Author's note: The following story is inspired by cookiemonster01's short story "Phoenix"
Author's note: The following story is inspired by cookiemonster01's short story "Phoenix". If you have an interest, I definitely recommend reading it. Cookiemonster01 has given me permission to expand on her idea. And I promise to update this as regularly as possible. Please be patient, though, as I do have about a dozen other little projects going on at the same time plus life in general (eat, sleep, work, socialize, repeat).
And please don't hesitate to review. I know it sounds like a plea but reviews really do help me get the inspiration to continue writing.
And now…
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PHOENIX RISING
Chapter 1
Nariam lowered herself carefully to the floor of the temple and bowed carefully before the altar of Ranna, a difficult task given her distended belly. A tear splashed softly on the smooth surface. She didn't know whom else to turn to. She knew that Makan would not protect her.
"Ranna Sasane," she prayed, maintaining her bent position despite the pressure on the child in her womb. "Freisanato. Ma sa freis po shada diha."
Hearing the sound of footsteps behind her, she stopped praying and slowly stood.
"Nariam," a male voice said from behind her. "What are you doing here? You should be preparing for the ceremony."
She turned to the man with a glare. "It's a barbaric custom, Latenis. Why should I be forced to remarry because my husband has gone to live with the Sasani?"
Latenis winced visibly at her words. "Please, Nariam! Such talk will bring Makan's wrath upon you! He will throw you to the Lensiati and you will die for your defiance against Makan's will! Is that truly what you want?"
The young woman looked at him firmly, taking a step towards him. "I want to be free and I want my child to be free as well. Being forced to marry against my will amounts to being bound into slavery!"
"I think that's a bit harsh, Nariam," Latenis contradicted. "You should be honored that Hillis wishes to marry you. You could have been expelled from the community, like all unwed mothers are."
"I am not an unwed mother!" Nariam told him vehemently. "This child is my husband's and will always be my husband's and I will not hand over all of Wesin's lands and goods to that… that… beast! He cares nothing for our people! He doesn't serve Ranna but rather the Lensiati. I might as well be marrying one of those animals, Ranna forbid!"
Latenis gave Nariam a sad look. "You still worship her? Even after she abandoned us?"
"Ranna has not abandoned us and she will not abandon me in my desperate hour. If anyone has abandoned us, it's Makan. He's turned us over to our enemies and has allowed them to replace his laws with theirs! It's disgusting!"
The male Teranovian shifted his feet nervously. "Why do you constantly defy Makan?" he whispered desperately. He took a step from her. "I'm sorry, Nariam. But your rebellious nature will be seen as rubbing off on me as well and I must think of my own first. You go ahead and destroy all that is yours and leave what is mine alone." With those words, he fled from the temple.
Nariam sighed sadly. Really, she couldn't blame Latenis for his fears. The Lensiati were indeed powerful. She herself, however, was not afraid. She knew of scriptures that were not allowed by the Lensiati, scriptures that told of the Sasani living amongst the Teranovians, imparting their wisdom to them, scriptures that her father, a noble priest of the Sasani, had hidden away. She couldn't, however, admit to herself that her own faith in the Sasani was starting to slip with every death raid the Lensiati made.
Turning towards the altar of Ranna once again, she bowed deeply. "Riconsi maha Ranna glens," she affirmed in the language of the ancient priests and priestesses.
As she spoke, however, the air whipped around her, taking her breath away for a moment and causing her robes to billow like a tarp being swept away by the wind. Nariam frowned slightly. Surely Bressin, goddess of the elements, couldn't be here! Her temple was in the open, not in the confines of rock and mortar. Even as she thought this, an odd sound came over the wind, a sound like nothing Nariam had heard before. It was like a great mechanical beast, roaring and thumping its way.
Braving the temptation to run from the temple, away from whatever was coming, Nariam looked towards Ranna for help… and beheld an apparition like that of a great column. The column was blue in color and rectangular. It flickered with a bright white light at the top of it and shimmered with greatness, appearing before her as if it had always been there. Only then did Nariam realize that the apparition wasn't a column at all but rather an odd sort of blue shed. As Nariam watched, a figure emerged from the shed, resplendent in a large brown coat over odd blue clothing.
The male figure stepped back at the sight of her, obviously stunned to see her there. "Hello," he greeted with a smile.
Nariam stared at him for a long moment before quickly getting on her knees and bowing deeply. "Ranna Sasane! Apales!"
"What?" the man questioned, seeing the woman get on her knees and bow before him. It didn't take long for him to realize what the woman must be thinking.
The Doctor shook his head, walking over to her. "No, no, no. Don't do that," he told her, reaching down to help her to her feet. He sighed slightly when she seemed intent on at least not raising her eyes to meet his.
"Ranna Sasane," she stated reverently. "Glensa saha bressins lu makani saha."
The Doctor frowned slightly. "Wait a minute," he stated, obviously thinking about the words she was saying. "Sounds familiar. Like… naw, can't be! You called me Sasane." He paused. "Or is it… Shansana. Time Lord." He stared at her in awe. "You speak Gallifreyan! Oh, it's altered, like Latin being diluted over the centuries into Italian but… it's still Gallifreyan. That's impossible!"
