corners and distant crannies, he spied an old acquaintance sitting alone in a tiny booth, the fellow’s dining companions just departing. Hurrying over to grab the seat before another weary huntsman could abscond with it, he shouted to his friend while waving his hellos.

  In a moment, Apollonius was slid up on the bench across from his old friend. The booth was tiny, barely enough room for two, yet tonight most of the small booths along this wall were packed with four, and some with a chair added at the end with an additional one or two seated at it. Apollonius was thus very pleased to find himself and his friend occupying this cozy enclave.

  It was not that Apollonius disliked crowds. Quite to the contrary, the fellow was a good-natured, jovial man, always ready for a party or some lighthearted jousting. He entertained life to the full with a boisterous exuberance rarely found among the people of this realm. Quite unexpectedly, this untamed energy attracted the people of the Children’s Empire to the man, especially the women. By the standards of Apollonius’ younger days, the fellow would have been called a ‘ladies’ man’.

  Normally, Apollonius reveled in the merriment such attention delivered upon him, and the game of romance was one of his favorite sports during carefree hours, but this night was different. He was just arrived back from the jungles of EthoHule, having spent a year and some months alone in that tropical wilderness, and he wanted to catch up on the latest news - not from the general populace, though. Their perspective was always gauged against their long lives, which often led to them overlooking matters of immediate interest as being trivial and of little importance.

  Spying a friend and former acquaintance from the Second Realm delighted Apollonius. Although being his opposite in nature, a rather glum, self-deprecating guilt-ridden man, he was well liked by those who knew him, and he was a good listener. Good listeners, unlike Apollonius, who was a good yarn spinner or talker, were apt to be filled with newsworthy accounts. All one needed do was prime the pump, so to speak, and the news would come bubbling forth. ‘Least that was Apollonius’ experience, if he was doing the priming.

  As Apollonius wiggled himself comfortable, the man looked up from his mug of hot, spiced rum tea, smiling a hello. Before the man could speak, Apollonius reached out, grasping the man’s wrist, the man doing the same to Apollonius, squeezing it with a shake. “It’s good to see you again, my friend! I’ve come to this place for some good food and drink. To my delight, I have been told my sweetheart, Suan, is here, and now I find that you, too - my favorite acquaintance - are present also. What good fortune!”

  The man thanked Apollonius for his kind salutation, and then went about asking him regarding his own welfare and of his adventures in the southern jungles.

  A tale rich in humor and intrigue rolled off Apollonius’ lips. For five minutes, he spun a yarn as good to tell as might be. After describing some of the strange plants he had discovered, his delivering them to the city’s botanical gardens, the lack of rooming to be found so that he dropped off his gear at Symeon’s apartment, commenting, “the fellow is always so accommodating, even when he’s not there”, he focused his attention on goings on in Palace City.

  “So, as I wandered through the crowded streets, I pondered what things were all about. I found that the entire city is abuzz with news regarding the recent prisoner exchange. There were some wild stories, I tell you, mad men and mayhem just to begin with. Then there was the new field marshal who tore the place up a bit, or so I was told. Now there’s the gossip of living swords and monsters risen from the depths and all, so very exciting and all, but also confusing. Sounds sort of bewildering to me.”

  The man agreed with Apollonius’ assessment of matters. He then asked him a very peculiar question that appeared to play no part in the current conversation. “My friend, your name, Apollonius Parrhesia Tharreo, how did you come by it?”

  Apollonius was taken aback. After thinking about it a moment, he answered, “Apollonius the Younger Miller, is my birth name, my grandfather being also named Apollonius, and Miller the family occupational name. Parrhesia Tharreo I acquired after falling in with that notorious villain PaulNomikos. I hear he’s lately given up on his friends and can be found hanging about with the people’s new king and all.” Both men laughed, casting about a few lighthearted aspersions regarding the fellow.

  Apollonius continued. “Parrhesia Tharreo means ‘the destroyer with daring speech’, or something like that. Although Parrhesia became my formal, official name, it never really caught on, the shortened version of my birthing name clinging to me for the remainder of my days. ‘Apollos’ was the name I was called by, remembered by. Only the people in this world bother to call me ‘Apollonius’, ‘ApolloniusParrhesia’ as often as not. Why do you ask?”

