[BandarLover]

It's not every day that one is visited by a god.

Certainly not every day said god tells you that you are going to be the mortal channel of his/her heavenly powers.

Unless of course you live in Evershy, in which case it happens more frequently than most worlds, with Ascension Wars and what have you. And it's about to happen once more. To Babadar.

See, Babadar is a monkey. Well, more like a gorilla. But not really. He's gorilla-ish. In fact, he could almost pass for human, if humans were a hulking mass of dark, course fur with long arms. Babadar lives in the forest, along with the rest of his monkey-kinda brethren, below Mount Kailasa. For centuries his people have lived in harmony with the Yavanas, the people of the mountain. Together, they have created a small haven ,safe from the outside world, where Bandar and Yavana live an idyllic and simple life. In fact, Babadar had just finished carrying stacks of bronze for the Yavanas smiths for the day before resting under a tree on one of the mountains many gentle slopes. He meant only to rest a little, but the afternoon sun and the gentle breeze soon made him drowsy and he napped.

And he dreamed.

Being a simple Bandar (as most were, the wisest among them - usually white furred Atavi - acting as spiritual guides) Babadar didn't fully understand everything in his dream. In it, Mount Kailasa was lifted up, as if by a great hand, and stretched so wide it covered the sky. And when it was set back down, it covered the whole earth. There were other sights as well, races of creatures he had never seen before and large, Titanic sized entities who all looked angry. Before he could see much else that might upset him, he was awakened by a soft and kind voice.

"Babadar."

He stretched and yawned widely, blinking the sleep from his intelligent eyes. What he saw stopped his breath.

A tall woman, similar to a Yavana female but taller still, stood before him. Her pale face was framed by long black hair and she looked at him with eyes as dark as obsidian. He saw no malice in her gaze, only a profound and probing interest in him. And a deep sadness. He thought she was beautiful and instantly loved her. Not as a young male Bandar may love a young female Bandar, but as someone he knew he could look to for guidance and reassurance. He would gladly lay down his own life for her, he knew. Had he known the word, he would have called her an angel.

"You can call me Jasmine," she said, as if reading his thoughts. He started to speak but his words seemed stuck in his throat. She smiled wanly. His heart ached at her sorrow.

"I know who you are Babadar, do not trouble yourself with speech. Listen now." He nodded his understanding and this time her smile had more warmth in it.

"I knew you would be perfect. I chose you Babadar, because I need your help." She held forth her arms and he noticed for the first time the cruel, midnight colored shackles around her pale, slender wrists. The manacles marred and burnt her where they lay against her skin. Babadar choked back a sympathetic cry of pain.

"Do not worry my harbinger. I have been imprisoned many millennia but these bonds grow weak. There is a shifting in the Void, I can feel it. My commission to you is simple, Babadar. All I ask is that you prepare the way for me when I return. There are some, even among your own people, who will resist. But you must be strong for me. Can you do this?"

Babadar nodded eagerly. Yes, yes! anything for her.

"Good." Her voice almost purred and it made Babadar's heart flutter. "I knew you would not disappoint. Now. Wake up, Babadar."

With a quick gasp, Babadar shot upright from the tree trunk. He glanced about madly but could see no sign of the woman that he knew was just before him. He might have decided then and there that it never happened were it not for the bundle lying heavily beside him. He cautiously unwrapped it, revealing a burnished bronze cuirass, and gleaming bronze sword and a bronze cap with an etched river flowing from the top of its crest. And the fact that all of this fit him as if it had been tailor made for him alone was all the convincing he needed to know it was not simply a dream. He turned toward Bandar with a new found purpose.

He would not disappoint his mistress.