The Riddle
"Bark and whine and beg and barter,
simple minds withheld a starter.
Cast a lot, extend a charter,
After three you will rejoice.
Tightened like a furrowed garter,
slippery as a floor of tartar,
passed to God, as faultless martyr,
Now we send to you the choice." The felid voiced as Theaa trembled.
Even Thrall had been unsettled. 'Aswad and the Jackal meddled, knowing they could not defy the order the Sphinx had peddled.
Still, Thrall stood in finest fettle, and signaled them to assemble round to help demystify the confounding question wrested only to afford attested perplexities and complexes.
"The first thing to ask is why. Why are three queries requested?" Thrall inquired to those invested.
"Perhaps, so we all are tested?" Xantheaa guessed, in reply.
So, his eye lit up. "That makes sense! One for everyone to dispense each the right to cross the defense that the Sphinxes' masters charged."
'Aswad barged into the middle. "My feathers cannot sit still. I don't get this—You two will have to figure this out alone," then lay prone within the huddle; iris blank like oily puddles.
Thrall just laughed, then fret and puzzled over what the Sphinx had groaned.
"Tightened like a furrowed garter, slippery as a floor of tartar, passed to God, as faultless martyr. What the hell could this have been?"
"Probably something from this place." Xantheaa began to pace, the focus written on her face as she thought hard on what they'd seen. "They probably spoke from experience."
Yet again, Thrall found she made sense more than she may have believed thence. "Or, at least something they'd heard!" Soon as the word escaped his lips, he grinned madly as he had glimpsed the form of the trick they had eclipsed within the labyrinth of thought.
"Not only had the Sphinx uncovered all the secrets from each other, but before us was another who must have traveled this lot! Through this spot there was a spider with new knowledge held inside their mind, defined to fail those after. Those two cats were cheating us!"
"Those BASTARDS!" Xantheaa's rage cried out in such fury that it broke whatever figment that they had been under. The haze compelling them into mirthful song was shattered like the air itself was made of glass. She almost hadn't realized what had happened until it had already passed. "What...? Was that?!"
"That, my dear, is what is called a hex." 'Aswad mumbled from a million miles away. Even near to unconsciousness, he was proving to be an excellent host. "You cannot fight a skilled wielder of the master's tongue. You simply become a part of their will, despite yourself."
Like waking from a nightmare into the open air of the real world, their surroundings seemed freshly crisp and stark in comparison to the jaunty bauble that they had been under just moments before. Goodness, that was horrible! Was this the omnipotent magic of the Egyptian paradigm? It was so subtle, that they could have easily lived their whole lives without even noticing that something had gone wrong. But they would, indeed, be forever changed by the curse of the Sphinx.
She felt a little sick to her stomach. All the Sphinx had done was tell a simple story, and the three of them had been forced into a contractual obligation to play their little game, with all the rules that come alongside it. Cats often toy with their prey, after all.
It troubled her to know that someone with less patience and more malevolent intentions might force her into a more compromised position—or even to harm herself or others before she had realized what she was doing—with little form of defense or warning.
The gods of this world must have been terrible despots, indeed, to have given even their servants such a great and indisputable advantage. How much more adept could their masters be? or forbid, their masters' masters? She would never hope to have to witness such strength first-hand.
"This is why it is so important to give great honor to those who wield such power," 'Aswad continued, unbidden. "It is much more simple to live your life when the great Neters have no need to use such power on you. We serve them willingly."
"Because you fear having to serve them unwittingly," She continued. "What a putrid system of governance! What a terrible waste of passion! Your entire race is bound by shackles of terror!"
"Calm yourself." Thrall said.
This was the first time that she had been forced to witness another theology's paradigm first-hand. It was the reason why he hadn't allowed her to eat of The Fruit back when they were marooned in the Garden of Eden. The shock of knowing other ways of life must have been too much for her sheltered mind.
"Xantheaa, along this journey, we will encounter many disparate forms of thought, and belief. Many ways of life have nothing to do with the concepts that are important to you. You have to be prepared to witness all the other perspectives. Just look around! This is their ideal world. The system works, here! You can't expect everything to be the same as how you left it back at home."
But she simply shook her head. "You're insane! All I see is a world of chains. Oppression and fear are everywhere! You expect me to just look at this, and let them continue living like so?! How can I let so much pain continue, as long as I am aware of it?"
'Aswad simply shook as they argued back and forth. It was not his place to speak when these great powers were expressing themselves. Yet, he felt great shame every time that she casually besmirched his entire way of life. Even a lowly carrion crow like he, had his pride.
Noting this, Thrall knelt down, and spoke softly to their guide. "I apologize for her behavior, 'Aswad. She has yet to leave her home, in her heart of hearts. You must forgive her ignorance."
The corvid was about to reply, but Xantheaa screeched all the louder in frustration. Her great anger at being violated was too much for the paradigm to hold. "You must forgive NOTHING! I will not be patronized by the likes of you, you loathsome cur! Do not apologize for me like I am some petulant child, in need of rebuke! I know great evil when I see it, and this is a power that should not be permitted to exist!"
A loud snap cut through the air, as a large crack opened up between herself and the two of her companions.
The second Sphinx began to stir. Sand churned and bubbled as a second pair of eyes burned through the veneer that shielded them from the monstrous woman's fury.
"WHORE OF GREECE AND SATAN'S PAWN,
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!
TO INVOKE THE VOID UPON
MY DOORSTEP THROUGH THE SCANDALS SPOKE—
I OFFERED YOU A PATH TO DAWN,
YET NOW MY PATIENCE IS FOREGONE.
SINCE YOU CAN'T BEAR THE FORCE YOU DON,
I CAST ON YOU A HEAVY YOKE."
Soon as they spoke, the sand leapt free, and caught the harpy at her knee, submerging her despite her pleas, until she was entombed within a sarcophagus made of sand. Then, almost as if by command, the crack traveled into their hand, and it dissolved like botulin.
"Now, I turn to Seraph again.
Give us our answer, or begin
to pay penance for Theaa's sin
with flesh and blood and soul and all."
The fragile wall slid down at last, and there behind the sandy mask did scowl a face to set aghast the spirit within even he who gazed upon the face of God—for Kurozel never had trod in His presence with feet unshod.—He hadn't faith to that degree.
The sky burned red, he tasted blood, and thoughts crowded into a flood of panic, worriment and mud. Her face was terrible and vast.
He couldn't move. His heart had sunk, and worse than all that he had thunk, Xantheaa had only a lungful of breath left before she'd pass.
He used his wings to shield his eyes, and thanked whomever he surmised the secret to the riddles' lies before the harpy called their ire. For Anansi had come through, and tales of his already knew, only one tool he'd often use. So, at long last, he shouted "WIRE!"
With that one cry, he bounded free, and collapsed down on bended knees, to cough up sick. In fury she turned once again to face her brother. He felt scandalized above her piercing gaze. Then gave a shrug, or what almost seemed close enough for cats as tall as five stories.
Telepathy was not expected, but the words (as he attested) love to play along in jest whenever they're used in that way. He marveled at the two perfected geniuses in retrospect, despite almost being ingested. He had learned quite much today.