Full Circle

As each day passed with no word from Buffy, Sharru-kin became more and more morose. He feared the worst: that Lutz had won over the heart of the Slayer. Anxious to get to the bottom of things, he left his grand halls atop the mount for Eanna, eager to speak with the Oracles.

“Hail, Sharru-kin. What brings you to Eanna?” asked Mirë, a sly smile on her face.

“I’ve come seeking your counsel, o’ Wise Ones.”

“And what gift have you brought for us, king of mortals?” queried Anno.

“I have brought you this ruby and gold necklace,” answered the young man holding out the item. “It was wrought by your father in Folkvang,” he added as the jeweled necklace flew from his hand to Anno’s.

“You have brought us a gift wrought by our father,” repeated the woman with surprise. “Why would you give us such a priceless gift? Surely, this was meant to be an heirloom of your house.”

“I am desperate for news of Inanna, and am willing to part with any trinket in my possession. To me, your mother is the only treasure that I hold dear and would not willingly part with.”

Anno took the jeweled necklace and placed it around the neck of his sister. They smiled at the gesture, yet knew that that was not his true purpose for the visit.

“Mother is fine,” replied Anno.

“She has gained control of Eshnunna and is working with the new king to enact her laws in that city,” added Mirë.

“That is not what he means, my dear sister,” said Anno turning to Mirë. “He wonders about mother’s relationship with Lutz. Am I correct, Sharru-kin?” The young mortal nodded in reply.

“Hmm,” began the woman. “You must remember, Sharru-kin, that mother is the Vala of Love. She will not remain faithful to any one man… it is against her true nature.”

“But do not doubt her feelings for you,” interjected Anno. “She loves you and her time with you will be a memory that she will treasure for all her days.”

“That is good to hear, but I miss her terribly,” said the young man. “I feel that she has taken my heart with her. I feel empty inside.”

“Your loneliness will abate in a fortnight when she returns,” revealed Mirë, studying the mortal carefully. “My heart tells me that you’ve actually come to make a bold request. What is it, dear mortal?”

Sharru-kin’s face turned to one of surprise; his jaw dropped. He was hoping to make some small talk with Buffy’s twins before requesting a favor from Ilúvatar. Mirë chortled at the young king’s reaction. It amused her that he thought that she and her brother didn’t know the real reason for his visit.

“You are both rightly called the Oracles, I see,” chuckled the young man nervously. The twins looked at him with bemused expressions on their faces. “It is for your mother that I’ve truly come. But she did not send me. I am here on my own accord. I would give Inanna all the world if it were in my power, but alas, I am but a mere mortal and possess no great talents. Her happiness and bliss is all that I wish for, and I know, in the bottom of my heart, that she does not have that.”

“And what would make mother happy?” asked Anno, cupping his hands together on his lap.

“The House of Eru, my Lord and Lady,” replied Sharru-kin without skipping a beat. “This place brings her great joy and I know she would like to claim it as her own. She would never make such a bold request, yet I would. And I now have.” He paused before he resumed speaking. “Inanna has said that I came to her in a dream long before I was born… I have no memory of that but if I am truly a servant of the Allfather, then I would beseech Him to grant unto the Lady the temple that she desires most, for she would like nothing more than to make this her permanent abode.”

“Mother will never truly have a permanent dwelling outside of Folkvang,” disclosed Mirë. “Yet I do not doubt your words as I too see that the great Inanna Ishtar covets Eanna. This is already known to Ilúvatar.”

“Mother has many temples, Sharru-kin,” said Anno. “Why is it that she longs for this one above the rest? Surely, her halls in Uruk closely resemble this one.”

“But Eridu is the heart of Sumer,” said the mortal king with pride. “And the Great War was fought upon this very mount. Here, she died and was reborn. Here, people saw her in her full glory. Here, she defeated Illyria. Here, she established the first city. Eridu is dearer to her than all other places… ”

“And will remain so until the End of Days,” revealed Anno solemnly.

