The Crumbling City

[Gilgamesh]

~One Year Prior To Gilgamesh’s Escape from the Underverse~

Anos paced the desecrated throne room, a wooden table placed directly in the center to turn it into a makeshift war room. A map of the city was sprawled across the table with knives pinning the corners. In the time of Gilgamesh’s disappearance, people looked to the closest thing that would bring them stability. For many it was the allure of raw power of serving bandits, or the moral high ground of rebellion against the crown. Sadly, there were still some who believed the old regime was the solution and looked for anything that slightly resembled Gilgamesh. Unfortunately, that person was Gilgamesh’s butler Anos, who had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Anos neither had the raw power nor the charisma of the banished King. Thus the city was in a three-way stalemate, which led to more chaos than if it was held by one faction.

A knock on the large wooden doors broke Anos out of his trance,  the Captain opened the door followed by his usual ensemble of soldiers. His usual grim face led Anos to believe there was more bad news, as usual. The captain walked up and leaned over the wooden table, pressing his palms into his face. He spoke, or more accurately mumbled, his voice seemed like he was in denial.

“We lost Squad Charlie?”

Anos sighed and walked over to the map, scribbled down the losses. As he was writing he looked up and dejectedly spoke. “Was is bandits or rebels this time?”

The captain removed his palms from his face to look at Anos, his eyes were filled with defeat. “Neither.” The word startled the butler, causing him to take a step back.

“What do you mean, neither ?” He spoke as if he were blaming the Captian.

“They deserted. They just left the dunes. I’m starting to think that isn’t such a bad idea myself.” The captain shamefully brought his eyes up to Anos’.

“We must not abandon Nippur! We have to restore it for Gilgamesh!” Anos proudly stated, slamming his fist on the table.

The Captain for the first time spoke up with anger, “What’s the point anymore?! Gilgamesh is gone and the Dunes consume anything that has order to it! The smart thing would be to pack up our bags and leave.”

Anos hesitated before he replied, the thought has occurred to him before as well, “He is going to come back.”

“ It’s been a year now. Do you really still believe that nonsense?”

Anos’ heart felt as if it had a fist clenched around it, “Y-yes of course. The great Gilgamesh-”

The captain slammed his fist against the table, “The great Gilgamesh my fucking ass. Nippur needs a leader and he isn’t here. You want to make sure we don’t collapse, you fucking do something about it.” Before Anos could respond, the captain motioned his fellow soldiers with him to leave, slamming the doors to the throne room shut.

Anos mumbled to himself, “I have to do something about it? Can I?”

[Gilgamesh]

Days had passed in the Dunes and the words the captain had said reverberated through Anos’ head. The words haunted him in his sleep, when he ate, when he breathed. Never before had the servant had to lead anything. His job had been following orders from the King Gilgamesh, any independent thought was unimaginable. But now that the city had turned into chaos, it seemed like no one could fill the void, or at least try and step up.

Anos was lost in thought as he did his usual rounds of cleaning the palace, the last semblance of his normal life. The mindless droning of sweeping his broom back and forth of the marble staircase calmed him. He closed his eyes as the soothing sound of the stiff bristles brushing the smooth marble embraced him. The sound took him back to when the King was in power and everyone was doing their place in his larger scheme. He smiled at the nostalgic memories of the peace that Gilgamesh brought and the stability he provided. He longed to go back to that time.

Anos was snapped out of his bliss by the slamming of the palace doors. A few guardsman had barged their way through the door, laughing with one another. With them, they brought in sand that was caked upon their sandal’s. Without any care, they guards plopped themselves onto the foot of the stairs and began to talk, as if they weren’t on duty. Anos’ bit his tongue out of habit, the hierarchy indicated that the soldiers were of more importance than servants.

“Oh did you see the scuffle between the rebels and some bandits?” All of the other guards nodded in agreement.

“Hopefully they kill themselves off!” The rest of the guards broke out in laughter at the comment. Anos, however, did not find this entertaining. His hand gripped tightly around the splintery, wooden shaft and he grit his teeth. Tossing the broom aside, Anos strode down the stairs with a purpose. The sound of the wood hitting the ground drew the attention of the guards and garnered a few sneers. Anos brushed his leg aggressively into one of the soldiers as he descended the final step.

The guard snarled at Anos, like a rabid dog biting at ankles. “What was that for?!” Gathering all of the theatrics Anos could muster, he swiftly turned before giving the men a scorning look. Their intimidating glares almost silenced him, but he carried on. Brushing himself off, Anos reached deep inside for the most powerful voice he could muster.

“Are you not guards of Nippur? Are you not warrior of the God-King Gilgamesh!” Anos shouted and rose his hand up, making the entire sentiment feel a bit forced. He had no clue whether or not he was pushing it a little too much. The guard Anos brushed against spoke up.

