The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix by Ava D. Dohn Page A

walked, Drorli pointed up toward a shining,
metallic, sealed caldron some forty cubits high and three times in
length. “From the largest to the smallest of life forms, it is said
these manlike creatures – some of the oldest story-tellers call
them ‘Cherubs’ – a fanciful name I guess, but one that works for
now – these Cherubs toiled day and night for countless millennia to
create the marvelous animals invented in the mind of the Maker of
Worlds.”
    Pointing toward the distant arched ceiling, Drorli
exclaimed, “This is truly the cathedral of the gods! It has
been told by some of the Ancients that this place was directly
connected to the seven palace gardens of EdenEsonbar, the most
wondrous of building marvels to have ever existed.”
    He stopped and faced Hanna and Symeon, wearing a
proud smile. “It has been whispered by some of the old and wise
that the runes inscribed above the gated doors you passed through
to enter here, when translated, say ‘Belly of the Universe’ or
‘Womb of all life’.
    His eyes gleaming like a child holding back the
greatest of secrets, Drorli went on in a hushed voice to explain,
“It has been rumored that this place is the greatest of all
portals, connecting to all the hidden temples within all the
universes of all the realms, the place where everything began, that
even your Eden was… is… part of this same complex. It is also
rumored that the door of the portal was long ago shut when the Lady
stole from Asotos the Key of Understanding and, along with her own
key, torn from her very breast, cast them into the Sea of the
Deepening Pits, there to forever remain until a holy knight who has
the power and strength of heart and mind to take up the quest into
that horrid world will retrieve them from unseen eyes and return
them to mortal lands. A most dangerous place it is, to be
sure.”
    He placed a finger to his lips and spoke in a
whisper. “The Aged Ones have hinted that those very same unseen
eyes protect this secret world down to this day.”
    He cast his gaze about the chamber. “You know how
rumors are, bedtime stories to titillate a child’s heart, maybe.
Many are the stories told by the Ancients. Oh well. What I can tell
you for a certainty is this: the day Michael was tormented near to
death, the sky grew ominously red and the ground began to tremble
in a most fearsome way. Buildings, towers, and walls built in the
ages before time tumbled down to ruin, and the spirit of light
retreated from this world. Gradian’s Clock struck a foreboding
chiming that refused to quiet for seven days and nights. Its
radiant glow faded in that hour, too, and has not returned since. I
know, for I was there.”
    Hanna stepped forward, smiling with sly
understanding. “My dear friend, short are my years of living, but
wisdom and understanding need not always belong to long life and
many years. You gave away too many of your secrets when you allowed
me entry into your mind. You speak in whispers and as if with
hinted rumors. Maybe so, maybe so...but you are also an Ancient and
a healer, and a very wise man. I feel you couch truth in children’s
tales, as does PalaHar, but he controlled his dreams better when
with me.”
    Drorli grinned. “I gave to my wonderful mistress
exactly what I wanted to share with her. Still, much of the
universe abounds with rumor, for Mother is tight-lipped and full of
riddles. She makes her children guess at many things. Countless are
the theories about love and life that pervade these worlds. Truth
is not fact. As long as fact remains secreted in mystery and rumor,
then truth is little more than educated faith. Mother likes it that
way. Says it keeps her children on their toes, likes them to figure
it out on their own.”
    Symeon stepped forward, asking, “Who’s the
Lady?”
    Drorli frowned, saddened, “The Lady died that day,
at least her heart and soul died that day. She now resides in
darkness and gloom, seeking a rescuer who will return her soul