“Will Eru not grant His champion the right to call Eanna her own? Will He not exchange holy shrines with her? She would gladly give Zabalam to Him as His holy place of worship.”

The Oracles fell quiet for a few minutes or so it seemed. Sharru-kin could not hear the conversation taking place in their minds with the Allfather. To him, the entire temple was silent except for the faint voice of the minstrel who sang day and night as was custom in all the temples that Buffy controlled.

“You are indeed in the Allfather’s good graces, young Sharru-kin, for Eru Ilúvatar will grant your prayer,” said Mirë at last. “Eanna is now the holy temple of his favored daughter, Inanna Ishtar. He does not desire Zabalam in exchange. That shrine was wrought by the mortals out of love for the Vala of Love and shall remain hers as long as it stands.”

“He does ask that His icon, the Holy Cross, be affixed to the wall behind us in this chamber. We understand that you wish to make alterations to the temple that mother will find befitting, but you must first erect that symbol before doing anything else,” informed Anno.

“I will do as the Allfather has asked,” replied the mortal king, bowing before the Oracles. “Thank you kindly, Lord and Lady.” Sharru-kin then left the chamber, his heart less heavy than when he came.

Mirë rose from her seat, as did Anno. “Young Sharru-kin will have a great impact on mother,” she said as she and her brother descended the steps of the dais.

“His descendants will have an even greater impact on Arda,” added Anno as they left the chamber.

Just as the Oracles had foretold, Buffy arrived back at Eridu two weeks later. She excitedly told the story of how she had captured the city of Eshnunna with the help of the new king. Fearing a possible revolt, she had placed a few troops from Uruk in the former city of Marduk in an attempt to thwart a possible uprising. Lazaros had disposed of most of the loyalists of the renegade Vala, but the Slayer in her didn’t want to take any chances. Her warriors’ presence was meant to intimidate and dissuade any from retaliating against her or the king.

In hope of quelling Sharru-kin’s abandonment issues, the Slayer spent most of her time with the young man. They continued to train, preparing for the next strike that would take place after the first of the year. The black-haired young man had successfully talked Buffy into joining him in battle, something she had not intended to do.



“And on this day, I proclaim you Sargon, King of Sumer,” declared an ecstatic Buffy as she placed a new, more elaborate crown on her lover’s head. His name meant ‘Lord of Stone’ in the elvish tongue, signifying his high status in the East as ruler of all the city-states. “Together we will conquer all the neighboring nations and rule them in peace.”

“Amen,” uttered the young man with a smile.

Despite the ceremonious nature of the coronation, Sargon, as he was now called, scooped the Slayer into his arms, kissing her passionately in front of thousands of spectators. The Sumerians cheered with approval. The mortals were envious of the young king that had won the heart of the Vala of Love. Being the beloved of Inanna Ishtar meant that one was granted great wealth, privilege and power. Already, many men hoped that the day would come when one of their descendants would win the heart of the King of the East, making them more powerful than they ever imagined.

Over the course of the following week, Buffy brought thousands upon thousands of warriors from the surrounding city-states to Eridu. She deemed that it would be much easier to teleport them all from one location as opposed to many. As soon as she and her armies left, the artificers began their labors. While some were to work on the cross of Eru, others began mining Buffy’s favorite gemstone, lapis lazuli. Sargon had not yet told her about the temple, wanting to surprise her after the war.

Fighting again proved to invigorate the Slayer. While she had brought along the Brisingamen to help sway the enemy to her side, she stowed it away until she felt compelled to utilize its powers. Her young warriors needed to experience combat firsthand. She wanted to share with them the power that one possesses when a weapon’s clutched in his or her hand, the rush one gets when that blade pierces both the flesh and bone of the enemy. To feel the ecstasy that one has when one snuffs out the life of another. For Buffy and Sargon, it was more than just the thrill of the kill: slaying made them both amorous. After each victory, the couple submitted to their desires of the flesh amidst the moaning cries of the dying that lay on the battlefield. It was their way of celebrating their success.

