"Blind Soul, arm yourself with the Torch of the Mysteries, and in the Night of Earth, you shall find your Divine Double. Follow this Divine Guide, for S/He has the keys to your lives, past and to come"... Gerhardt Dorn ***** Nick grabbed her from behind the door as she was coming out of the bathroom. He was always doing things like that, but she didn't mind really. It was his way of 'playing'. "See that beautiful woman in the mirror there? Do you remember the first time I came to see her?" "Yeessss, I do. I thought you were a complete and utter miscreant." "You wanted to kill me, as I recall." Lily laughed. "I did. You insulted me and my vizier by not acknowledging him!" "And I did all the things Father Ea told me not to do...but I changed your mind. Didn't I?" "You did. And then you left - left your ghost chair there in your place, and I had to send my vizier to fetch you back. I'd ask if you were sorry you came back, but in light of what you went through to get me back this last time, I don't think I need to." "I don't regret a thing, my Queen. Not a damn thing. I just wanted to tell you that. I love you - for always." He kissed her on the cheek then. "Well come on and get dressed now, so we can go eat breakfast." ***** I say this is a fiction and it is, but it is all heavily based in old myths and books from the Middle East and the Near East. One might think a life-long study of mythology is a bit of a waste of time, however I soon learned that a good healthy dollop of the history of the peoples and the times involved, as well as comparative religion was needed to understand the progression of the myths. Pretty much all of today's religions are built upon and based around these myths. The original of 'Nick and Lily's' story is one of the earliest and most passionate love stories ever told. It is also a very unique story in mythology in many ways. It's called "Nergal and Ereshkigal". For those who followed Roxy's Inanna series, their story is part of the same cycle of myths. Ereshkigal is sometimes said to be Inanna's dark sister, but that came later in the mythology. If you are interested in reading more about them, you can find a good article and explanation of their story and their personnas here. The Mesopotamians tended to anthropomorphize their gods in order to tell both morality stories and stories that were specifically written to remember important events, be they celestial or earthly. These stories were acted out in public festivals and holy-days and orally transmitted. They were eventually written down. The morality stories were meant to show that even if you were a god or goddess, you could be punished by the other gods for not living correctly or doing your part. "Nergal and Ereshkigal" is unique in that it is a love story and has a happy ending...which doesn't happen very often in myth. ***** Thank you for stopping by, for your comments and faves dear friends. You and your art is very much appreciated! Have a fantastic Thursday!