Finis Chaldea

[Apollymi]

Sacrilege? Was that what had just taken place. The mother's head inclined gently. It was Metis' choice to make. She felt this way about all of her children and Metis was included. Metis was one who made a decision and made the wisest one within her mindset. There was nothing but motherly pride in the blind and mute woman for the redheaded one who'd left. Of course, she began to ponder something else, if Metis made the wisest and most compassionate then what choices had the rest of them made? That was something to ponder, and as all else, she'd do it in silence. Kur for her part in this, returned to the underworld. Her domain as it was explained to her by Metis. Someone had to welcome the new Hero and hold the boundary between life and death.

At the same time, the death of Enkidu had a huge impact on the city of Uruk. And an even greater impact on its king. Days of mourning and then a new purpose. The king emerged and began a new journey. He gave instructions and they would be followed and the city would continue on... but to what end... none could know.

[Bloodedge]

And so was the beginning of a long journey. Days passed and became weeks, which became months, which became many long, troublesome years. The hedonist king lived off the land during this journey, wearing the skin of lions as clothes, the age of his mourning shown in the wild growth of his hair. He searched for his father, reported to have entered the assembly of the gods and attained immortality. What he found after years of searching was not Utnapishtim, his father, but instead to the mountain of Mashu where the two 'Scorpions' guarded gates as high as the wall of heaven. They were such terrifying creatures, half man and half dragon with stares that could strike death into men. One was male in design, shirtless and magnificent as the king himself. Crimson optics met a pair of an even deeper hue for the first time in Gilgamesh's life, and in that moment, the king shielded his eyes for the length of a single moment. What was this? These two creatures, they had auras even the likes of him could not fathom. Was this his reckoning to follow Enkidu's path?

No. Not yet; he would find his target and live on in glory for himself and Enkidu alike. With that in mind, he steeled himself and stepped forward with courage. How strange, the male Scorpion seemed to think. None were ever so bold as to step toward them, but this one... it seemed he was precisely the man they thought he was. The Man-Scorpion called to his mate, "This one who comes to us now is flesh of the gods." These words were spoken from atop a mighty throne, which seemed part of the rightmost pillar of the closed gate. As for the gate itself, none could understand its true majesty. There was an ominous air leaking through the space betwixt doors, reeking of nothing and everything simultaneously. Whatever was beyond it, even the gods wanted nothing to do with. . .

[Apollymi]

The male Scorpion was calling to his mate, stating the nature of this golden haired man before them. His mate, a while haired large horned individual was stretched across his throne. Her body laid softly as she turned her head towards that one. Oh, a long tail snaked up the side of throne as if draped for decoration. Those eyes of hers, a crimson type red, almost hued pink with white crosses in the middle. She looked upon the man and replied to her mate instead. "He is two-thirds god," she said as if thinking for only just a moment. "And one-third man." There was some finality in this, but it was almost as if this creature didn't enjoy speaking. But here she was, waiting at this gate, with her mate... for some reason. What did these two guard and why had it been so long since they'd seen anyone else? Why did a man approach them at all, and what would he get out of coming here? Well, all those questions would have but one answer and they would be for the blonde man before them to answer.

[Bloodedge]

Those eyes. Those strange eyes, even stranger still than those possessed by the divine king, Gilgamesh. The mate of this Man-Scorpion spoke of his origins, peering through eyes with crosses he could not see within. For whatever reason, this additional visual could not be seen by the king, just as he could not see the bursts present in her the raven-haired Man-Scorpion's vermillion orbs. There was a blur around the pair of them. Perhaps he was simply tired. Ah, but one could never avoid witnessing those tails. While one draped over the throne, another with the bearing of a daggertail lay over it, shifting about it like a mating serpent. "Hm," the male muttered before calling out to the child of the gods. "Why have you traveled so far? You crossed the waters of a world above the sky... for what purpose? Tell us why you're here," the Man-Scorpion ordered.

