Wheels turn within wheels...
The last few lingering stars receded as twilight slowly bled away. The distant shadows of an endless horizon of towers twisted in Dawn's effulgent embrace as her light flowed through countless Realities. Shuddering and shifting in that light, each Reality flickered into and out of alignment with the one Reality currently inhabited by a solitary Raven perched upon the branch of a vast and blooming umbrella-tree. From his vantage point the Raven watched not the Dawn, but the figure of a young woman bathing in a crystal fountain. The jeweled bangles about her neck, wrists and waist glittered in the water and the light of that dawn like stars against her dark and radiant skin. Blood flowed through the pure water as she washed her long black hair. Rivulets of crimson passed quickly away from the fountain and into the wide and rushing canal that surrounded the island upon which the Raven's umbrella-tree grew.
Madhavaselvi continued to bathe even as she felt Raven's presence nearby. Her last meal had been delicious, strong and full of life. Even as she washed the last bit of his blood from her hands she knew his spirit would not tarry long with the Dead. She strolled languidly from the fountain's pool, crossed a wide marble walkway and laid down upon a nearby lawn of close cut grass. Stretching herself in the warmth of the slowly rising Solar Disk, she smiled toward the umbrella-tree.
Raven took flight, letting off a raucous call as he wheeled away from the vast ziggurat of lush gardens, fountains and waterfalls that dominated the City's center. Endless waves of crystalline moments cascaded in shattered fragments before him as he sped toward the Mythic West.
