0 comments/ 9863 views/ 0 favorites Inanna's Descent into the Underworld Ch. 02 By: KatieTay Chapter 02: Ereshkigal in Uruk [This story is the second of the series. I received enough requests for a continuation to actually write one. This story, like most if not all of mine, is also predicated on a fetish: women who are paragons of muscular development, and who may be engaged in intense struggle for physical and mental dominance. If you have thematic objections to this, please do not read this story.] [I would like to thank LaRascasse for being someone whom I can bounce ideas off, and who also contributes his copy-editing to my work. We are all our own worst editors, and LaRascasse helps me on a regular basis.] [Despite the fact that I mostly try to use Sumerian naming, I found that certain Babylonian or Akkadian equivalents were more evocative than the Sumerian versions. So, any such inconsistencies in my story are intentional.] * In the cold dank halls of the Underworld, the goddess whimpered in agony. The sound was so high-pitched, and so soft, that it could barely be heard unless one were very close by. In any case, it was lost in the eternal susurration that enveloped the entire realm of the dead. Whispers of loss, of mourning, of unrequited desire, filled the air. Despair pervaded the atmosphere. Ninshubur shivered, her hands going up to cup her bare nipples. She decided she hated this place. But she had to brave it -- her beloved mistress and queen Inanna needed her more than ever before. While Ereshkigal was away, the powers of the Anunnaki, the Judges of the Underworld, were temporarily focused elsewhere. Still, Ninshubur found that the gatekeeper Neti insisted on following the laws to the letter. "You are the very soul of a bureaucrat," she had grumbled, as she passed through the gates, divesting herself of her garments. Neti had remained unmoved, though Ninshubur's lithe beauty was something that enraptured every god and goddess in the Heavens. Now she crept into the hall of the absent Ereshkigal, stepping around the boundary of the dais upon which Inanna had undergone a crushing defeat, a defeat that had been seen by spectators ghostly or divine. From her position in the skies, Ninshubur had gazed down, and she had wept tears of deep sorrow at Inanna's suffering. She had gone to plead at the feet of Almighty Enki, her liquid eyes as large as a doe's, her lush lips trembling. "Do not let bright silver be covered with dust; do not let precious lapis be broken into stone; do not let fragrant boxwood be cut for firewood," she had cried, rending her garment of sackcloth to reveal her breasts. "My mistress Inanna is the strongest and best of all goddesses -- she is the font of life on the Earth. With her life essence stolen by the evil Ereshkigal, all fecundity has faded; the mortals gain no pure joy from the holy act of consummation, but are driven by dark desires; the plants wither, the wombs of mothers are bare, and death stalks the land like a hungry beast. Do not abandon Inanna to this unjust fate! Let me go to her and restore to her the life force that is hers by right!" Most of the gods were callous and heartless. They scoffed, and opined that Inanna had been foolish in the extreme to enter such a Trial with Ereshkigal on the latter's terms. They had enjoyed the sight of the haughty goddess's abject humiliation. "Your lover could not even control her own body, Ninshubur," they crowed. "We saw how Ereshkigal overcame Inanna in every way. Your loyalty to her is touching, indeed!" Enki, however, had been persuaded sufficiently to give Ninshubur a portion of the Essence of Life, to restore Inanna's corpse to its divine glory, for which Ninshubur was duly grateful. That corpse was now coming into view, and Ninshubur wept again as she beheld the sight of naked Inanna, displayed as a trophy by Ereshkigal's throne. The wicked sadistic Queen of the Netherworld had devised a cruel torture indeed. Inanna's back had been snapped, and only the barest glimmer of her consciousness remained in her broken body. A goddess could not be "killed" so easily, yet this could be a curse -- Inanna's suffering was unending. She hung from a hook in the wall -- this hook was the size of a sea serpent's tooth, and it pierced her womanhood. Rivulets of blood dripped down Inanna's useless, unmoving thighs. Inanna's arms were chained to metal rings set in the walls, and this was the only way Inanna could support her weight apart from letting herself hang completely from the hook -- if she did that, she would be eviscerated in short order. Inanna's mighty biceps bulged -- and it was all she could do to keep them flexed so that she could lift her body above the hook, lessening the pain. Intermittently, however, her meager reserves of strength failed her, and her body would slump. The hook would slice into her, and she would have to suffer until enough of her arm strength returned for her to pull herself upwards again. By now, barely any such strength was returning each time Inanna faltered. She was beyond being exhausted -- even a goddess could not endure this indefinitely, Ninshubur thought. Frantically, she started forward. Inanna raised her bowed head, and a flicker of alarm flared in her eyes. "Mistress! I have come to save you!" Ninshubur called out, as she ran fleetly towards the trapped goddess. Inanna croaked, "No... my beloved... sukkal [a word meaning "vizier" or "second in command"]... go... flee..." Ninshubur halted, even as she held her hand out, beginning to muster the Food and Water of Life from within her. Was this a trap...? Then she shivered. It had not seemed possible, but now the chamber was even darker, even more oppressive, than before. Inanna's pupils diluted to pinpoints of terror, and her body slumped, but she seemed heedless of the agony at her loins. Ninshubur was aghast -- what could terrify her mistress so? Then she remembered. She remembered what the gods had consigned into the deepest oblivion, so many millennia ago. And it came to her in a flash -- Ereshkigal's new emboldened attitude, and incredible strength. There could only be one source. A sibilant voice, that seemed to thrum along her very bones, came to her ears. It was an eerie voice, like nothing even she, Ninshubur, had ever heard. It seemed to resonate in nothingness. "Little sweetmeat... so frail... so tasty... have you come to sate my hunger?" And the unspeakably monstrous form of Lamashtu, Mother of Monsters, hove into view. *** Ereshkigal raised her head and howled in victory. All around her, her retinue of galla, or demons, echoed her cry. And all around them lay the corpses of the army of Uruk, the finest soldiers Inanna's holy city had to offer who were not her priestesses. The shattered remnants had fled, gibbering and gesticulating in horror, their minds as broken as the bodies of their fallen comrades. It was sweet to taste the air of the sunlit realm again! Ereshkigal exulted in the sensation, and in the knowledge that she was untrammelled, free to roam the land