Nibiru Returns

by Tod Eten

  ‘What!' Aiden exclaimed. 'So we are all doomed!’ Aiden added laughing nervously.

  ‘Well not quite as we said tonight at the meeting there are records about a sanctuary called Eden' Aya said seriously.

  ‘I thought Eden was the garden where Adam and Eve came from’ Aiden replied.

  'As I said it was mistranslation, Eden was described in the future tense not in the past tense as we have been led to believe. Eden will happen not Eden has happened!'

  'Yes I suppose' Aiden said unconvinced.

  ‘Eden is a place that has been created to provide a refuge or an escape from the storms ahead’ Aya continued undaunted.

  ‘Look I am sorry to sound sceptical. This is all new for me and well it all does seem rather out of the box. I mean the end of the world, aliens and now this Eden! I mean it’s all just.’ Aiden waved his hand lost for words.

  ‘I understand Aiden’ Aya said nodding her head slowly, ‘can I ask you a question? With what you learnt this evening about the Great Flood do you now believe that it actually happened?’

  ‘Well yes I guess it sounds like some kind of flood did happen’ Aiden agreed.

  ‘OK so let's say the great flood happened’ Faith interrupted once more,’ but the rest of that stuff, like Aiden says, the Aliens the planet and all that, where is the proof for it?’

  ‘The great flood is your proof Faith! As I said the flood stories have always been dismissed as nothing more than myths and were never taken seriously. But now they are finding the proof that it happened. So if the flood did happen as the Ancients recorded then why should we doubt the other events that they have recorded?’ Aya answered with a shrug.

  ‘That is a very big conclusion Aya’ Faith said shaking her head in doubt.

  ‘OK let’s look at it this way’ Aya continued, ‘what do all the records say about the coming of the end of the world? Well firstly they all seem to say that before the end we will see the breakdown of civilisation as we know it. The moral codes of man will be replaced by amoral codes and we will see wars and rioting. We will also start having droughts, famine and natural disasters.’

  ‘There was the earthquake and tsunami that killed loads of people in the Far East’ Seth said backing Aya up.

  ‘Yes and there have been lots of droughts and famines in Africa’ Bridget added ‘and what about all those terrorist attacks and the wars we have now!’

  ‘Oh please!’ Faith said in exasperation ‘that stuff is always going on, and will always go on!’

  ‘Yes I agree with Faith, this is not new’ Oleska said in agreement, ‘and what about this planet you talk about, why is it not seen by our astronomers?’

  ‘Maybe it has been seen by them but they are keeping it quiet!’ Gagan said conspiratorially.

  ‘Actually you have a good point there Oleska’ Aya said looking thoughtful, ‘as I said the end of the world as we know it is said to coincide with the arrival of this planet. So if this planet makes an appearance in our solar system then will you all believe in what I am saying?’ Aya said now looking at Faith.

  ‘Well I suppose so’ Faith agreed somewhat reluctantly.

  ‘What! Are you saying that before we try to find Eden we must wait for this mythical planet to appear’ Gagan said totally mystified, ‘Don't you all realise that Eden will be the find of the century!’

  ‘I promise you the wait won’t be long’ Aya said sadly, ‘and we can start making preparations for the journey right now’

  ‘I have lots of camping equipment we can use’ Demitri said with a grin.

  ‘Yes but husband we only go if this planet appears, is that right Aya?’ Oleska asked for confirmation.

  ‘Yes that’s right’ Aya nodded, ‘are we all agreed?’

  ‘Planet or no planet I want to try and find this place and the sooner the better’ Gagan said.

  ‘I am with Gagan there’ Seth agreed.

  ‘My sisters and I are also of the same mind’ Long said.

  ‘Waiting a bit longer won’t hurt. Besides if what is predicted to happen actually does happen I have no intention of leaving any of you behind.’ Aya said forcefully. ‘So are we all agreed if this planet appears then we will all make the journey?’ this time everyone around the table nodded.

