User:Michael Bard/Marduk's Gift - Revision history

Michael Bard: Category fixes

2008-03-12T21:29:53Z

Category fixes

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:29, 12 March 2008
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	[[Category:Story]]{{DEFAULTSORT:Marduk's Gift}}		[[Category:Story]]{{DEFAULTSORT:Marduk's Gift}}
	{{title\|name=Marduk's Gift\|author=Michael Bard}}		{{title\|name=Marduk's Gift\|author=Michael Bard}}
	[[Category:2007 Xmas Xchange]]		[[Category:2007 Xmas Xchange]][[Category:Animal]][[Category:Equine]]

	Jonpeadag, sometimes known as John, was hot. Hot, covered in sweat. And, also sunk almost up to his thighs in the rich, black, Mesopotamian mud. In the distance he could see a pair of men lifting skins of water and pouring their contents into the irrigation troughs.		Jonpeadag, sometimes known as John, was hot. Hot, covered in sweat. And, also sunk almost up to his thighs in the rich, black, Mesopotamian mud. In the distance he could see a pair of men lifting skins of water and pouring their contents into the irrigation troughs.

Michael Bard at 19:33, 3 January 2008

2008-01-03T19:33:23Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:33, 3 January 2008
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	[[Category:Story]]{{DEFAULTSORT:Marduk's Gift}}		[[Category:Story]]{{DEFAULTSORT:Marduk's Gift}}
	{{title\|name=Marduk's Gift\|author=Michael Bard}}		{{title\|name=Marduk's Gift\|author=Michael Bard}}
			[[Category:2007 Xmas Xchange]]

	Jonpeadag, sometimes known as John, was hot. Hot, covered in sweat. And, also sunk almost up to his thighs in the rich, black, Mesopotamian mud. In the distance he could see a pair of men lifting skins of water and pouring their contents into the irrigation troughs.		Jonpeadag, sometimes known as John, was hot. Hot, covered in sweat. And, also sunk almost up to his thighs in the rich, black, Mesopotamian mud. In the distance he could see a pair of men lifting skins of water and pouring their contents into the irrigation troughs.

Bryan: external image template

2007-12-20T07:51:02Z

external image template

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:51, 20 December 2007
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	He didn't even look up as the earth grumbled. It hadn't before, but then the acts of the Gods were everywhere. He didn't look up at the clatter of ass hooves clomping down the dirt road, sending clumps of mud and dirty water into the fields at either side. He didn't look up as the sound grew louder, and he didn't look up when unspoked wheels clattered by, splashing him with mud and gravel.		He didn't even look up as the earth grumbled. It hadn't before, but then the acts of the Gods were everywhere. He didn't look up at the clatter of ass hooves clomping down the dirt road, sending clumps of mud and dirty water into the fields at either side. He didn't look up as the sound grew louder, and he didn't look up when unspoked wheels clattered by, splashing him with mud and gravel.

	[http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/johnny_shumates_portfolio/picture18024.aspx ~~Summerian king on saddlecart]~~		{{external image
			\|text=Summerian king on saddlecart
			\|url=http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/johnny_shumates_portfolio/picture18024.aspx
			\|artist=Johnny Shumate
			\|artist-url=http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/johnny_shumates_portfolio/default.aspx
			}}

	Even when there was a scream, curses, the gurgling call of dying donkeys, he just kept working.		Even when there was a scream, curses, the gurgling call of dying donkeys, he just kept working.

Michael Bard at 07:48, 20 December 2007

2007-12-20T07:48:34Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:48, 20 December 2007
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	He didn't even look up as the earth grumbled. It hadn't before, but then the acts of the Gods were everywhere. He didn't look up at the clatter of ass hooves clomping down the dirt road, sending clumps of mud and dirty water into the fields at either side. He didn't look up as the sound grew louder, and he didn't look up when unspoked wheels clattered by, splashing him with mud and gravel.		He didn't even look up as the earth grumbled. It hadn't before, but then the acts of the Gods were everywhere. He didn't look up at the clatter of ass hooves clomping down the dirt road, sending clumps of mud and dirty water into the fields at either side. He didn't look up as the sound grew louder, and he didn't look up when unspoked wheels clattered by, splashing him with mud and gravel.

	[http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/johnny_shumates_portfolio/picture18024.aspx]		[http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/johnny_shumates_portfolio/picture18024.aspx Summerian king on saddlecart]

	Even when there was a scream, curses, the gurgling call of dying donkeys, he just kept working.		Even when there was a scream, curses, the gurgling call of dying donkeys, he just kept working.