The woman stared at him, clearly confused by his words. "You speak my language, Ranna. Why would you lower yourself like that? I do not understand. Why do you not speak in the language of the Sasani? Sasani are so far above us…"
"You speak English!" the Doctor interrupted. "You speak both Gallifreyan and English!" He reached into his jacket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver before aiming it at the woman and pressing its button, causing her to step back in fear. "Well, you're human so that explains the English." He started pacing, shaking his head as Nariam's eyes followed him. "But how can you know Gallifreyan? Obviously a Time Lord visited you before, taught you Gallifreyan. But why speak both languages? I mean, okay, I speak both languages but I visit humans so often it just makes it easier. Unless there were Gallifreyans on this planet, which I know there couldn't possibly be any. Well, at least not any Time Lords. There might be some civilians around but that's highly unlikely."
Nariam covered her ears and lowered her head. "Please, Ranna! Your words ring in my ears but I do not understand them! Is this punishment for calling upon your aid?"
The Doctor looked at the woman with confusion before realizing what it was she was saying. "Sorry. Talk too much." He glanced at his surroundings, finally realizing where the TARDIS had materialized. "This looks like a temple of some sorts," he commented, walking about the large building. "Separate altars all around the room, very similar to one of the ancient Roman temples on Earth."
"You know of the Mother?" Nariam exclaimed in surprise before lowering her head again. "Of course, you know of the Mother. You are Ranna, great goddess of life taking a male form."
"What?" the Doctor exclaimed, turning towards her. He shook his head. "No, no, no. I'm no god. What is it with primitive cultures thinking I'm a god? I mean, Leela thought I was the 'Evil One' until I set her right and now you…" He froze, her words replaying in his mind. "Wait a minute. You're a Time Lord worshipper! You speak Gallifreyan only when you are in temple, don't you?" He ran his hand through his hair. "Aw, just perfect!" he stated sarcastically. "Absolutely brilliant! Which bloody idiot convinced you that he was a god?"
Nariam watched him for a long moment. "You are not a god, Ranna Sasane?"
The Doctor looked into her eyes deeply. "No. The Shansanii were not gods. Just a very powerful race. I am not Ranna, either."
The woman seemed to consider his words. "Are you Sasane?"
"Yes," the Time Lord answered after a moment. "I am a Time Lord. I am the Doctor."
Nariam shook her head. "That is a title given to learned Teranovians. If you are Sasane, surely you have a name befitting a god." She saw the Doctor starting to protest. "I know you have said that the Sasani are not gods. But if they are not, why do we worship them? One does not worship the lowly."
The Doctor groaned at her words. "Marvelous," he stated. "Circular logic. They're gods so we worship them and we worship them so they must be gods." He shook his head. "That kind of logic will keep you ignorant and in the proverbial Dark Ages for the rest of your people's existence." He gently took her arms. "Sometimes people are led to believe false things. The Time Lords were never gods. I'm a Time Lord myself. Don't you think I'd know if I were a god or not?"
"Time Lords?" Nariam questioned with a frown.
"The Shansanii," the Doctor translated into Gallifreyan.
Nariam couldn't help but smile at his words. "I suppose you would know, then, Sasane. Still… it doesn't feel right to call you by a name given to the lowly."
"Yes, well, I'd rather not walk around your village, town, city, or other communal form with your people falling to their knees the moment they hear my name in Gallifreyan, especially since you obviously use my language for worship only."
"You do not want to draw attention to yourself," Nariam concluded. "You wish to walk among your people as one of them. I understand, Sasane. I shall obey your command."
"Please, don't call me that. I'm just the Doctor."
"As you command," she replied. She started to bow but stopped when she noticed the frown on the Doctor's face. "Forgive me. I've worshipped the Sasani all my life and you come and tell me that this belief is a lie. It is difficult to accept your words as the truth, even if I do not see deceit in your eyes."
The Doctor gave her a gentle smile. "Believe me, I completely understand."
Nariam looked around the temple. "If the Sasani are not gods themselves, they must be emissaries of the gods and it must be that the gods sent a Sasane to me to help me in my plight."
The Doctor sighed in frustration. "I wasn't sent here by anyone. I just landed here by coincidence."
Nariam smiled up at him. "There are no coincidences, Doctor," she told him gently. "Everything in the land happens for a reason. And I am certain that the reason you are here is to finally save my people from the great burden Makan has imposed upon us."
"Makan," the Doctor repeated. "Let me guess. Your god of the law?"
Nariam nodded briefly as she guided him towards the entrance of the temple. "And of justice and war. Justice should be his focus but he has become distracted with war and with the blood that the Lensiati offer up to him. But surely you know of Makan, Doctor."
"Lensiati?" the Time Lord exclaimed, ignoring the supposition the young woman had made. "You have Lensiati here?"
"They rule the land now," the young woman told him. "They have ruled for twenty years. Makan struck my father down on the day of their coming. I was only a child then."
"I'm sorry," the Gallifreyan said gently. "Twenty years ago, you said?"
"Indeed," Nariam confirmed, leading him through the simple streets of the town where the Teranovians lived.