and exact tribute and worship from mankind. The excursion she had made earlier, with the carnage and devastation she had wrought in order to lure Inanna down from her empyrean idylls, had been a precursor only, a brief foretaste of her liberation. Now, she felt the strength of her sister goddess thrumming through her muscles even now. Her thighs trembled at the memory of the duel, but she kept herself under control. She had already experienced orgasm three times during the slaughter of the humans, but she told herself that there was yet more wild pleasure to be had. Already, she was plotting to increase her power by absorbing the essence of one more of her fellow deities. She bore none of them any love -- they had all watched, uncaring, as her sister had thrown her down into the pits of Irkalla. She had vowed vengeance on every one, without exception, but she knew she had to move with cunning and discretion. From here on, she could not let her desire for vengeance dictate her movements, as she had with Inanna. She had to plan. But first... she grinned. Raising her hands, she parted the folds of space, and in a twinkling she was standing in the halls of the Great Palace of Uruk, residence of the current ruler, Dumuzi the Shepherd, erstwhile consort of Inanna. The maids and eunuchs had long since fled. Bits of masonry crumbled and fell from the exterior of the palace, occasionally visible through the openings in the walls of the corridors. Even the Royal Guard was nowhere to be seen, except where they lay in pools of blood and viscera. Her lips remained curved in a cold, cruel smile as she approached the gilded double doors, which she had specifically instructed her demons not to despoil. All around the entrance, corpses were strewn. These men had died bravely defending the craven indolent King Dumuzi. Ereshkigal had always scoffed at her sister's tastes in mortal men -- Inanna seemed to crave the adulation of weak men, soft men, who needed her almost as an infant boy needed a mother. She would feed her male mortal lovers on milk from her own teats, and gently envelop their male members fully in the folds of her womanhood, almost as if she wanted to take them back into the womb. Ereshkigal braced her hands on the doors, and with a single effortless movement threw them apart, sending them flying and crashing down onto the ground many floors below. In her naked glory, she strode into the bedchamber of King Dumuzi, known as Dumuzi the Shepherd. The corpulent man was cowering on his bed. He was garbed only in bed silks, consisting of a loincloth wound several times between his thighs and some strands around his body. Uruk had known warrior kings before -- most notably, Enmerkar who had laid the foundations, Gilgamesh who had raised the walls. And now... Even Ereshkigal could not help curling her lips with contempt as she stood at the foot of the opulent bed and gazed upon the cowering worm-like form of Dumuzi. "Pl-please... great, great goddess... whatever you wish, we, we shall give it to you... please, don't kill me..." Dumuzi whimpered, even as his eyes grew wide and roved all over the divine form of Ereshkigal. Fresh from the battlefield, Ereshkigal's body was streaked with blood, the crimson contrasting sharply with the ivory pallor of her skin. Her raven tresses were immaculate and so were her black-painted nails and lips. Dumuzi's body responded even as he cowered in naked fear. Ereshkigal laughed at Dumuzi's ill-concealed lust, and she struck up a pose. It was the same pose she had struck up in front of Inanna, prior to the commencement of their Trial. She began to twirl her body around slowly, so graceful that her feet seemed not to move at all even as she turned. Within moments, Dumuzi's cock was as stiff as a rod. Being only five inches in length (less than half a su-du-a), though, it just managed to stand out from the rolls of fat around his thighs and waist. It protruded out past the flimsy silk of his loincloth. As Ereshkigal finished one complete turn and her limbs repositioned for the next portion of the dance, Dumuzi came, his male member giving up its tribute in a few hard spurts without even a touch. His eyes widened, and his pupils rolled back into his head. His lower lip trembled, and his chins wobbled. Several droplets of it landed on Ereshkigal's ridged abdominal muscles. Even in the midst of his physical ecstasy, Dumuzi cried out in terror. "Pardon... your pardon, goddess! Oh... I crave pardon... goddess..." But Ereshkigal only laughed coldly and throatily. "You have given me offence, little worm," she crooned. "Your filthy, worthless seed is on my divine flesh. Tell me, Dumuzi... consort of my sister Inanna, whom I have defeated in single combat and utterly humiliated, and who now hangs in my throne room like a sack of meat... tell me, do you find me beauteous of form? Do you find me to be Inanna's superior in physical perfection?" Dumuzi's mouth hung open in shock as Ereshkigal announced her triumph over Inanna. "Impossible," he blurted, his tongue moving far faster than his brain. "The Strong Mother... Queen of War... not even you..." Ereshkigal's eyes flashed. "Yes, I! I did it! Your precious goddess of love and sex grovelled before me and begged for mercy! I defeated her in a test of strength and skill, and I broke her will, making her orgasm at my desire!" She climbed onto the bed, and Dumuzi backed away until there was no room left at the bedstead. "You do not believe me, fat little consort?" she asked menacingly. "I... I... I..." Dumuzi could find no words. This incredible vision of muscular womanhood was right in front of him, and so potent was Ereshkigal's unearthly appeal that he found himself rock-hard again, despite the discomfort. He had counted himself lucky beyond all account to have been the consort of Inanna. In his own way, despite his personal failings and foibles, he had loved Inanna wholeheartedly, seeing in Inanna a strength he knew he himself did not possess. Now, to be told by Inanna's evil sister that she had crushed and beaten the goddess he loved... had proven superior to Inanna in strength and prowess... and to have his body respond in this way to this revelation... he simply did not know what to think or say. She grabbed his hair, and moved it close to her abdomen. The strength in her grip made him gasp. "Lick off your mud offering, worm." With a terrified obedience, he extended his pink tongue and nervously licked off every drop of his own semen from Ereshkigal's skin. He could not help seeing how Ereshkigal's body exuded power and strength, in a way radically different from the maternal, warrior-like Inanna, but incredibly alluring still. He fought down his panic, knowing that he was only a plaything of this goddess. If he was to have even the smallest chance of survival, he had to play along. "M-Mighty Ereshkigal... I-I am unworthy..." "You are less than a worm." "I am less... less than the earth that the worm eats... I am a creature of dung," Dumuzi blubbered, prostrating himself on the