  The man paused, silently nodding as he peered down at his cup. Sadness grew on his face as he looked up, asking, “Do you remember that day at the inn, at Troas, when I first met you?”

  Apollonius laughed, wide-eyed. “Remember?! How could I forget?! There we were, my traveling companions and I, about ready to be skewered by a pack of half-drunk ruffians with knives, all a shouting how great Artemis was. Then you walked in, all dandified in that official uniform of yours, accompanied by the finest dressed group of gentlemen soldiers such as I ever saw, ‘cept in a palace or something. When I saw you, I figured we had just gone from a quick, bloody death to a nice, slow, torturous one, maybe with a few months of starving in a prison hole first, to spice things up a bit.”

  “Then to the biggest surprise of my life, after dragging us out of there, all the while hurling curses and threats at us, you released us outside of town, telling us to take our leave of the district by the north road, warning us not to return. You puzzled me greatly, never did explain why.”

  The man pointed an accusing finger. “You cost me dearly that day! There were eight of us. We were in a hurry, on king’s business, and had but a few minutes to catch a bite or we would be late. Instead, I found you troubling the place and had to make a quick arrest. By all rights, I should have taken you along with us. Nice reward and all for the likes of you, but as you know, I didn’t. That good deed cost me a week’s wages, to buy the silence of the others with me!”

  Apollonius leaned back, astonished, laughing. “So should I buy your dinner this eve, as partial payment for your good deed? It would please me to do so. Let me start it off with a drink of Jem’s finest ale.”

  The man thanked him for the offer, accepting the drink, having already supped. At that moment, Suan arrived with a large mug of malted brew. After proper salutations accompanied by a tender embrace or two and several passionate kisses, Suan hurried away, soon to return with a pitcher of same brew for the table and a mug for the man. She left quickly, promising to return with Apollonius’ dinner.

  While they waited Suan’s return, the man asked, “You say you wondered about my reasons for releasing you and the others that day, but never asked me. Would you like to know the reason I set you free? It may well surprise you.”

  Curious, Apollonius leaned forward. “Please, tell me, my friend. This is far too old a riddle to leave remain hidden any longer.”

  It was the man’s turn to lean forward, replying in nearly a whisper. “It was your name...”

  “My name?!” Apollonius gasped, surprised. “Never in my life did I, would I, have guessed that my name was the culprit. I always figured it was some sort of divine will, you know, godly intervention and all. I was good for thinking that back in those days, God’s fingers playing some prophetic symphony, weaving a profound tapestry in the heavens. It was rather bold of me to dismiss events like that as providence - that I had some greater calling to yet answer to.”

  The man smiled. “You were some kind of a fanatic in those days, still were when we cam
e to know each other in later years.”

  Slapping the man on the shoulder, Apollonius exclaimed, “It’s an easy matter to start believing that God is tinkering in your life when you get all religious and sincere, failing to see the bigger picture. We were all children regarding the true reality in those days, walking blindly on a road of prejudicial faith. Who among our kind could have ever believed that war and death were being played out here, the place to which we all aspired?”

  Clasping his hands together while resting elbows on the table, he asked, “Why my name? Why? What was so special about it?”

  The man quietly laughed in a sardonic sort of way. “You? Do you think you lived under a rug in those days? Paul and Symeon? Sure, they were well known lunatics, leaders over the unlettered and foolish. We paid them little heed, seeing them as power-hungry rabble rousers and seditionists. You, on the other hand, were to be taken seriously, possibly feared.”

  He sat back, taking a sip of ale, frowning. “Rumors were a rife about your Lord’s confession that he was from a world above the stars, that he was going to return there, and later would come back with his army to bring justice upon those opposing him. Oh yes, we never talked openly about such tales, but the gossip ever flowed in the whispering shadows. I was not taken to such stories as were told by old men and faint-hearted women, that is until news came to me about you.”