Gilgamesh had never taken another's command, but here, he could not simply have his way. Since the moment Enkidu fell ill, he felt as if nothing had ever been his way, but instead some cruel fate that toyed with him like a child's plaything. As such, he didn't think twice before answering these strange beings. "For Enkidu. My friend; I loved him dearly. Together we endured all kinds of hardships. On his account, I have come, for he has been taken from me. I have wept for him day and night. I would not give up his body for burial; I thought my friend would come back because of my weeping. Since he went, my life is nothing; that is why I have travelled here in search of Utnapishtim my father. Men say he has entered the assembly of the gods, and has found everlasting life. I have a desire to question him concerning the living and the dead," the blonde king explained. The Man-Scorpion quirked a brow upon hearing this, as if an age-old question had finally been answered in a very interesting way. After a single glance toward his mate, he spoke aloud. "No man born to this world has done what you ask. For mankind, this gate is the only way, but there are twelve leagues of darkness between here and wherever you wish to appear. There is no light. Your heart, your soul, will be flooded with maddening darkness and the full weight of endless nothing. That sums it up, no?" he said, concluding with a question for the female of the pair.

[Apollymi]

The male asked why this blonde made his way to them and the answer they were given was quite different. A pompous young king had been walking the land coming all the way to this place, because of the death of his friend? Oh, it wasn't just a friend. The person who died here, was someone he felt for at the core of his being. It was strange to hear from one like him and it was... sweet. The ending of Enkidu was sad, but his friend being so moved by it, was beautiful. A single moment of eye contact, between the Man-Scorpion and his mate before the male spoke once more. He gave the King of Uruk, an understanding of the depths that he was going into. Of course, he was missing a few minor details. No matter, the mate would roll slightly and give a simple headshake.

"No," she answered as she rolled her eyes rather casually. "You forget the part where he has to maintain the strength to move forward or fall into endless darkness," she stated while casting her gaze slightly towards the blonde before resettling her gaze on her mate. Her tail above just wrestling with his, "But besides that... yes, you covered the simplest aspects," she said. Would it be worth it? Would he still wish to push forward? Was the best humanity had to offer, really ready for what lay beyond? Hm, well, they would see.

[Bloodedge]

Ah, one minor, yet very important detail was left out. In addition to the darkness, there was the fact that Gilgamesh would not be passing through empty space at all. This journey was one which took place through the primordial goo of the world─ the thick source of the darkness one saw within. To be too weak to pass, was to lose any ability to reach any sort of exit. To fail was to be consumed by the abyssal plane itself, gone from all realities this world knew. "Right. Though, if anyone should have that, it should be the first Hero of this world," he said as if they had every reason to know of this man's ability. The Man-Scorpion possessed a glowing red gem set in his forehead, perhaps leading one to believe it produced some sort of clairvoyance. "What is your answer then, Gilgamesh?"

Gilgamesh had his answer. He didn't make this journey to Mashu for no reason; he made it to discover the secret of immortality. He would find it, and he would find a way to restore his friend as well. Then, they would live in unison for eternity, their epic tale never ending. "Although I must go in sorrow and in pain, with sighing and weeping, still, I must go. Open the gate of the mountain," he said firmly. What an interesting conclusion. Though it was filled with its own tier of hubris, the Man-Scorpion grinned and snapped his fingers to open one side of the gate. "Go then, Gilgamesh. You have my permission to pass. May your feet carry you safely home," he said. Alas, there was only half of the gate giving way to the darkness. The Man-Scorpion gave his blessing, but one could not simply pass through without both doors swinging open.

[Apollymi]

The pair of gate guardians had given Gilgamesh all the necessary information. What lay beyond was not something truly fathomable by any who had never seen it. Still he was the cream of the crop. The peak of humanity and how would he choose to face this next task? Her mate spoke again, reminding her of the fact that Gilgamesh was the first Hero of the world, surely his strength would carry him through? "That seems most likely, still warnings exist for a reason," she mused. How comfortable the female of this paring had to be, lying relaxed in throne at a gate waiting for whoever came to enter it.

