2.21 The God of Death

        Zara picked up the tile and examined the now recognizable skeletal image engraved in the glassy emerald rock, her hand trembling with renewed fear, this was all so creepy, so confusing, how could this all be by chance? Were they just trying to scare her? This was perhaps a real sign she was in Hellias. "Did I die already?"

         "A part of you has died, yes" Mina replied. "The symbolism will become clear as you discover the journey it speaks of" Mina expanded without offering much help at all. "Don't be afraid of it. Come" she stood up, offering her hand. "Let me show you something that will fill your heart with Light."

         Still clutching the tile, Zara took Mina's hand and followed her out into the main hall to where the stone egg altar stood.

         "This is our most sacred treasure" Mina spoke passionately of their grey lump of stone. She took Zara's hand and placed it on the spiral design, engraved in the front of the egg. "Touch it... Feel it!"

         Zara lifted her hand toward the large stone egg with growing doubt, expecting a trick or a trap. She moved in for a closer look as her fingers met the micro-multi-faceted surface of the rock. Not a trace of blood tarnished the light grey surface, this was no sacrificial altar, did they think she was stupid? "It’s just an egg-shaped rock" she argued.

         "Is it?"

         Sensing something magical rather than something dreadful, Zara ran her fingers along the spiral path, trying to feel something. "It feels like rock" she concluded.

         "The egg is the seed of the Eternal Flame" Mina explained.

         "Eternal Flame?" Zara echoed, interested but skeptical. "This cold hard stone hardly resembles any sort of flame."

         "The Eternal Flame is an energy" Mina expanded. "A Light Spirit. The death tablet foretells of a Death Spirit. These are living divinations, the wisdom speaks of a Dark Spiritual death. Our spirits are energies that live within us all, they pass from one life to another. But sometimes there are evil spirits among us, sometimes there are tortured spirits, sometimes spirits that had been lead astray, trapped souls in undesirable dimensions where they may lay forgotten by a wrongful death of their physical being. Souls can become enslaved forever in the dimension of Darkness unless they are given a chance to return to the Light. When that happens, they experience death as their spirits travel into the Light. From the Darkness, it is a death."

         From the Darkness it is a death? Mina wasn't making any sense at all, Zara didn't feel like her spirit was evil or trapped in some dimension of darkness, she was honest, good, she had been forgiven for her sins even though she couldn't remember them all. Mina was wrong.

         "Think of it this way" Mina tried another approach. "Imagine you had died when the Foreman beat you. You would have died a wrongful death. Without a voice in your own self defence there would only have been lies and a cover up, there would only be negative memories of yourself and your life, if there was anyone who even thought about you long enough to wonder how these things came to pass. Would someone have investigated your death?"

         Zara felt a lump growing in her throat now.

         "You would have remained forgotten in the winds of time. Zara who?" 

        The lump grew bigger, the dam was breaking, Mina continued to weaken it.  "Without love, without family, without resolve, your spirit would have been trapped inside that dark void of nothingness forever!"

         Zara swallowed hard but the lump wouldn't go away, Mina's words rang painfully true. There was no love in her life, no family, no Orien, she didn't even have a room mate anymore. Who would have remembered her? Who would have noticed she was gone? Who would have cared? Would Nolan really have come looking for her?

          "Your Phoenix spirit is alive and well or you wouldn’t be here. The tile suggests it is simply ready to perish from that dark dimension it has been trapped in."

         "Trapped in? How do I know?"

         "You will experience confusion as your spirit transitions." 

        "Confusion?" Zara was definitely feeling confused. 

        "Yes. Confusion is a good sign" Mina assured. "Although it may seem uncomfortable, as if everything is getting worse or like someone is playing some huge trick on you, that sort of anger is an energy that can fuel your Phoenix Flight!"

         Mina sounded genuinely insane, was this why Atalon called the Lemurian goddesses Witches? This Moon goddess could definitely mess with her mind. Spooked now, Zara studied the emerald tile still clutched in her hand. She ran her fingers over the fine engravings again, trying to connect the dots. So far the Lemurians had only helped her... Where was the catch?

         "It's not by chance you chose that tile" Mina continued. "The mysteries of life are all around us, they are all connected through the Eternal Flame."

         What's the Phoenix Flame?" Zara echoed, troubled by the reference.

         "The Phoenix is your personal Eternal Flame that lives deep inside of you. The Flight is travelling your Divine Path in this lifetime."

         Zara's thoughts were just getting more scrambled as she struggled to understand why Mina would tell her this nonsense, was it simply to confuse her? To make her go crazy? She didn’t actually believe this stuff did she?

         "It's the Phoenix Flame that likes to blaze bright inside of us, that likes to celebrate, that wants and needs Love" Mina smiled, touching her cheek, sensing her broken heart. "It was your Phoenix Flame who chose the Death tile!"

         A Phoenix Flame was a part of us all? If she hadn’t had such a big headache, Zara would have laughed. 

        The sound of galloping hooves approaching outside was a timely distraction. And as if an expected arrival, Mina and Nulu hurried to the door. Zara craned her neck to see, she caught a glimpse of white horse legs outside… A tossing white tail...

         Breathless, she stared at the Emerald Tile in her hand... The god of Death rode a Unicorn... Was this some kind of Street Theatre? Joyful voices and warm hugs suggested she was wrong, Mina and Nulu treated this guest like an old friend, but as he entered the temple her fears intensified. He looked just like the god of Death! She had done her homework; the mere sight of him spelled one's demise, this was how these evil sorcerers had forced her to look! This was the trap!

         It was too late. She stared in shock now. He looked almost exactly identical to the character in the book! He had the same freaky blue eyes that Aquilla had. His pale blonde hair was almost white and fell well below his broad shoulders, his face was handsome, much more handsome than the character in the book, however. He was almost glowing, just like the Unicorn itself!

         Zara was struggling with the reality she faced, how could it be? She stiffened, reminding herself of her educational degree. She knew better than to fall for the shiny facade of evil, she knew who he was. Now she knew for sure. This was all a game, an evil Game. Witchcraft. No wonder King Atalon hated the Lemurians, Lemuria was like some evil spider's web. Hellias it was indeed. Now she was beginning to understand the twisted concept and it was sprouting thoughts of escape. How would she escape?

         Neter felt her stare and turned to greet her, he noticed the terror in her eyes, her clenching fist clutching the Emerald Tile. He winked.

         Like a noose tightened, Zara felt breathless, his cold hand of death constricting her entire being as reality struck… This was it…

         "I'm glad you could come so soon" Nulu gestured towards Zara. "Let us introduce you to Zara."

         Zara felt sweat break out all over her body, she was going to throw up again. ‘Orien…’ she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, reminding herself of her mission…

         "Zara, we’d like you to meet Neter, he’s the leader of the Star Tribe. He came all the way from Mu to hear your story."

         Again, Zara wondered if she had heard right. "Who?"

         "Neter. He wants to hear your story" Mina echoed.

         To Zara, this was yet another giant clue she was, in fact, in Hellias. "Yeah, right! I know who he is!" She had done her homework, she wasn't stupid, she wasn't falling for their evil tricks any more. "He's the God of Death!"