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Amon didn’t want to talk about magic or body arts. He was afraid that he would reveal important information from talking too much. Instead, he changed the topic and asked, “I heard that staffs can only be made with living materials, but mine is made of Damasc iron…”
Inanna asked, “Didn’t the man who built your staff tell you?”
Amon shook his head. “He is no longer around. He died in the flood.”
Inanna answered, “There is only one way to give a material like that life-like properties. By using your own energy to nourish it, you can use lifeless materials to create a staff. The same has to be done with many of the most precious refinement of magic tools require this processing as well. The processing of horse leather on a staff can make it a warrior’s weapon, suitable for sorcerers the likes of you.
It’s rare for a mage to awaken and practise body arts, but considering you were a miner from Duc town, I am not surprised. Amon, you are a treasure trove of surprises! I was waiting for you here because another goddess was looking for you. She has been listening to us.”
Amon was taken aback. Why would a goddess want to find him? At that moment, he suddenly sensed a strong breath behind him and he quickly turned to see a woman standing in the swamp. Of course, the goddess’ age could not be judged, but she looked about twenty years old, dressed in light, white yarns and barefoot with no trace of mud on her skin.
She appeared on the road that Amon had travelled on but Amon did not notice it. The goddess was stunningly beautiful. Her facial features, posture and skin are flawless and undamaged. Her dress’ cutting fit her figure perfectly as if it was as a part of her. She wore a wreath of twigs, on which the white five-petaled rose was beautifully exposed.
The goddess clearly had grievances in her eyes, which darted from Amon to Inanna. She said, “Mourrin, you wanted to bring Dumuzid to the Underworld to trade for this mortal?”
Instead of answering the mysterious goddess, Inanna turned to Amon and said, “Amon, this is Goddess Persephoni. She thinks I sent my ex-husband Dumuzid to the Underworld in exchange for your freedom. She wants to save Dumuzid, so she is here with the intention to deliver you back for him. I heard about this, hence my presence. Amon, what do you think? Should we trade you for Dumuzid?”
The Queen of the Underworld had demanded a man Mourrin loved in exchange for Amon. Amon knew this, but he had not dared to even imagine it possible. After all, it was he who asked Inanna to bring him to the Underworld, and it was his own action that angered the Queen of the Underworld. Since he had to bear the consequences himself, he fled without hesitation.
Amon did not expect Inanna to actually send her ‘ex-husband’, Dumuzid, to the Underworld in exchange for him! How could he ever afford such graciousness? Amon had read many books in the Temple of Isis about the various gods in the world. He knew the names Dumuzid and Persephoni, who are a pair of siblings in the commoner’s mythology. The relationships between gods were certainly different from a mortal’s understanding, but the relationship between the two gods must not be ordinary. Perhaps Dumuzid and Persephoni were directly related, otherwise, she would not exert the effort to save him.
Persephoni was here to capture Amon, but Inanna just happened to appear to stop this. How did he get involved in the love and hate between gods? Amon couldn’t help but sweat cold droplets. He quickly rose to greet Persephoni, “Dear Goddess, I asked to enter the Underworld of my own accord, but I had also escaped by myself. I bear the consequences for my own actions, but I have never asked anyone to save me. As for Dumuzid, I had no knowledge of his involvement as I had already escaped the Underworld. I am but a mere mortal and do not understand the grievances of the gods.”
Persephoni was staring at Amon. She disregarded Amon at first when her eyes first swept to Inanna as if he was a stone or a tree. Although she came for Amon, she had only spoken to Inanna. With a surprised look, she said, “Amon, you seem to speak in front of two goddesses with no sign of faltering in your composure and yet claim to be mortal. You don’t seem to think of yourself as a mortal.”
Amon replied modestly, “Goddess, you misunderstand me. I just speak the truth as it is, regardless of who I am speaking to. As a goddess, you must understand the truth of the world, which is contained in the glory of divinity, so you are respected by the world.”
Persephoni continued staring at Amon as if she was trying to penetrate his heart with her gaze. She said slowly, “I noticed that you were performing magic in the swamp earlier. At your young age, you are already a supreme sorcerer and like Gilgamesh, you also practise body arts, not to mention you have the ability to escape from the Underworld. No wonder Mourrin likes you. A goddess of her stature could choose any man she wants but she sent her husband in exchange for you. There is no reason for this!”
