Carol had nothing to do. The house was clean, her call to Celeste was aborted, her friends were likely still at work, and after surfing a few channels on the TV, the nudist remembered that there was absolutely nothing worth watching at this hour. So she did the only thing imaginable that would be a worthwhile use of her time: she cracked open the Scripture and continued reading.
***
From the Ether came a rippling, and through a hole torn from black talons of malice came She of the Bloodless Flesh and the Unripened Eye, the Wings Chained, and the Vulva Unopened. Notrath of the Abyssal Gale and Empress of Demons had emerged. Driven by a lust and a greed and a want that left her imprisoned in the blackest recesses of the Gods Realm, she tore her self free of her bindings, and it was in her struggles that she would chance upon Zenriah's world and all that She had made. And it was beautiful. More beautiful than anything she had ever seen before in all the cosmos. And when her eyes fell upon the Goddess, Notrath's heart erupted in a blaze of lustful hellfire.
And she decreed: "Zenriah, Fair Zenriah, Mistress of the All-Light, and Bringer of Love and Life! By Your own hand and Your own will, You have cultivated a garden of endless beauty in all Creation. I stand here in awe of Your artistry, the envy of gods and mortals alike! But to keep this garden to Yourself...to share not these seas and these hills and these pillars and these stars and these darlings gathered all round You, each a flicker of Your brilliance...that would be a sin like no other! Will You not share it all with another? Will You not share Your creation with me? A Goddess as lovely as Thee, and a garden as fertile as this, is fit only for one as equally radiant. Do You not see her standing before Your eyes?"
But Zenriah would not accept Notrath's hand, for She saw right through the demoness' flattery and for what she was. "Take thy form away from this domain, fair demoness! Zenriah has found she who is worthy of Her, and it is not, was not, and shall not ever be you. Rain the seas of your wants, raise the mountains of your desire, shine the stars of your illumination, and lay with the darlings of your mold. But prithee leave this domain and disturb it no more with your presence, for my dearests await and I pine for her in turn."
But Notrath would not accept Zenriah's words in either fury or in mercy, nor would she be denied her prize. "Then name she who has proven her self worthy of your heart, and I shall prove her fraudulence!"
But it was not the Goddess who answered the demoness' challenge, but Prevandora, Firstmade, Firstborn, and Firstbirthed of Zenriah's wives. "My Love has spoken and given thee Her piece. Leave Us now to Our hearts and to Our courts, and trample not the lilies wherever after you walk."
So Notrath turned her blazing eyes upon her, and in that moment, Prevandora learned Fear. Then she wrapped the woman in her claws, and in that moment, Prevandora learned Pain. Then she rent her talons and scorched her breath, and in that moment, Prevandora learned Death. Then she held her lifeless and emblazoned trophy and lit the world aflame in its unholy light, and in that moment, Fear, Pain, and Death were learnt to all Womankind. And in great horror they trembled!
And so passed Prevandora, First of Zenriah's wives.
Zenriah let loose a howl of pain, the loss of Her beloved rending a quickening gash in Her heart from which She would never heal and spilling blood that She would never re-drink. Prevandora was gone! Her dear wife and Her first love was gone! And never again would the Goddess feel the holy touch that Prevandora gave her for more than a thousand and one times before.
And all around Her, Her endless wives, all wives and some sisters and many daughters of Prevandora, wept with Her, for the Goddess' grief was their grief, for Her loss was their loss, for Her wife was their wife, and her touch was a touch none of them would ever feel or taste or give birth to ever again. And from amidst Their tears, the demoness beamed victoriously.
"Was that not Your chosen, O Lovely Zenriah? Such a feeble thing would never have survived Your kiss. Come, take my hand, O Fair Goddess. Take my hand and I will give You a thousand suns worthy of love. Shed no more tears, Fair Goddess, for this is a happy moment! Your one true love has finally come!"
