Askelon of Meridian
Askelon of Meridian is a character in the Sacred Band of Stepsons fictional universe and the Thieves' World shared fictional universe. Although... Askelon of Meridian was introduced in Janet Morris's "An End to Dreaming," written in 1989 and not in Thieves' World, he first appeared in print simultaneously in Sanctuary in "Wizard Weather," published in 1982, and in "An End to Dreaming" in Stuart Schiff's "Whispers" . From these stories onward, Askelon and Cime and Tempus form a deadly triangle, leaving a trail of mortal dead behind them as they push into the future, wrestling over control. Throughout the Sacred Band literary series, Theomachy is a constant theme, though Morris never characterizes the struggle between Askelon and Tempus in such terms. Askelon is the entelechy of the seventh sphere, lord of dream and shadow and ruler of Meridian, one of the four metaphysical compass points of Janet Morris's Sacred Band universe. Cime tries to kill Askelon on their first meeting, and fails. So Askelon takes her to Meridian for a year to pay penance. He meddles in Tempus's wars and plans, sometimes helpfully, sometimes harmfully, but ever intrusive. Over the years, what has been done by either for good or ill becomes secondary to the purity of the struggle and despite between Tempus and Askelon. Tempus calls Askelon a demiurge. Askelon calls Tempus a fool. These two, demigod and demiurge, fight as begrudging allies in the Wizard Wars, but never with trust in one another's motives. Once the greatest of sorcerers, now something more, Askelon is dark magic incarnate; Tempus is the weapon of the war gods. Askelon aids Tempus in the Rankan military coup, and in rescuing Cime when she first ventures into the future from Lemuria. Tempus gives permission for Askelon to marry Cime, but seethes with jealousy as long as the marriage lasts. Over the soul of Nikodemos, Tempus's young Bandaran-trained partner, these two more-than-mortal powers finally contest openly, as both have striven never to do, bringing an additional dimension to the struggle: Bandara's bright light of knowledge and self-realization against Meridian's dark night of superstition. In the hundreds of years that Tempus and Askelon have known each other, they have always helped shape human history while stopping short of openly contesting over their own fates . Finally their divergent philosophies, coming to a head over the future of Nikodemos, become the basis for their conflict, and eventually, their open warfare at the Battle of Meridian.
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