IV ISABELL

    In that time there was a city, which was called Sidon. Loyal servants of Ashtaroth were the people of Sidon, and so the city was a source of wealth and prosperity. But the abundance of Sidon soon excited the greed of Ithobal, the warlord of Tyros. And thus the war fleet of Ithobal invaded Sidon. And Ithobal did not stop even before the temple of Ashtaroth, but he proclaimed himself priest of the goddess, robbed her shrines and violated the temple maids, whose beauty pleased him. Thereupon he crowned himself king of Tyros and Sidon and praised himself on his power. His people however despised him, since he had committed a sacrilege against Ashtaroth. Thus he went unto Atalana, the high-priestess of the temple, threatened her life and forced her to bless him in the name of her goddess. Now, since his supremacy was secured, he returned unto Tyros and enjoyed his abundance.
    Ithobal collected numerous women in his palace. And soon a daughter was born him, whom he called Isabell. And since he loved her more than anything else, he determined her to be the successor of his reign.
    When Isabell completed three years of age, he sent her accompanied by the most courageous of his warriors unto Sidon, where the high-priestess of Ashtaroth should give her blessing unto her. And Atalana blessed her according to her father's will. But at the same time she consecrated the soul of the little girl to her goddess, so that she became one being with Ashtaroth. And Isabell became one will and one thought with Ashtaroth, and the goddess looked out of her eyes and spake out of her mouth. Then the high-priestess sent Isabell back to Tyros unto her father. And when he noticed the transformation, which had occurred with Isabell, he began to lament, and his heart was filled with pain for the lost love for his daughter.
    Also Isabell’s mother noticed her transformation and the dreariness, which had come upon her husband. Thus she went unto Sidon to ask the high-priestess Atalana to take the spell from her daughter. Atalana however seduced the mother of Isabell by the beauty of her immaculate body, so that she became inflamed with love for her. Together the two women devoted themselves to the passion of their desires and cursed Ithobal and his reign.
    Their dissipation became more and more unrestrained, until finally the high priestess sacrificed the life of her love upon the altar in order to satisfy their both desires. When Ithobal heard about the death of his wife, his dreariness became even deeper. And each time he saw his daughter his heart got filled with fear, and he felt the curse of Ashtaroth, which weighed heavily upon him. Although he proclaimed his son Belizar as his successor, he was neither able to do any harm unto Isabell nor to expel her from his palace. Thus he was tormented at night by terrible nightmares and during the day he locked himself in his chamber in order to escape the eyes of his daughter. Disease and weakness came upon his body, decay and ruin upon his power. Thus Ashtaroth punished those, which had committed sacrilege against her.
    Meanwhile the power of the Dark God Zabaoth grew in the south. And thus he noticed the sacred city of Helal. The prosperity and liberty of their inhabitants however gnawed painfully at his corrupted soul and filled the hearts of those who followed him with envy. Thus Zabaoth sent his spies unto Helal to report him on the sacred city of Ashtaroth. Excessively the people of Helal devoted themselves to all pleasures. And they permitted no restraints of their desires. In their innocent joy of life the women mated with their brethren and sons and the men with their sisters and daughters. Even with the animals of the house the people of the city shared their desires. Because Birsha, their queen, was a benevolent woman, which granted them any liberty, and there was no law, which she abused to subdue her people. But not only sensual pleasures but also trade and prosperity bloomed in the city. Helal had become a delight in the eyes of its goddess and an oasis of life for the people of the desert, which came from anywhere. In hospitality the envoys of Zabaoth were welcome in the city. Since they were controlled by filthy and impure thoughts however, they were overcome with abhorrence seeing how the inhabitants of Helal devoted themselves to the sensual pleasures. Because where the beautiful and pure soul only sees the beautiful and pure things, the ugly and disgusting soul only sees the ugly and disgusting things. They were blind for the attractions and the arts of seduction of the lovely daughters of Helal, because only their own gender pleases the eyes of the slaves of Zabaoth. They veil their women, lest they need see any female. And only in darkness they share their beds with them to force them to bare. They despise their own daughters, and they separate them from their sons, whom alone they love. But where in this way nature is offended, there it looks in insane greed out of the eyes of those, which have sinned against it. Therefore they feel disgust at what they see, because it is disgust which they feel at themselves. And thus the beauty and splendour of the sacred city provoked the abhorrence and disgust of the spies of Zabaoth. Driven by fear and horror they hurried back unto their god in order to report with filthy words on Ashtaroth's reign over Helal. When Zabaoth heard the reports of his spies, he was overcome with furious rage, because he did not bear seeing humans in fortune and freedom. In slavery he wanted them to be. On dust they should crawl before him and fearful beg for his mercy. In the eternity of death but not in sensual pleasures of life they should search for their fortune. And thus Zabaoth heaved a furious rumble, which shook the earth, and his rotten breath blew far over the land. Then he let the whole terrible force of his hate befall the holy city of Helal. With brimstone and fire he suffocated it. Horrible was the misery, which the cruel god poured upon the people of Helal. And not even one of the inhabitants of the city escaped from the furious rage of Zabaoth. And when he finally had satisfied his greed for destruction, he commanded his people to erase all disciples of Ashtaroth in the whole land, so that they should disappear forever from the face of the earth.
