1-022, ' . . .Her Road To Destiny. . .'

Mihai remembered little more about this morning’s journey up the Majestic than the day so long ago when her companions carried her up these same steps.  Those six millennia passed had not changed the sights, but she believed they would never impress her like they once did.  Now these stairs were merely a conveyance used on her road to destiny, a means to an end.  So little remained of the joy this world once basked in.

About one hundred fifty cubits above the Majestic’s threshold, the stairs made a sharp turn, tunneling into the butte as it rose toward the Upper Palace.  It finally opened into a towering, vaulted chamber called ‘Raven’s End’.  The chamber, like the Majestic, was built of polished obsidian, its finely chiseled pillars reaching thirty cubits to the shimmering black ceiling.  

Openings in the east wall allowed observers a panoramic view of the Lower Palace from twenty stories above the courtyard far below.

The sound of surging blood filled Mihai’s ears as she staggered up the last set of stairs before reaching the chamber.  Her lungs ached, her heart pounding against her chest.  Three times she had stopped on her ascent, a climb often jogged in her more carefree days.  Wheezing, she stumbled forward, seeking a bench near one of the pillars.

After sitting, Mihai rested her head in her hands.  A smell of hot, sticky sweat filled her nostrils, making her stomach churn even worse than her headache had managed to do.  She needed to take her mind off her personal concerns.  ‘Think girl, think!’

Looking around the empty expanse, she began to ponder its name.  ‘Raven’s End?  Raven’s End?  Oh, yes!  Now I remember.  It was told me that when the world was new, when the Ancients were still little more than children, sojourners beyond the distant walls would take birds along with them to send messages back to the palace.’

She stared at the windows.  All around them were hundreds of tiny nooks.  ‘Pigeonholes!  That’s what they are.  They say that at one time this chamber harbored thousands of birds of all kinds.’ . . .

Enjoy other posts: 

Prologue,

Destiny's Road 1-001, 1-002, 1-003, 1-004, 1-005, 1-006, 1-007, 1-008, 1-009,

1-010, 1-011, 1-012, 1-013, 1-014, 1-015, 1-016, 1-017, 1-018, 1-019, 1-020,

1-021, 1-022, 1-023, 1-024 & 1-025 

Of Councils Great and Small 2-026, 2-027, 2-028, 2-029, 2-030, 2-031, 

2-032, 2-033, 2-034, 2-035, 2-036, 2-037, 2-038, 2-039, 2-040, 2-041, 2-042, 
2-043, 2-044, 2-045, 2-046, 2-047, 2-048, 2-049 & 2-050 

Legend's Heroes 3-051, 3-052, 3-053, 3-054, 3-055, 3-056, 3-057, 3-058,

3-059, 3-060, 3-061, 3-062, 3-063, 3-064, 3-065, 3-066, 3-067, 3-068, 3-069,

3-070, 3-071, 3-072, 3-073, 3-074 & 3-075

Forges of Hell 4-076, 4-077, 4-078, 4-079, 4-080, 4-081, 4-082, 4-083, 4-084,
4-085, 4-086, 4-087, 4-088, 4-089, 4-090, 4-091, 4-092, 4-093, 4-094, 4-095,
4-096, 4-097, 4-098, 4-099 & 4-100

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