And who else but a hero would ever choose to face the darkness? Well, not many, but beyond that there was the fact that he'd chosen to face it, but how? Ah... with courage and pride. He stated that even while being distressed he would still move forward, because he felt it was his duty to do so? How noble. Well, half of the gate would open with the snap of the Man-Scorpion but the other half wouldn't simply open because he decided it was alright. How interesting it would be to note, that the decision to let him pass didn't fall to one or the other. Both had to agree or none could pass. How oddly fair. Would she also allow it? Well... yes. A stretch occurred in her left arm as she snapped as well. Her decision had come at an earlier point in the conversation, thinking of how he spoke of his friend. She didn't imagine his will was one easily damaged. "The Gate of the Mountain is open," she said as her eyes came to a close. His journey had only just begun, how would it go? How would it end?

[Bloodedge]

One segment of the gate swung open, and then, the other. Gilgamesh took those first steps forward, entering as both doors closed behind him. In that time, the Man-Scorpion began to laugh just slightly. This had gone beyond expectation. To think, that pompous king had such a side to him. Well... he'd always had an inkling, but the confirmation was astounding nonetheless. "King of Uruk, Eiyuu-Ou Gilgamesh. He smelled of shit as much as he looked it, but that may be the best of him I'd ever seen. The Epic didn't embellish at all, huh?" he mused as fingers danced along his mate's exposed upper thigh. Nails nearly claw-like in quality traced the skin with an unknown power that could tear asunder mortal flesh, as those eerie eyes drew to a close just as the gates had recently done. "I'm impressed."

Once the gate closed, Gilgamesh was on the move. Twelve leagues, he would walk an impossible trek. Each step was made against the weight of creation itself, and all which encompassed it in addition to that which didn't make the cut to reality. He had already been on this path toward the mountain of Mashu for decades, but the road ahead would feel longer than his entire life thus far. Still, he would move forward. . .

When he had gone one league, the darkness became thick around him, for there was no light; he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him.

After two leagues the darkness was thick and there was no light; he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him.

After three leagues the darkness was thick, and there was no light; he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him.

After four leagues the darkness was thick and there was no light; he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him.

At the end of five leagues, the darkness was thick and there was no light; he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him.

At the end of six leagues, the darkness was thick and there was no light; he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him.

When he had gone seven leagues, the darkness was thick and there was no light; he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him.

When he had gone eight leagues, Gilgamesh gave a great cry... for the darkness was thick and there was no light; he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him.

After nine leagues, he felt the north wind on his face, but the darkness was thick and there was no light; he could see nothing ahead and nothing behind him.

After ten leagues, the end was near.

After eleven leagues, the dawn light appeared.

At the end of twelve leagues, the sun streamed out.

There was the garden of the gods; all around him stood bushes bearing gems. Seeing it, he went down at once, for there was fruit of carnelian with the vine hanging from it, beautiful to look at. Lapis lazuli leaves hung thick with fruit, sweet to see. For thorns and thistles, there were hematite and rare stones, agate, and pearls of the sea. Gilgamesh set foot in the gods' garden where no mortal man had ever been, and there he was, wearing the skin of beasts he'd eaten along the journey as his only garb.

[Apollymi]

As the King of Uruk disappeared past the gate, a conversation took place between the Man-Scorpion and his mate. The King of Heroes was in a bad way, possibly the worst he'd ever been seen, but strangely... also the best. She could do nothing but agree as she stretched within the lap of the Man-Scorpion. "It is true. I thought maybe it was written that way to humanize him. I didn't expect he was actually so human..." she said of his reaction to the situation that surrounded him now. Those clawed fingers that moved along her thigh distracted. The potential of power that could have shredded mortals flesh sent marked tingles along her own. How very interesting. As his eyes and the gate closed, her own opened baring new light. "I am also impressed. I had no expectations of finding anything quite so genuine below all that bravado," she commented as her own hand came to rest against his uncovered chest. Her own clawed fingers playing across his chest as she absently turned. That tail of hers still wrestling his, how would this go?

