2288 A.D. - ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS: To the End of Infinity (The Ashlyn Chronicles)

by R. Brown

  As they approached the bend in the river, where Tara’s home was, Tara’s excitement was uncontainable. “There!” She pointed to a small house hidden behind a large oak tree ahead of them.

  Ashlyn banked left, swooping around the tree, her wings spread wide. The shadow started the chickens running around the yard, squawking, scattering them in all directions. Tara’s youngest daughter, who had been sitting atop a branch of the oak tree, jumped down and ran inside, fearfully screaming for her father. Ashlyn’s dragon form snorted as she landed, her flapping wings creating gusts of wind that started a hanging line of curing beef, swaying.

  Solon landed beside her and shifted form.

  Lowering her neck, Ash let Tara jump to the ground. Landing awkwardly, Tara collapsed.

  Concerned, Ash quickly shifted into her natural form and knelt beside her. Tara had heavy signs of radiation poisoning. Her face, hands and arms were blistering, her eyesight failing. “Tara, you should have told me. I could have stopped earlier to heal you.”

  “It is not allowed. Servants to the Lords are not allowed to complain, ever,” said Tara in reply.

  Ash gently took her hand. “You are my friend, Tara—not my servant. You will never hide such a thing again, understood?”

  “Yes, Lady Ninmah.”

  Behind them, Tara’s family was coming out to see what the commotion was. Seeing their mother, Tara’s daughters screamed and ran toward her, joyous smiles on their faces.

  Tara put her hand up, bringing them to a halt a few feet away. “Gorok, these are my friends.” Tara said to her husband. He was a large man, towering above Solon.

  Solon bowed. “I’m Solon.”

  Gorok took Solon by the arm in greeting.

  Ash gave the three wide-eyed children a smile.

  “Your mother is going to be fine. Give us a moment. Lie still, Tara.” Ash closed her eyes calling upon her power to heal. As the children watched, their mother began to glow from within, her wounds disappearing before their eyes.

  “By the gods. I’ve never seen such a thing,” said Gorok.

  When Ash was done, she turned to Tara’s husband and children, nodding to them that it was all right to approach. Their exuberance nearly knocked Tara over as she tried to rise. After months of their mother’s absence, the children had a hundred questions for her—not least of which, was wanting to know if she had truly ridden on a dragon, like the youngest daughter claimed.

  As Tara settled the children with hugs and kisses, she made introductions. “This is my husband, Gorok. And this is Lady Ninmah and Commander Solon.”

  Tara’s husband bowed. “Tonight, we entertain the gods. You have blessed us with Tara’s presence. You are welcome to stay with us for as long as you wish. We were about to eat and I have plenty for everyone,” said Gorok.

  “Daddy always eats too much anyway,” said Tara’s youngest daughter, La’nel.

  “It is true,” said Gorok with a loud laugh. “Though you should not have told the gods the secret to my great strength, La’nel.” Gorok pretended to be a monster, feigning that he was going to chase her.

  As La’nel ran screaming, Gorok turned to his wife and gave her a tight hug that lifted her from the ground. “Come, my friends.” Taking his wife’s hand, he led them all inside.

  During dinner, Tara told her husband what had happened at Eridu and how Ashlyn had saved her. When she told them of her flight atop the dragon, the kids all looked at Ashlyn and chattered that they wanted to ride a dragon too.

  “All right, children. We do not ask the gods for a ride. Time for bed.” Gorok playfully threatened to slap them on their butts if they didn’t go.

  As the children jumped into bed, they begged their father to tell them the story of Ja’kal.

  “Again? Really?” He gave them a huff. “All right, but you will go to sleep when I am done.”

  Tara went to a small wooden cabinet, one of the few pieces of furniture in the home, and removed two rolled, reed mats and laid them out for Solon and Ashlyn. “I am sorry that we do not have a room and bed for you. This is all we have.”

  “You have a nice home, Tara. We are happy to be here,” said Ash. “Thank you.”

  Tara gave a kind nod and then went to her daughters. After giving them a goodnight kiss, she went to the fire and threw another log in. Lying down on a mat on the other side of the room, she waited for her husband to tell the story to the girls, knowing he would soon join her.

