Blood of the Goddess Book I: The Locust King
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Locusts at the Gate Chapter 2: A New Name Chapter 3: The Capital Prepares Chapter 4: The Princess is Dead, Long Live the Princess Chapter 5: Outside the Gates Chapter 6: Inside the Black Tent Chapter 7: Surrender at the Temple Chapter 8: The Cult of the Locust Chapter 9: The Locust's Tenets of Faith Chapter 10: Mourners on the Cliff Chapter 11: The Eye of Betrayal Chapter 12: The Dead King's Bedchamber Chapter 13: The Arms of the Goddess Chapter 14: Zayaan of the Narim Chapter 15: The Eyes of the Priestess Chapter 16: A More Permanent Disguise Chapter 17: Tribute Chapter 18: Sacrifice of the New Moon Chapter 19: The Lost Bird Chapter 20: Manah and the Priestess Chapter 21: Desert Creatures Chapter 22: Become the Swarm Chapter 23 The Price of Betrayal Chapter 24: Life Under the Locust Chapter 25: Wild Rose Chapter 26: The Lady Wren Chapter 27: Thought and Desire Chapter 28: The Lady's Captivity Chapter 29: The Wine Maiden Chapter 30: End of Childhood Chapter 31: The Children of Aisha Chapter 32: The Forest Runner Chapter 33: Three Sisters Chapter 34: The Hunt Chapter 35: Bones in the Forest Chapter 36: Lullaby Chapter 37: The Hunter's Horn Chapter 38: Ways Between Ways Chapter 39: Morning Star Chapter 40: A Prophecy for Baraz Chapter 41: Equinox Fires Chapter 42: The Lord Prince Takri Chapter 43: Evening Star Sets Chapter 44: Chaos in the Courtyard Chapter 45: Dasha Chapter 46: Memories Chapter 47: The Body Slave Chapter 48: Caged Beasts Chapter 49: Message from the Capital Chapter 50: Heresiarch Chapter 51: The Color of Blood Chapter 52: Winter Winds Chapter 53: The Bookmaker's Closet Chapter 54: Wrapped in Dignity and Beauty Chapter 55: Vessel of the Goddess Chapter 56: Cracks in the Walls Chapter 57: Two Brothers Chapter 58: The Court of Women Chapter 59: Favored of the King Chapter 60: The Sweetest Fruit Chapter 61: Daughter of the Temple Chapter 62: A Nation of Bastards Chapter 63: The Lute Player Chapter 64: Aisha's Prayer Chapter 65: Promises Chapter 66: Lives Lost Chapter 67: The Tea Maker Chapter 68: Object of Desire Chapter 69: Empty Shelves Chapter 70: Darkness and Light Chapter 71: The Love of Men Chapter 72: The Cursed Ones Chapter 73: Hiding Places Chapter 74: Old Men's Tales Chapter 75: False Prophecies Chapter 76: The Lord Prince Radu Chapter 77: Love Becomes Life Chapter 78: Mistress and Mother Chapter 79: A Test of Strength Chapter 80: The Strigoi-Viu Cometh Chapter 81: Scraps from the Table Chapter 82: A Fool's Errand Chapter 83: The Little Ghost Chapter 84: Stolen Honeycakes Chapter 85: Breathe Chapter 86: Beneath the Palace Chapter 87: Red Pebbles Chapter 88: Common Men Chapter 89: Love and Duty Chapter 90: Nightmares Chapter 91: Earth and Sun Chapter 92: Love and Creation Chapter 93: Until My Last Breath Chapter 94: Fruit and FlowerChapter 31: The Children of Aisha
Aisha continued reading where she had left off the previous night.
Thought looked upon his beloved wife and newborn daughter. He looked upon their children, now golden eagles clothed in their mother's feathers. And then he looked to the Ocean where he spent his years before Desire temped him with lies of hidden knowledge. He looked upon the Land that he had given Desire to satisfy his brother.
