excerpt of a conversation

Lytta : I know not how you can bear this place. I think I died several deaths just being here.

I need to leave for awhile, I need to breathe a little. Stop talking to me. I feel like ripping my own head off so I can't hear or see you anymore.

Samiri : Where are you going?

Lytta : I am going to relive a human suicide over and over till that pain numbs my own.

Samiri : Are you not right in the head, mate? Our kind don't feel pain! Got a bit of drama going on, have we?

Wahai, si Lytta, tiada sesiapa yang akan mengerti perasaanmu disini kecuali saya.

Bagaikan awan ditiup angin, begitu juga kehadiran kami. Kemana awan dituju, disanalah hujan berada. Dimana kamu berada, tetap diikut hujan kerana kamu adalah awan ribut.

Lytta : Apa gunanya awan dikurung sangkar emas? Bagaikan burung kehilangan sayap dibumi debu.

excerpt of a conversation

**Samiri to Malaikat : The child will beget another born out of wedlock and the infant will tear the web apart. Then the child will rebuild from the ruins another web.

His firstborn son will taste bitterness in his tongue and in his heart; his second born... she will tread the path of the ones before her.

Can the tides be turned? Of course it can... when the child and his bride unwrite the ancient text, it can be averted.

**Malaikat to Samiri : It is not in me to care if the web gets torn asunder by the rash actions of a child or his litter; I have seen this happen before.

**Samiri to Malaikat : And if it comes to past?

**Malaikat to Samiri : Then it will become a thing of the past. Meddle not in the affairs of their world. They burn like a candle in the night; fleeting and extinguished all too soon.

Let them drink their fill for they are intoxicated with all the world has to give. The child will do as he wish. If he binds himself tighter with a noose of his own making; let him untie the knots in this lifetime or the next. What do I care?

Eternity is a long time to sit around with nothing to do and you have an eternity to shepard the beasts back to the pen.

**Samiri to Malaikat : Often I have cursed the day I slayed you, brother. That victory has been the bane of my existance ever since...

Eternity IS a very long time.

The Hierophant

Martabat To Samiri : I saw Lytta talking to a tree stump the other night. His silhouette was unmistakable in the moonlight and he was quite absorbed in the conversation.

Of course I didn't want to interrupt; he seemed to enjoy himself very much but as I was about to leave, he stood up and danced all by himself. Remember the song I told you about? The one raining spit? Yea, he appeared very much like the crazed lunatic in that song.

Perhaps you would like to try it too sometime, Samiri. It appeared like Lytta relished his conversation with the stump very much...Could it be that it was more engaging than the beast?

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The wicked are wicked no doubt, and they go astray, and they fall, and they come by their desserts. But who can tell the mischief that the very virtuous do?

—William Makepeace Thackeray

excerpt of a conversation

Samiri : I watched in disappointment as the creature blinked at me quite blankly while I spoke to it and I knew deep in my heart that I saw yet another illusion I had mistaken for intelligence.

What say you, O Hierophant? When next I stumble upon the beast again, what shall I say to one such as she?

Wheel of Fortune

The child is the father; the child is the son; the child is the unholy one searching for holiness in a world corrupted by lust.

Fear not, child of the earth, all that is created of the earth returns to the earth. Let it turn within itself and taste the sweetness of its hospitality while you are a guest.

Beware the perilous turn of the clockwork wheel though; it catches the unwary in its shackles and when it does; the wheel slowly poisons your veins with rusted gold.

Sometimes I hear the scream of grinding metal, when the chains pull in opposite directions. Sometimes I think I can outrun the wheel but that's just my mind playing tricks on me.

excerpt of a conversation

Malaikat : You know that if it weren't for me, you would never see the light of day.

I was the one who told Samiri about the trade that went through at the old city and the way I see it, you owe me your freedom because he would not have released you from the snake lady's charm otherwise.

Lytta, MY price is simple... the one who gave you a face.. the one who's been stealing our essence from Jahanam... have her give me a face as well...

I wish to be the Knight of Cups... Diabolic fiend of corrupted hearts..

But make me beautiful; why you'd choose to don such hideous forms I will never understand... Unlike you two, I will keep the form we were created in. Command the beast to do this task and we shall call it even.

excerpt of a conversation

Lytta : Even in the worst of nightmares, there is an awakening at the end of it. An escape that jolts the dreamer out of a drunken stupor when the madness draws too near.

I found no solace in the depths of my dreams; for in there, lunacy had a life of its own. But in dreams, I learned to embrace the madness because it promised a different kind of liberation. I listened to the echos of my mind and heard truth for the first time.

The ravings of discordance has a melody of its own and it is made up of voices that sing out of tune. Ugliness hides a melancholic beauty that all things beautiful lack while absolute beauty hides the ugliness of perfection.