  Chapter 4 - The Telal

  He stood in the room naked, arms out stretched enjoying the touch of the girls who were gently oiling and massaging his toned and glistening body. He had already been washed, shaved and perfumed and his long black hair combed and plaited. He looked admiringly at his handsome face in the mirror his black eyes and golden skin clearly showing his Anshar bloodline, one of the most feared and foremost of the families amongst the Anunnaki. He knew he was destined be the greatest of the Anshar and today was his day of Pana Adabu, when he would finally come of age and take his rightful place among his tribe. He closed his eyes thinking about the trial ahead. He had heard that many had been nervous before their Pana Adabu and some even scared! But he had felt no such fear for he had been eagerly waiting this moment since he was a child constantly training his body and mind for this very day. Now his body flowed with the power of Zini like no other before him. The girls now started to place his armour on him. Not the heavy armour plates of the juggernaut or the rigid scale armour of the Shargaz. His was the armour of the Nimbus light and strong which allowed him to move with speed. He wore a simple silver coloured breast plate on which the crest of his house, the bright red wings of the Achura was emblazoned. Matching silver gauntlets and greaves protected his forearms and legs, around his waist was a skirt made of the same material and on his feet light silver boots. His armour in place he was then handed his bow and arrows which he secured across his back. Lastly he was handed his sword and shield, the shield again bore the crest of his house. One last time he checked that all was as it should be, then at an unseen command the doors to the room opened and he strode forth. He walked down the corridor and taking a sharp turn went down a long flight of stairs which emerged out onto an enormous courtyard. Here the royal household waited in silence for him. Without a word spoken he walked over to his mount. Much like a heavily muscled horse did his mount look, a large and powerfully built jet black creature with red eyes and a single long sharp horn that sprang from its forehead. On reaching the animal he casually leapt on its back his mount not flinching in the least so accustomed had it grown to its master. There were three other riders, his sister and two brothers waiting beside him. All sat upon similar mounts to his own, the only difference being that theirs were white in colour. The rest of his family, nobles and servants, who numbered a thousand and more stood silently waiting around the edge of the courtyard dressed in their finery. He looked up at the golden towers of the citadel surrounding the courtyard that gently tapered up into the sky. Each tower over a league in height a visible statement to all about the power of the Anshar. Above the tops of the towers lay the near black skies of his world and he watched for a moment as the lightening flickered in the depths of the black clouds. Then the great doors to the courtyard were opened and he urged his mount out into the city beyond and everyone in the courtyard, as was tradition saluted him as he left with their right arm and closed fist across their chest.

  He now rode through the wide streets of the city past the towering twenty story buildings that surrounded the citadel. Like the citadel itself all the buildings of the city gave off a golden glow that provided enough light to see by. The whole tribe had come out to watch his departure lining the pavements of the city and looking out of windows, all of them saluting him in silence as he rode past. The nearer he drew to the edge of the great city the smaller the buildings grew until they were no more than five stories high. These buildings looked more like castles their walls being four times thicker than normal, for these buildings as well as housing the army and their war machines also acted as the last defence should the city walls fall. Finally they came to the great gates of the city of which there were three, one gate on the inner edge of the wall, one
in the middle and the final on the outer edge. The gates were wide open and the city guards lined the passage through the wall their bronze armour shining in the golden light as he rode past. Exiting the gate he glanced at the city walls, ten stories high and fifty paces wide with perfectly smooth faces that allowed no purchase for any enemy trying to scale them. In front of the wall sprang a barrier of spikes each forty five paces in length. Their purpose to thwart any of the larger creatures that managed to make it as far as the city walls. He now rode out into the fields surrounding the city, his sister and two brothers who would bear witness for his Pana Adabu following close behind.

  They continued on in silence past field after field covered in purple and red plants where the slaves were already hard at work harvesting the latest crops. The fields stretched out for many leagues on all sides of the city, after which came the plains that continued on for another ten leagues and more on which their domesticated beasts grazed. Several leagues after the grazing grounds they eventually came to the large sentry posts, which were more like small towns guarded by strong fortified walls. These towns marked the boundaries of their lands and here again the soldiers saluted as they rode past.

  He now felt his excitement build within him knowing that the moment he had eagerly been waiting for would soon be at hand.

  ‘Brother of mine’ his sister said riding up to him, ‘why have you chosen the Telal for this day, you know that none have ever overcome this creature!’

  ‘Fear not for me sister fear for the Telal’ he laughed in reply.

  ‘Will you not chose another brother of mine?’ his sister almost pleaded.

  ‘Leave our brother alone sister he has already chosen, your words will only cause a distraction for the task ahead.’ One of his brothers interrupted trying to quieten their sister.

  ‘It is well that my sister speaks as she does for she shows her love for me!’ he replied defending his beloved sister. ‘But do not fear for me my sister, I am up to the task I have set myself’ he replied giving his sister a smile and they rode on again in silence.

  The group journeyed on their attention now focused on their surroundings for they were now in the waste lands and the dangers were many with the distant rumblings of creatures echoing through the hills. They stopped as they sighted in the distance a Minos, a gigantic six legged lizard its glowing blue strips pulsing down the length of its body warning of the poison that it used. The lizard was ninety paces from head to tail, its shoulders standing higher than the heads of the riders as they were seated on their mounts and its armoured body had a profusion of sharp poison tipped spikes covering it. The lizard slowly ambled away on its journey heedless of the riders who were marking its passage. The riders watched as the Minos disappeared over the brow of a hill.

  ‘That would have made a fitting prize’ his sister said with a sigh.

  Once again they moved forward drawing ever nearer the home of his quarry. They stopped many more times on the journey each time their keen senses warned them of danger. At last they came in sight of the river whose black waters carved a path through the desolate land and there by its banks they saw an enormous hill in the face of which a large cave was set.

