[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

Gilgamesh led the Uruk people all the way into the center of the Amorites and entered their temple.

But in the temple of the moon god Sin, all Gilgamesh did was to present a wreath made of olives, laurel and silver willow branches to the statue of Sin.Wang himself said that the reason why he came here was to pay respects to the "Mother Goddess".

Unexpectedly, after saying this, the expression on the face of the consul of Amori became even more exciting.Holding flower crowns in their hands, the priestesses serving the statue also showed astonishment, standing there at a loss.

Finally, the consul replied cautiously: "The sincerity of the king is beyond doubt, but... But are you mistaken?"

Gilgamesh looked up at the statue of the moon god Sin, and felt that something was wrong.In this relief engraved on clay bricks, the moon god Xin is tall and brave, with his bare arms full of muscles and full of strength.

There is also a statue in the image of the goddess Inanna in the temple of Uruk, but the statue is elegant and soft, which is very different from the one in front of me.

The consul of Amori finally spoke the truth tremblingly: "Moon god Xin is a male god."

Sin, the moon god worshiped by the Amorites, is male, so...it cannot be the "mother" of Gilgamesh.

Inan, who was standing beside Gilgamesh, seemed to have suddenly realized.

Yinan's major is history and archaeology, she can only dabble in the field of mythology and human god worship, and she doesn't know much.

As for the moon god Sin, she only knows that it is a god worshiped by the Akkadians, Babylonians, Canaanites, and Jews in the Mesopotamia—the prototype of this god comes from the moon god "Nanna" in Sumerian mythology. ".

The origin of the legend about the moon god "Nanna" should be Uruk.Later, the worship of "Nanna" gradually evolved and gradually spread westward. When it reached the small city-states around Amori, it gradually changed its appearance and became "Luna Sin".

The Uruk people should have always understood that "Moon God Sin" corresponds to their "Moon God Nanna"; the Amorites also believed that the Uruk people had a common "Moon God Worship" with them.

But both sides ignore the gender issue of God.

The main god of Uruk has always been the Venus goddess Inanna, and the position of "Luna" is considered to be a deity related to women in many cultures around the world.In a city like Uruk, where the goddess is regarded as the patron saint, this is even more needless to explain.

That's why Gilgamesh would naturally say "the moon god is my mother".

The people of Uruk did not realize that Nanna, the moon god, also changed the sex of the moon god Xin, and the goddess became a male god.

When the Amorites heard that Gilgamesh regarded the main god they believed in as a woman, they would of course think that the Uruk people despised them, and felt greatly contempt and insulted.

Of course, the Amorites are also to blame for this. Even though the moon god Sin is a male god, they still want to "marry" the priestess in the temple of the moon god Sin with the king of Uruk.Of course Gilgamesh didn't expect such a secret.

In addition, he had another purpose, so he sent troops to attack Amori without mercy-and Amori was good enough to allow Gilgamesh to go straight to Sin's temple with almost no effort.

Like the others from Uruk, Yi Nan showed surprise and embarrassment.She really wanted to know how Gilgamesh would deal with such a misunderstanding.

At this time, Gilgamesh, who was standing in front of the statue of the moon god Sin, suddenly laughed loudly, and the laughter echoed in the temple, making everyone's ears buzzing.

But the joy and banter in the laughter miraculously made everyone gradually relax and let go of the tension.The consul of Amori breathed a sigh of relief inexplicably, lying on the ground of the temple no longer trembling, and couldn't help showing a smile.

It turned out that it was such a "big oolong" that caused the war.

But it also gave both sides a step down.

The consul of Amori immediately admitted his mistake respectfully to Gilgamesh, saying that they were resentful because of a misunderstanding before, and it was really disrespectful to take advantage of the visit of the Egyptians to show off their power to the Uruk people.

Gilgamesh pondered for a while, and said the words "Those who don't know don't blame".

"Since it was a misunderstanding, the king has also seen it with his own eyes. What you admire is indeed a male moon god. Naturally, this cannot be the king's mother goddess. Then the king forgives the Amorites for their disrespect to the king. , don’t mention it again.”

"However, the king's soldiers can't just return without success in their expedition to Amori. They will harvest some of the wood and stone they need from your area—don't worry, you don't need to do it. The king's 'engineers' can do it themselves. "

The consul had a bitter face - of course he knew that Gilgamesh's subordinates could do it themselves: those wolves and tigers might be able to harvest all the raw materials they had traded with Uruk for a year.