One by one, each of Marduk’s cities fell under Buffy’s dominion, leaving Nippur to fight alone. Nippur was the prize of all prizes. It was a magnificent city built long ago under the guidance of the renegade Vala. It was the power center of Marduk’s realm and also the home of his chief dwelling place. It was mid-spring, Yr 187 F.A. when Buffy and her troops arrived. Thanks to the powers of the Brisingamen, the Slayer’s forces had increased threefold. Each time she conquered one of the renegade Vala’s cities, his men joined her armies, leaving Marduk greatly outnumbered.

The battle for Nippur lasted only four months before Marduk fled the city in his ram drawn chariot with his wife and son. Buffy’s hope of killing the renegade Vala proved futile. While she did take to the air in an attempt to shoot down his chariot with her Glove, she only managed to kill two rams. She would later discover that Marduk and his family had escaped to his refuge in the middle of the desert located west of Cuiviénen.

It was in Nippur that Buffy first encountered the most pitiful of creatures from Marduk’s experiments with gene splicing. These were the beasts that didn’t turn out as well as say the centaurs, satyrs, and sphinxes, (which she would later learn were released into the wild before Buffy’s raid of the city.) While there were many strange and vile looking beasts, one stood out above the rest. The creature seemed to be a cross between a human and a pig. Its skin was more like a pig’s, pinkish in color, covered in light hair. Attached to its short humanlike limbs were hoofs as opposed to hands or feet. The creature could walk unsteadily upright, but mostly moved about on all fours. Its hideous face incorporated the traits of both species with its eyes being the most human-like feature. They were brown, crusty and looked at the Slayer and her companions with interest. The mouth was twisted and foamy drool constantly dribbled from the corners of its mouth. The creature made a series of odd sounds, something between a grunting noise and a moan. Buffy got the impression that the beast was in constant pain. The odor that emitted from it was horrid; it smelled as though it had been rolling around in its own feces, which would explain the brown encrusted patches all over its body.

Both Buffy and Sargon stood there, mouths agape looking at that bizarre creature. That’s when they discovered that it was in fact male or so they assumed. Two large testicles, the size of softballs, dangled between the creatures legs. As it rose to an upright position, they noticed its penis, which was long and curved. They were further stunned when the organ grew in size before inserting itself into a slit on the stomach. The creature then started copulating with itself.

“Oh my Eru!” exclaimed the mortal king.

“It’s a hermaphrodite,” mumbled the Slayer. Sargon gave her a strange look. “It has both sexes, obviously.” The weird thing was that no matter how much Buffy wanted to turn away, she couldn’t. She had never seen anything like that before and she remained frozen to the spot. After a few minutes, the beast made a high-pitched squealing sound before its watery excrement spewed from its anus, which apparently was located above the slit. The creature trembled before falling to the ground in spasms, revolting the Slayer to no end. “Put that pitiful son-of-a-bitch out of its misery, Sargon. The last thing we need is to have that thing reproducing,” she said, gagging as she distanced herself from the foul odor. The pig man let out another ear-splitting squeal as Sargon rammed his blade through its chest. “Don’t mutilate it,” she said, covering her nose with her sleeved arm.

“Are you alright?” asked her lover, who came to her side, stroking her hair. She nodded. “What kind of unholy creatures are these?” he asked, as his eyes scanned the other monsters in the garden.

Buffy knew that Sargon and the other mortals would not comprehend a lengthy and detailed explanation of DNA splicing, so she decided to give her lover a different account on how those creatures came into being.

“This is what happens when mortals have sex with animals. They bring forth these hideous beasts.” She shook her head in disgust. She turned to another companion. “Bag it! And kill the rest. I want them brought back to Sumer so all can see the results of committing such sinful acts.” She then hastily fled the garden with Sargon by her side.

If anyone appreciated the works of Marduk, it was Istahiro. He was dumbstruck by the strange beasts and looked forward to dissecting them. He desperately wanted to get his hands on some living specimens, so Buffy authorized a bounty on the creatures, fifteen gold pieces to those that captured the monsters alive, ten for dead ones. The healer and his assistants (including Nestor) remained in Nippur where they had access to Marduk’s laboratories and research.