  After sipping another drink, he continued. “Apollos... Apollos... Were you come as the handsome, carefree god to spread happiness and mirth, or were you the Destroyer come to cast down any and all who opposed you? Or were you just a man born of flesh as the rest of us? I was troubled over such things, but even more so when my wife returned from a visit to her relatives in Miletus.”

  Apollonius bent forward setting down his mug while resting his hands flat on the table, curious. “Yes?”

  The man continued. “My wife and her sister found themselves in the marketplace the very morning you took to the pedestal and began proclaiming the tales of gods and demons, of spirit wars, and how one of the gods had taken on human flesh and was now returned to the heavens, seated upon a golden throne. She said you spoke so forcefully and were filled with such conviction that the soldiers come to arrest you stood back in fear at what they witnessed. She knew not whether you, yourself, were a god or not, but advised me to tread lightly should my path cross yours.”

  “I scoffed at the idea you might be a god, but on the inside I wondered. My mother was devout to the extreme, telling me when I was but a child that the gods would come down from the skies to test men out.”

  Gripping his mug with both hands, the man slowly twirled its contents as he revealed more of his tale. “My dear wife’s untimely death made me as godless as may be, that is until that day we finally met at the tavern. While I stood there eyeing you, her haunting warnings concerning the gods tingled my ears as if she stood there beside me. Unnerved I was, to say the least. So, you see, it was an easy matter to release you once we were away.”

  Apollonius sat back, slowly shaking his head in wonder. “Well, well, that is certainly a tale to be told.”

  Suan arrived with a delicious mutton stew, dark rye bread, and some superb aged goat cheese. She lingered a little longer in sweet, flirting conversation, playing her fingers along Apollonius’ arm while cooing amorous refrains. Impatient customers at a nearby table interrupted the moment.

  Placing a loving hand on his shoulder, Suan kissed Apollonius, and then whispered in his ear, “I’m off in less than an hour. I’ll be waiting behind the fountain in the Winter Gardens. Please don’t keep this child lingering for want of a gentle touch, or she might be stolen away in another man’s arms.” She winked at the man across the table and hurried away.

  Blushing, the man turned to Apollonius, apologizing, claiming that he did not know the woman at all, and had no intentions regarding her.

  Apollonius laughed, motioning the man away with his hand. “No need to say a word. I’m sure my little darling there…” He chanced a longing glance at Suan as she waited another table. “has been wrapped up in many an arm since I left several months ago. She is a looker though, isn’t she?”

  The man smiled, agreeing. “The woman is very comely, that is true.” He studied Suan a while and then mused. “She reminds me of Sirion, my former mentor, but a little taller and more fleshed out. Sirion was a wiry little one, tough and wiry, but big br… Well, you know what I mean.”

  Apollonius was curiously amused. “You were never a man bashful in describing the beauty of a woman. What’s up? Is it concerning Sirion?”

  The man lowered his head, answering sadly. “Yes. It bothers me when I think about her.”

  “Why?” Apollonius asked perplexed. “The girl’s safe, been rescued, and is on her way here, coming with the king and all. They say you’ve been a real faithful steward for her while she was away, went to the Silent Tombs every day in her stead. Sirion will be so pleased to hear that. You should be celebrating instead of moping about like this.”

  The man smiled grimly. “I am looking forward to seeing her again. That’s not why I trouble over her. Report has come to me of the horrific torture done to the girl. Even now, she barely hangs on to life, that fellow, Eutychus, staying constantly by her side to tend to her needs, singing healing songs to her. What a terrible ordeal to suffer through. And to think…”

  Apollonius peered into distraught eyes. “And to think what, my friend?”

  The man hesitated. “And… and to think I was no less an evil bastard at one time. Violent rape - young virgins, children, it mattered little. It was all part of a game to me back then, seems like only yesterday. I cleaved many a breasts off the outlander women during my soldiering years, especially those giving suck, selling the skins to the tanner for drink money. The slave or prostitute occasionally fell to the same fate, often just for the sport of it.”

