36 Chapter 36 – Waking Enlil… Was NOT a good idea.
Here's the new chapter!
Thanks for the wait!
*Any images in this chapter do not belong to me! It belongs to their respective artists/creators!
Attention: Remember, the *Auxiliary chapter* is reserved for the design characters chosen by ME. But if you don't like it, feel free to choose the design you like for the characters
*AUTOR NOTE: Timeskip happens - 110 years...
So, the current era is 2900 BCE (Thor: 999 years).
Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!
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Pov. Thor.
Sekhmet's marriage to Ptah was... Normal?
I mean, by the standards of the gods there was a lot of food and drink and a lot of music.
My group was the only 'foreign' group invited.
This could be considered a great honor, after all, who was getting married was Ra's daughter.
There was only one thing I didn't agree with...
The witness.
A curiosity.
A 'witness' of an old marriage, had to validate the marriage bond in a single way...
And no, it wasn't through a subscription.
I was dumb... I should have known better, but I had accepted it because I was never called to such a thing.
There was a good reason the witnesses were mostly women. Rarely was a man called to be a witness, so I thought it was an honor.
I honestly didn't know what the task of witnessing a marriage between two deities was. In a way, I'm guilty of not paying attention to Frigg's lectures on this subject...
What can I say? Few things catch my eye, and unfortunately, getting married was NOT one of them.
But back to me being a 'witness' part... Let's just say it was...
... Weird?
Yes, definitely weird.
After all, I, along with three other goddesses, stayed outside Sekhmet and Ptah's room on the 'wedding night'.
And for an hour... I only heard moans.
It was not a pleasant experience.
I, of course, told Hel to politely decline Bastet's request. Hel didn't understand, but she did as I asked.
My innocent cousin wouldn't be corrupted anytime soon!... Even if she is a millennium old.
Also, to forget about this weird experience I had, I ended up drinking a little too much... The next morning, I woke up in my bed.
With Sif in my arms... Again.
... I knew I would have to talk to Sif sooner or later to define our type of relationship.
Because it felt like our current relationship was one of 'friends with benefits'.
It's been a while actually, but we never had a more in-depth conversation about it, because what we were doing seemed natural...
But, easily enough, Sif would be a good candidate for a wife.
The reason is quite simple actually...
As much as in this world, power dictates how things are, there was something else that seemed to be always present...
Politics.
In simple terms, I am officially considered one of Odin's bastard children.
Keyword: bastard.
Not surprisingly, my 'pedigree' affected my romantic relationships and potential suitors...
I can be considered a prince; but, by blood, I don't have many 'options' for getting married.
Was it possible for me to marry someone with a 'better' 'pedigree' than mine?
The answer is... Maybe.
Did I care about this?
The answer is... Not really.
To be honest, it would be a little difficult, but I could possibly do it if I made the effort to 'pay' for the bride at 'Kostr'.
Keywords: 'IF' and 'EFFORT'.
To be honest, I didn't want to have a headache just to marry someone.
No thanks, I'd rather get someone who's easier to accept my 'offer' on 'Kostr' so it's not too expensive for me.
Also, I found Sif an easy person to get along with.
Why do I say that?
She's not problematic... That is, she didn't give me headaches.
I would soon be completing my first millennium, consequently, I would have to return to Asgard to eat one of the apples of Iðunn, the goddess of youth, to stay young, in addition to holding my celebrations on the night of the 'winter solstice'.
I hoped that when I mastered the Touki technique, I would get around this problem and live without having to eat one of the apples of the goddess of youth once every thousand years.
As I was in a hurry, I told my group that we would be leaving shortly after Bastet and Anubis' wedding.
Also, I met Isis.
I did not like her.
That simple...
Stories reflect her as a 'good goddess' or 'merciful goddess' because she failed to harm her brother Seth during Horus' clash for the throne, out of pity.
But she had a side I didn't like...
Manipulator.
Greedy.
A person who would threaten someone's life if it meant she got what she wanted... Part of the family or not.
Unfortunately, Isis laid eyes on the famous 'knife of Hel' when she learned what the necklace I gave Horus could do.
How she found out that it was Hel's knife that gave the necklace this ability I have no idea...
Anyway, she cornered Hel during Bastet's wedding celebrations and asked to show her the 'Starvation' knife.
Hel, following my advice never to speak to strangers unless I'm around, declined the request.
Isis didn't take it very well...
The Egyptian goddess demanded and tried to deceive Hel by abusing the guest's right...
It was at this point that I found the two goddesses arguing and told Isis to back off.
The Egyptian goddess seemed to consider before accepting my request.
