The Walk of Inanna

“There weren't always dragons in the Valley. There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. There weren't always dragons in the Valley”

My voice shakes as I repeat the words. My prayer. My anchor. My reminder that there was a before, which means there can be an after.

The Valley seems to swell around me, the ominous silence pressing in from every direction. It’s hard to believe that this barren wasteland was once vibrant, with rolling hills and lush forests. Nearly impossible to imagine my sister Ish and I roaming freely, our people alive. Almost laughable that once upon a time the festering wound at the center of my chest had been a radiant thing – full of light and love, longing and hope.

And now it’s gone. Stolen, fractured, broken beyond repair. They’re gone. And I’m here, alone.

Always alone.

Fitting, given it was all my fault.

Which means it’s all mine to fix.

“There weren’t always dragons in the Valley.”

My voice feels a little stronger now. I take a shuddering breath, rolling my shoulders back. I plant my bare feet in the dry earth and tilting my head back to let the sun kiss my face. I’ll miss this warmth most. The sun, my dearest companion – besides Ish.

Ish.

I can feel a ghost of a smile as I imagine the scolding I’d be getting from her right now if she knew what I was planning. That I’d traveled all the way back to the Valley, to walk the Descent, to save her. I can almost see her warm honeyed eyes flashing with anger, her tight black curls framing her face as she cuts me a look of fury that would strike fear in even the fiercest soldier “Ana are you MAD? A devotee of the sun goddess cutting herself off from her source of power? To DESCEND? I never took you for a fool.”

Ah but Ish, that’s exactly where you’re wrong. Not even the loss of the sun can compare to the torment of losing you. So I am a fool.

“There weren’t always dragons in the valley.”

Right. And if this plan works – if for once, I keep my damn mouth shut, play the games these dragons love to play, then she can yell at me until she’s hoarse, but I’ll have her back. And if it doesn't work? Then the guilt will weave its way into my nightmares. It always does. If I'm still alive, that is.

No. I can do this. I will do this. I have to do this. I’ve trained for this. Dreamed of nothing but this for nearly a hundred years. My hands have the calluses and my heart has the scars to prove it.

Mentally, I check that I have everything, the sword at my waist, the bow and arrows at my back. Stretching out my hands I check my fourteen rings – seven sunstone for me, seven moonstone for Ish, and the matching the bangles on my wrists. My eyes follow the tattoos that twist from the knuckles of my ring fingers down and around each arm all the way up to my shoulders. Weaving words, images – what had started as a celebration of my sister’s storytelling, now a record of nearly a century of grief.

It’s time. Slowly I bring my left hand to the dark green snake amulet resting at my heart, lifting my right palm so it faces the sky. I close my eyes and begin the chant for the second time in my life.

The ancient words feel heavy on my tongue, as if they too remember how terribly this went last time and are just as resistant to call this power forward. But I keep going, even as the ground beneath me begins to rumble, as I feel the air ripple and shift in front of me, I continue the chant, finding a rhythm amidst the unrest.

After the seventh repetition, the world stills again. My skin prickles as I peel open my eyes and even though I know what awaits me, even though I’ve seen it once before and countless times in my nightmares, I can’t help the strangled noise that leaves my lips.

Standing in front of me, guarding a dark black door gilded in gold, is a dragon.

Growing up, Ish used to weave tales of fantastical creatures, water serpents that haunted deep lakes, massive winged beasts that could breathe fire, birds that would die in fire and rise again and again. But that is not what stands in front of me.

No, the dragon in front of me is a thing of the darkest nightmares, a humanoid, haunting thing. With clear, almost translucent eyes, thin lips and long limbs. The air around it shimmers, keeping the edges around it blurred. A creature of the darkness, it’s true form can’t be seen in the light.

I try not to recoil under its unyielding gaze. The creature's head cocks to the side, and a voice clangs in my head, whispering dark like the cruelest night: “What business do you have with us, Ana?

“It’s Inanna” I snap, trying to hide the tremble in my voice.

I feel it ripple back, in surprise? Offense, probably. To challenge a dragon is tantamount to a death wish. They demand deference from those of us still in the Valley. But I swore long ago to never bow to these creatures, in words or in actions, and I sure as hell am not about to start now.

So, instead of apologizing, I pull myself up to my full height and recite the words I’ve practiced for an age.

“I am Inanna of Sun and Earth. My sister is Ishtar of Moon and Water, and I have come for her”

The creature nods, its voice still clanging cruelly in my mind “Ah. of course. It is time. They’ll be delighted that you decided to fulfill the terms of the bargain after all.”

My skin crawls at the mention of them.

“I do not care what they expect” I spit out, “I am Inanna of Sun and Earth, and I have come for my sister. Let. Me. Pass”

The final three words ring out as I lace them with my power, and the dragon blinks slowly, as if reconsidering me.

“You may pass Inanna,” its voice dripping with disdain, “but do so at your peril. Not even a daughter of the Sun can survive the Descent.”

“And if I make it this time, you’ll set my sister free?” Despite my best efforts, I can’t hide the desperation behind my words.

A grinding sound, like laughter but with none of its warmth, sounds in my mind, “We are creatures of our word, Inanna. But you will fail, again, of that we are certain.” And without giving me a chance to respond the dragon disappears with a cascade of shadow and wind.

“Jerk” I mumble, turning my gaze back towards the door. “There weren’t always dragons in the valley – and there won’t be for much longer”

Stepping forward I place my hand on the center of the door and it springs open, revealing a dark tunnel. I glance up at the sky one last time, and with a steady breath, I begin my Descent into the Underworld.