“We are but the God-King is dead. Why should we care what goes on?”

Anos bared his teeth for a moment before speaking with fake confidence once more. “It matters not if he is present with us, for we will always serve Gilgamesh! Upon his return, he will reward those of us who persevered through this hard time.”

The guard snickered before spitting in the opposite direction. Wiping his mouth he spoke with a sarcastic tone, “What are you? A kid? He’s gone forever. Besides, who cares if a few bandits kill one another.”

Anos, trying to sell the last bit of his performance, looked disgusted with the words that came out of the guards mouth. “Do you really have such little faith in our King?” Anos did his best scornful look before continuing. “We need to cull their numbers ourselves to make sure the people here have hope. That they can count on Gilgamesh’s regime even when he isn’t present. If you pathetic lot cannot help me, then I shall go alone.” Anos stormed out of the room, beads of sweat breaking down on his face.

The bright sun beat down on Anos’ face, the beads of sweat trailed uncomfortably down his face. Taking his white, silky sleeve, he wiped the sweat from off his forehead. It doesn’t matter to Anos if any of the guards were convinced by his false courage. Though he didn’t believe most of what he said, he felt that some of it held some truth. The people here needed something to believe in and if it was Gilgamesh’s return...however unlikely, then so be it.

As he began to make steps in the forward direction, the doors behind him burst open with a few of the guards bustling outside to run to Anos. With a bit of shock on his face, Anos turned to greet the few soldiers. Contrary to the jaded and lifeless eyes of the particularly resistant guard inside, these guards had sheepish smiles on their faces and a little bit of life glimmered in their eyes. Anos chuckled at brought his palm to his forehead. He was probably the least qualified person to do this but was all this forsaken city had at the moment. One of the guards shouted, trying to rise everyone's spirits, “Let’s go kick some bandit ass!”

Anos followed that up with “For Gilgamesh!” to which the group responded by following his chant. The group of secondaries, pride in their hearts, went to find the troublemakers. Anos, feeling very out of place, lead the way asking for directions from the soldier behind him. Already he could feel their demeanor changing, they looked more comfortable in a happy way rather than a ‘I don’t give a shit way’. Following their direction, Anos headed towards the West side of town, which was rampant with Proto Mouse sympathizers, ugh. He shuddered at the thought. Who would worship one that brought us into Chaos.

Anos could hear the fight before he could see it. The sound of clanging metal and sporadic gunshots could be heard in the distance. The streets were completely empty, most likely the people smart enough were able to get inside their houses before it started. Anos turned back to look at his little envoy of soldiers, to see that surprisingly the sounds of combat hadn’t deterred their enthusiasm much.

Anos turned to see the fight, many bodies already littered the floor, however some still continued to fight. The two sides were easily distinguishable, with the rebels in a rag tag outfit in which they displayed their rebellion to the crown. The other side was the much less respectable bandits wearing discarded goods and trash as rough armor. Blood was used as paint to decorate their weapons and bodies.

And now what was Anos supposed to do...The soldiers had their weapons, but Anos. He was just a servant. What in the fuck was he supposed to do?! One of the bandits sliced down a rebel in time to notice the squad of guards. He made it seem so effortless, the cold steel slicing cleanly across the rebel’s chest. With a demented look this bandit smiled at the guards, his teeth barbarically sharpened into jagged points. His gritty voice scratched at Anos’ ears.

“Look at what’s on the menu, boys.” Licking his lips, the bandits whipped his wrist, slicking all of the blood off of his sword. With adrenaline pumping through his system Anos attempted to speak, but his mouth was too incredibly dry. One of the guards behind him shouted, “You shall die in the name of the King!” before the rest of them charged. The bandit, surprised by this sudden burst of courage from the guards growled as he was being pushed back. One of the guards was quickly upon him, clashing their swords together. All of the other guards joined the fray, quickly trading blows with both bandits and rebels, while Anos was just standing there. The servant had absolutely nothing to contribute, he was the only unarmed one of the group.

Anos was frozen in his inability, thinking of whether to just leave or to cheer for his fellow babylonians. One of the guards who had pressed forward, however took more than he could chew. Being so deep in the enemy lines, a few had ganged up on the man, forcing him on the defensive. One of the bandits pressing the attack, swung with such ferocity it picked the man up off his ass and sent him to the floor. The bandit went in for a lethal swing, but was swiftly knocked off his ass.

Anos blinked a few times, his fist extended and sore from punching the bandit in the jaw. He had no idea on how he got here so fast and when it had occurred in his thought process. He had no time to think, he was in the thick of it now. The bandit, who had just been knocked the fuck out, had some upset friends who were looking for revenge. The young guard on the floor quickly stood up and walked in front of Anos, wielding his sword in a defensive position.