I didn't let Hel out of my sight after that...
The rest was history.
I thanked Thoth once again for teaching me the healing technique.
I said goodbye to the other couple Horus and Hathor, who had reconnected.
I said goodbye to Ra and apologized for any trouble I caused during the party... He laughed and said that if I ripped Isis' head off he wouldn't mind.
It was pretty clear that Ra would no longer protect his great-granddaughter.
After the celebrations, my group left for Mesopotamia.
I was a little apprehensive.
Enlil's temper was legendary.
This god sent several floods in the place.
The reason?
According to Enlil, humans made a lot of noise...
I didn't want my attempt to wake him up to end in a deluge.
However... After a few decades and after the Horus lineage had established itself as rulers.
I finally knew what period I was currently in.
The current ruler of the lands of Egypt was called Ca'á.
Known as the last pharaoh of the first dynasty.
I knew from here on out I should be very careful not to throw human history out the window.
I didn't want Enlil to end up sending a deluge that had nearly wiped out Mesopotamia's humanity... again.
So in short, the danger of changing history is a serious one.
After all, imagine me killing someone who could be the ancestor of someone important like Albert Einstein... Or I could end up making things worse.
Messing with human history was like playing Russian roulette.
The problem is that the gun is pointed at the humans.
"Have we arrived yet?" asked a voice.
It was Hermod, and he had been asking that same question ever since we left the lands of Horus.
"No! And I already said, I'll let you know when we get close to Nibru, so you don't have to ask every second!" said Hrist, annoyed.
It seemed that Hermod was just annoying others out of boredom...
I understood my brother, after all... I was bored too.
"I know, I know... But I don't understand why we're walking," said Hermod, grumbling.
Sif then replied.
"It is not advisable to appear out of nowhere by teleportation in a territory that does not belong to us... There may be misunderstandings" said Sif.
That was one of the problems of the trip.
We had to walk most of the time.
We were approaching the city of Nippur, due to it being the city that most worshiped Enlil. But mostly, the only city that could know Enlil's location...
That was our problem...
The exact location of Enlil.
The Anunaki lived on another place called Nibiru, which was a planet, and they teleported to an island on planet Earth that served as a meeting place for the Anunaki.
The island was called Dilmum, the abode of the gods or 'land of the living'.
The problem was that Enlil was expelled from there.
The reason?
Enlil tried to violate Ninlil.
The strange thing... was that Ninlil loved Enlil and was betrothed to him.
The confusion was why Enlil did it before the wedding.
So yes...
Enlil was thrown out of the house for being unable to 'hold his pants'.
It was then that Enlil ended up living in Kur, home of Ereshkigal, for some time.
Until Ninlil went to Kur in search of Enlil who, for some reason, found it amusing to disguise himself as Nergal, the guardian of the gates of the realm of Ereshkigal, and demand sexual favors in exchange for passages through the gate...
Yes, I suppose Enlil had a very strange fetish that could be accused of being a pervert.
But again, Enlil's brother did worse...
Enki.
I don't know how this bastard can look at himself in the mirror.
The reason for my displeasure was simple...
Enki was the god of wisdom, water, fecundity, and creation... But he was known as a somewhat promiscuous god.
Once Enki had intercourse with Ninhursag... His own sister.
But it was not just that.
After some time, Ninhursag ended up leaving Enki due to her brother-husband's constant betrayals.
However, Enki still missed his sister/lover...
It was then that sometime later Enki noticed a young goddess... who looked VERY similar to his lover.
Enki then slept with this goddess.
Plot twist: Turns out the goddess... Was his DAUGHTER with Ninhursag.
But it wasn't just that... It gets worse.
It turns out that this goddess, daughter of Enki with Ninhursag, left Enki alone too.
Problem is, she was pregnant too.
And yes, this goddess had a daughter.
And that daughter also ended up sleeping with Enki, her own grandfather.
It turns out that the great-niece-daughter also left Enki...
But by some luck, Ninhursag found out what was going on and ended up stopping this thing before it went any further and Enki ended up fucking a daughter/niece/great-granddaughter too.
In short, Enki slept with his sister, his daughter/niece, his daughter/niece/granddaughter.
Ugh... I have to keep Sif, Hrist, and Hel away from this guy.
It was then that I saw a small town in the distance.
I think we had finally reached the city of Nippur.
Pov. Third-person.
As the group approached the city, Thor removed a small amulet from his storage necklace.
It was Útgard's shrinking amulet.
The same amulet was used to shrink the Jotuns during the 'Utgard challenges' years ago.
Thor had taken it for himself.
Basic rule... Spoils of war.
