Chapter 11: The Goddess is Dancing

In which the song of worship reaches too far.

The sky did not fall on their heads. The darkness did not devour Rider's soul and everything around him. All the demons of hell were not unleashed to roam freely the streets of Uruk.

Well, about the last thing...

"Catch me! Catch me! Ha, ha, you'll never catch me!" - the children were screaming like a bunch of wild demons, while running around blindfolded Arjuna (back in his usual, male form) in a local version of blind man's buff.

As a Servant, Rider did not need eyes to know exactly where the kids were, but pretending to be just a normal - and alive! - human being felt surprisingly good. Actually, he hadn't had so much fun in ages. When was the last time he could act so carefree? As a very small boy, perhaps? Or during those rare, short moments, when he could play with his own sons?

Arjuna doubted Gilgamesh came up with that weird order to make him happy, still... The king clearly meant, what he had said, because he even gave Rider the control over his form, so the Servant could now change it at will. Even if it was an accidental generosity, or only a brief moment of relaxation, Arjuna felt grateful and decided to serve his Master with all he had.

"Got you!" Someone joined the fun and effortlessly caught the nearest kid. For Arjuna's senses at the moment, they barely differed from the soil around them. Enkidu was like a pure life energy of the planet, condensed to ridiculous amounts to fit into a humanoid form. "You have no shame, to gang up on him like that! But now it's a fair fight!"

Screams of joy and excitement became even louder. Unlike Rider, Enkidu was not restraining their inhuman strength at all, so the picked up boy had been tossed several times in the air. He didn't mind, though, just the opposite - reacted to every jump with an enthusiastic 'Wheeee!', that made all other children around jealous.

Arjuna took off the blindfold, demanding a short break. The little demons showed him mercy only after he and Enkidu agreed to toss some of them as well.

"I'm not sure, what you've done to Gil, but I'm glad you did it." When they could talk in peace at last, Enkidu smiled to Rider, in their usual way, with narrowed eyes, slightly tilted head and a small line of clenched lips.

"Forgive me, but I have no idea, what are you talking about." Arjuna looked worried, when he asked: "Is the king all right?"

"More than all right. It seems that Gil has accepted some things at last. Like his origin, I guess." Enkidu's expression was hard to read this time, but their voice filled with something soft. "Thank you, Arjuna. I don't think it would be so easy without you here."

Rider blinked, trying to keep up with Enkidu's way of thinking. The origin of the king? They never talked about it, Arjuna probably wasn't allowed to start this topic. From the very beginning Gilgamesh addressed his Servant as nothing more than a weapon, a thing, a 'mongrel' at best, which was the usual way for the king to speak of anyone unworthy of his full attention. Enkidu, on the other hand, during their first serious conversation in the gardens...

Wait! It finally started to make sense. Arjuna was a weapon, but also a demigod, so the real reason behind the summoning must have been...

These two are just... Ugh! Rider facepalmed really hard, then sighed, cursing his own stupidity. It seemed that Gilgamesh had summoned a Servant just to show Enkidu, that they weren't the only human-shaped weapon in the world, so they wouldn't feel lonely in their uniqueness. And Enkidu kept stubbornly bringing out the divine aspect of Arjuna for exactly the same reason, just to make Gilgamesh know, he wasn't alone either!

"The bond you two share is priceless. Do not ever let anything come between you and tarnish it," Rider said straight from the heart, as someone, who had experienced such kind of friendship himself.

No matter what they thought about it, Arjuna's presence was unnecessary. They needed each other to complete their story, nothing more. Retreating to a comfortable distance and caring for both of them from the background seemed like the only possible approach, if Rider still insisted on staying here.

The truth was, he liked this place. Got attached to its people. And it wasn't really one-sided.

"His beautiful sister has left the city already? Too bad, there was a line with marriage proposals forming for her. Almost every rich merchant had something to offer."

"They should start performing together. Arjuna is a musician, she's a dancer, right? That's what I've heard."

"Is that true? Oh, I would love to see the twins together during the next festival!"

Enkidu was listening to the rumors on the streets with a mischievous expression, which became almost wicked, when they spotted Gilgamesh, watching over his dominion from one of the roofs.

"Pathetic," the king said, when his friend joined him up there. "I gave this mongrel a chance to indulge in endless pleasures and look what he's doing instead."

"Maybe this is pleasure for him?" Enkidu burst out laughing, when Gilgamesh doubtfully raised an eyebrow at this suggestion. "Come on, Gil! You were playing that weird game with the kids yesterday, don't pretend you did not have fun!"