bed before Ereshkigal. Ereshkigal uttered a short bark of laughter. "You are skilled at self-abasement, Dumuzi. I begin to see why my holy sister took you as her consort! She must have greatly enjoyed your slavishness!" Inanna had, in fact, enjoyed Dumuzi's worship, but not as a sadistic mistress enjoys the subjugation of a slave. Rather, she was the strong protective mother and a nurturing source of warmth and life. Dumuzi, naturally, kept this thought to himself. Ereshkigal raised herself on one knee in front of Dumuzi, and struck up a pose of strength. Dumuzi was struck by the contrast -- Inanna often performed this pose to display her physical prowess, and her wholesome strength was always presented as a protective force. Now the sultry Ereshkigal was flexing, and the overtones were very different indeed -- the smooth movement of her flexed muscles were an implied threat, a blade wrapped in silk, a promise of violence dangerously, seductively attractive. "Worship my body, mortal. Worship the muscles that defeated your beloved Queen Goddess of the Sky." Wordlessly, Dumuzi forced himself to crawl forward, the hairs rising on the nape of his neck. He reached out and took hold of Ereshkigal's right arm, kneading the flexed muscle. The flesh barely yielded beneath his pudgy fingers. "Yes... this arm proved stronger than my sister's..." Ereshkigal moaned. "Feel its power... kiss it..." When Dumuzi hesitated, Ereshkigal grabbed his head and shoved it into the flesh of her arm, smothering his pudgy face. Every time Dumuzi had given Inanna similar worship and ministration, it had been a loving affair, slow and sensual. Ereshkigal was rough and violent, and this new experience was shocking to the fatuous king. It was also proving to be immensely arousing. Smiling, Ereshkigal guided Dumuzi's face down to her ripe breasts, with nipples so dark they had a purplish tinge. Before Dumuzi could part his lips, Ereshkigal shoved his face forcefully into her bosom, smooshing her teats hard against his cheeks. Again, this was completely different from how Inanna would give suck to him from her divine teats, in remembrance of how she had succoured some of the first men to walk the Earth. This was abuse -- Ereshkigal was suffocating him with her womanly flesh. She finally pulled his head away, and he drew in deep shuddering gasps -- but with a hard swinging motion of her torso, Ereshkigal sent a breast smashing right into Dumuzi's face. The poor mortal king collapsed to the side, feeling the warm salty wetness of his own blood gushing out from his nose, which felt broken. That single smash from Ereshkigal's breast had been like a punch from a strong man -- no, harder! He was dazed, and swooning. "Tell me, whose breasts are superior? Your precious Inanna's, or mine? Ereshkigal demanded, slinking forward with a serpentine grace to dangle her breasts over Dumuzi's bloodstained countenance. Dumuzi cringed in terror. The two luscious mounds hung over him. "Yours, great goddess," he cried out, his voice cracking. "Better than any I have ever seen... better than Inanna's..." She pushed down on his shoulders and mounted him. He writhed helplessly under her irresistible grip, as her thighs clamped around his pelvis painfully. "Inanna's body was broken upon this thigh," she laughed, stroking her left leg, tensing the muscles for emphasis. "And before that, she yielded up her woman's pride to me... Do you think you could resist me for even a moment?" Dumuzi was never the most potent of lovers, but as Ereshkigal reached in between his legs and trailed one fingernail along the length of his rod, it sprang stiffly up, and he felt on the verge of another explosive ejaculation. Then Ereshkigal lowered herself, enveloping his penis completely -- and he came again, his body quivering, his limbs jerking around. He felt overwhelmed. His body was being pushed beyond its limits -- he was as a puppet, completely deprived of volition. When Ereshkigal languidly rose off his hips, Dumuzi gave a wordless cry of dismay, and the blood drained from his face. His manhood was a bloody ruin! His orgasms had been so excessively intense that the last one had contained blood. It was unlikely that Ereshkigal was experiencing the woman's moon-flush -- though the thought briefly skitted across his terrified mind -- so the blood had to be his. "Such a pitiful offering," Ereshkigal sniffed with disdain. "My sister was content with this little from you? I cannot help but wonder, how many other consorts did she take? Surely you alone could not satisfy her appetite. "But you will render your offering, your approbation, to me now... I will have the ultimate offering from you, King of the Sheep." She shifted upwards until she had mounted his upper body, her knees pinning his shoulders. Then, she raised her arms and clenched her fists again in a show of muscular might. "I will have your soul," she breathed, as she lowered her dripping sex onto Dumuzi's helpless face, muffling the beginnings of his screams. She rode him, suffocating the luckless monarch, completely smothering him with her crotch. His life force flowed upward into her loins -- a meagre snack compared to the feast she had enjoyed when she had defeated Inanna and absorbed her power, but still satisfying because of the knowledge that her sister had claimed this mortal under her protection. "Your dominion shall be as nothing, Inanna," she whispered, hips shuddering with pleasure as her climax approached. Dumuzi was already dead -- his skull had caved, and his body was shrunken, like a mummified corpse. "I shall lay waste to all you claimed as your own -- everything under the skies that was yours will be mine. And I shall enjoy tormenting you for eternity!" Inanna's Descent into the Underworld Ch. 02 Ereshkigal threw her head back and howled as she came, the husk of Dumuzi's body between her legs, his soul already on its way to her dark domain. Her diversion over, she rose off the bed and gazed out of the window at the smoking scene of pillage and rapine that Uruk had become. The screams of the innocents reached her ears even here. She licked her black lips. "Now... Ningal... I come for you..." *** And deep within the bowels of Irkalla, Ninshubur backed away, preparing for the fight of her life, even as a helpless Inanna looked on... Inanna's Descent into the Underworld Ch. 03 [This story contains depictions and descriptions of muscular women doing all kinds of stuff, sometimes to each other, sometimes not. If you don't like such themes, please stay away.] [I would like to thank LaRascasse for being someone whom I can bounce ideas off, and who also contributes his copy-editing to my work. We are all our own worst editors, and LaRascasse helps me on a regular basis.] [Despite the fact that I mostly try to use Sumerian naming, I found that certain Babylonian or Akkadian equivalents were more evocative than the Sumerian versions. So, any such inconsistencies in my story are intentional.] Ninshubur dropped into a wild-eyed crouch of readiness, her