Buffy attributed their successful campaign to the heroic deeds of Sargon and granted him the right to rename the newly acquired territory. He called it Akkad, and in reverence to his Vala lover, he commanded that a new city be built in her honor. In years to come, Agade would become the new capital of that eastern territory. With the war now ended, the Slayer left Eridu with half her troops. The rest were dispersed throughout the newly conquered regions in order to maintain order.

When they arrived back to the capital city, Buffy was stunned by the changes to the temple of Eru. The entire exterior was now covered in lapis lazuli, sparkling beneath the sunlit sky like some magnificent star. High atop Eanna blew her banner in the early afternoon breeze.

“Do you like it?” asked Sargon, wrapping his arms around her waist.

A speechless Buffy stared at the temple wide-eyed for several minutes. She turned to her lover, a look of confusion on her face. “You did this? I… I don’t understand.”

“I spoke with the twins,” he answered with a huge grin on his face. “And Eru has granted you His temple,” he continued, taking her hands in his. “Eanna is now officially yours.” Buffy’s reaction pleased the young king; he knew that she loved it. “Let me show you the changes that I had made.” He then led her up the stairway. When they reached the top, she noticed for the first time, the two mammoth golden statues representing Kit and Kat that flanked the main entrance to the temple. She was so touched by that thoughtful gesture. Sargon knew how important her kitties were to her and found a way to incorporate them into his designs.

The silver cross that graced the wall of the main chamber took her aback. There was no way to avoid seeing that sacred symbol, as it was well over fifty feet tall. Unfortunately, seeing that icon displayed so prominently on the wall brought to mind the torments that she had endured at the hands of Úrion. But how could she refuse Eru’s one and only request?

The tour ended, appropriately enough, inside her bedchamber. The entire room was tastefully redone in sapphire blue and gold, from the striped fabric wallpaper to the oversized canopied bed. The bedstead was made from lapis lazuli as well as the bedposts, which were carved in the likeness of her cats standing in an upright position. As Buffy moved in for a closer look, she noticed three scenes carved into the headboard: her death upon the cross, her rebirth, and her crowning as King of the East. It was so beautifully done that the images didn’t disturb her in the slightest. It was a work of art that Buffy loved dearly.

Buffy rewarded her mortal lover with not only a mid-afternoon romp, but also bestowed a new title upon him: High Priest of Eru. Since she did not accept men as priests in her temples, she decided to make him one of Ilúvatar’s. It only made sense, since Sargon had been sent to her as a messenger from the Allfather years before.

Only a week later, Buffy announced that she had to return to Folkvang to carry out her sacred duties. Many men and women had perished in the battles and it was time for her to determine their fates. Sargon pleaded with her to delay her trip, but the Slayer refused.

“Take advantage of this opportunity and bring forth another heir for me, my beloved,” she told the young man. “And it wouldn’t hurt my feelings any if you took a second wife. It is law, after all.” Sargon loathed her departure. He knew that he would not see her for some time. And he was right. The Slayer wouldn’t return for more than two years.

Buffy didn’t spend all that time in Folkvang. She refused to return to Eridu until her mortal lover had expanded his family. As long as she was around, Sargon would not sleep with his wife. It was imperative to her designs that he bring forth more children.

By the time that Sargon had reached his thirtieth year, he had fathered five children with his primary wife and one with his second. Out of all his children, Buffy would come to love his firstborn daughter, Enheduanna, most of all. Once she had reached her teens, Enheduanna had become the Vala of Love’s chief hymnist, whose songs of devotion to Buffy were remembered for millennia.

It was around that time when Sargon proposed that he and the Slayer have a child together. Buffy had never really given any thought to procreating with a mortal before and found the prospect of doing so quite intriguing. Olofin proved to be as great as his siblings were, even though he had elvish blood running through his veins. Would bearing a child to the mortal king have the same results? Yes, Sargon was a fierce warrior but he was also gentle and kindhearted, making him an ideal mate for her. But Buffy was unsure. Committing adultery was one thing, but having a child with a man that was not her husband was altogether different. She thought that that was taking things a little too far. Yet Sargon would not let the matter die. He was persistent and used to getting his way, a trait that he had picked up from his Vala lover, for Buffy had always gotten her way.

