“What is the myth about Queen Inanna?” Perla repeated the question with confidence, voiced from her inner instincts filtered by the strict reasoning of her Ars Pherian mind.

  “I’m not entirely certain myself,” Princess An replied. She wasn’t sure why the myth sparked such interest in her counterpart. “There are two main versions of the myth. One is supported by the ancient religion of Sumer. The religious temple, known as the Ziggurat, is comprised of twelve priestesses and a high priestess. The Ziggurat holds the power to vote against the Queen’s decisions and even halt her orders, much like a senate in your world.” She paused before continuing. “According to the Ziggurat’s version, the myth involves spirits and the Ghull, who serve the spirits. In this telling, the Queen is a devout woman who made a grave mistake.”

  “According to the second version of the myth, which is the Sumerian folk tale, the Queen is depicted as an evil woman who killed many Sumerians. Which one would you like to hear first?” Princess An asked, hoping Perla’s interest might wane before delving into the details of the myths. An herself had never been fond of such tales, she was her mother’s daughter, after all. But Perla’s curiosity remained unshaken.

  “I would like to hear the folk tale first,” Perla replied, her voice firm with interest.

  “Very well then.” An took a deep breath. “According to the Sumerian folk tale, Queen Inanna was obsessed with beauty. She sought to create a new Sumer, one composed only of the most beautiful people. She blamed the others for bringing famine and bad luck. Inanna and her followers began hunting and killing those the Queen deemed unworthy. The followers of Queen Inanna sacrificed many, including the children and especially the girls.”

  An took a sip from her cup through a straw, hiding her mouth with her left hand. She paused, giving herself a moment to think about how to continue the story. Her emotional fumes were visibly at odd colors reflecting her inner conflicts and fears she concealed within the tale.

  “At first, people were terrified and hid themselves behind masks and capes to escape the followers of Inanna,” she continued, her voice slow and steady. “But the followers kept hunting those they deemed unworthy. No one cared about beauty anymore; the followers had become a group of despots. The leader of the despots dared to stand against Queen Inanna, hoping to become a dictator himself. It was then that Queen Inanna realized she had to fight back against the very group she had created. She called on the people to rise up against the despots. During the rebellion, she fought at the front lines. Queen Inanna was killed in that rebellion, along with the despots. The new Queen burned everything from the past and ushered in a new era for Sumer. She empowered the Ziggurat and established a dual system of government, dividing power between the loyal family and the Ziggurat.”

  Perla could see An relax as she told the folk tale of Queen Inanna. She seemed to believe in what she was saying, yet there were still traces of fear in her words, faint purple hues of unease lingering in her fumes. Perla, however, was more interested in the Ziggurat myth. She suspected that the source of their fear might lie within Sumer's religion.

  “Thank you, An. This is an interesting historical myth. Do you have any evidence, perhaps something written that tells of this version?” Perla asked.

  “We do. There are parchments and stones inscribed in an ancient language that we can still read. We have such documents for both versions of the myth.”

  “I understand. Can you also tell me about the Ziggurat version, please? In these stories, I can learn more about your culture and religion.”

  “Sure, hang tight, because this version is very… very controversial,” An replied and continued.

  “According to the Ziggurat, the first Sumerians were brought to our new world by the Ghull. The Ghull were divine creatures who served the spirits, helping to protect the Sumerians from enemies. Do you remember when Queen Nammu told you that Sumer was abducted from Earth in a dark wind? The Ziggurat says that the dark wind was created by the Ghull, following orders from the universal spirits. Back then, people could see the Ghull and speak with them. The Ghull had a human-like appearance, taller, darker, and much more beautiful, intelligent, and wise, but they were from another dimension. A Ghull could live for thousands of years.

  They brought the Sumerians to our new world and helped them settle. Once they were settled, only one of the Ghull remained in service to the Queens. Queen Inanna fell in love with that Ghull, and the Ghull fell in love with her. The Ghull shared with the Queen his secret of creation, a form of black smoke. He told her that she could do anything she desired with it, even travel back to Earth or anywhere else in the universe. Queen Inanna selected a group of people to return to Earth and reclaim ancient Mesopotamia with the help of the black smoke.

  The spirits were not pleased with her plan. They banished the Ghull forever from the sight of the Sumer. No Ghull has been seen since. The spirits also considered banishing the Sumerians, believing they did not deserve the new world they had been given. Queen Inanna prayed that her people would not be punished for her sins, and she sacrificed herself before the Ziggurat altar. The spirits accepted her sacrifice and allowed the Sumerians to remain, but on one condition: the people must hide their beauty beneath coverings.”

  Perla could hide her excitement as always, though the story held the potential for a fundamental breakthrough in her search for the origins of the Ars Pherian existence. She had a thousand more questions to ask about the Ghull and the black smoke, but she restrained herself. She could not risk revealing the portal on Ars Pheria. Her continued interest in the matter might draw An’s attention to Ars Pheria, which could jeopardize everything. For now, she needed to close the topic and think it over. A puzzle was taking shape before her eyes, and she had to gather the pieces and see the bigger picture before asking more questions.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  P Perla could see that An’s purple hues of fear had returned. Though she didn’t consider herself religious, Perla had some beliefs of her own. Perhaps there was some logical truth behind the religious story after all.

