Prologue
In the Great Empire of Sumeria, a wise young emperor ruled the land. Renowned for his strength, wisdom, and achievements. He was believed to be a prodigy sent by the gods.
Never did his people starve or face famine in his term of rule. It was under his leadership that they they were able to able to conquer the capital city of Meso, the city of Zaruk.
Other than his impressive rule, he was also a very popular subject among the women of the city and was highly sought after for being seen as the most eligible bachelor of high society.
Noble families from across the empire all sent their elegant daughters to the palace every season, hoping that their daughter would be the one to catch the emperor’s attention. Each night, his advisors would plead with him to take at least one woman from the court of concubines, but their persistent efforts were always in vain.
Many of his companions worried about the succession of the emperor’s throne, fearing that his death would bring dark times and leave the empire to shambles without a proper successor to take over.
Rumors of the emperor’s inactiveness spread throughout the palace, then to the capital city, and later on the neighboring cities. His enemies, seizing the opportunity, mocked him and spread rumors of impotence.
In the silent chambers of the palace, the emperor, Ronan, sat at his wooden desk, going over the matters and records of the state. When his trusted advisor, Osiris, walked into the room, bringing with him another stack of reports.
Osiris
Your majesty, I bring you more of the latest reports from distant countries. More witnesses about bandits coming through the borders have been recorded. The council of advisors is also very eager to talk more about this. They say it is an urgent matter.
Ronan, ignoring the latter part of what Osiris said, replied:
Ronan
Very well Osiris. Place them over on the other desk, together with the many others.
Externally, Ronan remained composed, not breaking from his usual expression. However, internally, he was dreading this and really wanted to gouge his eyes that have turned dry from reading everything.
Ronan
💭 Damn these bandits! How tiresome it is to deal with scoundrels who have nothing else better to do than wreck others’ peace!
Just as Ronan could peacefully water his eyes (by crying), Osiris interrupted.
Osiris
Your Majesty, I must also inform you about the storms happening in the city of Zaruth. The governor has sent a letter asking for relief from the capital for the affected villages.
Zaruth: another city of Empire Sumeria
Ronan
Another storm? It seems the weather has joined the list of things determined to disrupt my peace.
Ronan
💭 Goodness, has the world decided to curse me with never ending tasks? What is next, I’m asking you. A plague of locusts?!
Ronan
…Send them what they ask for. Make sure to deduct it from the city’s budget. In the meantime, do not bring me any more reports, leave them with the council. Please do ask for a maid to send my afternoon tea to the greenhouse. I will be going there now.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the fallen empire of Meso.
High Priest
All hail the great God Anu, the god of life! We gather in reverence, seeking to be blessed by your divine grace’s presence. Hear our pleas and bestow upon us the reward we deserve! Let it be that the son of the Sun reap the fruits of his terrible actions… and take responsibility for his wrong doings!
…
Echo (other people in the temple) — Oh great god Anu! Please hear our pleas!
The people continued to rise and bow, seeking for their god’s attention.
Anu
The people have sent another prayer today. Asking for Ronan’s death it seems, you know, the son of Helios. It seems he has sparked intense anger among the mortals of Meso.
Ishtar
Pfft, it only seems that they do not accept defeat and have resorted to knocking on the door steps of the gods again. Before this, they asked for storms to be summoned in Sumeria, was that not already sufficient?
Shamhat
Oh Ishtar, have you not learned that humans are very fickle in their wants? It is human nature for them to be sore after defeat.
Anu
What must I do then? Tell me, seeing that both of you have profound experience in this matter, given your tiresome bickering.
Ishtar
Believe me, I am deeply insulted. First, they seek my favor as the goddess of the skies, and when that doesn’t yield results, they turn to you? I am merely expressing my frustration.
Ishtar, feeling that his frustration might lead to further embarrassment, fell silent and turned away from the others. Indeed, it was clear that he was the youngest of the gods.
On the other hand, Shamhat, the god of mortality, was deep in thought. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and absentmindedly kicked at the pebbles that found their way on the sacred ground.
Shamhat
I propose… that we create a being to rival this son of Helios, a worthy counterpart if you may. Truth be told, I am intrigued by the rumors of his aloofness towards others of his kind.
Shamhat
And, we will finally know is he is impotent or not!
Anu, listening to what he thought was a possibly stern proposal, sighed with exhaustion and rolled his eyes upon realizing that two of his companions were useless.
Shamhat on the other hand, looked pleased with himself.
Shamhat
💭 What a genius I am! Hitting two birds with one stone!
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