“We have your back, Anos,” determination and pride was thick in the guard’s voice. The guard continued to block blows from the bandits, while Anos hid behind him. Having the sense of determination and power flow through him again, Anos ducked underneath the guard’s arm to uppercut another bandit, however this time he had a sword through his chest. Pain. Everywhere. Darkness. Incoming.

-------

Anos awakened in his quarters, his chest aching badly with bandages all around him. A woman he didn’t know before was tending to his wound as one of the guards was watching over him. He gave him a weak smile before the guard spoke.

“Hey look who’s awake.” Anos tried to sit up, but pain flared across his chest and he gave up. “Hey hey. Don’t try and kill yourself. You we’re awesome.” The guard continued, “We managed to finish off the rest of the enemies and show that we are real babylonian's again thanks to you.” Anos nodded, his throat felt dry and speaking would drain much from him. “In the future though, I wouldn’t recommend punching as a method of fighting off bandits.” The guard laughed and got up to leave, “I hope you feel better soon. We’ll be needing you.”

Anos knew inside that the guard was right. But punching bandits felt so good.

[Gilgamesh]

As the nurse was changing Anos’ bloody bandages, he grumbled at her. His well-kept beard had begun to grow scruffy, and his tended to hair had grown much longer than he had liked. “I’ve been here for over a week.” He mumbled, “ How much longer till I get out of here?” The nurse turned her head and gave him a sympathetic smile.

“I’m sorry honey,” She spoke with a southern accent, clearly she wasn’t a native of Nippur. Her eyes drifted back to her work as she continued to speak, her dexterous fingers delicately unwinding the bloody bandage. “You’re lucky you ain’t dead.” The last of the crimson stained material peeled off of his chest, with the nurse tossing it onto her cart and fetching a bandage roll. Anos pressed his hands against the side of the rickety bed and tried to lift his body up. Pain shot up across his chest, his fresh scabs cracked at the seams, letting trails of blood leak out. The nurse turned around and let out a pained sigh, “Oh no.” She mumbled as she gently lowered his upper body back into a resting position. “I know you want to be all big and mighty and help but right now you need to rest.” She patronized him.

Anos sent the nurse a dirty glare even though he knew that she was right. With his voice full of a mixture of shame and defeat, he mumbled. “What can I do?” His hands nervously combed his hair, his soul dying from the sheer boredom and inactivity. The nurse rolled her eyes at the busy body, the servant was quiet and docile before his little escapade. Through some sort of internal revelation on his trip, he became impatient and anxious. What can you even do? The nurse thought to herself as she wound the bandage against his chest. Her polite manners prevented her from stating the obvious, instead she spoke with a cheerful tone, “Let’s see what I can do for you.”

She walked out from the bedroom, slamming the door as she exited. The sudden sound startled Anos. Looking about the room with sheer boredom, he began to play with his new bandages, peeling and unpeeling the new bandage. The air stung at his wounds, making him wince in pain. Patting the folded bandage over his wound, he decided it was better to leave it for now. The door burst open as the nurse barged back into the room, with a sandy stick in her hands.

Anos frowned, “You just brought in the filthy sand inside! I’m going to have to clean it up!” He pouted at the nurse.

She sarcastically nodded, “And you just had to peel your bandages didn’t you?” Blood rushed to Anos’ cheeks as she tape back the bandage on his chest. She smiled as she chastised him, “What are you some mangy dog? Do you need a cone around your head?” Anos turned his eyes away from her, a bit ashamed of his improper manners. As she was done teasing the overbearing servant, she turned back to her cart. Anos tried to peer over to see what she was retrieving before she tossed the sandy stick into his bed.

“What is this for?!” He exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and disgust. The gritty sand was getting into his sheets and was figuratively crawling underneath his skin. Every grain of sand grated on his nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

The nurse gave him a genuinely kind smile before speaking, “Its to help you walk around. You shouldn’t go around punching bandits again but I figured you’d like to get out of this bed.” She placed a comforting hand onto his shoulder, her motherly warmth soothing him.

Anos felt like a child in a candy store, “When can I get up?” He asked with enthusiasm. His eye filled with excitement, he was going to be able to finally relieve his boredom. The nurse rolled her eyes and gave him a smile before extending her hand.