Beside the sea she lives, the woman of the vine, the maker of wine; Siduri sits in a garden at the edge of the sea, with the golden bowl and the golden vats that the gods gave her. She is covered with the veil but when she sees Gilgamesh approaching she is frightened. Gilgamesh was coming towards her, wearing skins, the flesh of the gods was in his body, but despair in his heart, and his face like the face of one who has made a long journey. 'Surely this is some criminal, where is he going now?' she wondered alone in this place what was she to do? She moved to bar herself against him, closing the gate to her garden, locking the bars in place and aiming to shoot the bolt home before she would attract his attention. Yes, this was the right call to make, exactly what should be done in the face of such an obvious threat.

[Bloodedge]

He had not seen, but the sound of the bolt caught Gilgamesh's ear. He threw up his head to find the target, he lunged quickly, and he managed to lodge his foot in the gate before it shut fully. In that moment, he called out. "You, wine-maker! Why do you bolt your door? What have you seen to make you bar this gate? I will break in the door and burst in your gate, for I am Gilgamesh who seized and killed the Bull of Heaven. I killed the watchman of the cedar forest, I overthrew Huwawa, and I killed the lions in the mountain passes!" he announced with all the pomposity this world's first Hero had been known to possess. Outwardly, his persona had gone nowhere... yet outwardly, he hadn't really been king of anything for several years.

Meanwhile, as one leg of this journey came to an end and opened the path to the next, the Scorpions were unseen to the world at large. The gate remained closed, and the Man-Scorpion floated above it with that bladed tail wrapped round his mate. His previous garbs were nowhere to be seen, as if replaced by the burning glow of that gem in his head, and that same glow upon the strange crimson tattoo spanning the left side of his torso. What was he up to now, and how went their casual behavior from Gilgamesh's departure. Well, to answer the first query, the Man-Scorpion was floating ever so nonchalantly above the gate. His body would not go cold due to the current lack of clothing, however; that problem would be solved by another. Meanwhile though, he had much to say. "H'oh? It looks like that attitude has gone nowhere after all. It only took a few decades for him to start yelling orders and boasts again. . ."

[Apollymi]

The man who proclaimed himself Gilgamesh, had placed his foot within the gate, keeping the woman known as Siduri from closing herself in and protecting herself from this wild man. Stranger still, this man claimed that he was king, but he didn't quite look the part. If he was that person, why was he here? "If you are that Gilgamesh who killed and seized the Bull of Heaven, who killed the watchman of the cedar forest, who overthrew Huwawa, that lived in the forest, and who killed the lions in the passes of the mountain..." there was a pause. How did she describe what she was seeing here? Did he really have no idea how he looked? Well she would be the one to tell him of this problem. If he was to have a kingly visage, then... "Why are your cheeks so starved, and why is your face so drawn? Why is despair in your heart and your face like the face of one who has made a long journey?" she asked in rapid succession never to really let up. "Yes, why is your face burned with heat and cold and why do you come here wandering over pastures in search of the wind?!" Yes, that was it, why did he look so un-kingly and undeserving if he was truly the man he claimed? Why did he bring brash attitude and threat of violence to her door?

A tail was wrapped around the female mate of the Man-Scorpion and now they were floating unseen back to the business they took care of in their loneliness. And what did this entail, well, watching and discussion. Unclothed they now where without any care of their nudity and no real understanding of the change in temperature. Well, that mattered little they were here for each other. Just as the male had glowing tattoos embedded within his skin, his female counterpart, had similarly glowing marks decorating her abdomen as she settled herself in preparing to start copulation in this position for whatever reason. "Well, it is his favorite defense mechanism. He's still pretty shaken up after all... I assume a few decades isn't enough to get rid of such habits," she said thoughtfully as she aimed to help her counterpart find his home within her loins.