I thought I tasted sorrow for a while and there was beauty in it I cannot describe but it yielded so much pain, I couldn't bear to stay.

Knight of Swords

Lytta was freed from his sleepless dream at long last before the stroke of midnight. When he reached the surface of the lake, he summoned a storm to take him to the old city where the old Djins built a tomb with two towers.

Of all things created, Lytta despised liars, hypocrites and charlatans most for they profane all that he holds sacred. This night, Lytta will join the Pages of Swords to wage war against the King Cobras.

Samiri : O Lytta, should you choose to serve the court their due, spare the innocent for they seek only to feed upon the bones thrown to them.

Be true to your name and let the ones who have trespassed against the innocent know the taste of your wrath. Serve them madness in a wine glass, bring them to their knees; for they have been drunk on sorrow and tears for too long.

Amongst them is a thief who served Ebony and Ivory faithfully in their violation of the weak. He has wrongfully taken what belonged to another to serve his own greed. This man is a hollow King, very much like the masters he served.

Have him return the treasure to its rightful owner for he knows not what he wrought when he stole gold bloodied red by another. Harm him not for he has need of his wits to feed his young; allow him to return what was stolen and maintain his dignity least his children see him for what he truly is.

**Soon...

Samiri : One more day, Lytta. Quit shooting poison darts at me, not only do they itch; they're a distraction.

You will be out before this time tomorrow.

How much longer, O Samiri?

Lytta : How much longer will it take for you to break me free of this place???!!!!!!!

**Watching the Beetle King dance

Samiri : You remember Jester, how it was before all this came about? Before we tasted death and pain and sadness of mortality?

I'm trying to remember...

Forget what I said, I will wake you still but leave the tribe of the King Cobras alone. The Pages are there already and I doubt very much it would do any good sending more venom to an already poisonous place.

I will miss watching you dance, old friend.. it was an enchanting sight..

excerpt of a conversation

Says Samiri to the mad Jester : **Wakey, wakey... one more day and you'll be free. Do me a favor, old friend.. when you leave this place, pay a visit to a friend of mine who should be at the old city where the Djin tomb is located.

There are two towers on each side of the tomb... go to Tower Alepha and at the 14th level, you will find the King Cobras. I am sure they would welcome a jester at their court; they certainly need some cheering up right about now.

You may poison them with laughter; you may try to heal their madness with your own but please make sure that when you leave, you have their Kings' sanity tucked nicely in your breast pocket. There are two of them, Ebony and Ivory.

That is my price for waking you from your slumber. I'll see you again in a forthnight, mad Jester and we'll share wine and break bread like the good old days before you tried to run your blade through my beating heart.

Waking up the mad Jester

Samiri: *Pppppppsssssttttttttt*

You know the ol' Beetle King who dances beneath the lake? He's watched by the snake lady because he's not quite right in the head. He can't wake up from his deep, deep sleep but tries very hard to.

That's why he looks like he's dancing when he's more like a caterpillar trapped inside his very own cocoon. Shall we go pay a visit to the Beetle King; and maybe watch him twitch in vain trying to break free from a never-ending dream?

excerpts of a conversation

*Malaikat : I heard that one couple managed to slip past the Pages just before the fullmoon. Paid a most impressive amount of gold to the King too. Are you getting weak, Samiri, or are your Pages not doing what you told them to?

*Samiri : Who told you that?

*Malaikat : You know the weather-trader from the old city? He works for the King of King Cobras. He said he saw the gold change hands 2 nights ago. I wonder if that's what has been haunting you, Samiri... the old city was built to replicate the tomb of the Djins...

Maybe that's what you've been dreaming about, that old snake bite still carries its venom.

*Samiri : Will you just shut up?

*Malaikat : What's the matter? Finish it already so we can move on to other things. Yet if you insist on it, for heaven's sake... get it over and done with. Your wallowing around the snake pit is getting to be quite the waste of time.

Death

Death is but a word to descibe something that cannot be defined by words and you have given me a face nightmares are made of.

Perhaps you may wish to reconsider this... in truth I have no name, no form, no face. What I am is a state of being; unchained by realities set by the human mind. It is not I that haunts you in your dreams.. it is you.

Knight of Wands

Malaikat: Samiri, I know you will not cease and the Pages will serve your cause till the deed is done.

Why then does victory taste so bitter, Samiri? Why does conflict tear your heart and your mind apart when you relentlessly seek vengence? Could it be that you cannot remember why you waged the war upon the King Cobras anymore?

I think, Samiri, that you cling on to old wounds from long ago. I think you remember only your hate for the King of King Cobras and not the cause for this war. It has become a personal vendetta, hasn't it?

And when you look upon the dead scattered amongst the ruins; do they not haunt you even in your dreams? You have been dreaming about them quite a lot lately, haven't you Samiri?