entire body rigid and tense. She backed away fearfully. This was a monster even the gods regarded as being vile and fearsome – this was Lamashtu, Mother of Ills, Bringer of Tears to Mothers, Slayer of Infants. She manifested as a crawling, leathery, multi-tentacled creature, with her vaguely woman-like face set in the midst of the entire mass. Slowly, her monstrous form slithered forward by some means Ninshubur could not fathom, and the shadows seemed to rise behind her, blotting out Ninshubur's view of the suffering Inanna. The young lissome goddess cast about wildly, but no weapon was within reach, and she had nothing at hand that could serve. Her mind raced as she strove to discern the answer behind this conundrum. "Was not Lamashtu sealed away with seven seals, one for each of her names, all these long aeons ago?" she thought wildly. "Is not the place of her eternal imprisonment far from here, far below even gloomy Irkalla, abode of Ereshkigal and the damned souls of the mortals? Why is she here? Who has released her, and why?" And of more import and urgency, "How shall I do battle with her?" All of a sudden Lamashtu's tentacles snaked out, lashing at her. Fleet-footed Ninshubur, herald of Inanna's divine army and messenger of the gods, reacted quickly and the first few tentacles missed her, coming within a hair's breadth of her skin, as she twisted her agile body every which way. But one tentacle unseen coiled itself around her left ankle, and lifted her bodily, suspending her in the air. Ninshubur gave a short scream, and with a flex of her abdomen she bent her body upwards in half, allowing her to take firm hold of the appendage holding her ankle. Lamashtu laughed, though, the sound echoing hollowly through the hall, as Ninshubur struggled in vain to uncoil the demonic limb. "Release me, monster!" Ninshubur cried out in desperation. In answer, three more tentacles shot forward and Ninshubur found all four of her limbs caught, and her whole body drawn towards Lamashtu's face. Lamashtu's mouth was widening slowly into a gaping maw, and a long pink tongue emerged from its depths. It dripped pale saliva. Aghast, Ninshubur hunched in reflex. The tentacles at her wrists and ankles exerted force, and Lamashtu began to pull Ninshubur apart, as if Ninshubur were being stretched out on a torture device. Whimpering in fear, Ninshubur flexed her limbs inwards, striving to keep her legs firmly pressed together and her arms covering her breasts. "Ssssurender to me, morsssel..." Lamashtu's voice was snakelike, and sent chills of dread through Ninshubur. The pink tongue approached, the tip trembling, promising the vilest of violations. By degrees, Ninshubur's arms and legs were pulled wide open, despite Ninshubur's mightiest exertions. The muscles in her limbs stood out and bulged, but Lamashtu's strength was utterly irresistible. She toyed with the captive goddess, the tongue tip flickering over the taut lines on Ninshubur's muscled midriff, as she slowly opened up Ninshubur like a flower. Soon, Ninshubur was spread-eagled in midair. Her muscles were hardened from her continued effort, but she could move only her neck, or wriggle her fingers and toes in contemptible futility. Sweat beaded her body despite the chill air of Irkalla. "What fate will befall me now?" she bemoaned her situation silently. "And my brave mistress – who will convey to you the Food and Water of Life that I have been given?" There was one name that could save her – a name lost to the mists of time. A name belonging to one of their number, one so feared that he too had been sealed off from the mortal realm. The mortals used to call upon him, when Lamashtu was still rampaging in the sunlit world, and such was his power that even while sealed away, the invocation of his name was sufficient to ward off his wife – for he was the husband to this many-limbed monstrosity. But what was his name...? For the life of her, Ninshubur could not remember! "Nnnnnggg!" she grunted desperately, flexing and straining with every ounce of strength she could muster, but her limbs were drawn out tautly. Lamashtu's tongue, which was starting to drip slime, travelled down Ninshubur's body, brushing her clitoral hood. Ninshubur felt her body shiver involuntarily at the contact. Then it began to probe her opening, almost tenderly peeling her labia lips apart... Inanna tried to speak, but her voice came out as barely a whisper. Her arms, her mighty arms that had strained so hard for so long, could no longer support her. Her body had settled completely on the cruel hook, and she felt as if her body was being torn apart at the crotch. She knew the name, the name of Lamashtu's bane, the name that Ninshubur had to call upon. But she could not give voice to it. The unimaginable agony that permeated her entire body was enough to slay any mortal being thousands of times over, and it paralyzed her. She was fighting to stay conscious as it was. Ninshubur screamed. Inanna raised her head weakly. The tongue had entered her... sweet Ninshubur, ever the obliging lover, ever the loyal servant, ever the brave maiden, was being violated by the most grotesque being to have ever existed. The minor goddess thrashed about futilely, her doe-like brown eyes flaring wide open. Inanna's body shuddered. She gathered all her essence deep into the very core of her being. Sensation faded. She could not know what the consequences of this action would be, but she was past caring. She could not allow this to happen in front of her eyes – she could not let her brave, loyal Ninshubur be ravaged by the ancient Mother of Beasts. Her lips trembled, and opened. Her tongue moved, to form the syllables of the word she would utter. Her chest muscles undulated as she drew the chill air of Irkalla into her lungs. "Pa... zu... zu..." Suddenly, Lamashtu froze. Her tongue retracted itself, and drooped. Ninshubur, still held suspended as in the web of a gigantic spider, opened her eyes, blinking away tears. On Lamashtu's face, she discerned a look, an expression... was that... horror? "Pa... zu... zu..." That voice... it was Inanna's! It was her dear mistress's voice! And those sounds... that was it! That was his name! Lamashtu's husband, King of the Wind Demons, Son of Hanbi, Lord of Plague and Famine – Pazuzu! Throwing back her head, Ninshubur screamed: "From her who from Heaven down to Earth was cast, protect the one calling upon your name! Bringer of Storm, Lord Pazuzu – I beseech you! Come!" Lamashtu's howl of mingled fury and terror echoed through the entire chamber, reverberating beyond. She flung Ninshubur aside, and the maiden was thrown violently against a wall. The breath was knocked out of her and she fell in a heap to the stone floor, moaning in pain. Lamashtu's ungainly form turned as she tried to flee – - but he was in her way. Pazuzu, who could only be called into reality again briefly by the earnest entreaty of a god or goddess, was standing in front of Lamashtu. A shadow of his power was sufficient, in ages past, for mortals to call