Why would Thor wear the shrink amulet?
Well, to mortals an 8' feet man walking around was definitely no ordinary human.
"So what's the plan?" asked Sif.
Thor then looked at the group.
"We will separate, it will be faster... Get information from priests and merchants" said Thor.
Vali, however, could not understand why.
"I can understand the priests… But why merchants?" asked Vali.
Thor then replied.
"Enlil is known as the god of the sky and current leader of the Anunaki, he is also the god of the wind... According to my father, when Enlil sleeps it is possible to hear his snoring according to the wind. As merchants are the ones who travel the most, we will ask them if they heard any 'voices' in the wind during their travels from one city to another," said Thor.
Although the priests could inform the 'holy sites', there were many places to investigate.
With the 'legends' of the merchants, Thor believed it would be possible to delimit the search area of Enlil's resting place.
The group then nodded.
"How long will we have to get this information?" asked Hel.
Thor then looked toward the horizon and saw that he had a few minutes until the sun went down.
"Our meeting point will be downtown, as far as time goes…until sunset," said Thor.
It was then that at that moment Hrist spoke.
"This is a city full of mortals, so please be discreet. We don't want to draw attention, especially since no Anunaki know of our existence on their territory, and we weren't even welcomed by 'the guests' rights'… So be careful," Hrist said.
The Valkyrie was worried for a reason.
Unlike the lands of Horus... No one came to welcome them and offer accommodation for the guest's rights.
At the moment the Nordic group could be considered a hostile group in foreign lands...
And that was never a good thing.
The Norse group then split up and began information with the local mortals.
Even individually, some of the groups stood out.
Like Thor, even at 6' 5" feet due to the Shrink Amulet, he still drew attention with his red-colored hair.
A rather unusual color in that location.
As Thor walked he ended up catching the attention of some people...
It was then that a child, who was running and looking back, bumped into Thor's leg and fell to the ground.
Thor looked at the child and then heard a voice.
"/Stop the thief!/," said a voice, shouting.
It was easy for Thor to understand the language of mortals, after all, gods or supernatural beings don't have this problem.
Thor then looked towards the voice and I saw a man, looking furious, running towards him with a kind of club in his hand.
It was then that Thor noticed what he had in the child's hands...
A fruit.
A single fruit.
Thor then looked at the child's state and realized that she was a little malnourished...
It looked like she hadn't eaten in a while.
The man then drew closer and closer to the child and raised his club.
"/Enough! It's the second time you've done this in my store, the first time I let it go because your mother knew how to please me, but she's not here to 'calm me down' anymore, I'll teach you about what happens to people who try to steal from me!/" shouted the man, as he raised his club ready to hit the child.
It was then that a hand grabbed the club before it hit the child.
The man glared at the owner of the hand.
Only to pale as two amber eyes dipped in two black 'pools' stared at him.
The man, obviously scared, just thought of one thing as he looked into those eyes.
Monster.
Thor then applied some pressure and caused the club to be crushed by the grip.
The Norse god then looked at the child who was on the ground, still frightened by the situation.
"... Give back what you stole..." said Thor.
The child appeared to have 'awakened' from its trance as it looked at Thor and then towards the fruit.
It looked like she was considering...
Thor, knowing the child must be desperate for food, spoke once more.
"Give it back, and I'll give you something better… Take my word for it," Thor said as he held out his hand to the child.
The child had no reason to trust Thor.
The only person the child trusted was the mother.
But… Thor's words were tempting.
"/... ok/" grumbled the child.
The child then handed the fruit to Thor, who nodded and then looked at the man who was still scared.
Thor then grabbed the man's arm and handed the fruit into his palm.
The man then looked towards the fruit and then towards Thor and only then towards the child.
It seemed that the man wanted to say something more towards the child... But he didn't have a chance to speak, as he was soon interrupted.
"You better go... Or the next thing I'm going to crush is your arm," said Thor.
...Needless to say, the man believed every word Thor said as he ran in the direction he came from.
Thor, seeing that the man had left, looked around and saw that he had caught the public's attention.
The Norse god then looked at the girl and then knelt down so that he was closer to the child's height and didn't look so intimidating.
"... You have someone? I heard from the man that you had a mother, could you take me to her?" asked Thor softly.
Truth be told... Thor didn't exactly know how to handle this situation, after all, he acted more on instinct.
It was then that the girl looked sad.
"/... Mother is not here anymore... She is in Kur/" said the child.
Through those words, Thor knew that the girl's mother had died and was now in the realm of Ereshkigal.
"... So, what about Dad? Do you know where he is?" asked Thor.
The girl looked confused.