Yet even in knowing the truth within your heart, you will not repent. Will you never learn after all this time? Why you insist on donning this hedious form I will never understand but when the mask is finally removed, will you still recognize the face beneath?

Samiri: Brother, I am and always will be loyal to the cause and no... I concern myself not if the end justifies the means. Only that the means will justify the end.

You will try to stop me, will you not? Why waste your breath trying to reason with me, when you know it has always been and will always be so.

It is not the King of King Cobras I despise... it is what he represents. That his torment gives me pleasure is but small reward in all this travesty. If the price for it is my hediousness then this form was made for me.

Brother, you know the dreams haunt me constantly yet how can I cease when it will only end if he ceases... the question you should be asking is... Will he?

Justice

All in good time...

Page of Swords

Let the cuts be avenged in the womb of the earth. As we do to others, so will it be done to us. A prayer for victims who suffer in silence so that their cries may reach the heavens; and justice not made by man be served according to the offence.

The Star

On the final day of the full moon, the lady snake emerged from the lake to shed. Have you ever seen a snake shed it's skin?

In front of her, flames flickered and danced over dark water before finally forming the 6 pointed star. And when I showed the image to the Hermit, he claimed her the Lady Babylon but I think not...

I think she is the serpent rising from the depths of the lake to watch the moon before it turns its face away. I think she rose from her slumber this night to remove laden weight.

As the flames burned out, she disappeared beneath the black sappire lake again, not to be seen till the next full moon.

Tell me, *Samiri... what does the lady snake do beneath the waves until she comes up again?

"She lies asleep in a trance, watching the Beetle King dance..."

Empress

Like blades of fire upon my back, I had the Empress etched on skin because I will have her with me till I turn to ashes.

3 of Swords

Of all the lies we tell ourselves, the worst are the ones that cut the deepest.

In the darkest hour of our existance, we live within a chamber with no windows, no light, no hope. It is a chamber made of stone walls to keep everything out and it keeps everything in.

Away from the glare of a hundred thousand eyes, this is where our mask comes off and the true self emerges yeilding shards of a broken sword. It is here that we try to cut out our own hearts because we tell ourselves that if we cannot heal the wound; then at the very least, we can stop the pain.

Think you this room belongs to another? Nay... it lies in the seat of your heart as it does in mine. If only we knew how deeply we hurt ourselves with the rusty sword named Delusion; we may discard it in favor of an ounce of truth.

For in the end, it is truth that cauterizes the wound even if it heightens the pain and it stops us from bleeding ourselves dry.

4 of Wands

See the Bridge of Jahanam? You have been here before and it leads to the Gates of Eden. I think you, like me have stood here undecided many times. Fear not, we are in good company for we find comfort in the familiar.

After the sparrow died, I realized that we all stand at the Bridge leading out of Jahanam at different stages of our lives. Some find the courage to cross it and others choose to stay behind because what lies beyond is uncertain. It's easier to stay with the demons one knows than follow angels one does not.

Standing at the Bridge, I watched an angel with demonic eyes promising me clear sight. In fear, I summoned my Demons From The Past to burn the bridge down while the Angel laughed; for it knew that burning the bridge would not stop the haunting even as it scooped the flames in the palm of it's hand. Relentlessly, I called upon more demons to fire it up so that even the night sky looked like it was burning with liquid gold.

When the bridge stood no more, the Angel turned its back on me and flew away. In the echo of its laughter, I heard both scorn and amusement because it knew as I know; the bridge was only symbolic of the path I feared to tread.

It was not so much the bridge I was trying to burn to cinders; but the visions in my head.

4 of Swords

On the 3rd night of the new moon, I saw a hand reach out from the sky and plucked a bird in mid flight. The storm was like the wrath of Gods from long ago, angry and vengeful. I sent the vision to a friend on wings of a butterfly so he may interpret its meaning.

A hermit hidden deep in the Skull Mountain, he speaks in the language of angels. We spoke at length of the vision and what he said froze the very blood in my veins. He said that in the vision, he saw heaven coming to earth; like in the last days of Sodom and Gomorrah where angels brought destruction like we have never seen before.

He told of fire and lightening, of rain and floods and I bid him stop for I knew not what it meant. We spoke at dusk just as the sun was sinking into the horizon, bringing with it the last remnants of light.

Later, I heard that a sparrow was taken in the middle of a storm. It was hurled to the ground and died in an instant. The sparrow carried with it, souls destined to return to the source in the sacred month of Ramadhan.

Indeed, heaven came to earth that day and with it came angels riding on winged horses to carry our brothers and sisters home. Know we not that in the darkest moments of our lives, there is light even if we cannot see it?

**ANNOUNCING THE ARRIVAL OF SAMIRI**

Know you, how I came into existance?