upon to ward off Lamashtu, who relished the flesh and life force of human babies. He appeared now as a man, a creation of Enki, perhaps for parodic purpose. He was hugely muscular, standing ten feet tall, bald, hairless. A huge male member protruded from his loins, standing fully erect. His face was a mask of unearthly cruelty. As Lamashtu's entire form recoiled, the member began to ooze a clear liquid. Pazuzu's face broke into a terrible grin. His mouth became a black gash ringed by jagged teeth. "I greet you... wife. It has been... too long." And he fell upon her. Lamashtu's tentacles lashed at him. Pazuzu gathered them up easily, grabbing a bunch in each hand, somehow wrestling her to the ground. He seemed to engulf her entire monstrous form. Her wailing took on the quality of pure fear – and it sounded horribly wrong, issuing forth from Lamashtu rather than from a mortal woman about to be forcibly taken by men. Ninshubur curled up, her eyes wide as she took in the scene. Never, even in all her thousands of years, had she ever imagined what the senior gods had sealed away. These were two of the evil Elder Ones, the compatriots of Enki and Anu, Tiamat and Lahmu. She could not fathom their powers. Lamashtu was a nightmare creature terrifying beyond reckoning – but Pazuzu seemed irresistible. For all of Lamashtu's flailing, he subdued her entire form with almost contemptuous ease. Ninshubur shut her eyes where she lay. But the hearing was enough. Her very soul was harrowed. Her divine form shuddered and trembled, as Lamashtu was chastised by her lord husband. Then... silence. Eventually, Ninshubur opened her eyes. Lamashtu was nowhere to be seen, though the floor and walls were now splattered with ichor, where her monstrous form had been pressed hard against. Had she been destroyed? Ninshubur thought it unlikely – but it was certain that she had been thoroughly overcome by Pazuzu. The huge Elder One was now standing, right in front of Inanna's suspended form. A pale, translucent liquid oozed from the tip of his dripping cock onto the stone tiles, but he seemed not to care. Instead, he simply stood there, looking down upon Inanna's body, which now looked truly corpse-like. "You call yourself Queen of Love and War." His voice was redolent with untold malice, cold and sardonic. "Yet now, you flicker less strongly than a lost soul." Scrambling to her feet, Ninshubur overcame her sheer terror and approached her mistress. "Mi- Mistress!" she cried out, stumbling as she came. "I have brought you..." Pazuzu turned his gaze upon her, and she quailed. "Her hope?" he laughed mockingly. He took a deep breath theatrically. "Is that... is that Enki's essence I smell? Oh, how long I have been away from this realm of light and flesh! I will be gone again soon, little one, but," he turned back to Inanna, who had raised her face weakly, "think on this, you who call yourself Strong Mother." "You have tried your strength against your sister, and failed. Perchance you have guessed the source of her newfound power. It is my beloved wife, Lamashtu, that she has unsealed and unleashed, and with Lamashtu she has made a bargain. She will ravage this mortal world, and then take her war to the gates of the high Heavens, until her lust for dominion is satisfied. And I care not about the outcome, but think you that you can challenge her again and prevail, being no mightier than you were when you first faced her?" Inanna's dry, cracked lips parted. "A... bargain?" she croaked. "You know what I wish," Pazuzu grated harshly, the syllables discordant in Ninshubur's ears. Inanna closed her eyes. "You... offer?" Ninshubur trembled, and mustered up every ounce of courage she possessed. "Mistress, no!" she cried. Pazuzu turned slowly and focused his gazed on her once again, but she pressed on. "I carry the Essence of Life in me, granted by Almighty Enki. It will restore you, and make you whole. Do not taint your divine soul with corruption; do not let the mud stain the white garment; do not let the offal of death spill into the waters of life. Accept Enki's gift from me, and be pure and strong once again!" Pazuzu's eyes – deep, dark pits that were best not looked into for too long – revealed nothing of his emotions. "You have much courage, little one," he growled. "And you summoned me, so I shall not harm you. But your mistress must choose. Yes, Inanna. I offer you what Ereshkigal has gained from my wife – I offer you a portion of my essence that will make you far more potent than you have ever been. In return, you will be a gate for me, as Ereshkigal has become a gate for Lamashtu." Inanna knew what this would mean. Lamashtu was now loose in the world, thanks to her sister – little wonder that in recent years the mortals had been suffering more ills than ever before, from Eridu to Shuruppak. If the Lord of Plague and Famine were to be unsealed, with Inanna herself as the gate for him to exert his presence in the world... the consequences were unforeseeable. He would always act to counter the Mother of Ills – but he would bring woe of his own upon the children of Enki. Fighting poison with poison was ever risky. If she could seal Ereshkigal away in the Underworld, Lamashtu could be re-sealed together with her – but how would she have the strength to do that? How else, but to become a tool of this Elder One? And here was Ninshubur – brave, loyal Ninshubur, with her wide eyes, silently entreating her mistress to eschew this dark gift, but instead accept the purer one she bore. Yet if Ninshubur were to pass Enki's Essence of Life to her, then Inanna would regain somewhat less than the strength she used to have in all her glory – her power had been reduced by the amount of death brought upon her devout worshippers, especially poor Puabana. Inanna felt the bitter shame twisting within her like a knife in the gut – she knew her strength would not be enough. She had to make the choice, for the sake of all mankind, whom she had grown to love. She knew, too, that Ereshkigal would not stop until she stood atop a mountain of divine corpses as well as mortal ones. Even though Inanna was well aware that most of the heavenly pantheon was jealous of her, and resented her exalted station, she could not condemn her fellow deities to such a horrible fate. Raising her head and looking Pazuzu straight in the eye, Inanna gave a single, heavy nod of assent, in a gesture that took all the remainder of her energy. Ninshubur uttered a wordless cry of futile denial. Pazuzu only grinned mirthlessly, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. With one hand he took Inanna's form by the throat, and lifted her slickly off the cruel spike. Unceremoniously he dumped Inanna onto the cold stone floor, where the goddess flopped helplessly and then lay still, bleeding. Ninshubur cringed at the horror of it all. "I would prefer to derive some measure of pleasure from this rite, O Goddess of Warriors," Pazuzu laughed. "You, little one. Handmaiden. Minister to her. She requires revitalization before I can