The Call of Eternity

23 | THE ANOMALY

The Immortal Realm

After what felt like an interminable wait, it was happening again. Teshub held his breath, waiting as the flames licked across his arms, igniting, flaring to life, the symbols waxing and waning. He read, hungry for the world beyond the fragmenting walls of his prison, intrigued. The prince had become a king and had liberated the hallowed ground where once, eons ago, Teshub's city had existed, before the wars of gods and men.

A temple to Teshub had been built on the site by the mortal's ancestors, but had been lost soon after to violent tribesmen. But this mortal--this king--named Urhi-Teshub had spent his life fighting to regain it. And now, within its reclaimed walls he prayed, calling to Teshub, begging once more for his aid. He spoke of his people starving, the land riven by cold and rain, the crops rotting in the mud; his father's sacrilege; his uncle's determination to take his throne from him, and his deep, fervent desire to reclaim his queen, stolen by his enemy.

The contact cut off, abrupt. The flames subsided, the symbols fading until the indelible markings of the Creator's message showed once more, tattooed in gold: You are next.

Teshub stood and rubbed his arms, tingling from the unfamiliar sensation of cold fire. This time he had a plan. He left his apartment and made his way across the district filled with the homes of the gods, ignoring the fresh tremors rippling through the realm's foundation.

At first, the shudders had troubled Teshub, but they had not worsened. Soon, across the realm, a semblance of normality returned. Beings left the perceived safety of their residences and processed once more, met for discourse, and welcomed new arrivals. The tremors became part of Teshub's existence, no longer any more noticeable than the hairline cracks spreading across the walls of his apartment as fine as the threads of a spider's web.

Outside the sprawling residence of Thoth, Teshub eyed its four thin towers, soaring away into the heavens, their pinnacles hidden by distance. It was rumored every floor was filled with the writings of his elder brother, gathered over the eons.

Teshub hesitated. There was something disturbing about Thoth, possessed as he was by such profound wisdom and understanding of the unspeakable. In his presence, one felt insignificant, meaningless. Thoth did not relate well to others either; more often than not lost in his own incomprehensible thoughts, theories and equations, obsessed with understanding the fabric of reality. Depending on his mood, he could be arrogant and rude, or helpful but distracted, prone to lengthy lapses into silence. The last time Teshub had gone to him with a question, Thoth had walked away, nodding to himself, deep in thought, gone through a door, closed it, and never returned.

Bracing himself for the worst, Teshub waved his hand against the panel bearing Thoth's sigil, announcing his arrival. After a long, uncertain wait, the door slid open in total silence.

"Enter," a voice, faint with distance, drifted out from within the apartment's depths, imperious, tinged with impatience.

Teshub felt his hopes sinking. Thoth was not in a good mood. He dithered, hesitating at the threshold, considering returning another day. He glanced down at his arms, his skin still tingling. No. This was his chance, he dare not waste it. Who knew how long he might have to wait for another connection? While still recent, Thoth would be able to divine the meaning of his contact, and perhaps, even the Creator's indelible message. He stepped over the threshold and made his way through the opulent, disorganized rooms, every available surface piled with open tomes and sheaves of notes. The home of a scholar, a thinker--all extraneous comforts stripped away in favor of more space for learning.

In the middle of the apartment's sprawl, Teshub came upon an enormous circular room--the one he had been in the last time he visited. He eyed the four closed doors leading to the towers, their surfaces glowing with pulsing sigils, the doors spaced at regular intervals around the room's circumference. In the room's center, a table laden with intricate crystal contraptions, items to calibrate and conduct experiments.