Chapter 22: Chapter Twenty Two – Old Moon

 Chapter 22

 

???????????????????????? - Thebes, 1264 BCE

 

"My friends, it is time for the meeting to begin. Please follow me to join the Pharaoh in her court." Nefertari's adviser speaks over the crowd. 

"Finally!" Artemis whispers in my ear. "She left us here 'socializing' for hours. You'd think that such an important meeting would be more urgent than a party." 

"This was the real meeting." I whisper back. "The Pharaoh didn't leave us in this room for four hours just to rub shoulders and socialize. She did this as a courtesy, so we can form alliances, strike bargains, try to discover each other's motives, or convince each other to change positions. This is where the real politics happens. The formal meeting is just that, a formality."

My large friend huffs at me. "Well I don't have the patience for any of that. I'll leave the politics to you and Taygete. You two just let me know when you want a fleet smashed, or someone re-assembled. Or disassembled!" The big lunar and water thrall belly laughs loud enough to earn the disapproving looks of the nearest dozen Spawn of Lamaštu.

"C'mon you big brute. I'm sure you'll have plenty of people to disassemble and reassemble soon enough." Taygete squeaks out, grabbing her thrall's hand and dragging her towards the hall. 

I realize that I'm about to be left alone in the sanctuary, and quickly jump to follow the group of nearly 100 Spawn and thralls walking out of the room. I hesitate in the door, between two human guards. I turn to take one last look at the upper corner of the room. The subtle dark gray cloud of a death Spawn's shroud still looms ominously near the ceiling. A shiver runs down my spine, and I quickly scurry towards the court. 

I wrap my lion pelt around my shoulders as I enter the court. The air has cooled as night has overtaken the Ipet Resyt. Great sandstone columns line the edges of the giant peristyle court. The crowd of Spawn and thralls have gathered at the base of a stone platform at the far end, atop of which is Nefertari. The great Pharaoh wears a beautiful gold and black gown, stretching to her feet. Her massive golden headdress balances perfectly atop her silky black hair, its black onyx gemstone glimmering in the light of the full moon, looming ominously above the open roofed court. 

Nefertari is already speaking by the time I join Artemis and Taygete at the back of the crowd. The Pharaoh's hands dance elegantly through the air as she weaves her words into one of her typically inspirational speeches that I have grown all too accustomed to in the last few centuries of her reign. 

"...Now is the time to join the night with the day! Now is the time for the Spawn to join humanity. Not as predators, but as friends… as equals." The Pharaoh pauses, her eyes scanning the room, and her face full of passion.

"Cast your eyes upon all that humans have achieved, with magic, and without. Let this grand temple that you now stand in bare testament to humanity's achievement. Then look at what us Spawn, and our thralls have achieved, our advancements in dark magic, our contributions to trade, to art, to medicine, to securing the stability and safety of the world….

"Why must our achievements stand separate from that of humanities? Why must our worlds live apart, in secrecy? I ask you to consider the world that we can build together. A world where we stand hand and hand with humanity, working to advance magic, engineering, agriculture, trade, and art. With the combined power of light and dark magic we can leave our old violent, cold, and hungry world long behind, and build a new one, with peace and prosperity for humans, Spawns, and thralls alike! 

"I ask you to join me in an alliance, to return to your homelands and reveal yourself to your human allies, to agree to end the practice of hunting humans, to take up political power in your homes, to end the constant wars and fighting among humanity, and join together in collaboration for a better future. The night and day must be made whole!" 

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The crowd buzzes with nervous murmurs. An anxious pause hangs over the crowded court as the Pharaoh stands in silence, seemingly waiting for something. 

Oh right, she’s waiting for me!

"Ugarit stands with you!" I shout over the crowd, drawing my sword by its dimly glowing black tourmaline hilt, and lifting it in the air. 

Whoops, I forgot I agreed to do that.

I hold my sword awkwardly as the court stands in silence, all eyes staring at me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Taygate nudge Artemis. 

Artemis raises her fist and booms her deep voice over the crowd. "Mycenae sails for you, Pharaoh!" 

After a moment another voice from the front shouts. "The Terramara are with you!"

More voices join in a chorus of support. 

"The Hittite Empire will join you!"

"Dur-Kurigalzu will join you!" A short, well muscled earth thrall shouts beside me, waving a bronze hammer over her head.

A thin, pale Spawn covered in blue animal tattoos steps onto the stone platform. "The Karasuk declare neutrality in these matters. This is outside the geographical range of our interests." She slips her frowning face behind her purple shroud, speckled with tiny white twinkling light, and launches herself into the air, leaving the meeting.

“Nipur will join you!”

“Jubayl pledges our fleet to the Pharaoh!”

“Aššur is in!”

A tall blond thrall raises a pure emerald sickle and opens her mouth to shout her support, but no sound comes out. No sound is heard from any of our mouths, as they all fall open.

A dark red glow ominously descends upon the sandstone pillars lining the edges of the court. We look up in horror, as the moon is consumed by a deep crimson hue, as if it is slowly filling with blood. When the moon is completely engulfed, the screaming starts.