perform the rite." Ninshubur slowly collected herself. "Be brave!" she told herself, trying to prevent her hands and knees from shaking. "Your Mistress needs you!" Mortals reverenced her as Inanna's second in command, a powerful being in her own right, but she was a lesser goddess who had just come face to face with two nigh-forgotten evils from the most ancient of days, and who had been physically assailed by the former of those. Fear was not unknown to the gods, and right now, it was threatening to overwhelm her. But as she gazed down upon the horrifyingly broken form of Inanna, Ninshubur felt a surge of pity and love wash through her. Tears sprang to her eyes as she beheld the wondrous form that had been the epitome of all feminine beauty in the world. Inanna's skin was pale now, where she had been bronzed – her limbs were splayed out in an ungainly fashion, where previously she had moved with unmatched grace – her teats flopped to either side where they had once jutted out proudly. But one could still see the ridges of muscle on her abdomen, still hinting at the strength the goddess once possessed – could possess again. Knowing what she had to do, Ninshubur knelt by Inanna's form. Her goddess looked up at her, the eyes showing the flicker of consciousness that remained. Ninshubur dredged up the Essence of Life from within herself, preparing to let as much of it as possible flow to her Mistress. She endeavoured not to be overly concerned with the fact that Pazuzu had settled himself not five feet away, and was gazing upon her activities with prurient interest. She bent over Inanna's still face, and slowly melded her lips with Inanna's. Fresh tears sprang to her eyes and flowed down her cheeks, dripping onto Inanna's face. Those lips, that had held so much warmth, that she had kissed so many times before... this body was strange to her, this body that she had been as familiar with as her own! Now, it was cold... so cold... "Flow, O blood," she thought. "Beat, O mighty heart. Live, Goddess!" And the Essence flowed from her lips to Inanna's. As a mother bird fed her children, so too did Ninshubur feed her divine Mistress. By degrees, Inanna's life force began to resurge. Her fingers twitched – then she stirred, and moaned. Ninshubur's tongue went into the cavern of Inanna's mouth, and began an intimate exploration, one that she had performed many times. Worshipfully and lovingly, she probed her goddess's mouth, letting her tongue slide warmly against the roof of Inanna's mouth. Inanna's breathing became stronger. Encouraged, Ninshubur moved to straddle her Mistress, not breaking the kiss. She moved her hands down to Inanna's slack breasts, hanging to the side, and she began massaging them firmly, letting more warmth and light flow from her hands to Inanna's chest. Under her skilled and loving ministrations, Ninshubur could actually feel the chest muscles regain resiliency, swelling up slowly with renewed strength, causing Inanna's breasts to rise just a little more than before. Hearteningly, she could also sense Inanna's broken spine starting to heal. "Yes... yes!" she moaned into Inanna's mouth, gasping. "Take it... O Mistress, take all I can give..." She rubbed Inanna's nipples with her thumbs firmly with circular motions. These breasts, small like a warrior's yet ample and bountiful like a mother's, had given suck to her before. Now Ninshubur strove to restore them, making them fonts of nourishment once again. And on the back of her neck, she felt Pazuzu's gaze boring into her. Was Pazuzu going to let her finish with her ministrations and rejuvenate Inanna with Enki's Essence? Perhaps... if Inanna could feel her own pure unsullied strength coursing through her veins once more... she would realize the folly of consorting with Pazuzu, and she could renege on the compact, consigning Pazuzu once more to whichever abyss he came from...! She had to give Inanna as much of the Essence as she could, in as enjoyable a manner as she could fashion! Her confidence grew. Was she not Ninshubur, the sultry and seductive Queen of the East? Was she not the closest to Inanna's heart? Did Inanna not sigh once, in a garden of pleasures, that no being mortal or immortal could equal Ninshubur's deep familiarity with Inanna's loins, and could give as much pleasure there? "I am all you need now, my Mistress," she whispered huskily into Inanna's ear as she nibbled it. "Through me, feel the strength you had, and be strong once more. It will be enough, my queen, my goddess!" Inanna made no reply, but her arms stirred. Ninshubur paused, and watched with rising delight, as Inanna began to raise her arms to embrace Ninshubur. The muscles in her arms coiled and undulated, as if Inanna were exerting great effort to move them, but bit by bit the movements were becoming less jerky and more fluid, as if Inanna was slowly recovering control over her own limbs. Ninshubur sighed with pleasure as she felt Inanna's hands rest upon her back, completing the embrace. Inanna's Descent into the Underworld Ch. 03 Bending over some more, she lowered her hanging breasts over Inanna's lips, letting one nipple slide in between Inanna's ready lips. She rejoiced as she felt Inanna's lips work to create suction. Milk began flowing, and along with it, the Essence of Life that still filled her body. "My breasts are a broad field," she cried out the words from an old song. "My breasts are your field, Inanna. For you my breast pours out plants. For you my breast pours out grains. For you my breast pours out honey. Water flows from me to you. Bread flows from me to you. Honey flows from me to you. Drink of me, my queen, my goddess! Drink of me, my beloved Mistress!" She suckled her Mistress as if the larger, stronger goddess were a babe in arms. Inanna, who had given suck to her most dearly beloved subordinates, was now receiving sustenance and strengthening directly from the milk of Ninshubur's hanging fruit. She cradled Inanna's head to her breasts, and wept with the pleasure. Her thighs grew slick with sweat as she rubbed them against Inanna's torso. Inanna's movements were growing stronger and surer by the minute. She began to moan deeply with pleasure where before her throat had been so parched she could barely speak. Her hair was regaining its golden lustre. Her eyes shimmered with renewed vigour. "Ninshubur," she breathed. "My valiant handmaiden... you have braved much and more to be here... you have suffered..." "My suffering is as nothing compared to your travails, beloved goddess," Ninshubur cried out, shifting her body down to look straight into her Mistress's eyes. "You must be whole and well again, my queen. We need you... we need your strength!" Inanna's eyes dimmed momentarily. "My strength..." she said softly, pensively. Ninshubur felt the ecstatic clenching in her loins, and she knew that she would soon be done. She gathered and focussed the remaining amount of Essence of Life into her lower abdomen, and smiled down at Inanna. "Your strength has nearly returned, Mistress. I shall