It was true that this was unreasonable. Turns out that the song Gilgamesh had sung was not wrong. Amon and Inanna caused so much trouble from their extraneous activities but he could not blame her. Amon laughed bitterly and explained, “The matter with Dumuzid has nothing to do with me, considering I escaped the Underworld myself. If he was truly sent to the Underworld in exchange for me, Queen Kella would not be able to produce a satisfactory trade. In that case, should you not approach the Queen to reason with her? As for this incident, I had no prior knowledge of it. Inanna, why are you doing this?”
Inanna showed a sneer and waved her sleeves and said, “See for yourselves!” A mirage of light appeared in mid-air to show two people sitting in a magnificent hall.
In the image, an alluring girl stood in the middle of the hall, swaying gently. Her veil-like blouse only barely covered the top of her chest, her breasts visibly looming. A gold chain was tied around her bare waist and abdomen, brandishing a tearful pendant that hung from it. The pendant gently rocked on her raised buttocks, causing it to jingle sounds of jewellery. At the front of the hall was a reclining chair with a man half-lying on it. He held a glass of wine in his hand, enjoying the sight of the girl that danced in front of him.
Suddenly, Inanna’s loud voice rang, “Shubla! Dumuzid! What are you doing?!” The girl fell on her knees to prostrate. She wept and explained hurriedly, “No my goddess, you misunderstand! Your husband said that you would never return from Kur. He said you were trapped by your sister. He told me that he wouldn’t rescue you unless I dance for him and wait upon him! I am telling the truth! How could I lie to you? Your Majesty can always see what is happening here. Dumuzid said that you had returned to the Underworld and will not return on the account of the Queen of Kur’s cruelty… He asked me to dance for and sincerely serve him and he would find a way to save you!…”
The mirage of light and shadow in the air slowly faded. Persephoni sighed. After a little while, she said, “Mourrin, Dumuzid is still your husband after all.”
Inanna retorted coldly, “He used to be! Do you want such a husband? Furthermore, he is a god, he must bear the punishment of betrayal!”
Persephoni contemplated for a second before saying, “You are the goddess of youth and love and you will, of course, always live in a world of what you call love. If you believe Dumuzid should be punished then so be it, but what of yourself? You have also fallen in love with a variety of different men, so why not punish yourself as well?
The men you loved, with the exception of my handsome brother Dumuzid and the mighty Lion King, who was not hurt? Who can tolerate your ruthless passion? What punishment must you receive for this kind of love? Dear Goddess of love and youth, if you are unable to answer my questions, you will lose the transcendental power that divinity endows.”
Inanna had so many stories? Amon curiously awaited her answer.
“Anyone can choose whether to love or not,” Inanna replied without changing her expression. “The person I love is never a true god. Only Dumuzid may become a god, but he has never been able to comprehend the real path to divinity. Are they all hurt? No, you are wrong. You should look at this from the perspective of the world beneath us.
Every single person who is hurt seems to be someone I love and for only one reason; that I am a powerful goddess. If I was but an ordinary woman on earth with nothing but youth and beauty, what would I be?
The only person who can take this innumerable pain is me.
For example, your dear younger brother, Dumuzid, if I were not a goddess or his wife, I would be helplessly weeping in the Underworld, and in the name of saving me, he would force my servant to devote herself to his pleasure. His betrayal does not lie in love, the lack of love nor who he falls in love with, but in the name of love to force a woman who does not love him to commit herself!
Goddess Persephoni, do you know why you do not have a realm of your own? It is because you still do not understand why the gods are gods! You think you see everything with the eye of the gods, but you do not understand the origin of the so-called divine nature. The punishment I handed down on Dumuzid was the fate he presented in his choice of human nature.”
The long speech was a goddess answering the questions of another goddess. Obviously, it contained a lot of information about the gods. For instance, Persephoni said to Inanna that if she could not answer her questions, she would “lose the transcendental power that divinity endows.” Inanna also told Persephoni that she did not have her own realm because she “does not understand why the gods are gods.”
Amon was fascinated by the exchange, but he still could not fully understand it. Perhaps one day when he becomes a god himself, this information would prove useful.
In the face of Inanna’s sharp counter-criticism, Persephoni’s face became more and more dignified. She sneered, “Goddess of youth and love, there is no problem with your answer, but the people you love always end up with a tragic fate. In this way, even though you have a realm of your own, you can never really unify it until that spell is broken.”
Inanna sternly replied, “That is my business. I have always been looking for the answer and I do not need your concern.”
“I am not giving you my concern. I just want to save Dumuzid.”
Amon, who had been silent for most of the exchange, stretched out his hand and rubbed his temples. He coughed and said, “Dear goddesses, will you listen to me, a mortal?”
Thank you for the chapter 🙂