  “Thank you, Princess An. This has been very helpful. Should we meet again soon? I’d love to answer your questions.”

  “Very well. I would like to learn about your culture and way of life. Whenever you are ready.”

  “Of course. See you soon.”

  Perla made her way to the library to research the Ghull. She needed to speak with someone who could offer insight into all of this, someone who would understand. There was one person she could think of who knew a great deal about the dark fume, or black smoke, or whatever name it was given.

  The next morning, Perla walked along the corridors of the rehabilitation center. All these people who were sick might not be sick after all, not in the way they had always thought. They could be on the verge of finding answers, but those answers were not hidden where they had been looking all this time.

  Aurelia was surprised to see her unlikely guest. The two women, one with hair as black as the night, the other with hair as white as the moon, were almost the same age. They had much in common but had never been friends. King Sephianos had loved and respected Perla’s mother. She had been his first wife. When Sephianos was a young senator, it was Perla’s mother who had helped him rise to power and become the new emperor. Despite her old age, she gave the new emperor a daughter, Perla. A girl as intelligent as her mother. When Perla was born with white eyelashes, her mother had said, “Look at her, as beautiful as a pearl, she will be pure and wise.”

  “Perla, what a surprise! Please come in,” said Aurelia, noticing Perla’s violet eyes widen as she entered the laboratory.

  “Hello, Aurelia. I hope you have some time to spare. Is there a place where we can talk in private?” Perla asked. The unlikely pair walked to Aurelia’s study room, and she locked the door behind them upon Perla’s request.

  “Aurelia, has it ever occurred to you that the dark fume may not belong to our physical world? That it could belong to another dimension of existence?” Perla asked.

  “Like magic, you mean?” Aurelia answered easily, as she had thought about magic many times.

  “Yes, I did, but then I defined magic as a physical phenomenon we can’t yet explain with our current level of knowledge. Anything we cannot explain with science is, for us, basically magic.”

  “Similar, but not exactly,” said Perla. “Similar because I agree with you that what we cannot explain now, we may be able to explain tomorrow. Different, because we may never be able to explain some phenomena within the dimensions of our own existence. What if there’s a higher level of non-physical existence that sometimes interacts with our physical world? What if we accept that such phenomena, call it magic, call it the unknown, are real, and we’re losing time trying to explain them with the limitations of our physical world?”

  “You mean like a God?” Aurelia asked. “Perla, I would love to discuss the philosophical reasoning of religious thoughts, but I am not sure about your point.”

  “Aurelia, I will tell you about the Sumer and the Ghull. Hold tight, what you are about to hear is some confidential information which will be quite shocking. I believe you should be in the small circle of senators who knows about what has been going on lately.”

  “I am all ears,” said Aurelia. She knew Sephianos was up to something.

  Perla told Aurelia all about the Sumer, their religion, and the tales of Queen Inanna. She also shared the Ottoman archives that supported the existence of the Ghull on Earth. She showed her some new Earth books explaining the Ghull as monstrous figures among the locals in countries around Mesopotamia. Aurelia needed some time to digest what she had heard. After a moment, she gathered her thoughts and asked a series of questions, many of which Perla didn’t yet have answers to herself.

  “Unbelievable,” she said. “You may be on track to reveal an unknown dimension of existence, or you may just be lost in coincidental historical stories that somehow relate. The question is, if the dark fume power of the Ghull creates the portal and the dark fume sickness from the same source, why weren’t the Sumerians affected by the same sickness?”

  “Maybe they were, but they didn’t realize it. They don’t see fumes the way we do,” Perla answered. “Besides, they don’t have any information about the first five hundred years when the Ghull were around.”

  “You know, I thought about the healing powers of animals, especially horses, as a treatment,” said Aurelia. “We know that some physical illnesses are linked to psychology. A couple of years ago, I worked with some patients and developed a treatment program involving horses.”

  “Did it work?” asked Perla.

  “It started promisingly at first, but then we realized it didn’t really help patients in the later stages of the disease.”

  “What do you mean, ‘it started promisingly’?”

  “I mean, for patients with lower levels of fumes, we can’t deny that animal therapy helped clear some of the fumes. But it didn’t stop the illness. Besides, we don’t know if animal therapy provided a placebo effect or not.”

  “I see,” said Perla. “So, horses aren’t miracles.”

  “I’m afraid not,” Aurelia replied. “Our best arsenal against the disease is still neurological drugs like antipsychotics and antidepressants.”

  Perla was disappointed, but she was not discouraged.

  “I will try to learn more about the spirits and the Ghull from the Sumerians. Maybe I’ll find another clue.”

  “If that Ottoman document and the Sumer story about the queen contain any truth, then you might be onto something,” said Aurelia, her voice calm and measured as always. “A point that the source of the dark fume could be another alien civilization that somehow interfered with humans. They might be the ones who abducted the Ars Pherians and the Sumerians.”

  “We have no proof, just clues,” said Perla. “For now.”

  I, the loyal Ghull of the Asaha, possess prudence.

  I am more than five thousand years old; I have patience.

  I see through the flames of my heart; I have insight.

  I hold foresight, knowing my fortune will one day be bright.