Author's note: welcome to a new series. Yes, this is very much like a genie tale, but there's a couple twists which hopefully change things around beyond Joe Brolly's mythology without being too incompatible. There are also ties back to mythology outside Mr. Brolly's wonderful story setting. Hope ya enjoy!
This is not a quick stroke story. There will be sexy-times, but they will only happen as the story's pace dictates, and that won't start quick.
Edited 4 Nov 2019
All characters participating in sexual activities are 18 or older.
Chapter 1
Dr. Ray Helms unlocked his University office first thing in the morning and carried his coffee in. Flicking on the overhead lights, he eyed the pile of mail on the corner of his desk, a dozen envelopes, and a cubic foot cardboard box. Interesting.
Walking around to his chair, he settled in and sipped his coffee. Well self-disciplined, Ray went through settling the administrivia, bills, ads, and other dross in the envelopes before allowing his curiosity free reign to investigate the box. Most of them ended up in the trash, unanswered.
Unusually, the box's shipping label showed it came through the US post rather than a delivery service. Whoever shipped it had insured it for just less than a three hundred thousand dollars, but there was no delivery signature required, something he'd never seen in all his years of receiving ancient objects through the mail. The USPS didn't sell insurance on its packages that high. Nor did the box have a return address on it.
Intrigued all the more, the good doctor carefully slit the tape sealing the top and unfolded the flaps. Shipping peanuts filled the box. Damn, those were annoying, he'd always end up finding them for days or weeks after opening a box full with them.
Grabbing a small office garbage bag, Ray took out small handfuls of peanuts, carefully checking that there was nothing in each load but styrofoam and static. The smallish box soon disclosed an object wrapped in black plastic. Carefully removing the hefty mystery and scraping off peanuts as best he could, he put it on his desk blotter. Further digging turned up a blank, sealed envelope and nothing else but the remaining peanuts.
Carefully, he put the box with the remaining peanuts into the garbage bag and looked around for escapees. He grabbed two but didn't see the one clinging on the side of his short black hair or the one hiding under his tie.
Opening the envelope, he found a handwritten receipt from an al-Bakr Cultural Institute donating a 'brass statue' to him by name, dated almost two weeks ago. He'd never heard of the institution, and the lack of an address or other contact information was extremely unusual.
The plastic-wrapped object was almost a foot high and weighed around 40 or 50 pounds, almost certainly a small statue of some kind. A little careful knife work let Ray strip off the plastic, confirming it.
It was a brass statue of a seated dog that looked like a mastiff with a gorgeous light patina. It -- she -- sat diagonally on a five-by-five inch fine-grained square granite base about two inches tall with more brass filigree along the edges. It appeared to be a gorgeous example of the ancient pre-Islamic Arabic style of metalwork. Looking it over with growing excitement and awe, Ray was unsurprised to find no maker's mark or the like, the craftsmen of those days had never used them.
If this was what it looked like, someone had shipped him an ancient treasure. It was likely at least several centuries old, possibly a millennia or more. Falling to habit, he took out a sheet of paper and started to document what he knew, what he suspected, and what steps he wished to take to further identify this artifact.
Pulling out a loupe, he started investigating the statue closer. Even given the light corrosion, he was impressed with the detailing. The fur was textured realistically, teeth and nails shaped as they naturally would have been.
The close examination revealed a close-fitting collar, apparently depicting plated leather construction. As per the collars of that time, there were no leash rings or the like, but it did show some wear at the rear as if the dog had tugged long and hard against a rope looped through her collar. It had an awe-inspiring level of detail. He couldn't recall a similar piece of equivalent antiquity.
Strangely the patina was worn away along the spine of the statue, much as if someone had been in the habit of stroking it. Acting without thinking, going against all his training for dealing with delicate ancient objects, Ray ran a finger along the wear from collar to tail.
There was a strange sound, almost a quiet detonation. A bright, brassy cloud immediately engulfed him. As he gasped in a breath in shock, he felt it slide into his lungs. It tasted of brass, but also of dark rich honey, fresh cream, and warm bread fresh out of the oven. And then, he passed out.
Chapter 2
She awoke as the sheathe released her rwh. She wrapped her newest Master in jawhar, holding him and ready to defend him as needed.
Sensing the location surrounding her new Master, she saw some things she recognized and many that she could have never dreamed up. Things had changed since her last Master had died, locking her away until the present.
Her newest Master inhaled, bringing a hefty dose of her rwh within. She gently copied his knowledge and memories from the interaction of their rwh, not even needing jawhar. The information was useful immediately, helping her confirm the lack of any immediate threat. As she was able to absorb these memories, they would only become more valuable.
She felt for his rwh. It was strange - she touched upon his will, his strength of body and mind, his powerful insight, all of which was pleasing. But he had no desire for power, very little fear, and a most strangely flavored hunger for conflict. She was left confused and uncertain about her new Master's life.
His rwh was clean and smoothly flowing through the soil of his shell, surprisingly so for a human of his advanced age - nearly threescore years! She could sense no jawhar, but then again, he was currently unconscious. Some minor flaws - his eyesight was damaged, several joints no longer moved as smoothly as they would have in his youth, teeth worn much less than she would have expected from his age, some pollution buried deep in his soil - were repaired almost as instantly as she noticed them. Not able to easily predict his desires, she did not go further yet.
Leaving jawhar within him, she withdrew from the connection of their rwh waited for his awakening. She began to absorb the copy of his memories, concerned with all the changes around her.
She found answers in his memories, and they terrified her.
Chapter 3
Ray blinked, waking to find himself afloat in a brass colored cloud. Nothing was explicitly visible in the cloud, but the smooth color still gave the impression of motion, as if it were swirling smoothly in layered patterns. Glancing around, he could see himself, but there was no reflection in the brass.
"What the..." he muttered, still tasting the brass/honey/cream/bread mix. It was a surprisingly attractive combination of tastes, one he could never have imagined.