  He sighed, staring at the table. “When I think of the evil done to Sirion, I ponder the retched violence I’ve committed against so many innocents. I’ve wondered why I live here, in this place… let alone live.”

  Apollonius set down his spoon, resting a hand over his friend’s. “You are as close as a brother to me, have been for a long time. It troubles my spirit to see you in anguish over what lies buried in the past. Better to leave it rest there until the day it can be fixed. You’re here because Lowenah wants you here. Trust me, there have been others also delivered to this place that have even greater bragging rights to evil done. Lowenah sees things differently than we do. We have to trust her. Keeps it close, she does...likes to be secretive about her purposes.”

  Suan came by with a tray of drinks for some newly arrived guests. She glanced over at Apollonius’ half-finished food, frowning. The man suggested Apollonius be about his meal, or he might find an empty nest when he went calling. While he ate, the man returned to their earlier conversation.

  “Please, I have not asked you about your name, nor have I spun a tale from yesteryears to only tickle your ears. Look, I feared you might be one of the gods come to test us out, and when we were reunited long after, it took a powerful lot of convincing on your part before I accepted you to be only a man of flesh such as I am.”

  He folded his arms, resting them on the table. “You I gave honor and glory to, maybe out of fear, but honor I still gave. But to the one my mother venerated to a fault, Diana, I gave neither, only insult and death!”

  Apollonius raised his spoon to speak, his mouth filled with food. The man motioned him to continue eating. “My grandmother told me all these wonderful stories about Diana to the point that, as a little child, I would dream of being on the hunt with the goddess. I often talked with grandmother about her, saying how much I wished to meet the goddess one day. Grandmother said it was possible, for the gods would come to earth at times and live in the flesh as humans.”

  “Well, as you know, my wish did come true, or at least as
far as I am concerned it did. Oh, and she was everything a goddess should be, too. My friend, dear Apollonius, even after all your efforts to convince me otherwise, I never did come to completely stop believing that Ishtar was a goddess. I still feel that way.”

  Apollonius swallowed a mouthful of stew, replying, “Many are the times we have discussed this. Ishtar was young, a child. There was a purpose for what happened, and you only played a part in it. If not you, it would have been someone else. She’ll return someday, and then things will be set right with her.”

  The man agreed, and then replied in a nervous hush. “So it has been as I have believed that someday I could make things right with Ishtar - someday when she was all happy and snuggled up with a strong man beside her and a little one nestled up to her breast.”

  He frowned, pushing his half-full mug to the side, leaning forward. “But, o, the dread of it! Such a pleasant fate the girl shall never have, nor I the time for her to revel in blissful refreshment. The dreadful moment is already upon me, and I don’t know at all what to do about it!”

  Apollonius dropped his spoon, it falling with a clatter, asking excitedly, “You mean the girl is to come here, into this world, I mean?”

  “Do you not know a thing?!” The man anxiously responded.

  Vehemently shaking his head, Apollonius denied any knowledge at all about Ishtar. “I have been deep in the jungles of EthoHule for these many months, only arriving here this very day. After leaving my things at Symeon’s place, I joined myself to old books at the library, studying up on bugs until coming here. I’ve heard nothing at all.”

  “Ishtar awoke several days ago...” The man exclaimed. “right here, not far from Palace City! Symeon and Hanna are out there now with the child. They say she’s the last of the ones to come until this Rebellion is settled up here.”

  Apollonius let out, “Phew! Ishtar here? She’s so young. Do you know what this is about?”

  The man apologized. “I didn’t know you were in the dark about this. At the last council meeting, when Mihai was introduced as king, she got up and talked about three swords, saying two were here and one was soon to arrive. Then that Trisha person, the same as did all the mischief at the Prisoner Exchange, got up and made a whole bunch of prophecies. The gossip about it got the whole city in a tizzy. Then, after the meeting, Lowenah told Symeon that the girl, Ishtar, was arrived, and they say Sirion uttered a warning to Legion about something from his past having waked.”

  Apollonius interjected a question. “So you think that Ishtar might be a sword of some kind, or that she could be the creature having waked?”

