2000 B.C.
The world had gone through 2000 years of civilization. Each of them had advanced to the point where one of them produced the first empire. Now order had been replaced by chaos, and Mesopotamia convulsed with revolt. Yet the East kept its riches.
Yao Wang was in paradise. The Xia kings of China had ruled it well, and he enjoyed the silk which flowed from the great cities. As China, he had witnessed many of his kings do various things with their reign. He had witnessed executions in the marketplace and performances at the pavilions. His life couldn't get any better, as he lived at the top of what was All Under Heaven…
In India, the culture of the Harrapas had disappeared, and although the cities still existed, they were no longer unified. A new religion had arisen in India, a religion of India, Hinduism. India herself had grown into a teenage girl and was now in the Mandir in Pāṭaliputra, listening to the Brahmins spin tales of Vishnu and Krishna. She knew that she would never go through reincarnation, and yet this intrigued her. If a religion like Hinduism could bring peace and unity to her people, then she wanted as many of them as possible! Her wish would be granted later, when one man who others called the "Awakened One" walked the streets of Pāṭaliputra …
Mesopotamia, although diverse, had maintained its Sumerian heritage. An old man lived in Ur, where he continued to write the Cuneiform that had intrigued him all those years ago. He was Sumer, and since the days of Sargon, he had aged significantly. Although he denied it, it was due to his declining strength and his knowledge of Akkadian that had diversified his lands and had ultimately weakened him. He still received visits from his sons, who lived in Babylonia and Assyria. Egypt recovered from the Intermediate Period and was advancing under the Middle Kingdom and she visited him often. He also liked to see his nephew Canaan from time to time. In his old age though, Sumer came to fear only one man. He was a wild man who, in the foolishness of Sumer's youth, had been attacked by Sargon's armies, and now that man was close to completing his curse which stated that he would hunt Sumer to the ends of the Earth, and kill him when he slowed…
Sumer still controlled a massive empire from Ur. Lately, however, his king Ibbi-Sin had his hands full. A new people were starting to migrate into Mesopotamia, a people who Sumer called the Martu. They surrounded his towns and raided them frequently. With each raid, he felt his strength disappearing. His previous bosses had battled Elam multiple times and had subjugated him, yet Sumer never dared to meet the nomad in combat, fearing the curse.
As he weakened, Sumer gathered his sons together, needing to tell them what to do with their people before he disappeared. He knew that Babylon would understand, yet little Assyria was a rambunctious child and would not remember anything. When they both came to Ur, he brought them to his table and said:
"I do not have much time left in this world. The Martu have surrounded my cities and the prices of grain are multiplying rapidly. My people are starving and I fear that Elam will come and kill me as I have slowed with age. Babylon, I trust you to care for Assyria when I have gone. If there is anything that you must do, it is to not build empires like that of Agade. Sargon's conquests aged me and now I will eventually disappear, don't let the same happen to you. Give this advice to others who come your way, as I do not wish for anyone to follow me where I am going. Be good to each other as I have been good to you. Farewell."
Shortly after Babylon and Assyria left for their respective towns. Sumer's boss came back with a battered army that had been chased back from Elam. He begged the Martu for help against the Elamites, but they refused. The siege began, and the Elamites overwhelmed the Vultures which had conquered them years before. They set fire to the Ebubas which had stored the remaining grain, and it was then that Elam encountered Sumer outside the Ziggurat of Nanna.
"This is where it ends, Sumer. Now I take revenge for the sufferings of my people at the hands of Sargon."
Sumer fought as best he could in his old Vulture armor, but Elam overpowered him and he lay on the ground with a fatal wound situated in his chest. As he lay there, mangled by the bronze spear, he thought about how he had influenced all of those around him, where he was going to, and who would follow him after his death. Before he faded he thought that he could hear someone atop the burning ziggurat lamenting…
"Ninlil has abandoned that house, the Ki-ur, and has let the breezes haunt her sheepfold. The queen of Kesh has abandoned it and has let the breezes haunt her sheepfold. Ninmah has abandoned that house Kesh and has let the breezes haunt her sheepfold."
Elam stepped atop the Ziggurat of Nanna and permanently silenced the priests who mourned Sumer's passing, glancing around him and down at the broken city that his men were dismantling, a look of triumph spread across the nomads face.
"Land of Elam, which is my home, I have avenged the deeds of Sargon and I have burned his cities to ash!"
This cry of triumph was heard in Palestine and in Egypt. Canaan sat on his cot and faintly heard Elam's damning epitaph. He silently thought to himself, "Sumer is gone, and if he is then I am in danger, his children will grow up and expand and Elam and his Martu might even come here. Egypt and I never got along well, and she will surely attempt to take me if Sumer is truly gone. Overall, I am not sure how long I have to live at this moment." Contemplating this, Canaan looked out the window as he watched his people go out and fish for the shells that supplied the royal dyes. Yet the one thing he least expected was that he would have a brother after all of this trouble…
Egypt was in the Pharaoh's chamber when she received the news.
"Ur has fallen!" screamed the messenger, "The Elamites have sacked the cities of the Sumerians and has scattered the ashes of their peoples."
The pharaoh turned to his country. "Do you need some time alone my dear for the loss that you have suffered?"
"Yes, that would be much appreciated my god." She answered. After her boss left the room, she wailed out into the streets of Ineb-Hedj, the capital of the Middle Kingdom that had been established since Sumer and Babylon's last visit. After the shock had worn off, she remembered all the time that they had spent together and how he had set her on the correct path. When Babylon showed up, she feared that at his death she would feel a sense of loneliness. Instead, she felt a sense of opportunity. She had grown into a mature young woman, and now she was ready to expand beyond her limits. She had never gotten along well with Canaan, and when the next pharaoh came, she hoped that she could take the fight to that barbarian of the coast in the near future…