"... Mother said that father traveled, but that he will come back someday to get me," said the child.
Thor looked at the child... It was then that he noticed the strange-looking eyes she had.
Then Thor noticed something...
Solar divine energy.
There were no doubts...
The child was a demigod.
"…Well, could you follow me? I'll give you some food... Maybe we could talk a little while you eat?" asked Thor.
Hearing the word 'food' the child immediately waved.
Thor then walked along with the child towards the group's meeting place.
"...So, what's your name?" asked Thor.
The child then looked at Thor.
"/I am Ihbana, I have 8 summers! And you?/" asked the child.
"Call me Thor, how old am I?... Let's just say I'm a little old" said Thor with a small smile.
The child looked a little confused but kept walking.
It was then that Thor spent the rest of the afternoon talking and feeding little Ihbana...
"Thor?" asked a voice.
Thor then looked towards the voice and saw Sif, along with the rest of their group, approaching.
"Oh? Who is the brat? Are you a nanny now?" asked Hermod.
Ihbana looked irritated as it looked like Hermod was insulting her.
"... The 'brat' is a little friend I made, her name is Ihbana... As for if I'm her nanny? She's too smart for that," said Thor.
Vali didn't seem satisfied with the answer.
"I thought you'd get information too..." said Vali.
Thor looked unconcerned.
"Hey, Ihbana... Could you tell them what you had told me about the conversation between two traders while you were at the market... 'Buying' fruit?" asked Thor, with a smile.
Ihbana, due to being a petty thief from a young age, was very attentive to her surroundings and paid attention to everything.
Including the conversation between two traders on the market today.
"A trader who came from Shurruppak was delirious when he arrived here... He said he heard a voice during his journey here, on a goat trail that runs from the Euphrates to Isin," Ihbana said.
When the child said this information, Hrist soon spoke.
"I got information from a priest about a small lake in that place... It says it's sacred because it was where Tiamat was defeated by Enlil," said Hrist.
Thor then nodded.
"Well, we've got somewhere to go, let's find a place to spend the night and head out in the morning," said Thor.
"…And while the child?" asked Sif, looking at Ihbana.
Ihbana looked… unchanged.
The young child was forced to grow up amid the current situation.
No father since birth.
And now with the mother dead...
She had been living on the streets of Nippur for a few months now.
Learned to steal to survive.
But as a child... It was unlikely that she would survive long in a world that was violent and, above all... Cruel.
The Nordic group knew it would be a death sentence...
"Maybe... Could she come with us?" asked Hel uncertainly.
The group was silent.
For good reason.
They were supernatural beings.
Worst.
Some of them were gods.
The child, as much as she had divine blood in her veins, was part of the society of the men of the Anunaki gods and did not know the supernatural beyond praising the gods.
It was then that the group looked to the unofficial 'leader'.
Thor.
"…Ihbana, do you have someone you can trust completely?" asked Thor.
Thor hoped that Ihbana had someone... a relative or even a friend of her mother's.
The child seemed to consider before responding innocently.
"/Yes... Ihbana trusts Ihbana!/" said Ihbana.
Thor softened his gaze.
"...Want to come with us until you get someone else?" asked Thor.
It was at this moment that Hrist seemed to want to interrupt, but Sif put a hand on the Valkyrie's shoulder and stopped Hrist from complaining about the Asgardian prince's actions.
Meanwhile, Ihbana seemed to consider.
The trust established by Ihbana and Thor was something simple and fragile...
Food.
Ihbana was hungry and would trust Thor as he still delivered food to her. But the food was finite... Could Ihbana trust Thor after the food ran out?
The rational answer would be...
No.
In fact, the answer would be 'no' when a stranger offered free food.
Ihbana had learned long ago that nothing was really for free. The young woman suspected that the food was poisoned or, at the very least, drugged with something.
The young woman knew of stories about people who offered temptations like free house and food and ended up attracting young people... only to be raped and/or made slaves to be sold later in another foreign city.
But... Extreme hunger was what guided the young woman's actions.
It was hard to think when your stomach was empty...
For Ihbana, the moment Thor offered free food, her survival instincts prevailed with the following options:
Or you refuse free food and you have a chance of not waking up tomorrow to see the sun, just like mom.
Or you accept the food, which may be poisoned or drugged, and you have a chance to survive one more day... But you risk being kidnapped.
At that moment... Ihbana had chosen the second option.
And as Thor talked to Ihbana for a while... A line of trust as thin as a hair's breadth was established between the two.
"/...Ihbana wants to go with bloody hair!/" said Ihbana, pointing at Thor.
The child believed that if she went with Thor she would survive longer...