    But soon Ashtaroth realized the cruel crime, which Zabaoth committed against those, which worshipped her. And thereupon she was overcome with demand for vengeance, vengeance for the death of their servants and vengeance for the offence of her divine power. And thus Ashtaroth proclaimed: "Damned be Zabaoth! And damned be all those who follow him! To the end of time there shall be war between Ashtaroth and Zabaoth! And there shall be no peace as long as even one of the slaves of the most miserable one of the gods contaminates the air of the earth by his impure breath!" This was the beginning of the Great War, which hath lasted to the present day and which shall never come to an end, until the last slave of Zabaoth shall be erased.
    Then Ashtaroth sent for her prophet Isabell who meanwhile was twelve years old to come unto the temple of Sidon. And Ashtaroth spake unto her: "Go unto Sebaste, unto the city where King Ahab rules over the reign of Zabaoth, and fulfil your destiny!" Thereupon Isabell left her father's reign to go southward, where Zabaoth enslaved the mortals. Thirty and six days and thirty and six nights she wandered through the desert. Thirty and six days the sun sapped the energy of her young body, and thirty and six nights the coldness made her limbs tremble.
    However it came to pass in the selfsame day that King Ahab returned home from a war campaign. And there he saw the shape of Isabell, which crossed his path. When he noticed the weakness and exhaustion of the small girl, he commanded his warriors to water and feed her. And since she touched his heart, he took her unto Sebaste. But when they passed through the gates of the city, Isabell looked around, and surprised she asked the king of Sebaste: "Tell me, Ahab, where are the free citizens of thy city? Only slaves I am able to see instead." Ashamed the king was not able to answer her. Thereupon Isabell asked the king of Sebaste: "Tell me, Ahab, where are the women in thy city? Only veiled ghosts I am able to see instead." Again the king was such ashamed that he was not able to answer her. Thereupon Isabell asked the king of Sebaste: "Tell me, Ahab, where are the gods in thy city? Only Zabaoth, the most miserable one of them I am able to see instead." And this time either the king was not able to answer her because of his shame. Thus they finally reached the palace Sebaste, where Isabel recovered from her onerous journey. However the next morning when she was called unto Ahab to have breakfast with him, the priests of Zabaoth were overcome with indignation and shouted: "What is the heathen harlot from Sidon doing at the table of the king? Take this shameless creature unto the rooms which are reserved for women!" Then young Isabell seized her dagger and pierced the heart of the high-priest, so that his life perished away, before he could contaminate the air of the palace any further by his venomous words. Thereupon the other priests started yelling furiously and threatened the king with the wrath of Zabaoth. But Isabell said: "Listen, Ahab! Crush those venomous worms of Zabaoth, which infiltrate your city like rotting ulcers! Trust in my words, because I speak in behalf of Ashtaroth! Do not be afraid of the wrath of the most miserable one of the gods! Because he will not dare to turn against thee as long as Ashtaroth's hand protects thee." And Ahab realised the power of the goddess which spake from the mouth of the little girl. And when she offered him to clean the city from the filth, so that it would shine with new glamour, he let her have her way. Immediately Isabell had the flock of Zabaoth's priests beheaded, which offended her goddess, and had their heads planted upon high poles, which she put up around the palace. Then she went unto the shrines of the city and swept away the filth of Zabaoth, so that they could become sacred places again pleasing the eyes of Ashtaroth. Since cowardice ruled the insidious hearts of the priests and prophets of Zabaoth, they were not able to oppose the wrath of Isabell. And thus they attempted to escape the mighty prophetess in order to save their miserable lives, which they called their own. But only one of them managed to escape, because his cowardice and iniquity exceeded even that of the others. Elias was his name. And he hid in the mountains while the souls of his companions rose in the smoke of the sacrificial fires until Baldium, the black steed of hell, devoured them for Ashtaroth's pleasure. Thus Zabaoth had been driven out of his own land. He had lost his own people to Ashtaroth, and that loss weighed heavily upon his soul.
    Since the dark god did not dare to approach the power of Ashtaroth which watched over Sebaste, he satisfied his anger harassing the inhabitants of the land, which surrounded the city. The last drop of water he stole from them, so that their cattle and their fields began to wither. But Ahab, the king of the land, took compassion on the people, and thus he turned unto Isabell for advice, in order to implore the aid of her goddess.
    The prophetess however rejected him and said: "Strength and pride is what Ashtaroth demands, not weakness and humility. Upright ye shall come unto Ashtaroth, not crawling like slaves. She doeth not want to hear your entreaties and wails. For that miserable slave god your whining may be good enough, but not for her. Take your swords and fight! Then when ye return with unbroken pride, Ashtaroth will listen unto you with pleasure." Then in his desperation Ahab sent the priests of Marduk unto Elias in order to offer peace unto Zabaoth. But the insidious Elias incited the people against Marduk, so that they slaughtered all his priests. When Isabell heard the news about the iniquity of this crime, she was seized with anger. Thereupon she broke the spell of Zabaoth and forced the rain to fall by the power of her goddess. And she sent out the warriors of Sebaste to arrest Elias. But the prophet of the sinister god fled and took refuge in the shack of an old widow, whom he brought to heel by evil threats.
