Leviathan
Intro | Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
This is background for the next chapter, Leviathan. The Old Man's crew, the heroes, are preparing to go to Leviathan to take one of Silay's items of power, a rune sword needed to fight their main enemy, creatures from a fiery dimension.
Silay Edire was an archaeologist. She hadn't achieved fame from her finds but she didn't care, it was the search for the secrets of the past that was important to her.
She was on an inconsequential dig on Cardamoon. The Cardit, the people of Cardamoon, had all died when a passing comet tore away their atmosphere. When Silay got there its society had only been discovered about ten years before, the Cardit had been extinct for a millennia. They were a polytheistic society with a uniqueness that made them interesting to researchers. There were twenty-seven gods, thirteen goddesses of creation, thirteen gods of destruction and the queen. That sort of hierarchy was fairly common throughout the universe, what made the Cardit unique was the structure of their priesthood. In every other polytheistic society there was a separate priesthood for each god, on Cardit there was only one. In the small towns and villages there would be a shrine run by a priest or priestess, they were the voice for all the gods except the queen. In the larger towns and cities there would be a temple with an inner sanctum for each of the twenty-six lesser gods. Twenty-six priests or priestesses served one of the gods, they reported to one head priestess. Other archaeologists had uncovered references to twenty-six high temples but none had been found yet. The temple to the queen of the gods had not been discovered either, that was where the high priest, or The Queen's Consort, ruled all Cardit society.
Silay had found the site of a temple in one of the lesser cities and was in the process of unearthing it and cataloging the artifacts. In the inner sanctum of Jagi she found a box with a well preserved manuscript inside. It was a chronicle of the life of Jagi, others had been found but in this one she ran across a passage that she believed would finally bring her fame. The passage said, "The Second Light descended on the Three Sisters." Jagi was the Second Light, he was associated with Cardmoon's second sun, a red sun, Jagi was the god of war. The Three Sisters was a city somewhere in the south, its site hadn't been found yet. Silay thought the passage might have been speaking of war and finding a site of Cardit war would be a great find but in the back of her mind she had an even greater theory.
It took her eight years to find the Three Sisters and another two to prove her theory. It was apparent that the passage she found wasn't referring to a war, clearly the Three Sisters had never seen war. The Second Light descending on the Three Sisters, as Silay thought, was referring to the high temple of Jagi. When she unearthed the temple her fame was insured but that lost meaning to her when she discovered something there that would completely change her life.
It was late and Silay had sent the rest of the team to bed but she was too excited to sleep and kept digging. She was certain the room they were unearthing was the inner sanctum and she wasn't disappointed. The room was filled with weapons and a pile of skulls lay before an altar, carvings on the walls showed Cardit sacrifices being made there. The room was empty other than the weapons and the altar. Weapons wasn't one of her specialties so she examined the altar first. It was made of a black stone found in the cliffs not far from the Three Sisters and had manacles to hold down the victim. The head of the altar was ornately carved and from it hung a bracer made of a metal she didn't recognize. When she picked it up an electrical surge ran through her and she dropped it. She scanned it and found no known harmful elements or radiation so she picked it up again. When she brushed the dirt from it she found an inscription, "The Strength of Jagi." She remembered reading that Jagi was supposed to have the strength of ten and killed his enemies by tearing their heads off. As she thought about what the inscription meant she realized just how good she felt. Since finding the temple she'd been living on sher and very little sleep, she'd been worn to the bone until she picked up the bracer. She figured the metal had some sort of restorative power that the Cardit called the Strength of Jagi. When she left the temple for bed she didn't take the bracer off, she never took it off again.
It wasn't her original intent to keep the bracer, she planned to return it when the dig ended. Two nights later she discovered something about it that changed her plans. It was late again, the rest of the team was asleep and she was working in the temple cataloging artifacts. She heard a loud crack behind her and turned to see a huge column falling towards her. She didn't have time to get out of the way and instinctively threw out her hands to stop it. She should have been crushed, instead the column lay resting in her hands. When she let it drop it pulverized the stone floor. Silay stared at the column in shock, wondering what happened. Her first thought was that it wasn't as heavy as it looked and an adrenal surge had given her a temporary strength. She looked at the dust that had once been floor and knew her theory was incorrect. Silay went over to the column and tried to pick it up, with effort she pressed one end over her head. Then she took the bracer off and tried again, she couldn't even move the column. She had a new theory and was certain it was correct, the bracer gave her the Strength of Jagi.
Silay had a new passion, she turned her dig over to her second and began searching for the other high temples. Each of the gods had a particular attribute and Silay hoped the temples held corresponding artifacts of power. She found one more Cardit high temple before others discovered the rest, in it she found the Eye of Ler. Ler was the goddess of mysteries, the artifact was a stone that gave Silay prophetic visions. She didn't end her search on Cardamoon, she devoted her life to finding every artifact of power she could.
When Silay had nine items of power she moved to Leviathan. Leviathan is a lifeless world on the edge of the out sectors. It is a dark, rocky world and even if someone happened to come there the fortress she built would not be readily found. It didn't matter to Silay that she was far from the inhabited parts of the universe, she had an item, the Wings of Eagles, that would transport her anywhere. By the time she got to Leviathan Silay was 150 years old, she looked like she was in her twenties thanks to a ring of immortality. She was ruthless in her quest for power, she killed anyone in her way. At one time others like her who sought power artifacts made attempts on her fortress, none that tried ever returned and soon people quit trying.
This is background for the next chapter, Leviathan. The Old Man's crew, the heroes, are preparing to go to Leviathan to take one of Silay's items of power, a rune sword needed to fight their main enemy, creatures from a fiery dimension.