Ironically, for what was to come, it was the right decision.
"Very good! Let's go Ihbana, let's sleep outside the city, if you have anything you want to take you better go get it now" said Thor.
The child, however, refused.
"Ihbana doesn't have anything, so Ihbana don't need to take anything..." said Ihbana.
Thor looked at the child.
And then the Norse god of thunder grabbed her and placed her on his shoulder, where the child sat.
For Ihbana, who has never seen anything from above, she felt like a giant.
"Well, let's change that with time..." said Thor, as he started to walk.
The group then followed Thor towards the exit of the city.
But Hrist was still afraid.
Everyone felt that the child was a demigod.
The Valkyrie was worried that this would cause trouble between the Anunaki and the Asgardians.
"*sigh*… I just hope you know what Prince Thor is doing," muttered Hrist, before following the group.
And so days passed and now the group was on the lake, next to the Euphrates River and a goat trail used by shepherds.
Thor thought it best for Hel and Hermod to stay at the camp with Ihbana. After all, she would be meeting an important god and the girl might not understand the situation... To Ihbana, the group seemed to be just on a 'treasure hunt'.
It was then that the group heard something...
One voice?
No... A noise.
"...zzz ZZZ zzz..." whispered the wind.
Yes, Enlil was definitely sleeping.
"Very well, look for some cave protected with a barrier, follow the sound of the noise... The louder the sound, the closer you will be" said Thor.
The group then waved and scattered around the place.
But it looked like the search area was going in only one direction… to the north.
A short time later, Sif had found a cave that seemed to be where the snoring noise was coming from.
"So… And now?" asked Sif.
Thor replied.
"Let's go into the cave... If we find Enlil still sleeping, we'll have to be a little careful," said Thor.
Most of the group understood, but Vali still asked.
"...Why do we have to be careful when we wake up Enlil?" asked Vali.
It was then that Hrist answered, as the group entered the cave.
"Because most of the times Enlil was forced to wake up, he caused many floods in these lands... And, he IS in the top ten strongest existences for good reason," said Hrist.
As the group went deeper and deeper into the cave, the snoring noise seemed more and more noticeable, until they reached the deepest part of the cave and saw a man lying on a kind of bed.
Undoubtedly...
It was Enlil.
"So… How do we do this? Did we just pour water on his face?" asked Sif.
Most of the group looked uncertain...
Except for one.
"Hey! Enlil! Wake up you lazybones!" shouted Vali.
Thor then placed his hand over Vali's mouth and stopped him from speaking further.
Amazingly, Enlil slept on even after Vali's shouting.
However... Enlil's face showed discomfort and then, at the same time, the earth began to shake.
Thor looked at Vali.
"... When this is over, I'll consider whether I need to sew your mouth together," said Thor.
The earth shook even more and the group looked more and more worried.
"Alright, let's go with Sif's idea!" said Thor.
The Norse god of thunder then took a small water canteen from the necklace's storage and ran towards Enlil.
Thor then poured water on Enlil's face.
It was effective.
As soon as the water spurted on Enlil's face, the leader of the Sumerian pantheon opened his eyes.
"AH!" shouted Enlil, getting up quickly.
The god Anunaki, as soon as he calmed down, looked around and noticed the Norse group.
"Who are you?" asked Enlil, confused.
It was then that in the next few minutes the group went on to explain who they were and why they were there.
Enlil listened attentively to the group and the explanation, but during this conversation, a figure appeared at the entrance of the cave.
It was Hermod.
"Hey! What the hell did you do?! You need to see what happened out there!" said Hermod quickly.
Everyone inside the cave then ran outside to see what Hermod was talking about.
When the group left the cave, which was located on a mountain and saw on the horizon...
a deluge.
A deluge that had already hit some cities.
Everyone then looked at Enlil, who had a hand on his face.
"*sigh*... Not again..." grumbled Enlil.
It was then that Thor noticed that the Sumerian god didn't exactly care about mortals who had possibly died... The Sumerian god regretted that he ended up causing a flood unintentionally.
Thor then looked at the group.
"Find Hel and tell her to put some sleep spell on Ihbana, make the child forget this moment... I will search the area for survivors..." said Thor.
The thunder god then activated the *lightning armor* and shot towards the devastated cities.
For Thor, what happened was a disaster and now the Norse god believes he has affected the history of mankind...
However, for fate... This deluge was supposed to happen.
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Well, that's all folks!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Don't forget to leave your comment! Your opinion is always welcome!
*I'll post 2 or 3 chapters a week.
Title of the next chapter:
Chapter 37 – Post-Disaster Reconstruction!