In the end, she relented. She agreed to have a child with her mortal lover.

Now, Buffy had always assumed that her ‘will’ played a role in the conception process. If she willed it, it would happen. Unfortunately, that proved to be false. She and Sargon started trying to conceive in spring and by the time that summer rolled around, she still wasn’t pregnant. Something was wrong. How was it that the Vala of Love could not become pregnant? She could cast fertility spells left and right, yet here she was unable to conceive. She looked to the Oracles for answers.

All she got from the twins was that whole song and dance about it being Eru’s will.

“Why the sudden need to carry the child of your lover?” asked a frowning Anno. He locked his disapproving gaze on his mother. “You’re a Vala, nana, a Vala! Do not be so hasty to mix your blood with the mortals. They are weak and fickle.” His tone became less harsh. “You have not been around mortals much, not until Sargon came along. Already flecks of gray appear in his hair, the lines of age deepening on his face. He is mortal, mother, and mortals age swiftly, they are not long for this world. That is Ilúvatar’s gift. Do not forget that. Bringing forth a child from one of that race does not mean the child will be immortal - it will not. It does not matter that you are an Ainu. Any being with mortal blood is destined to die unless one with greater powers alters that.”

“I have the power to grant the gift of immortality,” she said softly.

“Indeed you do,” replied her son. “However, when the time arrives when you do bear a child with a mortal, Ilúvatar will prevent you from making him immortal. He will be long-lived, yes, but not immortal.”

“I’m gonna have another son?” she queried, slightly taken aback by that revelation.

“In time. He will be a son of Sargon the Great, but that is many, many years away.”

“Enough, Anno,” chimed in Mirë, linking her arm with her mother’s. “It’s my turn to spend some quality time with nana.” She gave Buffy a warm smile. “Let us walk through the gardens of Eanna. There is something that I wish to discuss with you.”

Buffy and her daughter left Anno on the cooling terrace as they made their way towards the lavish gardens that surrounded the temple. “What do you want to speak to me about?” queried the Slayer, already knowing the answer.

“Sargon.”

The Slayer chuckled. “He seems to be the topic of conversation lately, doesn’t he?”

“It appears so,” answered her daughter. “I am a seer, mother, it is what I do. I have seen much that will happen in the future… Have you not given thought to granting your lover everlasting life?”

Buffy stopped and faced her daughter, a serious look on her face. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Do you think I’ll always be here… in Sumer, I mean?” she asked somberly. Mirë did not answer. She saw the pain on her mother’s face, in her voice. “At some point, I’ve gotta return to Beleriand. If I make Sargon immortal, do you think he would stay behind?” Buffy studied her daughter. “No, he’d follow me. And I know I don’t have to tell you what kind of problems that would cause. Sargon will die, and I will be there when he does. I will then take his fey to Folkvang.”

“That is against the laws of Manwë. You are only to claim those that die on the battlefield, not those that die a natural death.” Her daughter’s tone was full of warning.

“I don’t give a damn about the laws of Manwë Súlimo. He may have a say in Valinor, but not here. I call the shots here,” she said heatedly. “I’m a Vala, Mirë. My will rules. None can hinder my plans.” She placed her hand on her daughter’s cheek, caressing it affectionately; her lips curled into a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about me, my sweet girl.” Buffy placed a kiss on her forehead before wondering off to join her lover in his labor of love.

“Therein lies the problem,” uttered Mirë to herself. “Things do not always go according to plan.”

When Sargon heard the news, he was disappointed. Having a child with Buffy would have been a tremendous honor, but he accepted, without question, the will of Ilúvatar.

“If Eru said it wasn’t meant to be, then so be it,” he had told her. “It was but a fleeting dream.”