feed you the remaining part of it now; I shall let it flow from me to you, in whatever fashion you desire most." Inanna smiled back at the lithe, eager Ninshubur. "It is fitting that I receive you with my mouth and lips, my loyal handmaiden," she told her. "Sit upon me as you would receive the greatest of pleasures. You have always served me, so now I shall serve you." Ninshubur shivered with anticipation and delight. She quickly wriggled up until she was perched on Inanna's shoulders and chest, her dripping crotch directly above Inanna's preternaturally beautiful features, which had resumed much of its divine cast by now. What an honour her Mistress was giving her! Slowly, she began lowering herself onto Inanna's waiting, eager lips. But she had forgotten their hitherto silent watcher. In a thrice, Pazuzu was standing in front of her, and she gasped with surprise. "Enki's gift has been given," came the harsh, cold voice from above. "Now she shall receive mine. And you, little one, shall have a taste as well, for I am a generous master." Before Ninshubur could protest, he had cupped her cheeks painfully, pressing against them, forcing her mouth into an "O". And he forced his member into her! It was huge – her mouth had to stretch just to accommodate it, and to her own horror she felt her jaw attempt to clench by reflex. Her teeth sank somewhat into the flesh. She quailed. But he showed no reaction – no pain, or even a hint of discomfort. Instead, he groaned as with his other hand he held the back of her head and forcibly moved it back and forth along his shaft. Her teeth could seemingly make no impression upon his flesh, or not enough to cause any hurt, which was currently a cause for relief. Precious little else about this situation was desirable or pleasant. Inanna shifted underneath Ninshubur, but could do nothing to stop Pazuzu's actions. She had a full view as Pazuzu threw back his head, gave a roar, and spurted his seed into Ninshubur in several powerful jets. Ninshubur gagged, and strove not to swallow. She could feel there was something terrible about this seed – something portentous, something ominous, something... evil. She tasted just the barest hint of the primordial chaos that was part of Pazuzu's fundamental essence. She held the seed in her mouth, or as much as she could, because there was so much of it that it was flowing out of the corners of her lips. Pazuzu stepped back. "Feed it to her," he commanded. "Give her a kiss. Let her drink." Ninshubur trembled with fear and shuddered with revulsion, but there was no disobeying this being's voice. Slowly, she moved to comply. Her Mistress pushed herself up to a sitting position, so that they could embrace chest to chest, face to face. "Do not be afraid, Ninshubur," Inanna whispered. "Remember that you, too, are a Queen." With her mouth dripping with the abominable seed, Ninshubur could only nod. She closed her eyes as Inanna moved in, and their lips locked. Despite herself, she found herself earnestly pushing as much of the substance as she could out of her mouth and into Inanna's with her tongue. It felt completely wrong to her in an indefinable way. Her body simply wanted to reject it. She did not dare to think what would happen to her if she were to swallow it. But that was exactly what Inanna was doing. Ninshubur could see Inanna's throat muscles working as she sucked in the mouthful of Pazuzu's seed and swallowed willingly. Inanna's face suddenly tightened, and she broke the kiss, hissing in pain. "Mistress!" Ninshubur cried, reaching for her Mistress. Inanna gave vent to a loud moan that sounded hollow but resonant. There was some new quality to her voice, a new harmonic frequency. She leaned back, bracing her palms on the floor. As Ninshubur watched, something began happening to Inanna's body. Her muscles quivered and rippled strangely, as if they were moving of their own will. They also seemed to be growing larger right before Ninshubur's very eyes. She put a hand to her lips, in mingled horror and fascination. Inanna's hair began to darken slightly at the roots. Veins began appearing on her arms and legs. Moaning again, she clambered to her feet, and Ninshubur quickly rose and backed away. But Inanna collapsed onto all fours again. Her body was shaking as if she was overcome with a great palsy. Gradually, the shuddering stopped. Inanna panted, and raised her head slowly. Her face was covered in sweat. With wide eyes, Ninshubur surveyed Inanna's form. The goddess now looked... harder and stronger, somehow. The curves of her body had become... sharper, less streamlined. She did not look less feminine – but she seemed more feral, her muscles honed for murder and mayhem, rather than maternal protection and womanly warfare. Inanna drew herself up onto her knees, and stretched her limbs, arching her back, placing her physique on full display, and Ninshubur could see now that it was true. Inanna had always been the picture of feminine muscular might, but now she looked truly dangerous. And there was now a gleam in her eyes, a look that Ninshubur had not seen before. Briefly, their gazes met, and Ninshubur saw that the golden eyes were flecked with dark specks now, like Inanna's hair. Then Inanna, the Supreme Goddess of the Sky, Warrior Queen of the Heavens, turned to Pazuzu who was standing behind her, and said one word. "More." Ninshubur sat heavily upon the stone floor. The remnant of the Essence of Life she had brought with her sat in her loins still, a gift ungiven. Pazuzu stepped up behind Inanna's kneeling form, a lascivious grin on his ageless face. His priapic cock stood ramrod straight. Then he seized hold of Inanna's hair, and shoved hard, pushing her face-first into the stone floor. Inanna cried out with the impact, but he had already climbed atop her back and taken hold of her wrists, which he planted firmly to the sides. His knees parted Inanna's with ease, splaying her legs wide apart. She was helpless to resist – all her strength would avail her nothing, Ninshubur knew. The redoubtable strength of Inanna was, in a thrice, overmastered by Pazuzu's sheer potency. Her muscled form strained futilely beneath his stronger body – she could not move, let alone extricate herself. Looming over her like a gigantic spider over its entrapped prey, Pazuzu slowly teased Inanna's labia open, the tip of his member pressing in against her vulva. Inanna gave a shuddering moan, and her struggles ceased. She waited, with hung head and drooping hair, to receive him into her. He inserted himself slowly, bit by bit, stretching her, filling her. She was wet and ready. Sweat beaded her skin. Her face was flushed, her lips open in ecstasy as she was penetrated. Then he suddenly jammed it in, as far as it could go, and she screamed, her arms going weak and bending, unable to support her weight. Pazuzu crushed her upper body to the floor, subduing her utterly, as he mounted her with animalistic ferocity. Ninshubur bit her lip – Inanna had never offered herself to such a potent creature before. She