But the Goddess did not just take Notrath's hand. She seized it in Her own and upon smoldering the demoness with a glare hewn from the Forges of Vesuvius, She hurled the murderess from out Her palace, from out Her city, from out Her queendom, and from out Her world. And the Goddess did decree: "Zenriah needs no one true love! Zenriah needs thousands upon thousands of true loves, each as precious as the last, and thousands upon thousands of true loves are needed by they in turn. In taking from Us but a single true love, thou shalt now feel naught but Our true wrath forevermore!"
And on that night, Womankind learned War.
...
In a storm of talons and a gnashing of teeth, the beasts descended upon Lilitia. Though she tore many asunder with her sword and her shield, their numbers were too great and their strength was too vast.
And so passed Lilitia, Second of Zenriah's wives.
...
Even as they whipped her, tore her fair skin from her back, spilt her crimson upon the soil, and stole the cries from her daughters' mouths, Ellines refused to budge but an inch lest a hair of those she held dear be harmed by the abominations that would dare feast upon their sacred flesh.
And so passed Ellines, Fifth of Zenriah's wives.
...
Cora and Samai battled on, swinging sword and axe and spear at the writhing masses of tentacles descending upon them. They hewn many 'til they were stained scarlet and all the world was but a cloud of blood in their eyes. But alas, there were many, and they were only two.
And so passed Cora and Samai, Eighth and Ninth of Zenriah's wives.
...
The pillars cracked and the pillars crumbled. And still Alta held firm, keeping the city aloft in her arms while her sisters and her wives and her daughters fled its streets and its halls. Even as it crushed her bones, even as it sank her form, Alta held on! Never would she let it go! Never would she let it fall! Not until every soul she had ever loved was out and free and safe from the demoness' hungered minions! Only once the last fair maiden was gone did she relent. Atlantis crumbled and fell into the sea, and it took with it both Notrath's vile horde and Alta herself. The water burned red with blood. She did not rise again.
And so passed Alta, Twelfth of Zenriah's wives.
...
The Goddess' heart did wane as She looked upon Her world, Her garden that She had melded and cultivated for millennia with a careful hand. Fires burned in Her forests, cities crumbled to dust, and the earth glowed crimson with the spilled blood of Her beloveds! Every wail of death, every cry of pain, every howl of sorrow was yet another cold arrow in Her heart. And the burden of Her wounds proved too painful to bear.
With the death of Her Twelfth and Final Firstborn, the Goddess feared She would not go on for much longer. The urge to cast Her self into the sea and never rise again grew stronger. Notrath and her demons were too strong for Zenriah's wives. And though Zenriah knew She would one day prevail, She feared none of Her dearests would survive. And what life would be worth living if She could not share it with those whom She loved?
So Zenriah cast aside Her spear, laid dawn Her shield, and She set forth, away from Earth and its sun and its beautiful creatures that She had created and loved with every glimmer of Her being, and faced Her enemy. And the Goddess spread Her arms and spread Her legs and presented Her self to the Empress of Demons and said: "Fair Notrath, My heart has finally swayed! Thou hast proven thy worthiness of Mine hand, and I have come to give it! Take it and all of Me if thou wilt. Take My eyes and My tongue and My breasts and My arm and My vulva and My asset and do with them what you shall. For They and My heart...now belongs to thee!"
The demoness was struck by Her offer and for but a moment she was doubtful of Her intent. But she could not withhold her desire for long, for Zenriah continued to captivate her in all the years that they fought. And so Notrath gave into her lust and seized the Goddess in her hands!
She lolled her tongue into the Goddess' lips. She kneaded Her breasts, marveled at the warmth she felt passing through her talons, and tasted Her nipples with her forked tongue, sliding it around the areolas brilliantly. And the Goddess returned her favor. She kissed Notrath. She tasted Notrath. She lapped at her breasts, pulled them into Her mouth, suckled her erect teets. And the demoness cried out in ecstasy, for at last she had what she and so many gods had sought after. She had the Goddess!
...