"So how long is a day here?" he said, looking around at the adobe buildings around him.
The woman smiled. "Thirty hours of the Mother. 584 days make up our year."
The Doctor ran the calculations through his head. "That's exactly a two to one ratio to Earth's year. So the Lensiati took over forty Earth years ago. How old are you… I'm sorry. I've been extremely rude. I forgot to ask your name."
She smiled widely at his words. "Nariam, Sa… Doctor," she corrected herself quickly, remembering his instructions. "I am twenty-three years old," she answered honestly. "Still very young."
"But… but that makes you forty-six Earth years old!" the Doctor stated incredulously, having finished his calculations. "Must say you're looking well for your age. And you claim you're still very young?"
She nodded. "My mother joined the Sasani through the natural ways of the land only last year. She was one hundred forty-eight years old."
The Doctor stopped walking abruptly, causing the young woman to follow his lead. "That's impossible," the Time Lord told her. "No human lives to three hundred Earth years old. At least, not naturally."
"The Sasani have been very kind to us," Nariam agreed, "giving us all that we need to live the long lives they have blessed us with."
"An extraordinarily long life," the Doctor amended her words, following her as she started to walk again. "Even after centuries of medical advances, human life expectancy never surpasses one hundred fifty years. You say it was a gift from the Sasani?"
"Indeed," the young woman replied. Her face grew somber. "And yet it is a gift that has turned into a curse for me."
The Doctor frowned at her words as they approached a particular door. "How so?"
Nariam blinked for a moment. "My husband Wesin has gone to spend blissful eternity with the Sasani. I am heavily with his child. One hundred eighty-seven days along," she told him with a gentle smile.
"So not long until you're carrying a little one around in your arms," the Time Lord surmised, remembering the gestation period for a typical human female and accounting for the difference between Earth days and Teranovian days. "You could probably have your baby within the next fifteen days."
"Indeed," Nariam agreed, running her hand over her rounded belly. "But, according to the laws, being without a living husband and being pregnant makes me an unwed mother, despite having been married at the time this child was conceived. By law, I must either marry again or be cast into the wilderness."
The Time Lord looked upon the young woman, stunned by her words. "That's barbaric! It's so barbaric it insults Barbarians… who, by the way, aren't a bad lot as long as you behave yourself around them." He raised an eyebrow in question. "I get the impression that there is a suitor you are not interested in."
She nodded slightly as she opened the door before them. "Hillis. He's very wealthy and would have no trouble supporting both me and my child for many years to come." She sighed gently. "But he supports the Lensiati and hides his actions under the word of law. Marrying him would mean that my late husband's wealth and my child become his. If he should decide to send me into the wilderness…"
"Wait a minute… just a minute…" the Doctor interrupted, raising his hands in the universal sign for a break or "time-out". "You make it sound like if you marry this fella, you and your child become his property."
"Of course, we do," Nariam told him, surprised by his words. "It is the way of the Sasani, the law of Makan. Women belong to their husbands or fathers. Unmarried women over the age of procreation and fatherless children are sent to the wilderness. Hopefully the great goddess Bressin, who makes the wind blow and the rains fall, will have mercy on those sent to her care."
The Doctor stared at her, plainly stunned by her words. "And you just accept this? You just… let yourselves be cast out like last week's rubbish?"
Nariam looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed this strange emissary's outburst before quickly pulling him through the door and closing it.
"Please, you must be careful, Doctor! If we rebel against Makan's laws, the punishment is horrible! The council will throw you to the Lensiati if they hear you speak like this!"
"So the people answer to the council and the council answers to the Lensiati," the Doctor concluded. "And breaking any of the laws results in becoming guests of the Lensiati," he finished darkly.
"It is extremely effective," Nariam told him, her voice soft with regret. "No one breaks the law out of fear of the Lensiati. There are stories – terrible stories – about their retribution. And those of us who remember their coming fear the tortures they impose on those who defy them. Because of this, we have peace in our land."
"Do you, now," the Doctor stated with a glare. "You call casting innocent women and orphans into the wilderness peace?"
Nariam placed her hands on her hips. "You forget, Doctor, that I will soon be cast out into the wilderness myself as I refuse to marry someone who bows down to the Lensiati. I would rather I and my unborn child should die than live in that hell."
"I would rather that you neither died nor lived like someone's slave," the Doctor told her with gentle eyes. "This whole situation is wrong. Lensiati ruling over human beings who worship the Time Lords… How did this come about?" he mostly asked himself.
Nariam, nonetheless, heard his words. "I have sacred texts that tell of the old times, the times before the Lensiati came." She paused. "They're illegal for me to own. But I trust you won't turn me over to the council. I will bring them up for you to read while I prepare us a meal."
Before he could say anything in response, the young woman was already heading further into the home.
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TRANSLATIONS:
Freisanato. Ma sa freis po shada diha. – Merciful one. Free me from this prison.
Riconsi maha Ranna glens. - Ranna accepts my recognition (of her). Sort of the equivalent of saying "Amen".
Apales! – Welcome!
Glensa saha bressins lu makani saha. – Your servant lives for your orders.
