ONE: Epilogue of Hermesh

37. Ishtar

Valree was nothing more than a wasteland. The planet's southern hemisphere was dominated mainly by vast barren stretches of low lying deserts. The northern hemisphere, on the other hand, was relatively more rugged, etched with sprawling hills. Some of these hills formed deep valleys that shielded pockets of water trapped within from direct sunlight and persistent dry sandstorms.

Millions of years ago, when the Asur ships arrived, the topography of Valree wasn't so different. Their records mention two great rivers flowing from the north before disappearing into the deserts of the south. But now, only two faint tracks of those rivers can be seen in the middle of a lifeless desert.

Unsurprisingly, to protect themselves from the sandstorms and the unforgiving heat of Valree, when the Asurs settled on this planet, they built their settlements inside these few valleys. The fabled Sacred Mountain was an artificially built mound perched inside one of these ancient settlements.

Walking into the valley, General Barmin noticed the remains of the abandoned settlements that were once carved into these mountains, by those travellers from another galaxy. He noticed Sheel walking more slowly beside him. His eyes were fixed on the Sacred Mountain, situated right at the center of the valley.

"They constructed that mountain as an observatory as well as a place to perform rituals. As they did so, they'd gaze down at their home, or what remained of it in the galaxy they had left behind." Sheel said after picking up a piece of rock in front of him.

In a flash, General Barmin grabbed Sheel by his arm, making him stop in his tracks. Looking darkly at the flat top of the mountain he asked, "You can feel that presence too, can't you? It's not just me?"

"I can." Sheel replied, quitely following the General's gaze.

"Then the entity is real. But it is not one of us."

"Yet, in a strange way, not too different either." Sheel said, looking up at the mountain thoughtfully.

"I can think of only one kind of being who is like us but not us."

"I don't believe the entity is Heeruun. The Manwatus have evidence to prove that it…that she is, or at least, was one of the three Asur scientists who survived till the very end. If that is true, then she was called Ishtar."

General Barmin quietly followed Sheel up the gentle incline, while immersed in apprehensive thoughts. As they reached the top, both of them saw her at the same time. She stood at the centre of the flat top. And to their surprise, this tall and elegant being, with long white hair flowing over her shoulders, looked quite human. Before either of them could react, the entity spoke.

"You look a lot like what the Manwatus used to." She said with a smile.

"Yes, I do. But my current form is human." Sheel replied.

It took both of the new arrivals a moment to realise that she was speaking directly into their minds.

Wiping the surprise off his face, Sheel now asked, "And, are you an Asur?"

"I was once. The last of my kind. My name is Ishtar. And you?" she asked, turning to General Barmin.

"Naaroke Barmin. I am an Amarthian." Barmin replied.

"But you were once born a human too. Many times." the woman said in a soft distant voice, as if, speaking to herself.

With a leisurely motion she raised a hand and pointed towards the General. Naaroke Barmin's body began to change. It turned into the figure of a human sage; his face covered with thick hair, his body draped in an orange cloth. The sage instantly turned into a young girl before changing again into an old man with a big beard and white turban.
The two men were too bewildered to articulate their thoughts. They just stood there, stupefied.