But the strong force of the opponent was clearly there, and the Amorites had no room to resist at all.Gilgamesh can only ask for it arbitrarily.

"The matter this time was indeed caused by a misunderstanding. The Amorites suffered a lot of losses. The king, I am willing to give you a chance. You can take this opportunity to make a request to the king." Gilgamesh unexpectedly As soon as the subject changed, the tone softened.

This is typical for him, give him a slap, and then stuff a sweet date.

In the future, even if the Amorites think of alienation again, under Gilgamesh's kindness and power, they have neither any ability nor any excuse.

But... Inan couldn't help frowning when he heard this, the promise given by Gilgamesh was too broad.If the Amorites were still thinking of using marriage to bind their relationship with Uruk, what would Gilgamesh do? Should he agree or not?

Sure enough, the consul was pleasantly surprised, and his eyes began to slip to those beautiful priestesses standing in front of the statue.The expressions of the priestesses immediately became lively, and the eyes they looked at Gilgamesh also began to fascinate.

"...except marriage." Gilgamesh said coldly, extinguishing all the hopes of the Amorites in an instant.

The Amorites were immediately discouraged.Disappointment appeared on the faces of the priestesses. They reluctantly turned their eyes away, and when they saw Gilgamesh's "beautiful friend" by chance, they suddenly felt ashamed.

"Respected king of Uruk, thanks to your magnanimity, not only forgiving the Amorites for disrespecting you, but also giving the Amorites such a sincere promise," the consul of Amorites did not know what to think of at this time, A look of surprise suddenly appeared in his eyes.

He spoke so earnestly, as if Gilgamesh in front of him was really a god who came to save the world, and could save the Amorites from their dire straits.

"Wise and brave king, although the previous misunderstanding was absurd, it must be the moon god Xin who used this as an excuse to guide you here so that you can help the weak and helpless Amorites..."

Inan's heart was full of alarm bells.

Generally speaking, the more noble the person who asks for others praises the other party, the harder it is to prove it.

Sure enough, the consul spoke earnestly: "My lord, there is a forest near Amori. The forest is shrouded in clouds and fog all the year round, and the mist does not disperse--the forest produces a lot of food and medicinal materials that the Amori people need, and it is also very suitable for making. The celestial log of a ship's keel."

"But there is a dangerous monster in that forest—the Amorites who enter the forest will be eaten by it as long as they meet it."

eaten? ——Gilgamesh turned his head involuntarily and looked at Inan.The two exchanged a look.

"Over the years, many Amorites have lost their lives because of it. Women lost their husbands, and children lost their fathers... It used to be the most productive forest, but now it has become a forbidden area for the Amorites."

"The Amorites didn't dare to ask for anything else, but they only asked the king to go to that forest to have a look—at least he could tell us what that monster... what it is," the consul asked cautiously, "or tell us how to destroy it. "

This is actually asking Gilgamesh to help the Amorites subdue demons.

Gilgamesh raised his eyebrows and asked decisively, "What's the name of that forest?"

The consul was overjoyed, but his expression turned to worry after he was overjoyed, as if he didn't believe that Gilgamesh could do anything in that frightening forest.

But at Gilgamesh's request, the Archon cautiously replied, "It's called... Cedar Forest."

Inan knew very well why Gilgamesh agreed to the consul of the Amorites to go to the cedar forest to explore the secrets.

A word from the consul moved him: that forest produced giant trees suitable for making ship keels.

The manufacturing technology of the current ship is much more advanced than that of the "Enki period" more than 2000 years ago, but the keel of the ship is still the same as that at that time, it depends entirely on the natural tree, and the length and strength of the wood determine its performance. How big and strong ships are made.

Since shipping on the Euphrates River may become the most important source of materials for Uruk, Gilgamesh must lock in the source of high-quality wood—this is why Gilgamesh heard that the Amorites had a "two-hearted" , without a word of nonsense, just kill here.

Furthermore, Gilgamesh is both a king and a hero. The blood flowing in his body determines his desire for adventure and conquest. Amori won too easily and could not completely satisfy his desire for conquest. Going to the cedar forest is a " Kill two birds with one stone” decision.

At the same time when Gilgamesh made the decision to go to the cedar forest, Inan also decided to go with him: she has a body that cannot be harmed. The so-called greater power comes with greater responsibility. when.

But Gilgamesh looked at Inan with even more different eyes: "The king's friend is loyal!" He opened his arms proudly, hooked Inan to his side, and hugged him affectionately.

