I walked in to see rug in the center of the tent filling up with all manner of weapons. Spears, knives, axes, shotguns, Colt .45's, several pounds of shells and ammunition, even a cross or three. Barnabas and Matt were taking turns throwing weapons into the growing pile and strapping on body armor. I frowned.
"Those are not going to help you" I said, drawing startled looks from the two of them.
"Tenet!" yelled Matt. I noticed his right hand was resting tentatively on the pistol's handle that dangled on his hip.
"Who?" Barnabas asked, his dark face scrunched up into a frown. He, too, was white-knuckling the hilt of a saber that protruded from his gold and black striped sash.
I chuckled and looked Barnabas squarely in his dark eyes. "My name is Tenet and I mean you no harm. However," I motioned to the weapons lying on the sandy rug. "Those are not going to help you against the creature you're hunting."
"How do you know about the ghūl and that we seek it?" still suspicious, Barnabas probed.
"Accept that it is my gift to know such things, just as I know that this creature is not to blame for the horrendous acts you seek to avenge."
Matt and Barnabas looked long and hard at one another. Matt shrugged meekly to his dark-skinned companion and then his eyes again fell on me. Something changed in his face, which was harder than when I'd last seen him. There was a strength about him and deep within his eyes, there was a glimmer of Light. I was glad to see how far he had come since we'd first met, long ago in Southeast Asia.
He approached me and his jaw was set. "I'm not exactly sure what or who you are Tenet, or how you knew we were here, or what in the world we were doing, but I do know that I know a thing or two about things and this thing is evil!"
I nodded. "This ghūl dwells in a graveyard, yes?"
Both men nodded. Barnabas added, "Far from town, there is a tower. It is an ancient thing. The ghūl lives within that tower and comes out at night to feast upon the living and...do worse things." The man's bright eyes fell. His honor would not allow him to speak of such things, and it pained him to even think on them.
This was good. He would need that purity and virtue if he was to face our real Enemy. "And why would such a graveyard exist, so far from town?" I queried.
They were shocked at the question. Neither had thought that the location of the graveyard was important. However, with most things, all of the details are not only important, they are critical to understanding...to knowledge...to Truth.
I continued. "I see. And the graves, they were marked with a symbol, yes?"
At this, Barnabas leaped, as I knew he would. "Yes! They are marked with a single word, in Arabic. 'Iblis' is the word and it means-"
Matt jumped in, "Satan! The closest translation to the word into English is Satan, Tenet! Your Enemy! See, this thing is evil."
"And there were no other marks?" I asked.
Both men looked dully at one another. They had no answer.
I continued, "If you would have looked closer, each stone was marred, the Arabic word scratched through, as if someone--or something--was trying to remove the word from its presence. Also, why would someone mark the gravestone of a loved one with a word that glorified the Evil One?"
The men were utterly silent.
"They would not, as you have ascertained. You see, these stones were not gravestones, they were warnings, placed by superstitious humans that knew no better...much like yourselves. These warning stones were offensive to the creature that lived in that tower, a creature who is, in fact, a Fallen, but has aligned itself with complete neutrality. It wants nothing to do with the Great War, it wants only to be left alone.
"Now, however, you have pulled it into the middle of this conflict. Despite being ignorant of the situation, you two have made it far worse. That is why I am here. Now, gird thy loins, men. We have a battle before us which is against a much greater enemy than this ghūl. However, we now need its help if we are to survive..."
"Those are not going to help you" I said, drawing startled looks from the two of them.
"Tenet!" yelled Matt. I noticed his right hand was resting tentatively on the pistol's handle that dangled on his hip.
"Who?" Barnabas asked, his dark face scrunched up into a frown. He, too, was white-knuckling the hilt of a saber that protruded from his gold and black striped sash.
I chuckled and looked Barnabas squarely in his dark eyes. "My name is Tenet and I mean you no harm. However," I motioned to the weapons lying on the sandy rug. "Those are not going to help you against the creature you're hunting."
"How do you know about the ghūl and that we seek it?" still suspicious, Barnabas probed.
"Accept that it is my gift to know such things, just as I know that this creature is not to blame for the horrendous acts you seek to avenge."
Matt and Barnabas looked long and hard at one another. Matt shrugged meekly to his dark-skinned companion and then his eyes again fell on me. Something changed in his face, which was harder than when I'd last seen him. There was a strength about him and deep within his eyes, there was a glimmer of Light. I was glad to see how far he had come since we'd first met, long ago in Southeast Asia.
He approached me and his jaw was set. "I'm not exactly sure what or who you are Tenet, or how you knew we were here, or what in the world we were doing, but I do know that I know a thing or two about things and this thing is evil!"
I nodded. "This ghūl dwells in a graveyard, yes?"
Both men nodded. Barnabas added, "Far from town, there is a tower. It is an ancient thing. The ghūl lives within that tower and comes out at night to feast upon the living and...do worse things." The man's bright eyes fell. His honor would not allow him to speak of such things, and it pained him to even think on them.
This was good. He would need that purity and virtue if he was to face our real Enemy. "And why would such a graveyard exist, so far from town?" I queried.
They were shocked at the question. Neither had thought that the location of the graveyard was important. However, with most things, all of the details are not only important, they are critical to understanding...to knowledge...to Truth.
I continued. "I see. And the graves, they were marked with a symbol, yes?"
At this, Barnabas leaped, as I knew he would. "Yes! They are marked with a single word, in Arabic. 'Iblis' is the word and it means-"
Matt jumped in, "Satan! The closest translation to the word into English is Satan, Tenet! Your Enemy! See, this thing is evil."
"And there were no other marks?" I asked.
Both men looked dully at one another. They had no answer.
I continued, "If you would have looked closer, each stone was marred, the Arabic word scratched through, as if someone--or something--was trying to remove the word from its presence. Also, why would someone mark the gravestone of a loved one with a word that glorified the Evil One?"
The men were utterly silent.
"They would not, as you have ascertained. You see, these stones were not gravestones, they were warnings, placed by superstitious humans that knew no better...much like yourselves. These warning stones were offensive to the creature that lived in that tower, a creature who is, in fact, a Fallen, but has aligned itself with complete neutrality. It wants nothing to do with the Great War, it wants only to be left alone.
"Now, however, you have pulled it into the middle of this conflict. Despite being ignorant of the situation, you two have made it far worse. That is why I am here. Now, gird thy loins, men. We have a battle before us which is against a much greater enemy than this ghūl. However, we now need its help if we are to survive..."
Story and Characters: (c)/by Brannon Hollingsworth
#MMWW, #Makes, #Me, #Wanna, #Write, #BrannonHollingsworth, #Tenet, #Tenetstales, #ArabianKights, #Barnabas, #MattOlsen, #Matt, #Sector7, #TheOrbisObserver, #ghūl, #Iblis
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