Michael Bard at 07:46, 20 December 2007

2007-12-20T07:46:10Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:46, 20 December 2007
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	He didn't even look up as the earth grumbled. It hadn't before, but then the acts of the Gods were everywhere. He didn't look up at the clatter of ass hooves clomping down the dirt road, sending clumps of mud and dirty water into the fields at either side. He didn't look up as the sound grew louder, and he didn't look up when unspoked wheels clattered by, splashing him with mud and gravel.		He didn't even look up as the earth grumbled. It hadn't before, but then the acts of the Gods were everywhere. He didn't look up at the clatter of ass hooves clomping down the dirt road, sending clumps of mud and dirty water into the fields at either side. He didn't look up as the sound grew louder, and he didn't look up when unspoked wheels clattered by, splashing him with mud and gravel.

			[http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/johnny_shumates_portfolio/picture18024.aspx]

	Even when there was a scream, curses, the gurgling call of dying donkeys, he just kept working.		Even when there was a scream, curses, the gurgling call of dying donkeys, he just kept working.

Michael Bard at 07:39, 20 December 2007

2007-12-20T07:39:42Z

Show changes

Michael Bard at 08:01, 10 December 2007

2007-12-10T08:01:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:01, 10 December 2007
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	~~Marduk's Gift~~

	Jonpeadag, sometimes known as John, was hot. Hot, covered in sweat and rich black goo, and sunk almost up to his thighs in the rich, black, Mesopotamian mud. In the distance he could see a pair of men lifting skins of water and pouring their contents into the irrigation troughs.		Jonpeadag, sometimes known as John, was hot. Hot, covered in sweat and rich black goo, and sunk almost up to his thighs in the rich, black, Mesopotamian mud. In the distance he could see a pair of men lifting skins of water and pouring their contents into the irrigation troughs.

Michael Bard: Major rewrite

2007-12-10T08:01:09Z

Major rewrite

Show changes

Michael Bard: New page: Aanepada, also known as John, and his twin Adpeadag, sometimes known as John too, were hot. Hot, covered in sweat and rich black goo, and sunk almost up to their thighs in the rich, black...

2007-12-05T06:42:00Z

New page: Aanepada, also known as John, and his twin Adpeadag, sometimes known as John too, were hot. Hot, covered in sweat and rich black goo, and sunk almost up to their thighs in the rich, black...

New page

Aanepada, also known as John, and his twin Adpeadag, sometimes known as John too, were hot. Hot, covered in sweat and rich black goo, and sunk almost up to their thighs in the rich, black, Mesopotamian mud. In the distance they could see a pair of men lifting skins of water and pouring their contents into the irrigation troughs.

Ever since they'd grown up, they'd worked in the mud and the water. But then, everybody did. Or, almost everybody. The king didn't. And his servants. And those in the city--

But somebody had to grow the grain, had to harvest the bounty of the Tigris to feed the needs of their King.

The pair didn't even look up as the clatter of ass hooves clomped down the muddy dirt road, sending clumps of mud and dirty water into the fields at either side. They didn't look up as the sound grew louder, and didn't even look up when unspoked wheels clattered by, splashing them with mud and gravel.

Even when there was a scream, curses, the gurgling call of a dying donkey, they just kept working.

It was only when they heard the schmack of a copper-bladed sword into heavy flesh that they stopped weeding and locked up, moving as one. Mouths hanging open as dirty water dribbled down their backs, they watched as Enmebaragisi, their king, put the second ass pulling his saddlecart out of its misery.

Some how both had tripped over a hole in the road, both had broken their legs, snapped the chariot yoke, and were now lying there. Dead. Their blood staining the ground.

So much for getting any meat--

The King let the bloody copper of his sword sink to the ground, his body coated in dust and sweat, his only clothing a formerly white linen skirt.

Then he saw the two brothers, even as they saw him, and hurriedly tried to get back to work.

"You!" he boomed. "Why is this-- this-- ''hole'' not fixed?" He waved his sword at the jagged crack in the roadway, a crack half filled with muddy water, that had killed his asses.

Aanepada was the first to speak as their king glared down at them in the mud. "But-- sire-- we have to work in the fields--"

"I don't care!" the king roared. "My asses are dead, and I have to deal with an interloper!"

"Sire--" Anepadag began.

"You-- both of you-- out, now."

They both scrambled out of the mud, a little splashing the dusty legs of their King as they prostrated themselves on the road in front of him. Mud caked their bodies, and oozed between their toes as the dirt pressed against them, and the sun pounded on their muddy backs. Their backs were not scared, for they were not slaves, but freemen. However, that seemed likely to change.

The King's face was red, red as the setting sun, and he was going to take out his frustrations on ''somebody''. Raising his sword--

''Hold.''

The King stopped, the glistening copper sword falling from his hand and splunking into the dirt and mud. Like the twins, he prostrated himself and faced the fields. He ''knew'' the voice, even though he'd never heard it before. Knew it as well as the twins, even though ''he'' had never spoken to them before either.