Yi Nan could only push his hand away without showing any signs, thinking that she was also doing this to complete the observation task, was she talking about the loyalty of a ball of wool? !

The day after Gilgamesh sacrificed to the moon god Sin, he set foot on the road to the cedar forest.

Accompanying Gilgamesh were sixty personal guards of the king, and forty hunters and woodcutters known as the bravest Amorites, guided by hunters who had lived near the cedar forest for generations.

The Amorites have always admired heroes. Many of the accompanying Amorites had witnessed Gilgamesh's shocking spear and admired Gilgamesh's courage to lead the crowd to the cedar forest. follow.

The morale of this group of people was very high when they first set off, but after leaving the city of Amori scattered among the mountains and forests, the whole team fell silent for no reason——

Both sides of the road began to be filled with vague mist, and the voices of people gradually disappeared, replaced by natural sounds: the wind blows the broken leaves, and gradually changes from rustling to magnificent pines; from time to time, there are deer in the forest. On the tree, two groups of old ravens were arguing without giving in; all of a sudden, a group of frightened birds flapped their wings and took off above people's heads, unceremoniously sending people a few strings of bird droppings as "surprises".

From the point of view of the Uruk people, they are far away from the city if they don’t hear the shouts of the men who build the city every day, but the hunter who leads the way says that this place is still far away from the cedar forest.

They trekked for another day and night, and finally came to two forks.

"This one leads to a cedar forest, and that one leads to...a creepy place," Orion said.

"Scary place?" Gilgamesh laughed contemptuously, and the expression on his face clearly said: Nothing can frighten a king.

"Hey, there's nothing scary about it. I heard that the ancestors left over from the Great Flood lived there—they were once blessed by the gods during the Great Flood, so they were not dead." Another hunter said indifferently, " It’s just a bunch of old men, what’s so scary about it?”

The speaker has no intention of listening, and the listener has the intention. Yinan is already counting back the era of the Great Flood—that must be calculated to the era of Juvenile Dan, no, earlier than Juvenile Dan, and the era experienced by the great-grandfathers of Juvenile Dan. From now... more than 4000 years?

Humans who have survived for more than 4000 years? ——Really, living fossils!

Yinan really couldn't figure out how such rumors were spread out of falsehoods.

Coincidentally, Gilgamesh, who was standing beside Inan, couldn't help showing curiosity. He was obviously interested in the word "immortality".

The hunters turned around in front of a small wooden house next to the three-way intersection, knocked on the door, but found that there was no one inside.

"Someone is living here. It's strange... No one has lived in this house for many years. Could it be that they just moved here?"

Some people even guessed based on the cleanliness of this simple hut and the simple decoration inside: "Maybe, the person who lives here is a woman."

Yi Nan also had this feeling: she thought of Aunt Shahat from the half-worn clothes neatly piled up in the corner of the room. It turned out that the mother-in-law moved here from Sipar?

But the large group of people could not delay the time for the owner of the roadside hut, and the group chose the road leading to the cedar forest to continue on.

In the evening, nearly fifty people gathered in the glade and made a bonfire and slept.The erratic mist in the forest gave people inexplicable pressure: both the Amorites and the Uruk people gathered around Gilgamesh at this time—they hoped to stay close to the "half-god" hero. The closer the better.

Only then did Orion tell all the rumors about this cedar forest.

It is said that in the early years, the forest was still in good shape, and the Amorites could go into the forest to hunt and cut trees.It wasn't until about a generation ago that the hunters who made their living in this forest started disappearing one after another.

It is not uncommon for hunting hunters to disappear. After all, this cedar forest is foggy all year round, and people will get lost in it suddenly.

Gradually, there were more and more missing hunters, and people realized that something was wrong. They began to go into the forest in groups of three or five, led by experienced hunters.

But these people either returned empty-handed, or disappeared in the woods without a sound, just like those who disappeared earlier.

Later, people finally couldn't just sit back and watch. On the second day after a group of hunters disappeared in the forest, they gathered a large number of people, brought a gong borrowed from the temple, and entered the forest with drums and gongs.

This time, they found the remains of the missing Orion in the forest—it was said that it seemed to have been bitten by a ferocious beast, and it looked horrible.

People wept and mourned, and vowed to avenge the dead, but they never encountered these beasts until they walked out of the misty forest.

On the way they found a survivor, a young Orion.He is said to have escaped death by hiding in a tree.

