08
Time and Again - Part 1: In The Beginning
Temple of Inanna, Uruk, Kienger – Midwinter 2533 BCE
All through the cooler autumn months the signs had continued to come thick and fast, but the priests were no closer to discerning their deeper meaning. Although they strove to conceal it, many of the priests were becoming concerned. Not even Palakin, the eldest among them could recall talk of another time when they had received so many portents and for so long of an upcoming event.
Only their temple was receiving the signs. The novices they had sent to enquire of the temples in neighbouring cities all reported that they were getting no unusual omens at all. They had even sent one novice seventy danna (750 km) up the Buranun ('great river') (11) to the city of Mari.
Nor did there seem to be any reason behind the signs. The weather was mild and gentle. With slightly more rain than usual and the river running high, there was plenty of water to ensure the fields were well irrigated. And the crops and herds were flourishing.
The political situation was also settled. The current truce, which had put a stop to the almost ceaseless warring between the many city states of Kienger, showed no sign of breaking any time soon. Even the raids of the eastern desert nomads were greatly reduced in number.
With midwinter almost upon them, the temple should have been focussed on preparing for the festival of renewal that would light the way through the longest night of the year. Instead, extra ceremonies and sacrifices were being performed almost daily, seeking new auguries and oracles that might give them a better idea of what to expect. The archives were being scoured for any scrap of tablet that might contain some useful reference to a past prophecy or a time when something similar had happened in the past.
But for all the effort, their best predictions remained infuriatingly vague. The most they could say was that the woman would be a stranger from a far land, she would arrive shortly after the harvest and that her arrival would herald a time of great danger and change.
Back to Fanfiction main page.