“It’s mother! She knows we are here!” Someone shouts.

“We’ve been betrayed!” Another yells.

“We will all be put in Silver!”

“We must flee!”

The screaming and shouting rises, and a dozen or so Spawn jump into their shrouds, and launch themselves into the dark red sky. I turn to Artemis, standing slack jawed beside me, her head glaring at the blood moon.

“What is she saying, Artemis?!” I shout, shaking my friend. “What is mother saying?”

Artemis shakes her head. She hesitates, then looks down at me, her eyes full of fear. “Nothing.” She whispers. “She is saying nothing.” A tear rolls down Artemis’ cheek.

“We can salvage this!” I shout, shaking my tall friend.

“This is my fault.” Artemis shakes her head, sinking to the ground, where Taygate pulls her shoulders onto her tiny lap. 

I leap into my shroud, and fly above the crowd. I hover above the hysterical mass. I hear other lunar channellers confirming that the blood mother is in fact silent. I touch a black onyx fingernail to my throat, and drop my shroud around my face only. I use the spell in my fingernail to strengthen my vocal cords, and project my voice.

“Friends! This is not the end! We can fight this! What we are talking about is worth fighting for! Humanity is worth fighting for! Mother is only one Spawn. She cannot stop us if we stand together!” I turn to Nefertari, and send her a pleading expression. She still stands in shock, staring at the moon. Her human advisor gently shakes her shoulder, and points to me. Upon making eye contact, the great Pharaoh understands what I want from her. She surrounds herself in her dark gray death shroud, and jumps into the air, to join me over the crowd. I press my finger into her neck as she hovers beside me.

“My sisters! Why must our world be taken from us before it is born?! Will we capitulate to the threats of a woman who hasn’t left her cave in a thousand years?! Mother may wield blood magic, but she is only one Spawn! How can one woman stand against the might of Egypt, Wawat, Yam, Canaan, Phoenicia, Mycenae, and the Hittite Empire?! Why must we submit to the rule of a woman who only communicates with us in cryptic messages, spoken from a bloody moon every two or three centuries?! We must build our own destiny! We must seize our own future! That future is with Humanity, not with the blood mother!”

I reach into the Pharaoh's shroud and pat her shoulder. Her words seemed to have given calm and resolve to some of the women below us, but perhaps frenzied others.

“This will mean war!” Someone shouts.

“You cannot stand against mother! She is Lamaštu herself!” A tall woman wielding a spear yells. 

The Pharaoh laughs. “Lamaštu?! Please, Heqanefer, we all know that mother is not Lamaštu! We shouldn’t even give her the honor of calling her mother, nevermind Lamaštu! Humans gave her that name, but she is a spawn, just like us. Tell me Heqanefer, when you roamed the savanna, far to the south of Yam for thousands of years, before humans built their cities, did you know anyone named Lamaštu? Did you even know what a goddess was?”

The tall spear woman shakes her head.

Nefertari nods. “Goddesses are the creation of humanity. We have existed long before the goddesses! Mother is a Spawn, just like us. She may be the most powerful spawn, but she will not stop us if we stand together!” 

A cheer erupts from the remaining crowd. About half of the original attendees remain, cheering and clapping in their now unified resolve.

“You will all burn!”  A shrill voice suddenly shreeks above us.

I look up into the night sky just in time to see a dark gray cloud descend above me. A small portion of the shroud drops to reveal the face of Istustaya. Her delicate, fair features stand in stark contrast to the fury on her beautiful face. Her soft, wavy pitch black hair billows behind her in the wind as she comes to a rest hoving above the Pharaoh and I.

“You will all burn!” The furious death channeller shouts. “Your cities will burn! Your beloved humans will burn! Your pathetic thralls will burn! Your dreams of living beside these animals, as ‘equals’, will burn! It will all burn!” Istustaya shouts in a rage, her voice dripping with furious contempt.

The Pharaoh looks up at the hoving woman that she used to consider a dear friend. Her face is plastered with pain, and her eyes full of tears. “Istustaya? You told mother of our plans? How could you do this? How could you betray us? You used to be full of compassion for humanity. You had more love for humans than any of us. What happened to you? What happened to that love?” She says in a hushed tone that my fingernail projects loud enough for the whole court to hear.

“My love died with Papaya! It burned in the embers of Knossos!” Istustaya shouts.

Nefertari tosses her hands up, pleading with her fellow death Spawn above her. “Even if you have no love left, why join Mother? Why fight against us? Were we not once friends? What loyalty do you owe to the Blood Mother?”

Istustaya spits to the ground. “My loyalty lies with whoever fights against Mycenae. I give it in exchange for the chance to kill her!” Istustay points down to the court, shooting a piercing finger directly at Artemis.

Artemis hangs her head in silence.

Istustays spins in a wide circle, flying around the court, before coming to a rest directly above Artemis and Taygate.

“The next time you see my face, it will be the last thing you ever see!” She shouts, before launching herself into the night.

The blood red moon fades, and returns to its familiar silver light.

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