Buffy never mentioned to Sargon that she would one day have a child with one of his descendants. She felt that it served no purpose. In after days, she found herself somewhat relieved by Eru’s decision. While she loved Sargon dearly, he was still a man of Kish, a man of Luthor. He was born to a line of devoted followers of the Maia, who held him in the highest of esteem. There were even times, in the past, when her mortal lover sided with the wisdom of the old man, annoying the Slayer considerably. But Buffy had become resourceful over the years, learning how to manipulate the others. She knew that none contested the will of Ilúvatar, not Luthor, not Olofin. It didn’t matter whether His will was voiced by the Oracles or herself, all abided by it, without question. Buffy never admitted to any that there were times when she proclaimed things to be Eru’s will when they were in fact her own. The Oracles dare not dispute the words of their mother because she was indeed carrying out Ilúvatar’s will whether she thought so or not.

It was only a few years later when the first whisperings of revolution reached Buffy’s ears. While Sargon’s empire had known peace and prosperity, a few of the lesser kings wished to usurp not only his position of power, but also his status with the Vala of Love. The most eager of these kings was the king of Ur, Nimmar. When Buffy caught wind of the mortal lord’s plan to wage war on Sargon in order to win her over, she immediately visited him in secret.

The King of Ur proved successful in winning the Slayer’s affections. She found both his brazenness and good looks alluring. They became lovers only hours after their initial meeting.

For many months, she kept the affair secret, not wanting to upset Sargon. The king of Sumer had accepted that he was powerless when it came to her affair with the Ainu Lutz, but that wasn’t necessarily the case when it came to a mortal lover. He could do something about that.

It was during the winter of Yr 193 F.A., when Buffy left Eridu for Ur. She had been gone for many weeks when Sargon learned of the affair from one of his kinfolk who was conducting business in that city-state. Enraged by the audacity of the king of Ur, the King of Sumer declared war upon Ur. A vast fleet of ships carrying 130,000 warriors left the port outside of Eridu for the southern city. At the helm of the first ship stood the massive, intimidating figure of Sargon whose love for the Vala inflamed him to action.

Fate must have been on the King of Sumer’s side, for thick mists shrouded the Buranun River and the scores of ships on its waters. It was on a moonless night when they arrived at Ur; all the land lay sleeping. None knew of the arrival of the armies until they neared the gates of the city. Marto quickly dispatched a messenger to Sargon in hope of parleying with the wrathful mortal king.

“I have come for the head of Nimmar, who attempts to seize from me she whom I love dearly,” he said to the messenger. “Send forth the thief or else I will break down these gates and take what is rightfully mine!”

When Marto heard the threatening words of Sargon, he summoned Buffy to his temple. The Maia wasn’t prepared for battle and feared incurring the Slayer’s wrath if he personally attacked her mortal lover. Buffy, on the other hand, was absolutely thrilled that Sargon came for her. What woman hasn’t dreamt of having two lovers fight to the death over her? She viewed the sudden raid as a game, a game in which the victor wins her affections as his prize.

Sargon, in his rage, didn’t wait for an answer from Marto. As soon as the messenger had mounted his steed and galloped off to the Maia’s holy shrine, the king’s men set up the battering ram outside the iron gates. By the time Buffy arrived at Marto’s temple, the loud, cracking sound of iron colliding with iron echoed beneath the pitch-black sky.

Buffy stood atop the Maia’s ziggurat staring at the armies of Eridu in the distance. Her heart pounded wildly in anticipation of the impending clash. Witnessing the lengths that Sargon was willing to go to out of love for her convinced the Slayer that he was indeed the man for her. He was a doer, not a sayer.

“Let them come,” commanded Buffy, her hands clasped behind her back. The bitter cold wind that swirled around her and her companions had no effect on her. Sargon’s demonstration of love touched her so deeply that all she felt was the warmth of his heart, and the heat of their passion. She knew that none could withstand the might of Sargon the Great, including Nimmar.