  Gorok grabbed a small wooden stool and sat down beside his daughters. In the single room they all shared, everyone was listening as Gorok began. “Let’s see. I forgot, how does the story start?”

  “Daddy,” said the three girls.

  “A lonnng time ago,” added La’nel, stretching the words and saying them slowly.

  Playfully tweaking each of their noses Gorok said, “Oh that’s right, I remember now.” He gave them a teasing smile. “A lonnng time ago, large and terrifying monsters came to our world in ships that flew through the sky. Everyone was afraid of the monsters, and so the people hid in caves under the ground. But there was one man, Ja’kal, his name meaning, little wolf—who wasn’t afraid. He was a brave man, who wanted to fight the monsters that had invaded his world, but he was alone and had no power to do so.”

  “You would have helped him wouldn’t you, Daddy?” said Sangal, his daughter of eleven, and eldest of the three girls.

  “Yes, I would have.” Gorok smiled. “Alone, Ja’kal decided to go on a great journey to the world of the gods—to ask the gods for help to fight the monsters.

  “But the home of the gods is very far away, and he first had to capture a great flying beast. He found the creature living in a cave, and the two of them wrestled an entire day—and only when the great beast grew tired, did the beast agree to help him. Together, with Ja’kal riding upon its back, they travelled north, flying across the great sea.”

  “Just like Mom riding the dragon,” said Sangal.

  “Yes—just like your mother did.” Until that moment, Gorok had not given thought to it. He’d told the story a hundred times, and not once had he thought it could be true. But now, with all that he had seen—it seemed as though anything was possible.

  “And upon the back of the flying beast, he traveled across the sea, to the mountain where the gods live. It is said that the mountain rumbles when the gods speak and that it is higher than the clouds that move through the sky. A mountain so high that not even the great beast could take him there.”

  “Can I stop now?” Gorok asked the girls as he saw that La’nel was snoring.

  “Not until the end. That’s my favorite part,” said Sangal.

  “All right, all right,” Gorok relented. “Though Ja’kal was without food and water, he climbed the steep cliffs—cliffs of snow which no man before him had ever been able to climb. At the top of the mountain, where the wind turns the blood of a man into ice, he found a cave that led him inside the mountain to the Temple of Anu.

  “Kneeling before the golden throne of Anu, he made a request of Anu, the greatest god of them all. Anu listened to Ja’kal’s plea, and because of the bravery Ja’kal had shown to make the journey, Anu granted Ja’kal his request and turned him into a great warrior, a Magori—giving him the powers of a god.”

  Gorok’s voice softened. “As a god, Ja’kal entered into a netherworld, a place of darkness, a place not of this world—where only the gods can do battle. It was in this netherworld that Ja’kal summoned the monsters to him, and they fought in a great arena for seven days and seven nights, until the last of the monsters was dead.

  “The things Ja’kal learned in the netherworld, made him almost as powerful as Anu, and so Anu made him the guardian of mankind. Now, when monsters come to threaten our world, Ja’kal protects us—fighting them in a great arena.” Seeing that all his daughters had fallen asleep, Gorok pulled the blanket up, tucking them in.

  Like a tattered tapestry, Ashlyn’s mind was unraveling the layers of Gorok’s story. His
words held truths that had become clouded over time, relegating it into a fanciful bedtime story. But the excitement coursing through her veins—told her it was more. It was her call to action.

  Ashlyn looked over at Solon to see if he had been listening, but he too was asleep. It had been a long day.

  Chapter 10

  Morning came quickly, the smell of cooking meat rousing her from sleep. With the sword upon her back, Ash went outside to join the others. Tara was handing strips of meat to the children. Solon was tearing off a chunk from the piece he’d been given.

  “Afternoon, Lady Ninmah,” said Tara.

  “Afternoon? Did I really sleep that long?”

  Solon smiled. “You were tasked heavily yesterday. It is not surprising, Lady Ninmah.”

  “Solon, Tara—from now on, when we’re amongst ourselves, please just call me Ninmah. I am not fond of formalities. In fact, I hate them.”

  “Yes, Ninmah,” assented Tara and Solon as one.