  Not knowing, the man answered, “Rumor and gossip is all I’ve heard regarding the matter. I did speak with Symeon, but that was right after the council meeting. He was so excited to have his girl back. I could get little more out of him other than he and Hannah were to assist Ishtar with her new surroundings. You know how difficult that can be, even for us older ones.”

  Apollonius grinned. “So when the child gets adjusted to her new life, which should consume several months, she will be more receptive to you. Symeon can break it to her that you’re here and eventually set up a meeting. You and she will be able to patch things up just fine.”

  “No, that won’t do!” the man moaned in despair. “Ishtar and I are fated to cross paths soon. Exactly when or why, I don’t know, but it will come, can’t stop it. Just the thought of it has troubled my sleep ever since I found out.”

  “What?!” Apollonius nearly cried. “You and Ishtar? You sure?”

  The man nodded sadly. “That’s not all. Found out that was a reason for me being delivered here, into this realm.”

  Apollonius could hardly contain himself. “Whoa! That’s the biggest news I’ve heard in some time! How do you know? Symeon? Hannah?”

  “No.” the man replied in a subdued hush, staring down at the table. “I don’t think they know about her and me, ‘least not the part I’m speaking about.”

  He looked up at Apollonius, distressed. “I doubt Symeon would be pleased - will be pleased when he finds out. Still holds a grudge, I believe, over what happened in the past. I never did make it right with him back then, never got to explain things to him before he was later imprisoned and executed.”

  As he slowly tapped his fingers on the table, the man explained, “Paul introduced us after I arrived here, not telling him the role I played in Ishtar’s death. He hoped that getting to know me first would help mend things up concerning what happened back then. Told me to remain silent about matters. Symeon warmed up to me quickly, and we became close, good friends. Hannah gave the store away, not intentionally, or out of spite… She’s a real sweet heart, you know.”

  Apollonius agreed.

  “Symeon took it well, I guess. Still treated me fine, ‘cept I could see in his eyes the hurt over what I did to his little girl. He tries to forgive, but I don’t think he can quite forget. That was why I was so hopeful when told that the girl was coming here. I figured that once the two were reunited again, after a while Symeon could finally forget and maybe take me back as his friend again.”

  Apollonius nodded his understanding, asking, curious, “Then how did you find out? Paul? Maybe Mihai?”

  “No. No.” the man answered uncomfortably. He glanced about the room as if searching for a friendly face, finally whispering, “Lowenah...”

  “What?!” Apollonius nearly shouted.

  Some people at a nearly table turned to stare. Apollonius smiled sheepishly, lifting his mug. “Good ale for a thirsty soul.”

  The people agreed, shrugging while looking at each other, and were soon back in deep conversation.

  After taking a swig of the ale, and smacking his lips rather loudly, Apollonius leaned forward until his face was only inches away from his friend. Forcing down his excitement, he asked anxiously in a hush, “Lowenah?”

  The man nodded in acknowledgment.

  His ears all a tingle, Apollonius then asked, “When?”

  “You already know where I went in the evening times while Sirion’s been held captive these many long weeks…” the man quietly answered, “Seeing that for as busy as you say you were after having returned, someone managed to get your ear about me going to the Silent Tombs and why, I’ll go right into it.”

  “It was the night before departure of those going to the Prisoner Exchange that I happened to be about my duties for Sirion in the Silent Tombs, just having finished my little night song at Periste’s grave. As I slowly strode up the draw, deep in thought about Sirion and all the things that had happened to me since I got here, I spied Lowenah walking down the path toward me.”

  The man put a hand to his heart. “I became nervous, maybe at seeing her. Oh yes, I’ve been in her company in the past - you know, the cordial welcome to this place and pleasant chit-chat conversation and all, when a person is soon arrived, and once or twice more at some public event or other. It might not have bothered some to see her and talk with her, but for me it was terrifying...beautifully, intoxicatingly terrifying...”

  He mused, “More beautiful than a drug-induced dream she is. And then to think she’s God?! Scares me to death to have the feelings that come up inside me at seeing her all naked and stuff…you know.”