Silay Edire was an archaeologist. She hadn't achieved fame from her finds but she didn't care, it was the search for the secrets of the past that was important to her.
She was on an inconsequential dig on Cardamoon. The Cardit, the people of Cardamoon, had all died when a passing comet tore away their atmosphere. When Silay got there its society had only been discovered about ten years before, the Cardit had been extinct for a millennia. They were a polytheistic society with a uniqueness that made them interesting to researchers. There were twenty-seven gods, thirteen goddesses of creation, thirteen gods of destruction and the queen. That sort of hierarchy was fairly common throughout the universe, what made the Cardit unique was the structure of their priesthood. In every other polytheistic society there was a separate priesthood for each god, on Cardit there was only one. In the small towns and villages there would be a shrine run by a priest or priestess, they were the voice for all the gods except the queen. In the larger towns and cities there would be a temple with an inner sanctum for each of the twenty-six lesser gods. Twenty-six priests or priestesses served one of the gods, they reported to one head priestess. Other archaeologists had uncovered references to twenty-six high temples but none had been found yet. The temple to the queen of the gods had not been discovered either, that was where the high priest, or The Queen's Consort, ruled all Cardit society.
Silay had found the site of a temple in one of the lesser cities and was in the process of unearthing it and cataloging the artifacts. In the inner sanctum of Jagi she found a box with a well preserved manuscript inside. It was a chronicle of the life of Jagi, others had been found but in this one she ran across a passage that she believed would finally bring her fame. The passage said, "The Second Light descended on the Three Sisters." Jagi was the Second Light, he was associated with Cardmoon's second sun, a red sun, Jagi was the god of war. The Three Sisters was a city somewhere in the south, its site hadn't been found yet. Silay thought the passage might have been speaking of war and finding a site of Cardit war would be a great find but in the back of her mind she had an even greater theory.
It took her eight years to find the Three Sisters and another two to prove her theory. It was apparent that the passage she found wasn't referring to a war, clearly the Three Sisters had never seen war. The Second Light descending on the Three Sisters, as Silay thought, was referring to the high temple of Jagi. When she unearthed the temple her fame was insured but that lost meaning to her when she discovered something there that would completely change her life.
It was late and Silay had sent the rest of the team to bed but she was too excited to sleep and kept digging. She was certain the room they were unearthing was the inner sanctum and she wasn't disappointed. The room was filled with weapons and a pile of skulls lay before an altar, carvings on the walls showed Cardit sacrifices being made there. The room was empty other than the weapons and the altar. Weapons wasn't one of her specialties so she examined the altar first. It was made of a black stone found in the cliffs not far from the Three Sisters and had manacles to hold down the victim. The head of the altar was ornately carved and from it hung a bracer made of a metal she didn't recognize. When she picked it up an electrical surge ran through her and she dropped it. She scanned it and found no known harmful elements or radiation so she picked it up again. When she brushed the dirt from it she found an inscription, "The Strength of Jagi." She remembered reading that Jagi was supposed to have the strength of ten and killed his enemies by tearing their heads off. As she thought about what the inscription meant she realized just how good she felt. Since finding the temple she'd been living on sher and very little sleep, she'd been worn to the bone until she picked up the bracer. She figured the metal had some sort of restorative power that the Cardit called the Strength of Jagi. When she left the temple for bed she didn't take the bracer off, she never took it off again.
It wasn't her original intent to keep the bracer, she planned to return it when the dig ended. Two nights later she discovered something about it that changed her plans. It was late again, the rest of the team was asleep and she was working in the temple cataloging artifacts. She heard a loud crack behind her and turned to see a huge column falling towards her. She didn't have time to get out of the way and instinctively threw out her hands to stop it. She should have been crushed, instead the column lay resting in her hands. When she let it drop it pulverized the stone floor. Silay stared at the column in shock, wondering what happened. Her first thought was that it wasn't as heavy as it looked and an adrenal surge had given her a temporary strength. She looked at the dust that had once been floor and knew her theory was incorrect. Silay went over to the column and tried to pick it up, with effort she pressed one end over her head. Then she took the bracer off and tried again, she couldn't even move the column. She had a new theory and was certain it was correct, the bracer gave her the Strength of Jagi.
Silay had a new passion, she turned her dig over to her second and began searching for the other high temples. Each of the gods had a particular attribute and Silay hoped the temples held corresponding artifacts of power. She found one more Cardit high temple before others discovered the rest, in it she found the Eye of Ler. Ler was the goddess of mysteries, the artifact was a stone that gave Silay prophetic visions. She didn't end her search on Cardamoon, she devoted her life to finding every artifact of power she could.
When Silay had nine items of power she moved to Leviathan. Leviathan is a lifeless world on the edge of the out sectors. It is a dark, rocky world and even if someone happened to come there the fortress she built would not be readily found. It didn't matter to Silay that she was far from the inhabited parts of the universe, she had an item, the Wings of Eagles, that would transport her anywhere. By the time she got to Leviathan Silay was 150 years old, she looked like she was in her twenties thanks to a ring of immortality. She was ruthless in her quest for power, she killed anyone in her way. At one time others like her who sought power artifacts made attempts on her fortress, none that tried ever returned and soon people quit trying.
~|~
Excerpt from Shadow Stalkers by S.E.Estes
Posted by RevrendZ - 4/26/2005 09:01:00 PM
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Note to self: Leviathan
a transliterated Hebrew word, livyathan, "twisted,", "coiled."
monsters of the deep
used figuratively for a cruel enemy
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