“Must we have this unnecessary bloodshed?” barked Marto angrily. “My people do not deserve to die over a spurned heart. This is madness!”

“Let them come,” she repeated before teleporting herself back to her own temple. Marto was furious at Buffy’s indifference but even more furious with himself. He could not rally his forces quickly enough to defend his own.

Buffy casually resumed her nightly activities as though nothing was going on. While Sargon’s men broke through the gates and his armies flooded the streets, she climbed into the hot bath that had been waiting for her. As she eased into the tub, she was glad that Marto’s emergency meeting had not taken so long; her bath water was still steamy hot. Buffy excitedly watched the images of the battle on the water’s surface as her maidens tended to their duties.

The soldiers of Ur, awakened by the clamor, took to the streets with their weapons in hand. With Sargon at the forefront, the forces of Eridu steamrolled over every person that attempted to impede their march to the king’s halls. It was by no means a battle; it was a slaughter.

By the time that the two kings had begun their duel over Buffy’s affections, she was slipping into a low cut red gown. Her priestesses busied themselves by lighting hundreds of candles within her bedchamber. The fragrant scent of burning myrrh filled the chamber. Once Buffy deemed that she was presentable, she sent her maidens away. She sat in an overstuffed chair in the corner of the room waiting expectantly for Sargon to come through her bedchamber door.

The Slayer’s gaze remained fixed on the doorknob. Her excitement grew as she watched it slowly turn. The door swung open and there stood Sargon with the severed head of Nimmar in his hand. Buffy stood, her heart racing, as her lover approached her with the morbid token. Her smile widened when he fell to his knees before her, offering her the head of his rival.

“I, Sargon the Great, King of Sumer and Akkad, High Priest of Eru Ilúvatar, and beloved of the most holy Inanna Ishtar, have proven my utmost love and devotion to the Holiest of the Holies. I will let no man stand between us.” He lowered his gaze in subservience.

Buffy grabbed the severed head by the blood-streaked strands of hair. She used her other hand to stop the head from spinning so that she could examine the lifeless face of Nimmar. His vacant eyes stared blankly at her; his face was already cool to the touch. She tossed the head to the floor before lifting Sargon’s chin. His dark eyes searched hers, anxious for approval.

“I’m so proud of you, my Sharru-kin,” she said in a throaty whisper. “Words cannot express how turned on I am right now. You went to war over me! That is so hot!” She pressed her lips against his with such fervor that they both toppled to the floor. Buffy had never wanted him as much as she did at that very moment. She took Sargon on that very spot…

While Buffy was rewarding her mortal lover with her affections, a small embassy of mortal men left the pyramid of Marduk’s in the west. The renegade Vala and his son, Nabu, stood outside the entrance watching as the men rode across the desert on their camels.

“Are you sure that those twelve men will bring about Inanna Ishtar’s downfall, father?” asked Nabu, his tone revealed his skepticism.

“Do you not have faith in your sire?” asked Marduk with a sinister laugh. “The Vala of Fornication will soon have a plague on her hands! Those men, my dear son, carry a malady that I’ve devised especially for Ishtar’s followers. They’ve been instructed to go to her temples with great offerings ensuring that they will be given quality time with her harlot priestesses. Once they’re afflicted, the disease will spread throughout the East until it finds it true target - Inanna Ishtar.”

“But father, it will take years for the men to reach the nearest city of Ishtar.”

“Perhaps, perhaps,” answered the Vala, stroking his beard. He faced his son before adding, “Patience is a virtue, my son. When you’re immortal, all you have is time… time to exact your vengeance on the enemy. And I name Inanna Ishtar as the enemy. Remember that, Nabu! Trust in your father for I am watching out for our best interests.”

“But won’t the malady claim the lives of the men before they reach her cities?” questioned the young Vala.

A wicked grin came to Marduk’s face. “There is an incubation period. None in Sumer or Akkad will know that they carry the plague until it’s too late.” He turned his gaze to the men, their forms fading in the distance. “My goal is to afflict the Queen of Fornication. Nothing will bring me greater joy than seeing her fall… ”