My name is Tiamat Allune; From the outside, I appear as a rather tall 25 year old woman who fled her native country to find a better life; my birthday was last month. We had a party down at the veterinary clinic, where my coworkers threw me a surprise party. My pet hyena knocked the table over and spilled the cake on my lap...but oh well. I got a coffee with Shorty just a few hours ago after my workout at the Throwdown kickboxing Gym in the commercial district, where I study Muay Thai. That middle eastern guy Rashied was pretty good today. I've never seen such a master of the arts of Krav Maga; he was this close to handing me my ass on a dog dish tonight. Luckily, I snuck in a couple knees into his midsection. That'll teach him!

But I'm home now; my roomate is out with a couple of her friends down in Soho, so I get the apartment to myself for tonight. I open the door to my dark room and kick off my kickboxing gear to go take a hot shower while Eiyna has her dinner; leftovers. (At least my roomate's nasty meatloaf has its uses!)

I look at my nude body in the mirror; This is what I appear to be. I'm the talk of the town.

However, appearances can be deceiving.

My opinion about myself changes when my eyes scan the strange, bulbous yellow markings that cover the left side of my body, mainly on one of my breasts, my hip and leg. They give off an eerie yellow light when I run them under the water...I can't bear to look at them, they remind me of the bright sun of my native country. Where it happened...

I dry myself off and brush my teeth, and stumble into my bed, where Eiyna is curled up. She stares back at me with those dumbfounded eyes of hers. I scratch her ears as I ease myself under one of my sheets, kicking te quilt off. It's f**ing hot in this building, why won't the landlord do anything about the heater? It's freaking midsummer. Again, it serves as a reminder of my warm, humid country...

I grab the remote off my nightstand and turn on the tube, crossing my legs and getting myself adjusted. It's the same s*** every day and night; reruns of that reality show "A**holes", maybe an episode of that new animated cartoon, and then onto the News. This city is just run entirely by the damn media. It just shows image after image of people dying in poorer countries, people dying on our streets, the war, something else about intimidating us...and a commercial. It's for that new drug on TV made by those Artemian Flowers. It's called DreamTex. Apparently, its a wonder drug issued by the governent for severe depression. It can cure just about anything, but it puts the user to sleep for long periods of time.

However, I know the truth behind it. Somewhat.

Thats when they show the war front in my country again. Where they are giving people that drug, people who are falling to a strange sickness. That sickness induces a heavy fever and an unending desire to consume. Sometimes, they just carry on with their lives, trying to eat excessively. Rare cases caue them to die...when they revive as flesh-eating corpses. Either way, cannibalism is rampant there. And I know why and who caused such a drastic state of emergency.

I peer at myself in the mirror and wonder just why whatever is above watching us would let me do such a thing.

I can't handle it anymore. I shut off the TV and close my yellow eyes. However, the flashbacks fill my mind. I remember when my humble coastal community, inhabited by friendly natives and tourists. We would watch the war in the Eastern states, watch as the missiles just keep pummeling the parched earth. We were just outside of the area...then, chemical weapons were thrown into perspective. People around there began to crave for flesh. The markets were flooded with people cleaning the shelves of alll available meats...but that would run short when funds from our country were taken by this country's government. They would be sed for weapons....

With limited food resources, people began to crave human flesh. People began to dissappear, and riots ensued.

At the time, I watched as people would resort to going to our wildlife refuge (where I volunteered when I was a small child, as I always loved animals.) And kidnapping animals. They were assumingly being devoured be crowds of people.

However, one day, my parents didn't return home when they shoud've. I became frightened and lonely. With order gone from the community, and the world forgot about us, I took in the last animal from the sanctuary that didn't escape or be killed; a female hyena. She was pregnant with a cub, which I wound'nt let anyone have, no mater how hungry they were. This cub would be born whether they liked it or not!

But they came. Swarms of infected people, my parents included. My family attacked my small house, where I guarded the hyena and locked all the doors. She looked up at me with fearful eyes, as the door broke open. In came my father, his eyes glowing yellow...he clawed at me, percisely where these yellow markings are, and I felt a sharp pain shoot through my body. Suddenly, a grenade was thrown through the window behind me, and everything went white....

I was bathed in a yellow light, where a heavenly voice commanded...

"I choose you, Tiamat, as the...Bearer of Famine."

I awoke in a tent outside of town, where I was kept alongside some survivors...apparently, guerilla fighters rebelling against this country's armies took me in. It was there I met MArduk, my eventual boyfriend, and a fierce soldier....but he was very young. About a year older than me. A female soldier handed me the pup that had been concieved by the hyena I was protecting....I named her Eiyna, and she became my friend.

Things got very complicated. Marduk taught me some close-quarters combat and how to shoot a rifle...and I became a member of the guerillas. But it was then I learned their dark secrets...that it was their weapons business that revolved around those flowers. Those blossoms that emitted that fragrance that could drive one mad and be refined into chemical weapons...

Emotions overcame me. Then, I realized, I have to tell the world of their crimes! I loved MArduk, but what he was into was wrong. Horribly wrong! I had to flee...but they caught wind of me escaping and sent their best soldiers after me...I dont remember how far I managed to escape through my natural intuition...a few times, MArduk caught up with me and we usually ended up in bloody fights with one another, as he reenouced his love and tried to kill me. I escaped with Eiyna to an airbase where I was ambushed, but saved by a big man and mercenary named Rocco Mulcun. He wasn't too thrilled to have me around him, but it sure beat being murdered by my psychotic ex-boyfriend!

I guess he helped me move into the city here, where I got my job as a vet...I have natural experience working with animals, so Rocco put together some fake information to get me my job so I could support myself. I feel like I owe my life to him in a way, but I think he did it out of spite to get me off his back. But either way, I'm very thankful.


I snuggle next to Eiyna and I think about the message that was given to me when these markings appeared...when I changed. She is the one thing I really treasure for getting me through this predicament. But still, I miss having a man around...I sneer at the military I.D that I stole from Marduk, who is still hunting me down. I crumple it in my fist and remind myself that he won't get away with what he and my former comrades stood for...and he sure ain't gonna take me down because I'll get him first! Being 6"2 and all, I'm a real tough lady!


"Bearer of Famine," ey? We'll just have to see what this calling brings for me. Maybe someday when I have the guts I can avenge my people...
-Tiamat Allune



FW Inks, Sumi, Rapidograph and a touch of Prismacolor MArkers! Time taken: 4 hours.


Tiamat Allune and Twin Artemis is copyright to me, Coldy! 2006