But the young man failed to tell people what the monster was hiding in the forest, because when he was rescued from the forest, people were frightened mad and passed away not long after.According to the "crazy words" left by him, the monsters in the forest seem to be able to climb trees, and their strength is boundless.

No wonder no matter how brave, alert, and dexterous the hunter is, he cannot escape from the clutches of this monster.

As for the only survivor, it is likely that he climbed to a high place in the tree very early, and was protected by the thick fog in the forest, and was not detected by the monster. He was about to die, and he couldn't reveal the details of the forest to others.

This cedar forest finally became a "forbidden place" for the Amorites.

When these "past events" were told, the guards of the king of Uruk shouted exaggeratedly: "Why didn't your consul mention a word of these when he asked for it?" Their shouts alarmed the nearby trees. The crows on the sky, the birds that roost at night flapped their wings loudly and soared into the sky, making the forest at night even more silent and terrifying.

The Amorites were very aggrieved: "Our consul made it very clear...it's a monster!"

Gilgamesh held out his hand in due course, stopping the argument among his own people.

"Everyone, now everyone is a partner in the cedar forest - there are no Uruk or Amorites here, only brave men who take risks to avenge those who died here, and to kill the nearby people."

With just one sentence, Wang bridged the conflict between the two groups and revived morale.

"Whoever is afraid, you can bring it up now, there is still time to go back now." Gilgamesh said lightly.

The truth is, they are the warriors who came to this forest with the hopes of all the Amorites, and the needs of the people of Uruk.Once he looks back, the name of "coward" will never be washed away.

But it is also surprising that Wang Du personally spoke and asked them to go back. The people who were frightened and scared to death were not afraid at this time, and they were all braver than anyone else:

"The king is here, what are we afraid of?" one of the king's personal guards said loudly.

"Yeah, what's there to be afraid of, isn't it just death?——but I hope I can die well."

Hearing the word "death" suddenly mentioned by the people around him, Gilgamesh frowned quickly.After he decided to come to the Cedar Forest, he never thought of the word "death" even though he heard people say that the "monster" in the forest was so terrifying.At this time, the people around him thought of it.

However, at this moment, it is too late even if it is to save one's life—the king cannot retreat, and the king has only one choice, which is to use his own strength to eliminate all possible threats.

Gilgamesh turned his head to look at Inan, who had been by his side all the time, and saw that her back was facing him, looking down at something, so he slightly pushed her with his elbow.

Inan turned around in surprise, and Gilgamesh felt as if it was the first time he had seen her showing such an expression. This little guy was always calm.Even when she met her for the first time, on the construction site of the city wall of Uruk, desperately holding on to the impossible rope, she had never been as discouraged and helpless as she is today.

So Gilgamesh asked with concern, "Is there something wrong?"

Inan quickly hid his right wrist behind his back and shook his head vigorously at Gilgamesh, expressing that everything was normal—she was in a good state of mind and everything was under control.

Gilgamesh stroked her hair with his hand, and said gently, "Don't be afraid, the King is here for everything."

He probably felt that his little friend was only frightened by the horror stories told by the hunters, but in fact, Yi Nan's troubles were far from this.

Just now, Yinan found something wrong with his watch.When she touches the watch, the light screen can still pop up automatically, but the light screen keeps shaking, and the original clear words "2800 BC" on the light screen can't be read at all—her watch seems to have been severely disturbed , causing nothing to be displayed clearly.

Try other functions: Inan knows that his watch can judge the season and time according to the astrology, and now he is in the foggy cedar forest, even if this function is normal, it will not be useful.

But this watch also has a compass pointing function.Taking advantage of Gilgamesh not paying attention, Inan quietly tried to open it.

On the light screen of the watch, the pointer that was supposed to point to "North" is now spinning wildly, unable to determine any direction at all.

Yi Nan felt a little heavy: she had an intuition that there might be a large magnetic field somewhere in this "cedar forest", which directly affected the function of the watch.

But so far, she has not had any problems communicating with Gilgamesh, which proves that the magnetic field does not affect the function of the watch itself-it may affect Inan's connection with the "Returning Civilization Project".

In the evening, everyone rested by the fire, and there were also highly vigilant personal guards constantly patrolling around the camp and changing the guard regularly.

Inan's position is right next to Gilgamesh, and it is his habit that the king will even stretch out an arm and gently put it next to Inan when he is asleep.

Both of them wear red and black bloodstones as amulets.That night, these two almost identical amulets suddenly lit up at the same time in an instant, as if under the action of a magnetic field, they had established a connection with each other.