  Apollonius grinned, agreeing. “I’ve been told she does it on purpose with the newcomers. Likes it when the men… and the women, too, I suppose… get all heated up in a passion over her. Then she plays the game in their head as being untouchable, at least for the moment. Says to them in whispering thought, ‘some day, my lovely one, some day we’ll sing Love’s songs.’ Then she sends a calming breeze across the excited heart to ease the emotions. I’ve been told there’s a real purpose behind what Lowenah does, but that’s a discussion for another day.”

  The man continued. “So…well, I got really nervous when she motioned to me and picked up her pace, stopping up close. Reaching out, she took my han
d and, in the most charming of voices I’ve heard, asked me to walk with her. I about swallowed my tongue trying to make some kindly reply. Lowenah just laughed and began to chatter away about little, unimportant things. Then she got me to talking about myself, Sirion, this place, and on and on, until I was prattling on about any little thing at all.”

  He motioned for Apollonius to keep eating. “Anyway, Lowenah managed to put me in a comfortable mood, she acting so innocent and casual, sort ‘a like she had just happened out for a walk that evening, and came by chance upon me. Got me good, she did, real good...”

  Talking through a mouthful of food, Apollonius agreed, shaking his spoon as he replied. “Yep, she’s good for that. A real trickster she is, always playing games with your mind.”

  “Sure did with me...” the man replied. “as tricksy as may be. Made me feel so comfortable, I didn’t see at all what was coming as we walked along, Lowenah holding my hand, making an occasional reply while acting so nonchalant. Then she suddenly sprung the trap, and I walked right into it without even noticing. She asked me my thoughts about Ishtar’s approaching arrival.”

  “Well, sir,” He frowned. “I just came out and told her how bad I felt about Symeon… what I told you… and how I wished I could mend things up someday, make it right. You know...” He grimaced. “Before the last words were out of my mouth, I glanced down in time to see Lowenah’s twinkling eyes go impish with mischief a’growing in them. At that instant, I heard that trap go snapping shut. Uh-oh, something was up and I had walked right into it.”

  “’You’d like to fix things up a bit wouldn’t you, son?’ She asked so innocent.

  “Still playing the fool, I answered ‘Yes, anything.’ Fool me, I said ‘anything at all!’ pondering her calling me ‘son’. Think of it, Lowenah, Lord of Lords called me ‘son’! It screwed up my head so bad I couldn’t think of what I was really saying. Anything! Fool man, I was. Sealed my fate, I did.”

  Apollonius agreed that such things could happen with the Maker of Worlds. He took another gulp of his ale, and then asked, “So, what fate did you seal?”

  The man scowled and then slowly released a resigned sigh. “Well, she just made me feel so guilty - in a sneaky way she did, all polite and innocent. You know... Well, Lowenah said that things were all in a rush and all, something about mechanical delays and all that stuff that I haven’t wrapped my mind around yet. Anyway, she said the girl was being dumped, last minute like, into this world, said how difficult it can be under such circumstances to adjust quickly and all.”

  He looked, hopelessly, into Apollonius’ face. “She told me that someone dumped into this world so fast might have great difficulties accepting the realities of this world, might become locked into believing they were lost in dreams and nightmares. Then she asked me what I thought of that.”

  “What did you say?” Apollonius asked, curiosity growing as he spoke.

  A visible shudder ran across the man’s shoulders as he answered. “You know how I feel about the girl, always blaming myself over all that happened to her. What could I say? And Lowenah knew it, the sneak, set me up!”

  Apollonius could not help but laugh, his light-heartedness regarding matters easing the man’s tensions.

  The man began to smile. “Yep, she set me up. I told her how much I wished that things could be different, how badly I felt about the girl.” He held up a hand. “Lowenah took this in her hands, squeezing it while giving me a tender peck on the cheek. Then she told me a secret, said that one of the reasons I was delivered here was for the upcoming day when Ishtar would arrive...just in case. She said she might need me to shake the girl to her senses. She said what I might have to do was very important because time was run out, and the girl was to hit the ground a’running.”

