Babylon (1): The Hunter, The King, and The Two Dolls.

Apologies for the delay in updating the story; I had to think about how it would unfold before actually writing it. But here it is finally!

I'll start posting here frequently, but if anyone wants to read three chapters ahead, my (P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori has three chapters of Hunter's story and also the Devas' story for just 2 dollars!

Well, I won't drag this out too much; I've done my promotion. Happy reading, everyone!

[...]---[...]

The first days accompanying Naram's group were peaceful.

Excluding the few foolish beasts that dared to attack the group—which, of course, were quickly brought down by the Good Hunter—the journey wasn't much different from before when it was just me and the Good Hunter.

None of the men or women in the group dared to approach me or the Good Hunter.

Even with our assurances that we weren't the gods they thought we were, Naram's companions still seemed to treat us as such, with the respect and awe that accompanied such divinities.

Fear and respect that only increased with each beast slain by the Good Hunter.

The only one who truly had the courage to talk to us was Naram, and even he spoke with a subservient tone, containing an extreme respect in his voice.

That didn't change until about a week later when, during one of the hunts where the Good Hunter went out to gather food with the group's men, leaving me to guard the camp, one of the children from the group ran towards me.

It was a little girl who, by her appearance, seemed to be less than ten years old, maybe seven or eight.

I recognized her quickly: Nanaya, Naram's daughter, who, whenever he mentioned his daughter, had a loving tone in his voice, albeit a sad one, saying he wished her mother were alive to take care of her.

"Miss, you're very tall!" The child said quickly, before the woman taking care of her could catch up. "Why?"

I could see a horrified look forming on the woman's face, right behind Nanaya, probably thinking that I would be angered or offended by such a question, just like the gods of this land.

I raised my hand and smiled in a reassuring way, or at least I tried. It seemed to be effective, albeit to a lesser extent, as the woman still picked up the child and forced her into a bow, doing the same herself shortly after.

"Forgive us, O Lady Doll, this child is still young, and there's no harm in her words, I beg you not to be offended..." She said with a slightly trembling voice.

Really... Are the gods of this land such horrible and cruel beings that even a simple question like this results in such fear?

"Rise, miss. Nanaya's question did not offend me, don't worry." I gave my assurances, helping both of them to stand.

At least she called me Doll and not "Great Goddess." It was a small step forward.

"As for your question, child, I am tall because my creator made me this height." I was a mirror image of Lady Maria, identical to her in basically everything; I was just taller.

The Good Hunter used to tease Gehrman with this fact, although I still didn't understand why.

"Your creator... The great hunter is your creator?" Nanaya asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

Seeing that I wouldn't be angered or offended by such questions, the woman behind Nanaya didn't stop her. She seemed curious about the answer.

Looking behind the two, all the women in the group seemed curious, momentarily pausing their tasks to pay attention to the conversation.

"No, dear, the Good Hunter is not my creator. My father..." If I could really say so. "... Is Gehrman, the first hunter." I explained.

It wasn't like that title really mattered in this world, but when I said those words, I could see the eyes of most, if not all, the women widening in astonishment.

"The first hunter?... That's cool!" Nanaya exclaimed in a childish manner. "Does the great hunter know him?" She asked with an excited smile.

"Whether the Good Hunter knows Gehrman?" I sang.

When the Good Hunter first arrived at the dream, he was young, a child practically, confused and scared.

Gehrman somehow took him in as an apprentice, training and teaching him what was necessary for the hunt.

I couldn't say, but at some point, Gehrman and the Good Hunter had become close, both experiencing the horrors that the hunt provided, the loss, the dream.

They were like a pair of dysfunctional grandfather and grandson, although I'm sure neither of them would admit it if asked.

"... More than anyone else, child... More than anyone else," I replied.

Even though a small part of me wanted to argue otherwise, maybe it was me who knew Gehrman the best, or perhaps it was Flora from the dream, I knew it wasn't.

It wasn't a doubt but a certainty, after all, only a hunter could know a hunter...

... Only the Last Hunter could know the First Hunter so well...

After that, with Nanaya as the figurehead, the other women, seeing that I wasn't an unapproachable person and wouldn't get upset for any reason, began to interact more with me, asking for advice, stories, or even just casual conversations.

It was a new type of interaction, but I can't say I disliked it. It was a good way to pass the time and learn new things about this world.

Time passed, days turning into weeks, weeks turning into months.

It was only two months later that we reached the city Naram had mentioned.

The great city of Uruk.

[…]

POV: Siduri.

