The cold breeze of the night couldn't compare to the heat that was radiating during the day. Up above, millions of stars are visible across the vast black sky. Each one carrying different stories brought upon by heroes that graced the land. At one point in the middle of nowhere, a group of travelers has gathered around a bonfire. Like stars on earth, each carried a story from their own lands.
The tales spoken by drunk men didn't amuse the King of Heroes one bit. He listened with finely tuned ears but has not heard of a story great enough to match him nor surpass his greatness. He simply enjoyed the warmth of the flame. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have any other reason to stay with this obnoxious bunch.
Contradict to what Gil is doing, Enkidu was all ears to each and every man that told their stories. At first, he didn't pay attention and barely cared but as more and more men speak, the more interesting the conversation became. He glanced at a man who was intently listening to the others as well. He wore an armor of gold almost similar to the one Gil has. For once, he wondered where could that man be from. By his clothes, Enkidu knew he came from a great empire or so.
As their eyes met, Enkidu was able to see that the man's eyes held a story too great to be kept. "Hey! How about you?" Another voice chimed in. The man in gold armor turned away from Enkidu and towards the other traveler that called him. "I haven't seen you before." The others glanced at him from head to toe, taking in his glory.
"Judging from your clothes, you're from Al-Simr?" Another person asked. "Al-Simr?" Enkidu as well, asked in his thoughts. He hasn't heard of that land before. Probably because he and Gil haven't travel towards this region yet.
The man cleared his throat before he answered. "Ahh, yes. I came from that land," he replied, pride hinting in his tone. Gasps followed right after his confirmation. Enkidu looked around to see the surprised faces of the others. Some of them leaned in while the others moved closer to gather near the man.
The once tense atmosphere became cheerful as they started asking him questions. Gilgamesh remained silent although he felt a hint of annoyance at the fact that the people crowded over some man who claims that he came from a certain land Gil never heard of when he, the King of Heroes, is right there sitting with them.
"Mongrels," he whispered as he clicked his tongue. Could there be another place as prosperous as Uruk? Even if such a place existed, he knows it's just a fake and it can never be as great as his empire. Enkidu remained silent as he tried to listen clearly despite the mixed voices of the people that gathered around the man.
One question after another, what does Al-Simr have to get the interest of a bunch of travelers who haven't probably been there before? Even Enkidu is starting to get curious. "Settle down, settle down," the man in gold armor calmly said as he waved his hands to dismiss the questions thrown. "I'd be answering your questions but please one at a time."
"Is it true that your land is ruled by a woman?" A female merchant asked. The man smiled before he answered, "Yes, that's right." The woman gasped. "My what an ideal! I wish my land has the same high perception of women," she replied. "We women are barely allowed to participate in politics."
"It is one of the queen and her sister's objectives: women empowerment," the man said. He was about to tell more when someone chimed in.
"Tell us about the queen, then," another traveler asked. "Is she a tyrannical ruler?"
The man shook his head. "Queen Nefera is the opposite of tyrannic," he said. "She goes down to the people to ask them how they're doing herself. She's a very caring and kind queen yet she does not lose sight of her leadership and her political duties."
"I heard there are massive infrastructures in Al-Simr!" A young boy exclaimed. "Like, the people live in big concrete houses and the royalty lives in a massive edifice!" His eyes gleamed of wonder and the wish to one day see the place with his own eyes.
The man chuckled as he ruffled the young boy's hair. "You sure know a lot about us," he said. "It's true." The young boy rejoiced at the response he received. "My dad is a merchant and one day, he took home a painting from Al-Simr that shows the beauty of the place," he said. "I want to go there so bad."
"You'll get to go there someday. Al-Simr is open for everyone," the man smiled. "Speaking of the paintings, the one you got might be the one the princess has painted." His lips curved up at the mention of her highness. "She loves to sit by the entrance of her home which overlooks the rest of the kingdom while she paints it down on a stone canvas."
"How about your religious beliefs?" A man wrapped in old age and strength spoke. "The gods you believe in?"
"We believe in a lot of Gods much like the other regions but we give most recognition to our goddess of the sun and life," the man in question replied.
"I've heard the story of the divine child. Is it true?"
This was the first time during the night that the unnamed man from Al-Simr was hesitant. He had pride in his land yet you'd feel the humbleness radiate from him. Though at this moment, he was unsure of what his answer would be. "It is," he said as he cleared his throat.
"Then perhaps that is the reason Al-Simr is such an abundant land," the old man replied. The Simrian man gazed down on the ground for a while, thoughts running through his head.
"Have you heard of Al-Simr's divine child?" Enkidu looked sideways toward the source of the voice: a woman. Judging from the magical energy coming from her, Enkidu knew she was a mage. "I haven't," he replied. It's not like he cared about who that divine child is anyway.
"Rumor has it that Al-Simr is such a bountiful empire because of that divine child," the woman said. "She's like the heart of the land, I guess. I heard that the goddess of the sun shines her blessings upon that land."
"Who do you think is the divine child?" Enkidu asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. The woman quickly glanced at the Simrian man before leaning close to Enkidu. "The princess," she whispered.
Enkidu glanced at the unnamed man as well before he replied. "What makes you think so? You've been there?"
"I had," she answered. "You see, Al-Simr isn't very far from where I'm from. I've been there a couple of times and I've seen the princess too. She's probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen—she could be a treasure herself. She got (h/c) colored hair, and oh! Her hair has golden strands too! She's the only one in Al-Simr who's hair is like that. Even her sister, the queen, doesn't have those."
"So... you think she'd the Divine Child just because her hair is like that?" Enkidu asked.
"If you haven't heard of the Al-Simrian myth, you wouldn't understand. It's also a bit too complex for me to tell you right now," she replied. "But here's something from that myth that made me think the princess is the Divine Child. You see, the goddess of the sun, as described it in their beliefs, had golden hair. It is believed that the Divine Child acquired that physical trait from the go—"
***
"So what do you think, my king?" Enkidu's voice interrupted Gilgamesh's flashback of that night they were traveling south of Uruk. "I heard everything that woman told you," he replied. "It's barely interesting to me whether that princess is the divine child whatsoever because I myself is half-god half-human possessing high divinity."
"That's the point!" Enkidu said. "If you're going to have a queen, why don't you choose someone who's almost the same as you."
"Fool," Gilgamesh replied. "Are you saying that she's equal to me?"
"Maybe. We'll never know unless we see for ourselves. You were looking for a queen, Gilgamesh. Here it is."
Gilgamesh sighed in defeat. He trusts Enkidu's wisdom therefore he had to grant him permission. "Fine," he said. "But the moment this woman is not worthy of the throne beside me, get rid of her."
"Understood, my king," Enkidu replied.
"Use Vimana to travel to Al-Simr. I wouldn't want to waste my time waiting for the arrival of someone who probably isn't worthy."