  Tara then handed Ashlyn a piece of meat.

  “Gorok, the story you told the children last night. Where did that come from?”

  “I do not know. It was told to me by my father, and by his father to him. It is very old. The children love to hear about Ja’kal fighting the monsters.”

  “You mentioned a place where Ja’kal spoke to Anu?”

  Gorok looked at her. “Yes, the Temple of Anu. It is said to be inside a cave at the top of Olympus—a mountain far to the northwest, across the great sea. Legend says the cavern cannot be reached by mortals—but only by the gods.”

  “This netherworld of the gods? Do you know what it is?” asked Ashlyn.

  “It is only a story,” Gorok reminded.

  “Maybe so, but what does the story say about the netherworld?”

  Gorok shook his head. “I know little, but I do remember that my father told me that in the arena, Ja’kal had the power to call upon great powers from within his mind.”

  Sensing something, Ashlyn turned away from Gorok and took a few steps, facing northwest. Ash could see a heavy gust of wind rolling over the distant hills, flattening the grass and swaying the treetops.

  “What is that sound?” asked Solon, who’d come to Ashlyn’s side. The air carried the sound of distant, echoing moans. It was smothering, moving the mind to thoughts of fear.

  Gorok took a step forward, trying to understand what he was seeing, feeling, and hearing. The chickens in the yard began to scatter; the pigs in their pen stirred restlessly, squealing as if there was a predator nearby. The children ran to their father and buried their heads against him. “What is it, Daddy?”

  “I do not know,” answered Gorok. “I have never heard such a sound before.” Tara had taken Gorok’s arm, seeking comfort in his strength.

  The wind reached the small farm, encircling them. Standing in the middle of the winds swirling around them, they saw dark wisps streaking in and out of the small twister. The wisps were whipping at their backs one moment, then threatening to assault them in the front the next. The wind itself carried a coldness that darkened the soul.

  The faint and indistinct moans they had heard earlier grew louder as more wisps joined those racing around them. The thousands of sounds merged, taking the form of ghostly inhuman voices. “Ashlyn—Ashlyn—Ashlyn.”

  “By the gods!” said Gorok.

  “Who is Ass-lyn?” asked little La’nel, her arms wrapped tightly around her father’s leg. Her mispronunciation would have inspired a smile had they all not been so distracted.

  “I am,” answered Ashlyn.

  Solon put his hand out, touching one of the wisps as it flew by him. He quickly pulled his hand back and held it out to Ashlyn, showing her that it was covered in a layer of light frost. “It is like ice.”

  Ashlyn’s eyes rose, staring at the horizon to where the wind had come from.

  “The gods call to you, Ashlyn. You must go to them,” said Gorok.

  “Yes, Ashlyn. Come to us. Come to us, you must.” The echoing voices repeated as they began to fade and the wind stilled.

  “From this moment on, call me Ashlyn. The Lords are dead—as is Ninmah’s name for the people of this world. For the journey ahead of us—I must be who I am.”

  “Lady Ass’lyn?” said La’nel.

  Ash nodded to La’nel and put her hand atop her head. “Yes, but I meant what I really am—a Transor.

  “Solon, we need to leave.”

  “Where are we going?”

  Ashlyn’s gaze turned solemn. “The Temple of Anu.”

  She turned to Gorok and Tara. “Thank you. Thank you for your friendship, Tara. Regardless of what happens, I will not forget you. Take care of your family. They are worth more than all the gold in the world.”

  Ash took a few steps away and shifted form into the dragon. Solon transformed into his flying creature. The children’s eyes were wide with wonder. They approached Ashlyn wanting to touch her large, scaly head. She purred as they did so, bringing smiles to their faces.

  “Will we see you again?” said Tara.

  “I hope so,” said Ash. “I hope so.”

  Tara asked her husband to prepare a large sack of food. While he began taking down strips of the hanging meat, Tara went inside the house and retrieved the riding harness.

  Placing the harness around Ashlyn’s neck, Gorok fastened the sack onto the harness. He also took a moment to secure the sword and the pendant clasped to it.

  “Thank you, Gorok,” said Ashlyn.

