Daughter of Darkness
Swiftly grows the wild creeper unkempt,
unlike the pampered garden shrub;
so did the heiress of darkness turn out,
bereft of parental love.
My new born life found nourishment under the udder of a young lioness. The warm lick of her moist tongue, as she suckled me, was the closest gesture of maternal indulgence I ever received. But hurriedly did I grow out of the infancy that entitled me to the felicity of that comforting caress.
Lining the threshold of my chamber, stood a herd of brawny eunuchs, waiting to serve the merest of my wishes. Proximity of women was forbidden for me, lest their feminine disposition invoked fondness or affective attachments in the heart of the Princess of Darkness.
Removed from the proximity of the Lord, I dwelt in the wind-ravaged south castle of night. I was alone in the midst of the hundreds of the slaves who served me, but were never allowed to grow any fondness for me even though I was a little child. The craggy walls of the numerous dark chambers stood worn by roguish tides of wind that lashed against the bruised boulders. Relentless waves of the freezing gusts seemed to enjoy a perverted glee that encourages a sadistic executioner to intensify the torturous ordeal of his hapless victims. Every niche in the jagged walls was abound with eerie echoes of the violent wind tearing through defenseless foliage of the surrounding forests. Thick torches of sandalwood and large braziers laced with frankincense and camphor, burnt perpetually around the castle. Sometimes the overpowering scent of wild flowers blooming in the dark around the castle unsettled the mind by conjuring uncanny hallucinations induced by their poisonous and overly sweet fragrance.
A fascinating bath of thin veined blue-green turquoise stood upon large silver braces in the likeness of majestic seahorses, intricately carved and studded with pearls and corals. The magnificent oval tub was set in the midst of an open patio that overlooked the lavender and hyacinth bushes. A torch of rosewood hung on every pillar around the patio while an enormous pearl hung from the ceiling that reflected the lights, creating the magical aura of a pearly rainbow around the bath. Across the sprawling clusters of nightly blooms lay the bank of the Silver river, lined with mountain ash and weeping willows. Beyond the dense shadows of the quite trees, meandered the shimmering river, flowing in its serpentine trail. Sometimes a lovelorn mermaid swam up from the distant mouth of the river, the far end of the underworld, where it met the roaring southern ocean. For long would the naked enchantress sit upon the rocks and fill the air with her haunting song of wistful melancholy.
Elaborate were the luxuries devised to indulge me. I was bathed in the soothing milk of black ewes, in a bath strewn with herbs and flower petals. Balms brewed from the venom of temple vipers, scented oils and honey would be massaged onto my skin with the fine dust of mother of pearl so that it took on the sheen of pearls and the smoothness of satin. Fragrant pastes of ground nutmeg, watercress and galangal would be administered to my long raven hair and rinsed with rose water before it was dried over camphorated fumes. Cloves, along with frangipani and jasmine blooms were tucked in the floral wreaths that adorned my crown, that left their enchanting fragrance in my flowing tresses. My eyes would be painted with kohl made from the soot of sunflower seeds and almond shell. It sharpened my eyes into diamond-edged swords as the white gleam of diamonds lashed out from the rims darkened by the intense black kohl.
A black pearl would sit at the bottom of the ram-horn goblets filled with thyme and sage potions. I was to receive wisdom and psychic fecundity invoked by the herbs with the attention and innocence bestowed by the pearl. Flowing royal garbs of dark purple and blue adorned me as they exuded regal dignity and self-knowledge, befitting the intrigue that ought to surround the princess of eternal night.
Fascinated by the many hued gems and stones that lay abundant around me; the peculiar rays that shot from the luminous jewels held me captivated for hours. The maven would narrate their queer qualities to me and his words remained deeply inscribed upon my young and impressionable mind. His aquamarine eyes sparkled like the stars themselves as he initiated me to the mysteries of the astral realm and imparted me with the secret knowledge of governing these powerful bodies through the gems that I was to rule one day.
The maven gifted me an intriguing crystal ball; an awesome relic from the past, an heirloom from the wizards of yore. The enchanted globe radiated a bewitching glow, sitting in the hollow of coiled bodies of three serpents; it was braced on three sides by their fearsome raised hoods. The serpents, crafted from gold, silver and copper, were receptacles of unseen energies that pervaded the air and transferred the powers of clear seeing, wisdom and fore-vision to the medium. Fire agate inlaid in the eyes of the gold serpent lent courage and strength while the blue aventurine eyes of the silver serpent opened avenues for communion with spirits, the amber eyes of the copper serpent imparted clarity of thought and wisdom. A graceful globule of emerald set on each hood enhanced the powers of clairvoyance, intuition and truthfulness in the seeker. The entire magnificent contraption stood on an enormous tripod of three mammoth tusks as ivory lent stability and vitality to the gazer during séances. The maven said that this charmed orb would someday lead me to my destiny.
A turbulent storm circulated inside the smooth diaphanous surface of the crystal ball, when I touched it with bare hands. It appeared to be straining to convey a secret to me.
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