  “Whoa!” Apollonius sat up straight, forgetting his meal, asking, “Lowenah told you time was run out?”

  “Yep...” Came a certain reply. “That’s exactly what she said. She then looked into the sky as if watching or waiting for something. As she stared up at the evening star, her words echoed cold. ‘Where the river crosses time and space, a witch’s caldron brews. She rides upon a midnight fleece of fire, beasts and hounds. Virgin bride of the Gorgons she is, must be...’”

  The man looked down at the table, confessing. “A smile crept across Lowenah’s face, but I saw something in her eyes that I believed she wished I not see, for it was gone away in a flash, a dark shadow filled with uncertainty.”

  The man leaned back, slapping his hands on the table. “Lowenah changed the subject, speaking about some whimsical little matters, but she could tell by the look on my face that I knew something was up. Her smile melted away as she stared into my eyes, speaking in a desperate whisper. ‘Only the bastard son, brood of the werewolf, has the power to defeat the hidden demons. He must not fail. You must not fail!’”

  “She then kissed me on the cheek, apologizing for thinking out loud, adding. ‘But that is for another day. Not your concern, your concern at all.’”

  Apollonius asked, intrigued, “What then? What did you do?”

  “What could I do?” The man replied, his voice filled with growing despair. “I’d promised to stay near Palace City, being told that my friend, Drorli, would soon be about and fill me in on all the goings on.”

  “And that was all?!” Apollonius asked, amazed. “What of Lowenah’s prophecy? I’ve not heard her speak to another of us in such a manner.”

  The man puzzled, “Isn’t being upside down over the part I play in helping that girl enough for a soul to bother about? Prophecy? Well, I haven’t thought much about what it was. Lowenah said it wasn’t my concern. So I didn’t make it my concern.” He pointed toward his head. “It’s how I’ve managed to keep this on my shoulders. Not my concern...”

  Apollonius was stunned silent. How hard it was to shake the world of old out of someone’s life, especially when you might have been in as deep as this fellow was. Loose lips, loose head. He had survived a long time by playing it safe. Hard to forget what works.

  The man added, “Lowenah and I walked along through the Tombs until the moon rose high above the hills, chit-chatting about the most carefree things. At length, we parted, she seeming to be in little hurry to go. The gloom swept over me soon after she was gone, and I’ve been sort ‘a moping about ever since. I’m glad you arrived here tonight. At least you can understand… at least a little bit.”

  Grinning, Apollonius clasped his friend’s hand. “Yes, yes, I understand, but oh so much more than you may think.! Of all the sages in this world, you have revealed more in this little conversation than they might in the longest speech.”

  “What? What have I told you?” The man asked curious.

  “Well…” Apollonius looked toward the ceiling before staring into his friend’s face. “Let me put it this way: war is coming, and coming soon. I mean a big one, bigger and badder than any before it. And you and that girl, Ishtar, are going to be playing a real big part in it in some way. I would…”

  At that instant, Apollonius chanced a glance from the corner of his eye, seeing a very impatient Suan standing by the door. He wiggled out of the booth and jumped up, saying his adieus to his friend, adding, “Mustn’t dally or the ship will long have sailed, leaving this sailor alone and lonely on the shore.”

  The man reached out and grasped Apollonius’ hand. In desperation, he asked, “My friend, what must I do? Does my wise sage have some parting advice?”

  First, acknowledging Suan that he was quickly coming, Apollonius leaned forward, the flickering flame of the table candle dancing off his glistening white teeth. “How does one prepare for the tempest?” He glanced over his shoulder at Suan. “You just make up your mind it’s coming and put down your head and row. Let the storm take you where it will. It’s better that way, less work, will take you longer to drown.” He laughed.

  Taking a step away from the t
able, Apollonius turned, seeing a distraught face. He stopped, raising a hand. “I will give you this little bit of advice, my friend. Cast away the old world. Grow a beard...” At that, Apollonius bounded away, catching up a pouting Suan in his arms as they hurriedly parted the company of the tavern for other adventures.