    Then when the people of Sebaste realised that Isabell saved them all from the plague of the famine, they came unto the prophetess in great numbers to listen to the words she taught them. And thus they demanded: "Give us the laws of Ashtaroth! Because we want to live in such a way that it pleaseth the goddess." But Isabell answered them: "Only one law I will give you. Ye shall not tolerate any law, so it readeth. Because where the law ruleth there liberty can not be. And it is liberty ye shall strive for. It may be true that no reward awaiteth you and no punishment threateth you, but liberty itself will be your reward, and its loss will be your punishment." Thereupon the people who had come unto her demanded: "So tell us the greatest of all virtues!" And Isabell answered them: "Pride." Thereupon they asked the prophetess: "And which is the greatest of all sins?" And Isabell answered them: "Humility. Because the humble sinneth against himself." After Isabell had spoken in such a way, she looked over the circle of those who surrounded her. To her big surprise she could not find even one weapon amongst them, neither a sword nor a dagger. Thus Isabell said unto them: "Who are ye, unto whom I address my words? Free citizens I supposed you to be, but only slaves I can see." Passionately the citizens of Sebaste contradicted her and declared their freedom from the bondage of the emperor of Memphis and Thebes, they had escaped once. Isabell however said unto them: "It is true that ye have slipped off the chains, but know this, free can only be who beareth arms. Look, it is the blade of steel, by which ye recognise the free man as well as the free woman! Never ye shall take it off, as long as ye do not stay at your own home. And even during your sleep there shall always be a dagger close to you. Man turneth into a slave and woman into a wife, when there is no blade at his or her side. I tell you this, so that ye protect your liberty. Because it is the highest good ye can possess." These were the words which the prophetess of Ashtaroth spake unto the humans.
    The years passed, and not even one of the vindictive prophecies predicted by the priests of Zabaoth came true. The reign of Ahab spread to a size which had never been achieved by any of his predecessors. Disappointed by the cowardice of his god Elias meanwhile hatched out his sinister plans. He incited the enemies of the king against him, and in one of the battles between the army of Sebaste and that of its enemies Ahab was finally murdered from behind by an insidious arrow. But even the death of the king could not satisfy the vindictiveness of the perfidious Elias. So he spake his curse upon Ahab's son, which had taken the place of his father. And soon he was seized by a lingering illness, until he finally perished.
    But the sinister activities of Elias could not be hidden from Isabell, because she looked with the eyes of her goddess. And so she discovered the criminal prophet and all the corrupt scum of his fellowship, which accompanied him. Then Isabell said: "Cursed be Elias, the corrupter of his people! The wrath of Ashtaroth shall come upon him like a storm! The forces of nature shall pulverise his corrupt body into dust! And nothing of him shall remain for those who once followed him!" No sooner had Isabell completed her words than the heaven darkened above Elias and his followers. Then a mighty tornado came upon them and swept their sinister leader out of their midst. He was torn apart alive by the force of the storm, so that the whirling clouds turned red by his blood. And the shreds of his flesh were scattered in all directions of the wind, lest his followers found even a trace of his, however much they seeked for him. Thus the curse of Isabell came true. And thus the revenge of Ashtaroth, her goddess, was carried out.
    For many years the prophetess Isabell stood by the kings of Sebaste. But however much she tried her magic powers, she could not defeat the power of time, which started to leave its mark on the immaculate beauty of her body. Therefore she asked Ashtaroth to keep away the lingering senility from her. And Ashtaroth spake unto her: "Thou shalt not worry! Because decay shall never ruin the perfect shape of thy body. In everlasting youth thou shalt live on in the memory of man." And when Isabell prepared her departure from the mortals, her enemies supposed the time to be favourable to revolt against the kingdom. One of them was Jehos, which served the king as captain and who became his traitor. Since Jehos however was ruled by cowardice like all the slaves of Zabaoth, he waited until the king was weakened by a wound after a battle. Then he and those who had conspired together with him fell upon their helpless lord and murdered him insidiously. After that outrage Jehos went unto the city of Isabell to take it by storm. But pitiful his army failed against the power of the prophetess and her warriors. But then he remembered treachery, which always had been the mightiest of his weapons. And finally he managed to corrupt two of Isabell's advisers, so that they pushed the prophetess from behind and threw her from the wall, whence she looked down on the army of Jehos. Thus big excitement arose among the people who witnessed this outrage, because it was true that Isabell had fallen down, but none could find a trace of her corpse. Thus her fate remained forever uncertain, and there was none who could say how Ashtaroth had taken her prophetess away.
    Now Zabaoth had reconquered the control over his reign. But soon decline and decay came upon the land of Sebaste, since the hand of Ashtaroth did not watch over it. And barely Zabaoth could prevent his reign from being smashed by the forces of the enemies.

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