Narnia: Prince Caspian & The Dark Angel

13 | Castle Raid

Both began to rummage through them all, and over the course of a few hours there was nothing that seemed important enough to remember. Raven skimmed through the pile of Telmarine books till she came across one called, The History of Telmar. She was flitting through the pages lazily, catching a few phrases at a time before hearing Lucy let out a small laugh. "Don't trouble yourself with that book. I looked into it and realized that it was mostly legend rather than actual history. It even mentions deities. Apparently they follow the same ones of Calormen."

Raven froze, her hearing heightened to extreme levels as the voices in her head rung terribly loud. Fear trembled down her spine unwillingly, causing Raven to spring back into action and hastily search for all the deities. There was only one of notable importance to Raven, for it left a terrible pit in her stomach that only grew larger the more she read. 'They have a god called Tash. They say he has four arms and the head of a vulture. They kill men on his altar...'

Her breathing hitched as a vision was brought up against her will, showcasing the Telmarines centuries ago sacrificing and chanting at a bloodied altar. They slapped the limbs against the stained walls of the temple, crying out for Tash to bring victory. Raven's brows furrowed even more when her hearing got more in tune with what they were actually saying. "Tear down the kingdom of Narnia, O great Tash! Our god Tash. Inexorable Tash!" 

And recurring images unwillingly flashed behind her lids, old memories Raven wished to burn with her old self reminding her of the sickening ways of the Telmarines. Then a twisted drawing caught her eye. It was the depiction of Tash, showcasing a terrifying demon humanoid that stood upon a patch of dead grass. Raven slammed the book shut, but the drawing was already burned into her memory. She ignored Lucy's worried inquiries, only asking if her majesty still needed to be escorted around the How.

Lucy simply flashed a smile before picking up another scroll. "No it's alright, Raven. Thank you for your time."

The Dark Angel didn't hesitate to pivot on her heel and stride out of the room of the Archives, allowing her thoughts to lead her through the maze of the How. Why would she be so afraid of a meager drawing? Why was there fear in general? The Dark Angel does not fear; she shouldn't fear. Maybe it was the uncomfortable memory of living on the border of Calormen, where sacrifices happened all too often. Or perhaps it was the simple idea that the god of all evil and terror was so strongly believed in. What worried Raven most was the possibility that they still worshipped the god now. She knew what an army founded on Tash is like, and she knew the tarnish that followed.

Mass genocides, mass graves, all for a god that didn't exist. Or does he?

Raven froze, that quiet question echoing into her shell of a body. It roused her enough to realize that she walked straight into room of the Stone Table. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears, and for the first time that was all she was able to hear. The voices were gone, not even a whisper lingered. All that was left of them was the distinct sensation of terror in their silence. This was possibly the only time she missed the constant buzz in her mind. Her eyes were trained on the stone carving of Aslan, wide and alert under the shadow of her hood. Raven couldn't look anywhere else as she tried to piece together what she was feeling. Fear of Tash, the voices are gone but in fear, the Stone Table...

Her eyes trailed down to Aslan's paws, and noticed an old carving she hadn't seen before. Raven was about to step forward, but the familiar sensation of her false image wavering kept her at the entrance. She tried to peer above the Table to see the engraving better, but still wasn't able to further interpret what could be a body under Aslan. Raven then looked around, making sure that she was alone in the room. A few steps to the side won't hurt.