Mesopotamia, Uruk City, 5750 B.C.
The refugees entered through the city gates like a sea of screams, calls, and curses; more than three thousand, including laborers and artisans. Among them, a golden blur pushed the stragglers toward the gateway.
—Faster! —Gilgamesh roared. —Faster! Through that gate!
He barely recognized the people's faces. He remembered the laborer Ajak cured a few days ago, the mother for whom Sersi acted as a midwife, and a boy who arrived recently among the new refugees. But their names escaped him, mainly because he had to deal with the constant bowing that soured his morning walks and life in general.
But now, in front of the gate, with blood roaring in his ears, he was ready to rid himself of the Deviant pestilence that was trying to take his city. He stood there, under the midday sun, guarding Uruk's only entrance. The hoarse bellowing of the beasts could already be heard in the distance, as could the vibrant static of Ikaris's lightning.
He saw him fly down from the clouds, shooting lightning from his eyes at the flying Deviants. At one point, he tackled one in the air that had approached the walls dangerously. Together they plummeted into a nearby house in front of him, but the beast was quickly dispatched with a bolt right to the chest. Ikaris emerged unscathed from the rubble, smeared in the blackish blood of the Deviant.
—Are you alright? —he asked him.
—Wonderful —Ikaris grunted, baring his teeth before taking off again.
To his right, something growled at him. A Deviant had bypassed the flanks; a disgusting thing, like a bull six yards tall. Protuberances waved at its elbows and its hindquarters were disproportionately small compared to its robust arms.
Gilgamesh clenched his fists, letting cosmic energy grant him his armor. Accepting the challenge, the Deviant roared and charged at him. Its footsteps caused tremors. It leveled its head, aiming its horns at the Eternal. The sentinel delivered a downward strike, cracking the hard skull of the plague. It flew over his head and crashed against the gate with a thunderous bellow.
It recovered quickly, charging at him again. This time, Gilgamesh was sent flying by the onslaught. Everything changed very fast and his surroundings spun until he saw the ground very close. Golden loops caught him by the waist, and his face stopped inches from the ground. Looking to his side, he found Ishtar. The young woman was standing atop one of the houses; her eyes glowed gold. Clad in her golden armor, she truly looked like the goddess the city claimed she was. With a yank, she straightened him. With a leap, she joined him on the ground, without kicking up a speck of dust from the path.
—Are you alright? —she asked.
—Wonderful —Gilgamesh muttered.
Ishtar nodded, running toward the Deviant that had battered him. Gilgamesh relaxed, allowing himself to appreciate her form. She jumped over the beast's head, conjuring golden ropes that she tangled around the Deviant's horns. Upon touching the ground, she used her constructions to propel herself beneath the massive body.
New ropes surrounded the Deviant's waist, arms, and legs. Ishtar stood upon the wall; the green tiles reflected her power. With a sharp tug, the Deviant was severed by the girl's ropes. She returned to the ground, her fall making no sound.
—Weren't you at the front? —he asked her, returning to his position before the gate.
—Until Kingo let one through —she hummed.
She made no move to return to the front.
—I can handle things from here —Gilgamesh pointed toward where the roars were coming from. —You can go back to your post.
—I was ordered to watch over you, old man —she gave him that damned smile she had learned from Perseus.
Gilgamesh sighed, resigned. Since her arrival, the girl had caused many waves among the crew of the Domo. From her constant "grunting matches" with Ikaris —as Perseus happily dubbed those moments— to the complicity she maintained with Makkari in the black market she ran.
The fighting noises ceased. Gilgamesh relaxed and the girl did the same, fidgeting with her sandals. The first to appear was Makkari, kicking up dust and a sharp clap of air.
"That was easy," she marked with her hands. A smile split her tanned face.
—Very simple —Gilgamesh muttered.
Makkari tilted her head, asking Ishtar about her mood.
—Old warrior's crisis —she smiled, swaying on her legs.
Gilgamesh growled, trying to grab the girl's neck. Of course, she dodged him; she was thin and weighed nothing, while he was a walking tank.
—Too slow, old man —she smiled at him, cooing at him.
Kingo's arrival was met with three unimpressed looks.
—Oh, come on! It was only one! —he complained.
"Two, including the one from three days ago," Makkari signaled.
—And four with the one before that —Ishtar counted on her fingers.
—Fine, alright, I get it —he held up his hands. —God, you guys are terrible.
The two girls bumped fists, sharing a smile. They walked away together after saying goodbye to Gilgamesh. They called to the gateway; the great doors were slow to open and, immediately, the sea of people poured out. They surrounded them all, touching their armor and babbling their thanks.
Gilgamesh stood there, tense as a rock. The humans' chants called them "Dumu Ninsun" and created a web of hands that pushed them to the center.
—This is uncomfortable —Kingo muttered in the Eternal tongue.
Gilgamesh nodded. But Ishtar was a fish in water, talking to the humans and granting them beautiful smiles. They called her "warrior goddess" and nearly kissed the ground she walked on.
—They shouldn't have opened the gates yet —Ikaris growled from the sky.
The Eternal was floating with Perseus by his side; one in blue and the other in gray, suspended next to each other.
—I have to agree with the stiff —Perseus ignored Ikaris's glare. —This isn't over.
Gilgamesh wanted to groan. The humans, who had already calmed down, began to move like wild cats back to the safety of the walls.
—I thought it was another group of scouts —Ishtar asked her father, looking at him with a frown.
—They were scouts —Perseus nodded, landing in front of them. Ikaris did the same. —But they belong to a larger group from the east.
—The steppes —Ishtar commented with dull eyes.
Perseus nodded, turning to face Gilgamesh.
—You must hold the city if they attack, Gilgamesh —he told him. —Ikaris and I will try to establish their numbers and wear them down as best we can if the opportunity arises.
—Understood.
The two Eternals were about to withdraw when Kingo raised his hand.
—Just one question —five pairs of eyes looked back at him. —Um... Where is Thena?
Ikaris rolled his eyes and Perseus sighed.
—She decided to follow the stragglers alone —Perseus explained.
The two flying Eternals crossed their arms with somber faces.
"And you let her," Makkari gestured violently.
—She took advantage of Kingo's mistake to follow them —Perseus rolled his eyes.
The bronze-skinned Eternal shrunk in his place.
—Secure the city in case they attack again —Perseus muttered through clenched teeth. —You are down three warriors.
With those words, the two took off and shortly after split up.
—Why are they splitting up? —Kingo looked at Ishtar with wide eyes.
—Right now they have two jobs —Ishtar whispered. —Reconnaissance and search and rescue.
—Ikaris is the best suited to track Thena's cosmic energy —Gilgamesh nodded. —And Perseus is the best equipped to face more than two Deviants.
The silence among the four lasted a few seconds; they all looked toward the points where both Eternals had flown.
—Sound the alarm and set the curfew —Gilgamesh slumped his shoulders, letting them hang limp at his sides. —Be ready.
Makkari disappeared in a sharp crack of air and, quickly, the inner horns resonated throughout the city. Human screams and calls from the guards answered like an echo. Uruk prepared for the siege.