It feels as if we've been flying for hours, and not exactly through normal airspace. We eventually come upon a landscape covered in ziggurats and lush gardens. The Red Sea and the Mediterranean border this paradise.
Wait. Is that the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon?
"Where is this?" I ask Daji while clinging to Pazuzu's back, which we climbed onto shortly after takeoff. I never thought i could climb up a winged monster in flight, given that I'm always the first one to stow my tray table and put my seat back in the upright position.
"The Celestial Realms version of ancient Sumer," she replies, as if I should know. "It's here that we'll find Tiamat's children."
I'm fascinated. We have Olympus and the Mountain of Fruit and Flowers and the djinn palace in the sky--why not a godly replica of Ancient Babylon?