In the West the winds and sand formed a cloud low on the horizon. To the East lay the shore where Aisha alighted when she came from the Heavens. The Ocean beyond her shore could not sustain the their children. Thought lamented his waste of his birthright, for now his family would be pursued by Desire all their days spent on the Land.
He called out to his Mother the Earth, “Mother, I have sinned against thee! For I have given that which you gave me to my brother, Desire. And now he demands what cannot be given – my beloved and my children! But all that lives on the Land is his for I have given it to his hand.”
And his Mother the Earth heard his pleas. In the mountains deep under the Ocean her heart broke for her son and her grandchildren. The Land shook in her anger, and blood and molten rock flowed again from her womb. On the same day Mila the Loved was born of Aisha, the Earth birthed the plateau we now call Adyll in a holy joining with the Ocean. This was new Land, covered in sea plants and fish as it rose from the depths. Where there were once sandy shores leading gently to the sea, there were now steep stone cliffs. The new Land's borders were scorching desert, and the other side Ocean. The land atop the cliffs was fertile. Trees, and plants, and birds, and animals came forth from it. From the rocks came a new kind of people, both men and women, born of the caves and the desert sands. These are the desert dwellers, who guard our land from those who would take it from us. Thought called these people Narim for they are strong and brave.
Aisha and Thought’s children took flight up the cliff faces to build their nests. This is why it is decreed that those who kill a raptor kill their own sibling, for we are all of the same bloodline.
Aisha was weak from captivity and birthing and was close to death. “My dearest Thought, you must take Mila to the people of the desert. Find a nursing mother to provide for her. I will not survive the journey to the fortress land your mother has made for us. Hide in the caves with Mila. We will be together again one day, my beloved. But I must return to my own mother until I have recovered my strength. I shall return every year upon the longest day, to walk in the forests of Adyll with my children and to be with my beloved Thought. This is not the end, my beloved.”
Thought’s guilt and sorrow weighed upon him like stones heaped upon his head. Aisha returned to her Mother Moon in the Sky. His children left to guard the cliffs, and he was alone except for Aisha’s newly born daughter, Mila. He tied her upon his back and went to do as Aisha had told him, to find a nursing mother to feed his daughter.
Desire still pursued from the East.
That day as the sun began its journey across the sky, the plateau of Adyll cast its shadow across the desert. Thought could see the cookfires of the desert dwellers against the dark purple of the mountain like stars against the night sky. He followed their light to the foot of the cliffs. The Narim met and welcomed Mila and Thought as if they were their own. But Desire still pursued, and Thought warned the tribe of his coming. He told them of the safety of the plateau. Some chose to go with him with their herds and children to the top of the plateau, but others decided to stay within the caves to warn of danger.
Aisha’s children showed them the way to safety through the crevasses and cracks to the meadows and forests of Adyll where they were safe. From these people grew the country of Adyll. Mila the Loved became their queen.
Adyll was safe from the wars and troubles of the world, for it was separate from the world of Desire. The crevasses and cracks were too well hidden to find the Way of the Eagles. Adyll blossomed and became fruitful and bountiful. Its children were safe and grew strong. The canyons echoed with music, and the waters from the heart of the Earth burst forth to warm them when the winters came.
Thought hid himself in his guilt and sorrow within the secret caves among the dead. And Aisha, the Goddess of Life and Hope, returns to see her children on the longest day as she promised. But even as she searches for her beloved Thought, he is not to be found, for he lives among the dead and forgotten, drinking deeply from the water of Aisha’s River of Tears. Always watching for his brother, Desire.
Aisha reached the end of the scroll. She returned it to its case and laid her head down to sleep. She could hear the distant call of the cliff dwelling eagles and wondered where the river of tears flowed. Outside the window, she could hear the Temple workers as they went about their business. She drifted off to sleep moments later to dream of the desert people.
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