"What's the next thing on the list, Siduri?" The voice of the King, His Majesty, Gilgamesh, echoed through the royal hall.

"Some travelers from the forest to the south request an audience," I began to speak. "Their leader, Naram, seeks shelter within the city walls."

"I think working so much is starting to affect you, Siduri," the King spoke without taking his eyes off the stone tablet he was reading.

"In what way do you think this is important? Just send some soldiers and allocate them outside the city," he ordered, waving his hand.

Before I could speak, someone spoke for me.

"I asked Siduri to bring them to you, King Gilgamesh." The voice of His Majesty Enkidu sounded from behind where I came.

"Hmm?" For the first time since the conversation began, King Gilgamesh looked up from the stone tablet. "For you to do that, something must have caught your attention. What was it?" He asked with a slightly interested tone.

"Two people. A man wearing foreign clothes, from what I heard, the travelers call him the 'Great Hunter.' It seems he protected them until they arrived in Uruk," His Majesty Enkidu explained.

"Oh?... Great Hunter, you say..." King Gilgamesh said with a vaguely interested air. "I don't think that's the only thing that caught your attention; otherwise, you wouldn't have that look on your face."

Look? What look?

I briefly glanced at the face of His Majesty Enkidu and didn't notice anything different about it; it was the same expression as always.

"You noticed..." His Majesty Enkidu said in a low but playful tone. "What caught my attention the most was the woman accompanying the hunter. She is like me," he explained.

Like His Majesty Enkidu?...

With these words, for the first time in months, I could see a gleam in the eyes of the King, replacing the bored look he had on his face.

"Like you, you say?... Another creation of the gods?" King Gilgamesh asked.

His Majesty Enkidu shook his head. "From what I could observe, no. She is a creation made by human hands, a Doll, that's the form the hunter called her."

Upon hearing that this so-called Doll was a creation made by human hands, not divine, King Gilgamesh seemed determined, as if he had found the first source of entertainment in months.

"Siduri, bring them here," King Gilgamesh commanded. "I want to see this hunter and this creation named Doll that caught Enkidu's attention." He pointed to the exit. "Bring me the leader of these travelers as well."

"As Your Majesty wishes," I said, bowing slightly before leaving the room.

It took me only a few minutes to reach where the travelers were.

The first thing I noticed was the height of two out of the three people in the room. A man and a woman, the two I presumed caught His Majesty Enkidu's attention.

The man, the one who stood at the forefront of the three, I would guess should be between two meters and two meters ten.

He was tall, that was obvious, but beyond that, he wore unusual clothes, thick garments that seemed to be made of a mix of fabric and black leather, with various metal accessories all over his body.

In addition to this, he wore a kind of hat that concealed his hair. This, along with the mask he had, covering up to his nose, made it difficult to see his features, but I could still distinguish some things.

Firstly, his eyes were blue, a light blue reminiscent of a cloudless sky. They were beautiful eyes, but strangely, they seemed to be empty, disinterested.

These eyes reminded me a bit of the King's eyes.

Secondly, like the man's lashes and eyebrows, the few strands of hair I could see on his head were white, as white as a cloud.

Lastly, the man's skin, unlike the Uruks who had tanned skin, was pale, pale like the moon...

Shifting my gaze from the man, I now looked at the woman, the tallest person in the room.

She was enormous, standing at just under two and a half meters, about thirty centimeters taller than the man, the hunter.

She, like him, wore strange clothes, but hers seemed to be fine garments, something I had only seen the King wear. She, like the man, had white hair, hers reaching shoulder height.

As for her eyes, hers were gray, a light color, like polished silver. They were lively and seemed to observe everything with childlike curiosity.

I only realized after a few seconds of looking at her that she really wasn't a human woman.

No matter how delicate her features were, how light her appearance, she wasn't human, just like His Majesty Enkidu, she was something artificially created.

His Majesty Enkidu had said that she, unlike him, who was a creation of the gods, was a creation made by human hands.

I really would like to meet such a man because, to create something like this, his talents in the arts must be more than divine.

It took me a few moments to snap out of my stupor, a few more to introduce myself.

"Pleasure to meet you," I said, nodding slightly. "My name is Siduri, please follow me; the King has agreed to see you." I said, taking a step aside and gesturing for them to walk.

The first to move was the hunter, who moved smoothly shortly after introducing himself. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Siduri," he said with a calm and melodious voice, looking at me while nodding gently.

Right behind him, following him in a subservient manner, the only one I knew the name of, or at least thought it was her name, Doll introduced herself.