''Might King Enmebaragisi, the fault belongs not to these, nor to yourself. You fell to a trap created by my brother. But, as my brother has intervened, so am I allowed to intervene.''

None of the mortals dared to look upon the form of Marduk, the God of the earth, of the grain, and of the water saturated mud that fed them all. None of them saw that he was a graceful, beautiful human, clean and shining, unlike the moral dirt covered bodies.

King Enmebaragisi finally spoke, as only he dared to speak in the presence of divinity. "Lord, but what can be done? Even now the interloper approaches to slay me and take away all that is mine--" He swallowed, and then hastily added, "and yours."

''Fear not, for I have been watching. Though I may not create, I may change. And that which I need is here.''

The two brothers hardly dared speak, terrified to move the slightest bit, barely breathing as the mud oozed from their bodies. They heard a sigh of wind, a shush of gentle rain, and then each felt a ''touch'' upon their backs. It wasn't a human touch, it wasn't the touch of an animal, or a stone, or a breath of wind. It was a touch that they'd never forget.

''King, for you, for your destiny, let me change these. Let me infuse them with the spirits of your slain beasts, with the soul and speed of the wild horse. Let me prepare them to serve you in your hour of need.''

Outside their volition, the two brothers pushed themselves up onto their hands and knees as hot energies pulsed through them. They felt their bodies change, grow--

''pulse''

Their arms grew longer, and they stood on the toes of their feet as their arms lengthened to match.

''pulse''

Their middle fingers grew hard and tough, their other fingers shrunk, the same thing happening to their corresponding toes.

''pulse''

Their necks grew, their ears slid to the top of their heads, growing long and pointed, until they could look up upon the divinity that stood above them. Each turned their head away, not daring to look. Instead they looked at each other.

''pulse''

Their bodies rippled as muscle grew, and bones changed. Their chests grew rounder, their necks larger, as their hands and arms changed into forelegs, and their legs and feet changed into hindlegs.

''pulse''

The chins stretched outward, bursting from their face as they head's changed into the muzzle of an ass. Tails budded at the base of their spine, and burst out behind them.

''pulse''

Hair burst across their naked flesh, the caked mud and dirt crackling and falling beside their hooves as their vision blurred and changed, and they became the donkey the God had made of them.

''pulse''

The last energies flowed through them, their nostrils widened, and grew in sensitivity. The hair flowed down their necks in a mane as a black line of hair continued down their spine and to their tails. New scents flooded into them: the richness of the mud, the unwashed stench of the king, the last whisps of musk of the asses as their bodies faded, feeding the change, the fresh carved wood of the saddlecart, and the cracked yoke as it healed, the salty tang of the blood-coated copper blade, dropped onto the roadway, the cold greasy oil of the polished reins, the soft warm sweetness of the dyed and patterned wool blanket on the saddlecart.

''Go, my son. Go and be victorious!''

And, with that, Marduk was gone. And the three mortals knew it.

King Enmebaragisi looked at the twin donkeys, once twin humans each often known as John. The two beasts looked up at him, and at the other free men labouring in the fields.

The King leaned down and picked up the bridles laying on the ground. He shook off the the dirt and walked over and offered it to first one brother, and then the other. Not knowing what they were doing, the twins each took the copper into their mouths. The metal was cold and bitter, yet worn and loved. Leather reins stretched back from each and the King grabbed them near their muzzles and pulled the donkeys around. The pull at the reins yanked the rough-formed metal against their sensitive lips.

Even before he knew he'd spoken, Aanepada burst out. "Hey! Careful! That hurts--"

All three stopped and stared. King Enmebaragisi at he miracle, and the two brothers as how freely one had spoken to their king.

And both realized that they somehow ''knew'' they were equals now.

Anepadag was the first to realize the implications. "King," he said. "We've changed, but then you know that."

The king couldn't help but smile as the tensions, the fear at the presence of Marduk, fell from him.

"You are our king, and we respect you. But, we have been touched by the divine. We will serve you. But we are your companions, not your servants."

Aanepada nodded, and chewed on his bridle thoughtfully.

The king scratched his forehead, his long black hair bouncing in the braids behind him, and then nodded. "Who am I to argue with the the gift of a God?" He looked at the whisk on the ground near the saddlecart and kicked it into the field. "So be it."

With that, King Enmebaragisi carefully settled the chariot yoke on the donkey's backs, and strapped them around their chests, asking to make sure the straps weren't too tight. As he clambered back onto the saddle, seating his royal posterior on the decorated blanket, Aanepada asked: "Sire, whom are we going to fight?"

"Just some young interloper. No kingdom."

He flicked the reins, and the two donkeys started walking at a brisk trot, pulling the saddlecart behind them. They knew how to walk, and knew that they would be able to gallop when asked.

The King continued. "I've heard that his name is Gilgamesh--"