  Ash spread her wings, and with a single flap, she lifted off—Solon following her. High in the air, Ashlyn roared and belched a long stream of flame for the children to see. Though it scared them, their faces were painted with smiles.

  Turning to the northwest, they headed away, their eyes focused on the horizon. Hours later they arrived at the southern coast of the great sea. Ashlyn swooped toward the ground, landing on the beach. The sun had long since set, leaving the stars shining with brilliant twinkles. The light from the moon glistened on the waves. The scent of salt on the breeze was comforting, refreshing.

  Taking a large breath, Ashlyn’s dragon set fire to a large piece of dried driftwood. She shifted to her natural form. “We’ll rest here tonight. It will be a long journey over the sea.” Ashlyn took a seat near the fire.

  Solon joined her. “Do you really believe that this Temple of Anu exists?”

  “It exists. I can feel it. I can’t explain it, but I know that I have to go.”

  “What about the voices we heard? Was Gorok right; are the gods calling you?” he asked.

  “No, it was not the gods calling to me. It was the voice of my enemies in the netherworld. They are calling me to face them in battle,” Ash responded. “I hadn’t wanted to worry Tara—or scare the children.”

  It was not the answer Solon expected. “I do not understand all that you say, or how it can be the voice of your enemies? But if it is true—then your enemies are legion. You cannot fight them all.”

  “I must. There is no other choice,” said Ashlyn.

  Solon shook his head. “I have never met anyone like you. You are like Ja’kal in the story Gorok told—you have no fear of the gods.” Solon chuckled. “But I have no doubt that they will tremble in fear of you.”

  “You heard Gorok’s story? I thought you were sleeping?” said Ashlyn.

  “I almost was, but when he mentioned Lord Anu, it made it hard to fall asleep,” replied Solon.

  Ash had to agree. The crackling fire popped, sending a flurry of small embers drifting upwards into the air. Ashlyn followed them until she saw the three stars in the belt of Orion. The more that Ashlyn learned, the more convinced she was that Tynabo had purposely chosen them for the hidden message it contained. The three stars of the constellation forming an arrow that pointed to Sirius, the home of her enemy.

  Thinking of Sirius, her thoughts drifted to Steven. Though she had tried several times, she was still unable to touch his mind. Neither did she have any knowledge of when she
could expect him. The effects of time dilation were dependent upon so many factors that she had no access too. It could be days, months, or even years before he returned through the wormhole.

  Comforted by the warmth of the fire, Solon began to snore softly. Ash gave a small grin, before she too found comfort in the depths of sleep.

  Morning came and after eating a bit of Gorok’s food, they again took flight, heading out to sea. It was very near seven hundred miles to the shore of the northern coast. It was going to be a long day.

  The skies were clear, the sun bright and rising high as they passed over a pod of sperm whales playfully breaching. In the future, the sperm whale had been hunted into extinction. Seeing them now, the gentle creatures swimming so peacefully—it was a sad reminder of how much mankind had destroyed.

  Solon suddenly swooped down, and with a display of amazing adeptness, caught a fish in midair as it jumped out of the path of a breaching whale. With a quick gulp, the fish was gone. “What can I say, I was hungry. You should try it; it was good.”

  “I’m not quite there yet,” answered Ashlyn.

  Maintaining their northwest heading, the day passed without incident. Though they had flown over a dozen or more small islands, they never stopped to rest. As Ashlyn had hoped, they spotted the rocky, heavy cliffs of the coastline just before sunset.

  Landing on a narrow, sandy beach, they shifted forms and went into the water. After the long flight, it felt incredibly refreshing. By the time they collapsed on the warm sand, a gentle easterly breeze was coming off the water.

  Solon was exhausted. “I’ve flown for fun, but never have I done anything so grueling before.” He turned and looked at Ashlyn. “Ashlyn, may I ask you a personal question?”

  “You can ask, though I may not answer,” said Ashlyn with a smile.

  “I mean no disrespect in asking, but you are a very beautiful woman. More so than any Anunnaki woman I have ever seen. And yet, though Anunnaki women are able to choose their form, I have never seen one attain such a level of perfection. Is the form you are in, your natural form—or one that you have chosen?”