[Bloodedge]

Why, oh why, did Gilgamesh enter the gods' garden with that attitude? Simply put, it was all he had left. He brought with him an empty life, an empty stomach, and nearly an empty soul. Who was this maker of wines to question him? He was the king he purported to be, regardless of his apparent disheveled state. "And why should not my cheeks be starved and my face drawn?" he answered in outrage, his foot still wedging itself against the gate. As always, without Enkidu, he had only his forceful mannerisms to rely on. And rely, he would. "Despair is in my heart, and my face is the face of one who has made a long journey! It was burned with heat and cold! Why should I not wander over the pastures in search of the wind?!" How dare she. His hair had grown long, a mere speck of length for all the tears he'd not been able to shed each time his eyes dried out. Many days, it felt as if he hydrated himself just to lose the water in his stomach through the eyes. Who was she then, to offer these demanding questions to a man in mourning? "My friend, my younger brother, he who hunted the wild ass of the wilderness and the panther of the plains. My friend, my younger brother who seized and killed the Bull of Heaven and overthrew Huwawa in the cedar forest... my friend who was very dear to me, and who endured dangers beside me..." Bravado aside, the King of Uruk was breaking down once more. The journey itself served not as a distraction from his purpose, but a distraction from those horrendous thoughts. Now that he told the tale, those dried eyes found moisture to lose once again as his voice cracked and crumbled. "Enkidu, my brother, whom I loved─ mortality has overtaken him. For seven days and nights, until the worm fastened on him, I wept. Because of my brother, I am afraid of death. Because of m brother, I stray the wilderness and cannot rest. Now, woman, maker of wine, since I have seen your face..." Another pause found its way into his speech. What had become a husk of a man in the span of a few sentences could no longer look upon the wine-maker directly. "Do not let me see the face of death which I dread so much."

The Scorpions seemed so very disconnected from events they could see with great clarity. The King of Heroes, as they called him, was in shambles. Still, they sought indulgence in one another so casually... as they always had, and always would. "Nor will a few millennia do the trick. He does better when he's laughing like an arrogant child," the male said. That same hand from before rose to the female's chin, claws more prominent as it glided along the flesh with the same ease his groin glided betwixt her folds. Skyborne deviance was no stranger to these two, as revealed by their approach of it with all concern to the wind. "Just the same, you do better when all the air is leaving your lungs at once. It's been a while since I've seen that. Show me now."

[Apollymi]

Oh the answer Siduri would receive. The man known as Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk was here now. Having made a long journey. He'd eaten what he killed to survive, he'd come to the garden of the gods, hiding himself behind his pompous attitude and for what? Because of the death of Enkidu, the Chains of Heaven? Because that was his friend and his friend had died. Because that face no longer walked beside his, he now feared what fate had in store for him. Death was a scary thing when one wasn't prepared for it. Death could be such a huge problem for those who wanted glorious tales sung about them. Death was what man earned as his main reward in life. To know that this is what the great king feared. To watch him break down before a relative stranger, to know that this was quite outside of his normal behavior... it moved Siduri's heart. Compassion was one of the things she had left, one of the things that was part of her being as she came together here in the gardens of the gods. She'd question him about his journey wondering why if he was so fearful he was trying to move on? "Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find the life for which you are looking..." she gave pause and then explanation. Maybe with the truth, he could be dissuaded. Maybe she could save him a bit of pain? "When the gods created man, they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping," she explained. She couldn't leave him like this though. A man so broken didn't deserve to sit at the edge of the world without understanding and without acknowledgement for his suffering. "As for you Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day," she explained to him. "Feast and be merry, dance and rejoice," she claimed. "Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, make your wife happy in your embrace, for this too is the lot of man." Siduri explained to this man what life was supposed to be for him. He was king, and death would come because he was mortal, but that didn't mean, his life had to be joyless. There was plenty yet for him to do, so simply could he live if he chose.

