I could feel her prodding at the edge of my mind, her touch as coarse as the desert sand. At first, she was kind. Dark mother? she whispered, but I did not answer. Revered queen, she murmured, but I did not stir. Goddess? she crooned, but I did not rise. Then all at once, she became a howling wind, whirling around me, shrieking. Beware the serpent and his poisonous tongue. He will take your flesh on the steps of your altar. He will lie in your crimson blood. Beware the deceiver and his silver tongue. He will turn your temple into his monument. Beware the awakening, the heat of this fire. It
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