  ‘May the blood of the Anshar guide your way brother’ his sister said and his two brothers saluted him.

  Without replying he rode on alone down the hill to meet his destiny with one feeling foremost in his mind, joy! For much had he longed for this battle.

  He stopped and dismounted at the foot of the hill making his way on foot. He knew that there would be no other dangers around for no other creatures would knowingly go near a Telal's lair. The stench of rotting flesh soon filled his senses as he drew nearer the black maw of the cave. He was now but fifty paces from the cave mouth and he could clearly see the discarded remains of the creature’s victims scattered all about. He would have to watch his step during the battle with all these bones and pieces of rotting flesh lying all around he thought to himself. He once more went over what he had learnt about his quarry. He had been studying the Telal since he had first graduated to the ranks of the Puhrum. He had read all the books on this creature and had listened to the old warrior’s tales of their encounters with the beast. His sister had been right in that none had stood alone against the Telal and lived. The creature's body, from the drawings he had seen would be half the length of the Minos they had seen earlier. But the Telal also had tail twice the length of its body. A thin whip like limb with a needle sharp point that could pierce any armour or scale which contained a lethal poison that would instantly paralyse its target. But this was just one of the creature’s main weapons. The Telal’s other weapon was its tongue which lay hidden inside its large fanged jaws. This it could shoot out like an arrow at least twenty paces in length which like its tail also had a needle sharp venomous tip. It was these two weapons that made the Telal so dangerous for the creature had developed its reflexes over the generations allowing it to use both weapons simultaneously. Its speed and accuracy was so great that its victims in trying to avoid one attack would be almost certainly be hit by the other. Many a warrior had fallen to this creature but he knew as with any opponent that there always had to be a weakness.

  He stood still concentrating his mind, readying himself for the battle ahead. He felt the power rising in him as he quietly recited the mantras drawing energy into his body. He could now feel the presence of the beast within the cave, its slow heartbeat and deep breaths. Finally ready he took out his bow and readied an arrow and with a roar that echoed around the hills he challenged the Telal to combat. He waited his bow burning bright, as from the depths of the cave there came a bellow from the Telal answering his challenge. Then there was silence as the world seemed to draw breath. He stood his ground awaiting his adversary. The creature without warning suddenly erupted from the mouth of the cave, but he was ready. His first arrow leapt from his bow like a lightning bolt and he sprang backward through the air as the creature’s tongue passed through the air where he had been standing but moments before. But his danger was not yet past and he twisted and arched his body only just avoiding the creature’s spiked tail that now tried to skewer him in mid air. With a somersault he landed back on his feet some twenty paces from where he had been standing just as the Telal gave out a scream of pain and rage. His first arrow had found its mark piercing the creatures right eye! The creature shook its massive reptilian head trying to dislodge the arrow. He was pleased to see he had hit his mark but he had no time for pause and sprang once more this time to the creature’s right and released another arrow seeking the creatures left eye. The Talel spotting the movement struck out once more at him but as before he twisted and arched his body evading the attacks. His second arrow had been just wide of its mark embedding itself just beside the creatures left eye but he saw that it would still have some affect as the shaft of his arrow now partly obscured the eye. For this had been his intention to take away the creatures sight for without sight how would it find its target! He could now sense the confusion in the creature. It had never before been hurt like this, he could still feel its anger but now there was fear there as well and he laughed out loud. The creature wheeled to face him and even backed away! But this was just a feign, the creature attacked once more. As before he sprang back easily avoiding its tongue. But the creature had already learnt from its attacker and this time instead of trying to pierce him with its tail it swatted him instead, as if he were a fly. He saw the tail coming but there was little he could do to get out of its way and it hit him square in the back sending him tumbling through the air. He landed in a heap on the ground the wind knocked out of him. He knew for certain then that the battle would have been lost to him had it not been for the fact that the Telal had knocked him over on to its blind side where it’s ruined right eye could no longer follow his movement. He realised that this would give him but a moment and no more and discarding his bow and taking up his sword he leapt once more doing what he hoped the creature would have least expected, he
flew directly at the beast. As he thought it would the creature lashed out again at him but he was already too close for the attacks to be affective and as he had hoped the creature tried the same tactic with its tail trying to swat him from the air. As the tail passed over his head he struck with his sword which burning bright as a star sliced clean through the tail. The Telal screamed in agony as a hot stream of blood and poison sprayed out from the end of its severed tail. He landed only a few paces from the Telal its enormous bulk towering over him and in one fluid motion he leapt again this time landing on top of the beast between its shoulder blades where he plunged his sword into creature’s neck severing its spine. The Telal's body went rigid the creature unable to understand what had just happened, then it crashed to the ground dead.

  Aiden woke with a start his body drenched in sweat and groaned, when would these dreams stop he wondered.

  Chapter 5 - Work and Play