So disconnected where the Scorpions, but still... they'd helped. They didn't have to open that door, but it was part of their most important task that they did. What wasn't important or what was more important, was how they were entwined now. But the female of the pair did agree with her mate. The King of Uruk was more functional a being with that annoying laugh in his chest and a smile on his face. "He does to better when he is like that, this is a fair assessment. How long then will it take for his horrendous laugh to return to grace the ears of those who worry for him?" she ponded ever so curiously. What wasn't curious though, was the way their bodies currently entwined. Even in the sky, this great beast seemed just as at ease as they had been on the throne. Here and now the male met the woman's folds and told her how he liked to see her. Had it been so long since they'd last had a dance like this? A heavy breath left her as he slid all the way home and the adjustment period as her body tightened around his own was acknowledged. He wanted to see what she was like breathless, and absorbed? Well there was only one answer for such a demand and it moved across all of time. Two simple words would leave her lips as her hips shifted to create the scene he wished to witness. "Yes, Daddy."

[Bloodedge]

Immortality could not be found by him? Madness. The gods kept life unending for themselves, but he who was more divine than man could find a way to take a portion for himself! He, two-thirds god and a lesser portion man, could not be reduced to the same fate as that which made so little of him. And what of Enkidu? Had Enkidu not been taken by the gods' fury, would they, too, not have been able to reach the nape of everlasting glory? Why should they, created by the gods with only a touch of man, bear the ultimate curse of the latter? Worse yet, how did this young woman expect him to follow through with her suggestions? Fill his belly? Be merry? Wear fresh clothes, bathe, cherish children, and take a wife? Appealing to the ears of those who found methods of filling the heart, surely, but how could he be so audacious as to try filling the hole left in Enkidu's wake?

"How can I be silent?" he asked. "How can I rest, when Enkidu whom I love is dust, and I too shall die and be laid in the earth? You live by the seashore and look into the heart of it. Young woman, tell me now, which is the way to Utnapishtim, the son of Ubara-Tutu? What directions are there for passage. Give me... oh, give me directions. I will cross the Ocean if possible. If it is not, I will wander still farther into the wilderness." There was little more to it than that. Whether it was possible or not, he didn't care. Somewhere in this world, there was immortality. Gilgamesh almost felt as if he could achieve it somewhere in that pit of darkness he traversed, but there were more questions than answers about that place.

On the other side of this epic tale, there was further abandon of the goings-on by two strange individuals. An age-old phrase was spoken by the woman as their bodies met properly, and in that same moment, the known world was flooded by an unperceivable aura. And with that, came the first pivoting of hips in an event that would span several seasons over time. Massive horns atop the female's head were taken hold of, and with every thrust from the male, thunderclaps reached the lower half of the world, even in a cloudless sky. This would be the way as the Man-Scorpion grinned. "That's a good Kitten~"

[Apollymi]

Gilgamesh was without consolation. He wouldn't accept that the goodness of life, was only made sweeter by the fact that death would eventually embrace him. He could not rest, he could not know happiness while his friend remained amongst the dead. Siduri, how could she actually help him? He did not see reason, he didn't understand that the ocean was vast and that nothing real could cross. But... when he implored her at this point in his life. When he asked of her with the most sincere from of humility he possessed... was it really possible for her to deny him? Was it even worth while to let him suffer as such? "Gilgamesh, there is no simple way to cross this ocean. Whomever has passed it, cannot themselves find the way back..." she said with great care. "The place and the passage are difficult and the waters of death are deep," she explained of this situation. It wasn't merely a matter of being impassable, literally only death could await those who walked this path. Would he really choose this? "When you come to the waters of death what will you do? Do you truly wish to cross with the ferryman?" Siduri asked this question of him, but it might have been considered misleading. There was a way to cross this place, there was something which could be done... but there was only one way for it to take place. Would he really be ready to place his trust in another, after the gods had already crossed him? Could he place his faith in her, to help guide him along the way?