“Right now if you want, darling.” Anos had a stupid, toothy grin on his face, grabbing onto her one hand while holding onto the branch with his other. He was able to swing his legs over the bed, pressing down upon the branch with the bulk of his weight. “You’re doing great,” the nurse cooed. He let his legs dangle a bit, his feet gingerly touching the floor. He pushed off the bed and was able to get back onto his feet, his legs wobbly from the lack of use. The nurse put her arms beneath his, helping him support his weight as he found his balance. As Anos found his footing, the nurse eased up eventually letting him stand on his own weight. Leaning on the branch as a crutch, he gave the nurse a small nod with a smile.

“Thank you miss,” He said, attempting a half bow, briefly losing his balance before fulling going back to his upright position. She gave him a pitiful smile before asking, “Are you okay honey? You need anything else?”

Anos waved his hand and shook his head, “No thank you madam. I’ll be much better now that I can do something around here.” Giving him a nod, the nurse walked out of the room in a hurry, most likely others were injured as well. Taking a few cautious steps, Anos was getting the hang of walking with this ‘pseudo cane’. Turning his head, he was able to see himself in the mirror. He cringed at his own appearance. His already shabby appearance worsened with the large cut on his chest, and the cane combined with his greying hair made him looks years above his age.

Pretending he didn’t see himself, he kept on walking past the mirror and out the door. The palace was a mess, he hadn’t had the time to upkeep it since his injuries. He thought about taking this time to clean the palace, but even the thought of bending over hurt. Feeling a bit defeated, he continued to wander around the palace, looking for something that would let him be of use, without hurting himself.

Aimlessly wandering across the halls, Anos saw the dead halls bustling with guards once more active with a newfound energy. Anos stayed close to the walls, letting the troops hustle around the palace. Turning the corner, he found himself in a hall that was eerily empty and that he himself rarely traveled too. Coming to the end of the hall, he slowly opened the door revealing an enormous library. As he tentatively took a few steps in, he coughed violently. The air in the room was stale and cobwebs decorated the luxurious furniture. Slowly strolling up to one of the shelves, he took out one of the books, releasing the dust-caked book from its slumber. Opening the book he saw that it was a classic masterpiece by an ancient mesopotamian author. Taking the book , he walked over to a velvet couch and brushed off the dust that had settled there.

------

Closing the third book he had just read, Anos looked out to see that the sun had begun to set. He was however, greatly enjoying himself reading from his King’s great collection. Maybe he could provide himself useful by educating himself? Anos reached for his cane, and stood up to return the book back into its shelf. Deciding to read one last book before he went back to his chambers, something caught the corner of his eye. Taking it out from the shelf, the texture of the book brought shivers up his spine. The book had a tannish color to it and the covor had a disturbing eye that made eye contact with Anos. Instinctively he wanted to put the book away, but as he was returning it to its spot the book called to him. No matter how much he tried to put back the book, he was so curious.

Within minutes Anos found himself sitting on the couch, enthusiastically reading the ancient text. Opening the cover, he found the title of the book written in a green ink, “The Book of Fifty Names”. Opening the first page of the book, it was in an ancient language unknown to him. The seemingly forbidden page, however, didn’t let him just close the book. Anos quickly got up and sought through the library for some sort of translative text. Eventually finding something that looked like the ancient language the book contained, he painstakingly looked through the pages to decipher the page itself.

Hours had passed and Anos has managed to translate the page, the title reading “Summoning.” His heart raced at the discovery of the words. Reading the ancient ritual, Anos decided he had to do it for himself. The ritual was simple. It required a dead animal and candles. How was he supposed to get a dead animal? Within minutes he found himself outside a guards door, knocking at it. Words escaped his mouth that didn’t feel like they belonged to him.

“I require a dead animal, any will do. Bring it to me in the study.” Anos briefly spoke before returning to the study. His mind was hazy and he was losing track of time. He wasn’t sure if he was even completely sane at the moment. A blur of time, and the candles were already set up in a pentagram, lit. Anos swiftly turned his head to the creak of a door to see the guard returning. Timidly he entered.

“I-I brought you something.” The guard voice quivered. Afraid to enter the room, the guard tossed the corpse over to Anos, hitting the floor with a thud. Not even letting Anos give the guard thanks, he had bolted out of the room. Anos retrieved the animal, observing that it was one that had belonged to a fox. He would have ordinally scolded the guard for tossing the corpse, but he was just excited to try this. Putting the fox in the middle of the ritual, he opened the book and spoke the incarnation hurriedly.

“Accipe vas implevi spiritu” He chanted over and over again. The fox body twitching as he repeated the phrase. A smile grew on his face as the fox convulsed faster and faster before stopping all together. Anos stopped chanting, the fox shaked its head as if it woke up from the nap. Taking a look around its environment, it meet its eyes with Anos before smiling. The fox’s teeth had changed considerably, its fangs curly and wicked in nature. It’s voice had a deep and sinister tone.

“My name is Asag, potential master. I require a life to seal the contract.”