1.
The man they would call the Bull stood alone in the ring, waiting for the gate to rise. Men and women were gathered, hushed before the action.
So far, the man had wrestled three bulls to the ground, and now came the fourth, one with golden horns. If he succeeded with this, he would be the champion of the year, and be celebrated in the temple of Erishkigal, where he would live for the year.
The gate rose, and out came a large black bull, the largest ever seen. The light of the sun reflected from the gold of its horns. The man stood ready. The bull walked around the ring, keeping the man in his sights, and the man kept him in its sights as well.
Then the bull attacked. The man ran into the attack, gripping at the base of the horns. He needed to keep his body out of the way of the golden horns, or he would be scored through. He twisted himself, turning the bull’s head. People were on their feet, yelling, but he heard nothing but the snort of the bull. He couldn’t let go. He needed to keep pulling the bull’s head down, and down – and then the bull tipped over, falling with a thud on its side. The crowd cheered as the man they would call Bull ran to the other gate, to get out of the way of the charging angry bull as it rose.
He leapt over the gate and barely got his leg in when the bull attacked it savagely. He went through another door and bolted it, then came up the stairs to the top, to where the people could see him. He held his arms up in victory. That bull would be killed and sacrificed to Erishkigal in his name, while he would gain the golden horns.
Bull watched as they captured the bull and brought it out. Four great bulls would be sacrificed in his name. His patroness would be pleased.
The king had not attended the bull fight, as usual. He was too busy in his own palace with his own things, and didn’t have time for such trivial matters as a bull fight. Yet the priests received him, and brought him to the temple with the bull.
He and the priests approached unclothed, as the priests sacrificed the bull to Erishkigal. Then they took the three bulls and brought them to Ishtar, sacrificing them to her there. He bathed himself in the bull’s blood, showing to any and all that he was aptly named.
He went back to his apartments in Erishkigal’s temple. Bull lay down on the straw mat on the floor, and the doors opened around him. Five beautiful girls stood before him, clad only in the thinnest material.
He shook his head. “Not tonight.”
Disappointed, they all left with heavy hearts. Another person entered, this a man clad in leather, with assorted knives attached to all his clothes. Bull lay his head back on the bed in exhaustion. “Scorpio.”
“I see you won again.” The man walked over and sat at the other side of the bed. “Have you forgotten our quest?”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
Scorpio ran a hand up Bull’s thick leg, to his inner thigh. Bull took in a breath. “I’m so tired…”
“This won’t take long, I promise.”
“Please, Scorpio, not tonigh–”
Scorpio leaned forward and kissed Bull, taking the words from him. Bull’s hand went up and cupped Scorpio’s head, pulling him down closer. Scorpio shrugged out of his vest of knives, and then out of his kilt of knives, his erection pressing against Bull’s leg.
“Lie there, then,” Scorpio said, and knelt above Bull’s face, his manhood at Bull’s mouth. Bull moaned, and opened his mouth, taking Scorpio in it. “Oh, good…” Scorpio said, as Bull moved his hands around and started kneading Scorpio’s butt cheeks. Scorpio put his hands on the wall and started to thrust into Bull’s mouth, feeding a little more of himself each time. Bull moved one hand off of him, down to his huge erection, and he started stroking himself while still sucking on Scorpio.
Scorpio was right. It didn’t take long as Bull exploded first with a loud moan, and then Scorpio, deep down Bull’s throat.
Scorpio got off of Bull. Now Bull was ready to sleep. However, Scorpio licked up what Bull had emitted, not letting any of the godddess-blessed semen go to waste. By the time he was done, Bull was asleep. Scorpio smiled, patted the big man’s shoulder, and drew a sheet over him before leaving the chambers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2.
The next morning, Bull was greeted by a beautiful girl who was ready to give him his bath. Part of his duties at the temple were to get as many women pregnant as he possibly could. The girl brought him into the bath, and she washed him, while she wore the thinnest of clothing. Bull pulled the clothing off and had her wash him naked.
He took her then and there in the bath, rewarding her diligence. Then, he had to meet with the Lion of Ishtar.
Bull walked through the bustling city, full of chariots and wagons, men and women in sheepskin kilts. Some of the richer women wore cloth instead because of the heat. He wore the sheepskin kilt like the rest, walked barefoot in the heat, his head shaved bald because of the heat as well. He stood taller than most Sumerians, was twice as broad as the woman he had taken in the bath, and was seen as handsome by both women and men. His eyes were deep, dark brown, like those of his people, and his beard was short and kept, like the priests of Erishkigal.
Some people saw him and stopped him, the Bull of Erishkigal, the champion of the bull fights. He stopped always with the people, so it was mid-morning when he arrived at the temple of Ishtar. He walked up the stairs, turning and coming obliquely to the gods, going to the south entrance of the temple, which was Ishtar’s right hand.
The Bull of Erishkigal took off his trappings of Erishkigal and entered the temple. All the people in the temple were naked before the goddess. He joined in the afternoon prayer, seeing the great Lion of Ishtar in the group. When they finished, people left the temple, and he went to the Lion. Both men stood before the goddess and kissed each other. “It is good to see you, brother,” said the Lion.
“The Scorpion came to me last night.”
“He stung you?”
The Bull gave him a brief smile. “He reminded me – again – of our quest.”
Both men looked up to the Lady. They kissed their fingertips and offered them to Her. “We must do it soon. Gilgamesh is still in mourning for his bedmate.”
“Has it firmly been decided that I will be the one to go in first?”
“You have access to the palace,” said the Lion.
“As do you.”
“We will both go together.”
“We need to have a time and date when there are the least people.”
“Our Grain-digger is the tactician.”
“Because we elected him to it.”
“Do you want the job?”
“No, I never said I did. But he’s not the one who has the most to lose.”
“What do we have to lose? Our lives.”
The Bull frowned. “I’m very attracted to my life now that I’ve had a chance to live it again.”
The Lion put a hand on the Bull’s shoulder. “Maybe we will survive it. Only the gods know, and they know that even Gilgamesh is not immortal.”
“Which is why we’re here.” He sighed. “It’s coming close. I can feel it.”
“So can I. We must all meet together.”
“Here?”
“In town. In one of the food shops. The one with the Lion on it.”
The Bull laughed. “I will tell Scorpio and the Archer.”
“I will tell the Grain-digger and the Crab.”