SKY WITHOUT STARS

FROM THE AKKADIAN MEDITATIONS

PART ONE

CHAPTER 1 - THE BRINGER OF DEATH

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1538

AGEN, FRANCE

 

The full moon shone a dreamlike, silvery radiance on the countryside surrounding the French town of Agen. It was a cool evening, and the air was filled with the peaceful, familiar sounds of night creatures, filling the air with a pleasing, melodic tone.

 

Several miles away, a tall, dark, hooded figure emerged from the edge of the forest atop a cliff overlooking the village below. As it stood there regarding the peaceful vista, it was able to discern the muted sounds of peasant villagers going about their nighttime routines, blissfully unaware of the deadly pestilence which was about to befall them.

The gentle night breeze blew the figure’s robes forward, giving the appearance that it was floating above the ground as it moved.

 

The entity knew that these beings valued their meager existence above all else, and now it would be taken from them. Repeating a ritual which it had performed several times over the last few hundred years, it slowly reached within its robes and pulled out a scythe. It proceeded to sway it from side to side, as if it were harvesting a spectral field of wheat. Suddenly, a white smoky substance emerged from the tip of the scythe and the prevailing winds carried the deadly mist downward to the village below.

 

Shepherds tending their sheep were the first to see the spectral figure holding the scythe and the deadly cloud. They fled in terror at the sight of what they referred to as ‘the grim reaper’, desperately rushing into the village, and warning everyone to keep their windows and doors closed, lest they breathe the poisonous gas.

Recent reports suggested that when this mysterious cloud appeared, it was soon followed by the Black Death, the plague which was now spreading across France and the rest of Europe. Once infected, death came swiftly in the form of massive, painful tumors which appeared all over the victim’s body before their skin turned black. Doctors were powerless to stop the spread of the disease and were desperately trying anything they could think of, to treat those poor souls who were afflicted, but realizing it was pointless.

 

The once peaceful village now became a shadow of its former self, as fear gripped its inhabitants, while they cowered in the darkness, prisoners in their own homes, clutching their crucifixes and all praying for the deadly horror to pass.

As the smoky substance ceased its discharge, the spectral figure discarded the scythe. It then slowly drew back the hood which covered its face revealing an alien female with an elongated skull and glowing yellow eyes.

Satisfied that she had achieved her objective, she turned back towards the direction of the forest where she would locate the nearest intersecting ley-lines. When she had arrived at her destination, she reached into her robe and held in one hand an ornate amulet, tethered to a gold chain which she wore around her neck. Its center crystal began to shine a bright blue as she recited an incantation, after which the amulet instantly affixed itself to her body, as if attracted by some magnetic force. The jewel gradually increased its brilliance until suddenly she was completely consumed in a blue-white light and vanished.

 

Arriving back to the Sacred Realm, hundreds of miles deep within the Earth, she turned to gaze across the magnificent vista which was the Agarthan capital. Its beautiful crystal spires reached majestically into violet skies where the crimson Agarthan sun shone its healing rays. As the warm Agarthan breeze caressed her face, she thought about how different life was here compared to that of those who dwelled upon the surface world. Left to their own devices for all these centuries had proven without a doubt that they were content to be an imbecilic race, driven by greed, avarice, superstition and ignorance.

 

She prided herself on keeping her hatred for the surface world dwellers secret from her peers. Agarthan thoughts, however, even for someone as elevated in society as herself, were all stored in the ‘library’. Even the perfect system had flaws, she thought; and she was on her way to exploit those flaws.

​

She boarded a nearby floating platform and headed directly for the Hall of Records which lay near the center of the Agarthan capital’s massive citadel. Thousands of beings from other civilizations went about their affairs, not noticing the entity which was so determined on her mission of deception. Minutes later, she had entered a massive crystal chamber unchallenged. Looking far above her head, she gazed at the constant flashes of blue-white light representing Agartha’s trillions of thoughts as they were being stored and at that moment, she was reminded of the full extent of the terrible deed she was about to perform.

 

All access to the Hall of Records was controlled by the Prime Librarians so her presence would never be questioned, as she was counted among them. Moving across the room to an access device, she waited until she was quite alone. Then she lay down comfortably and making one final check of her surroundings, slowly unsheathed an ornate crystal blade from the concealed scabbard within her tunic.

 

Laying within the access device, her body became surrounded by an ethereal white glow as the machine became operational. As she had done before, she carefully held the blade to her temple, closed her eyes and concentrated deeply on the memories of recent actions which she’d been responsible for on the surface world. When she had located them, she carefully recited an incantation and made a small incision at the same time, wincing in pain as she bled a small quantity of blue blood.

 

The process of erasing the records of these events from the library had begun. Looking high above her, she observed points of blue-white light within several crystals suddenly glow yellow, red and then fade to black, representing the physical erasure. Satisfied that her task was complete, she sheathed the blade, held a finger to the wound and exited the access chamber. She then made her way undetected from the Hall of Records and headed towards the Hall of Justice.

 

Her progress was unexpectedly halted by the daily procession of the King and Queen of Agartha, as they travelled from their residence to the throne room within the Great Hall of Agartha. Thousands of Agarthans had gathered to view the spectacle, as both the King and Queen were much loved by the populace. Staring at the Queen sitting comfortably on her floating throne, she thought: If the queen only knew what had just befallen the surface world dwellers, and that she was responsible, she would be charged with a Class One crime.

 

She perceived the Queen of the Sacred Realm, Aria, as a weak ruler. Her naïve affections for the surface world dwellers were pathetic, and her recent pressure on the King and the Gathering of Elders to seek reunification, made the Queen even more intolerable.

 

It mattered not, she thought.

 

With this more deadly strain of the pestilence upon them, even the Queen herself would see how these violent creatures would turn against each other, in their pitiful quest for survival. They had not earned the right to exist, she thought. They were descendants of the warlike indigenous race which nearly ended all life on the planet during the Great War.

 

As the procession passed, she proceeded with haste to her destination. Her return was greeted by her second-in-command, a brave human warrior named Kartika, who had fought alongside her in many conflicts defending the realm. He asked whether her journey had been productive, and she replied that it had. He pressed her for more details, but she explained that it was classified Prime Librarian business, and then changed the subject.

Kartika couldn’t help but notice a small mark of blue blood at her temple, and sensing that he was about to point this out, she demanded, “Can you deliver the reports of the rumored uprising to my chambers?”

 

Kartika stood at attention and replied, “Of course commander, no request is too great for Nobusada, the Keeper of Peace.”