"I only admired their creativity," the king protested, crossing his arms. "Humans are just humans, it will never change. Their inventions, however... This is what keeps civilizations going. And the mongrels down there are just..." - he stared at the playing children - and Rider, now defeated and trapped under the noisy bunch - with superiority and a dose of disgust - "...running around, screaming, like nothing more than wild animals."

"Well, I do like what I see. You know I don't care much for humans, but moments like this prove that they're still a part of nature. Their behavior is so primordial." Enkidu clung to Gilgamesh without warning, so casually, like if they'd always belonged there. Probably they did... and had officially claimed that right just now. "You can feel the pure energy of the earth pulsing in their veins, like fresh, green juices in the trees or the grass right after the rain. It feels alive!"

"What exactly?"

"Everything!" Enkidu was thinking about it for a while. "The sky, the storm, the earth, water... everything has life to me. You, too, could show more unrestrained vigour from time to time, Gil."

Gilgamesh grinned, playing with the strains of green hair, tangled around his neck like parasitic lianas.

"Be careful, what you ask for, fool."

Judging from their playful expression, Enkidu knew exactly, what they were asking for.

So they skipped dinner and sneaked with Gilgamesh into the wild for another adventure. And later, when the sky changed color to the stunning dark blue, Rider, who was reading in his room, suddenly stopped breathing, knocked out by a wave of emotions that weren't his.

It was so strong, so overwhelming. Like if his entire world had suddenly shrunk to...

Enkidu?!

Struggling to catch a breath, Arjuna helplessly shook his head. Both he and Gilgamesh were good at keeping their emotions to themselves and had an unspoken agreement to not distract each other needlessly. Most of the time, their Servant-Master bond felt like a barely noticeable humming of a river, far in the background. But staying in control is not always possible, and Enkidu must have just said or do something, that distracted Gilgamesh this much.

Rider did not want to interrupt anything important or expose himself to the king's anger. Not ready for another punishment, he needed to quickly let all those feelings out somehow, for the sake of everyone involved.

Finally in the open air, sitting at the top of the ziggurat with the silver lyre in his hands, Arjuna took a long, deep breath. The stars of this place were shining as brightly as the first time he saw them, with the same charm, that made him want to stay here for longer. It reminded Rider of a song he used to sing under the skies of his homeland.

It was about a force similar to a storm, of fire that consumes everything on its path, demanding immediate surrender. Was it a person, a feeling or just some undefined kind of energy, which some people would call sacred? Arjuna did not know, but the song felt perfect for this occasion.

He wanted to celebrate, cherish and praise such beautiful bond he could witness - and feel, like an echo of someone else's happiness - once again. He wasn't singing it at loud, though, rather murmuring the words to himself, and letting the music take care of the rest.

The sounds of the lyre filled the air above Uruk, suspiciously enchanting and intense. They must have carried bits of magic within, for sure. Could it be that Rider reached somehow for his Noble Phantasm without the need of changing form?

Arjuna did not care. Obeying the will of his king, and doing whatever he wanted to do, felt amazing so far.

"Do you hear it, Ninshubur?" Ishtar stretched lazily; golden jewelry on her ankles and wrists was rattling with every movement. "Someone is worshipping me beautifully tonight."

Her loyal servant only smiled in response. As the one, who flatters the heart of the goddess, she knew that silence and small gestures could be way more effective than recklessly thrown words.

Ishtar did not wait for the answer anyway, focused on the distant sounds, echoing with magic and tasty emotions. It was the melody of adoration, the food of the gods, no doubt about it. So much love and devotion must have been directed at her, the Mistress of Heaven!

"Come, dance with me!" The goddess came closer and threw her arms around the neck of her dearest sukkal. Her gorgeous hair covered them both like a veil. "Ah, how lovely!"

She was curious about the source of the music, although suspected the golden king to be involved. Her heart was beating faster at the sole thought of him, so strong, so brave, so adventurous! As a lioness, she deserved the company and love of the mightiest lions. Ishtar decided to pay Gilgamesh a visit, but not now, when she was drunk with the sweetest of prayers.

Tonight she was fed too well to make plans. Tonight the goddess was dancing.

Funny thing - I pulled Archer Gilgamesh with a single ticket, while polishing this chapter. I suppose the king was pleased with it?

There's a video on YouTube called "The Sumerian Silver Lyre" - I probably said it already, but I really love how this replica sounds, so I'm much inspired but this short piece of music. Also, I let myself quote fragments from the epics here and there. The song mentioned in the chapter exists as well.

Thank You for still being here and hope You'll stay to the end.