"Pleasure to meet you," she said with a slight bow, keeping her hands in front of her body. "The one speaking is called Doll." She introduced herself.

Finally, the leader of the travelers, who seemed content to just follow the man and the woman without drawing attention, introduced himself quickly, with an exaggerated bow, as Naram.

I guided the way to the King's hall, followed by the three, who seemed content with the silence and happy to ignore the stares they were receiving from the guards.

Arriving at the throne room, King Gilgamesh was seated, looking directly at the entrance. Behind him, next to the throne, His Majesty Enkidu did the same.

When we reached the throne room, I bowed slightly, saying, "I brought the three as His Majesty ordered."

Moments later, the King's voice echoed through the hall. "Good job bringing them here, Siduri. Stand by, you're dismissed." The King ordered.

I took a step aside and walked, standing on the left side of the hall.

The moment I took a step aside, the gazes of the King and His Majesty Enkidu fell directly on the three, examining them.

I could see that Naram was the most affected, or rather, the only one affected, as his knees trembled slightly under the weight of the two gazes.

As for the other two, the hunter and Doll, they were unaffected, showing no reaction to such scrutiny.

After a few seconds, King Gilgamesh seemed satisfied and finally spoke.

"Introduce yourselves, travelers," the King ordered. His Majesty Enkidu remained silent behind the King, content to observe.

This time, the first to introduce himself, taking a step forward, was the leader of the travelers, Naram.

"This humble peasant is called Naram, oh great King Gilgamesh," he said, bowing almost parallel to the ground, trying to act in the most polite and respectful manner possible.

Naram's actions didn't seem to impress the King but rather bore him.

The King let his gaze linger on Naram for a moment, making him tremble, before shifting his focus to the hunter and the doll.

This time, the one who introduced himself was the hunter.

He took a step forward and placed his right hand on his chest, bowing slightly forward in a respectful yet not subservient manner, something that the King and His Majesty Enkidu noticed instantly but didn't comment on.

"The one who speaks is called Hunter," he said with a calm voice and eloquence befitting someone noble.

"Your name is Hunter, and not your job?" His Majesty Enkidu asked, speaking for King Gilgamesh.

"Both," he simply affirmed before explaining. "I had a name, but like the person I once was, it is also dead."

His Majesty Enkidu seemed satisfied with this answer, not wanting to delve further, shifting his focus to the Doll and speaking on behalf of the King,

"And you, miss?" He asked, looking at Doll.

Like the Hunter, Doll moved with grace, presenting herself with noble etiquette.

"The one who speaks is named Doll," she said with a bow while bringing her hands in front of her body.

Upon rising, she looked at His Majesty Enkidu with a curious gaze.

"You are like me," she stated, looking at the King's best friend.

His Majesty Enkidu nodded with a slight smile.

"Yes, in a way, yes," he said. "But you were created by human hands." He affirmed, just as Doll had stated before.

"Yes, and you by divine hands," she replied.

The two exchanged glances for a few moments before nodding and looking away with a slight nod.

Only then did I realize that the King and the Hunter were doing the same, but in a different way.

If the gaze between His Majesty Enkidu and Doll was a friendly one, as if they were seeing a kindred spirit, the gaze between the King and the Hunter was more focused.

The King's red eyes stared directly into the Hunter's blue ones, both without averting their gaze, blinking, or showing hesitation.

As impossible as it seemed, I couldn't help but compare the scene to two predators locking eyes before dismissing that thought moments later; after all, it was foolishness. King Gilgamesh was not someone to be compared, especially to a mere hunter, no matter how talented he might be.

The standoff lasted for a few moments before the King smiled in an amused manner.

"Tell me, hunter, what have you come to do here in my kingdom?."

[...]---[...]

[A Marionette Hidden Under Moonlight - Oh, Distant Dream - Rank: EX]

A shell created by [ERROR] for concealment, not out of fear, not out of dread, but purely for simple privacy.

It blocks almost every form of clairvoyance and divine scrutiny, concealing the true nature of [ERROR] from the world.

~ Everyone deserves their privacy, and what could be more private than dreams?... ~

[...]---[...]

As for the story, I have a few points to make.

First: I simplified some things in the FATE universe. If I were to explain or delve into certain aspects of the story, it would become tedious and frankly, boring to read and write.

Second: Gilgamesh. He's an older, wiser, and less arrogant version. I'd place him somewhere between Archer and Caster, leaning more towards Caster. I did this for the simple reason of making the story more enjoyable to read.

As for Enkidu and the Doll, they seem curious about each other, not romantically, but like two siblings who didn't know they were related.