--The ancient goddess Astarte stood on a hill overlooking the advancing army. A sickly green sky laden with black clouds cast eerie shadows all around her. Before she became trapped on this cursed world so long ago she had been a being of power, worshipped on Earth throughout the Middle East and Europe. She still missed Earth terribly. In this dimension she was weak in magic, unable to breach the barrier and return home. Instead she was fighting a never-ending battle against other weak gods who’d been her enemies on Earth. She had been a goddess of many things back home, but only her knowledge and experience as a goddess of war served her now. At least she wasn’t alone. At her right hand stood Gilgamesh, ancient king of Uruk, immortal warrior and friend. They had survived by watching each other’s backs during their long centuries of imprisonment. They had managed to form alliances with some of the other gods, but so had their enemies. Their armies were almost evenly matched--at war longer than Astarte cared to remember.

--"How does it look today, Gilgamesh? Perhaps it is my imagination, but their army looks even bigger than last time."

--"Your eyes don’t lie, my lady. New intelligence has just arrived. Spies have informed me that several from the Aztec pantheon joined them at the last minute."

--"NO! This can’t be! They swore they had no interest in our war! They vowed to remain neutral! The Aztecs are fierce warriors. With their aid, the Sumer-Babylonians will crush us." Astarte took a deep breath and looked out over the fields. Their chances of survival were no longer good. She turned to Gilgamesh, a look of resignation in her eyes. "We will take as many of them with us into death as we can. I can only hope that their cursed leader Anu will feel my deathblow before I myself fall in battle."

--A great rushing wind whipped around the hillside, black as night. It swept down into the valley and blanketed the Sumer-Babylonians. Astarte could not see them, but she heard their cries. She didn’t know what happened within the shadows, but when the dark lifted, the warriors were retreating in fear. The shadow wind came towards Astarte, solidifying as it stopped before her. It was a creature cloaked in darkness, red eyes blazing from within. It spoke.

--"Astarte. I remember your great power on Earth millenia ago. You were an undefeatable warrior, ruler of the minds of men, daughter of the sky. This place has brought you low."

--Astarte recognized her now. That voice like the hissing of dying embers. "Hecate, foul goddess of dark magic and confusion. What is your business here?"

--"Mind your manners, child. I have just done you a great favor. Now I would like one in return."

--"A favor for you? You’re one of them—the cursed Greco-Roman gods who trapped most of us here!"

--"Foolish little goddess. I have been linked to the their race by some, but I was never one of them. I was formed out of the Great Darkness itself long before you or the Greco-Romans ever drew breath. I have always been and always will be. I am strong here in this chaotic dimension, but my power in the world of men wanes as the light of knowledge and order rules. I want to bring back the old days of magic and power when mortals bowed to us. I’m offering you a chance to be a true goddess again, worshipped and feared by all. Another like-minded goddess and I have joined together to bring these ancient ways back. You would be invaluable to our cause."

--But the war here…"

--"Bah! Fighting stalemates and losing battles? I offer you a chance to retake your place, to fight opponents you have a hope of defeating. Does the thrill of victorious battle still interest you? Can you feel it burning in your blood? Or would you prefer to stay here and die like a slaughtered pig for Anu’s amusement?"

--"I would not give him the satisfaction! But escape from this place…is it possible?"

--"I know many secrets of the universe. Come with me now and taste power again!"

--"On one condition. He goes with me." She nodded her head at Gilgamesh. She was anxious to leave this place, but she would not leave him behind.

--"That was my intention all along. He will be beneficial to our fight." There was an undercurrent in her voice that Astarte didn’t like. Hecate’s dark cloak suddenly reached out to enfold them. Before their eyes could adjust to its blackness, they were standing in an open field. They looked up to see a blue sky dotted with white clouds. Earth. They were home at long last.