2.12 The Stone Egg

        As the forest cleared and the majestic peak of Crystal Mountain soared into view the road from Kergal to Anur met up the river An, the sparkling river that Zara had seen from the tunnel opening. As the road neared the banks it intersected a second road. 

        "That's the road to Mu" Vikkar pointed to the west. "Moonwine country! You will have an opportunity to try some of the very best Moonwine in Anur, it isn't far from here, we are almost there." 

        The road meandered north, up a gentle slope following the green and lush banks of the river. It was only a few miles farther when Zara first noticed signs of tribal life appearing in the scenery, attractive signs. Sparkling crystals strung from trees, shimmering with reflected light of the sun as they spun in the gentle breeze, reminding her of the magical Green Serpent. The first glimpse of buildings appeared soon after, captivating Zara in breathless surprise. The architecture in Anur was as unique as Kergal, however there were no tents or impressive cave openings here. These were real buildings, built with river rocks and grassy rooftops, she had no reference to describe what she saw, this was a form of architecture they never studied in school.

         The buildings looked like cozy dwellings too, they were cute and decorative, each home was surrounded by a wild and colorful garden. And like Kergal's mysterious cave rock dwellings, Anur showed signs of a mysterious past too. Amidst the sparkling crystals and river rock bricks there were remains of a battered past, evidence of struggle and disaster from days gone by. It was apparent when studying the stonework, there was old hobbled together with new. It was the most organic and eclectic house building she had ever seen, why had they skipped this chapter in school? The history had to be incredible!

         Anur continued to steal Zara’s heart the farther they rode into the village. Tempting aromas of freshly cooked food wafted by, sweet music that soothed her soul, lulled her fears away, it gave her tingling sensations, new sensations, sensations that were so strange to feel for the very first time. Once again, she had to remind herself of the cold hard Truth. This place was nothing like the Hellias she had been told to believe it was. Why would anyone condemn all this?

         She studied the locals with strong reservation as they rode into the village. They seemed friendly enough, once again they didn't fit the description of savages or savage beasts, however. Once again there were a mix of Gen classifications; Origians, Products without Prefects, transformed Gens and Nefilim here, too. Zara tried not to stare, like the Dogons, the Origians in Anur were very attractive, there were some very exotic gens here that didn't fit any of the classifications. Some of them had brilliant red hair and some were even blonder than the blondest blondes in the Atlan Empire! Their hair was almost white! What was this place? Was it simply undiscovered wild land?

         Some of them waved, most of them stared at her as she rode behind Vikkar into the village. She smiled, nervously, feeling self conscious of how awful she had to look without her nice blonde wig. Then, just as the road turned into the heart of the village, it was as if she had landed right inside one of her mythology books. There, right before her eyes was the legendary Crystal Temple! It was the most beautiful pyramid she had ever seen, it’s brilliant white walls sparkled like a luminescent beacon in the sun, it was real! Zara stiffened as she reminded herself of the truth; they had learned these Unicorns and Crystal Pyramids were myths for a reason. If they were magical, if they were supernatural, then like everything else in Lemuria, these things were Evil in disguise.

         Vikkar rode straight to the entrance of the temple, helped her off the horse and led her inside. Terrified now, Zara was surprised to encounter a peaceful calm when they walked through the doorway. The hall inside was aromatic, warmed by a crackling fire, blazing in an oversized fireplace, lit by ambient light streaming through a tall narrow window above an enormous stone egg resting on a block!

         "Vikkar! We've been expecting you!" Once again, Zara found herself encountering stunning beauty. The red headed goddess that stood up to greet them was so beautiful, her mere presence was hypnotic. Her porcelain face had perfect features, her magnificent crown of silvery red hair was so long and flaxen it draped like a fine silk shawl, cascading over her beaded pale blue dress.

         "Zara, I'd like you to meet Mina, goddess of Anur, Mina is the great, great granddaughter of the original Moon goddess, Sin. She’s the leader of the Lunar tribe."

         "Sin?" It only confirmed what she already knew; Vikkar was leading her into a trap. She eyed Mina's outstretched hand with great skepticism, she wasn’t going to be fooled by her illusory façade, she was learning fast.

         "Hello" she replied coldly, refusing her hand. "I'm from Infrastructure."

         Vikkar put his hand on Zara’s shoulder, reassuring. "Zara arrived last night."

         Zara was feeling faint, she didn’t feel well enough to solve this riddle of reality, now she was trying to figure out how they all seemed to know each other so well. They spoke as if the ties ran deep. Vikkar? God of Lightning? With secret Lemurian friends? She was growing more and more distrustful of her TLS Program theory and leaning more towards the illusion of paradise that Lemuria was, and how it made a sane Gen go crazy, hence the 'Hellias' moniker.

         Mina knew where Zara was from already. "Welcome to Anur!"

         Zara tried to act gracious. There was nothing but kindness, generosity and good feelings pouring from Mina. If Mina was a witch, she was very good at her Serpent Sorcery, if she was genuinely kind, she didn't want to reject her kindness, either.

         Mina noticed her wounds needed urgent care. "You look like you have a headache?"

         "Oh... Yes...." Zara nodded, remembering now why she was here, relieved by some expressed concern now.

         "We specialize in fixing headaches" Mina smiled, kindly. "We have a special spa where you can take a nice warm bath and get some clean clothes, would you like to go there?"

         A warm bath and clean clothed sounded too good to be true, she wasn't going to turn it down.