had always been the one in control – she had always been the dominant one in any act of coupling, whether it was with Ninshubur herself or with certain chosen mortals, such as the shepherd-king Dumuzi. To see Inanna like this was a complete shock – Ninshubur was utterly unaccustomed to it. She had felt similarly when Ereshkigal had exerted her dominance over Inanna, but that had been a battle, a Trial of strength and power. This was Inanna submitting voluntarily to the will of another being. Was it really so delicious, the taste of the power that an Elder One could give? How had Ereshkigal struck the bargain with Lamashtu? And after this act which she was witnessing was done... would there be anything left of her Mistress? Would there be anything left of pure, pristine Inanna? Would Inanna's taste of death, and subsequent taste of dark revival, change her irrevocably? Inanna was now crying out rhythmically, her yelps and moans of pleasure echoing through the chamber. The usual audience of underworld eyes was not present – Ninshubur could sense none of the usual inhabitants of Irkalla. Neti was nowhere within the area – the damn souls were not looking in – the rest of the Judges were far away. With a chill, Ninshubur had an intuitive flash of understanding – they were gone simply because Pazuzu had not given them leave to remain in his presence. Her Mistress was now writhing like a temple maiden, shaking with sheer ecstasy. This was not her usual disport – even in the most intimate moments which Ninshubur had shared, the throes of Inanna's orgasms had never caused her to move in this particular way. At this moment Inanna was somehow behaving as if she were... enjoying... the act of being debased or violated. Usually, her moans were low and throaty, mature and womanly, a pleasant counterpoint to Ninshubur's own girlish squeals and sighs. But now Inanna was carrying on in the manner of a debauched prostitute. When Pazuzu reached his climax, Inanna screamed to match his roaring, and Ninshubur knew that she had reached her orgasm along with him. It seemed to go on for an interminable time, until finally, he withdrew and released her, rising to his feet. He now wore a look of dark satisfaction. Inanna was now a quivering mass of flesh. A small pool of drool collected at her lips on the stone floor. A larger puddle had formed at her loins, spreading out from beneath her body, which contained some traces of Pazuzu's copious seed, but mostly Inanna's own bodily fluids. Her hair was now a dark brown, Ninshubur observed dully. And her muscles... yes, Inanna's muscles were larger than before. She looked even more formidable than she had always looked, but some of the gentleness and sensuality that had always been there had been stripped away. Ninshubur could not help feeling a pang of loss. "Mistress?" she called, softly, uncertainly. "The bargain is sealed," Pazuzu proclaimed. "She has been potentiated beyond her limits. And I... I shall be free, once she leaves this place and steps into the wider world beyond! Once more, I shall bestride the realm of the mortal worms, and ride the winds of the world on dark wings!" His laughter rang out, and echoed even long after he had faded from view. "Mistress... beloved..." Ninshubur whispered brokenly. "What have you done...? What have I done?" Inanna stood up slowly, moving as if she were unfamiliar with her own body. The muscles in her legs coiled and uncoiled. Her torso was now visibly more thickset. Her breasts were as large as before, but because of her muscles, they now appeared smaller in proportion. With an expression of wonderment, she moved her hands up, looking intently at the balls of muscle in her arms. "Yes," she breathed. "I feel it... with this... I have strength enough to defeat my dark sister!" "But Mistress," Ninshubur said, trembling. "Are you still Inanna, protector of the weak? Are you still the mother of the motherless? Are you still the warrior queen of virtue? What must come to pass, now that you are a gate for Pazuzu's return to the world?" Inanna came towards Ninshubur, and the younger goddess held herself still, willing herself not to flinch or flee. Inanna took Ninshubur into her arms, and the two embraced. Ninshubur looked up and into the deep pools that were the eyes of her beloved goddess queen. As she looked, she became more and more reassured. There was the love and warmth that she knew, that separated Inanna from the anguished, malicious Ereshkigal, despite the fact that Inanna's golden eyes were no longer as unequivocally bright as before. "Beloved Ninshubur. Brave, loyal maiden goddess. Your love for me shines brighter than any light I have ever known. When you came into this realm to seek me, even then, while I hung as a corpse on the hook, I could feel your presence giving me strength and courage. I know that you alone of all the pantheon spoke for me and pleaded with Enki for me. I know that your devotion never wavered." "Because I love you, Inanna," Ninshubur replied. "And I you, Ninshubur. I have tasted the darkness of death," and a flicker of dark emotion showed briefly in her eyes. "No more am I ignorant of pain and suffering. Now I have faced it, and returned. This place, Irkalla... it holds no more fears or terrors for me now. And as for Pazuzu... Ereshkigal forced herself on me, and drew my essence from me. She made me feel, for the first time, how it was to be a slave to the desires of an enemy. My congress with Pazuzu has completed the experience – I now know what it is to be in thrall, where before I had only known dominion." "What a terrible thing that must be," cried Ninshubur. "How unbecoming of you, how unworthy of the Great Queen of Love and War." "You are wrong, my lovely one," Inanna told her. "In my pride, I did not believe I could be defeated. In my purity, I did not believe I could be sullied. In my strength, I did not believe I could be cast down. Yet, all those things came to pass, and I was not ready. I was not whole, without knowledge of these things. Now, I am complete. I am stronger than I have ever been. The light and the darkness are now in me, combined. I must hurry now, and stop my sister before she throws the world into imbalance forever." Ninshubur shook her head slowly through Inanna's explanation. She could not understand or accept it – to her, her Mistress would always be mighty, always be victorious. She still feared that Inanna had been tainted. But now she gave a start. "Yes, Mistress, you must hurry! On fleet wings I have flown, and Ereshkigal means to slay your mother, divine Ningal, Goddess of Reeds!" she cried. "She has already laid waste to Uruk, and she has killed your consort husband, the King!" Briefly she related how Dumuzi – weak, cowering, flabby Dumuzi – had abased himself, and denigrated Inanna at Ereshkigal's command. "He is of no consequence henceforth," Inanna declared, her voice cold. "He grew soft and weak in the lap of luxury. He wielded power, and forgot to reverence me. May his soul be cast down into the darkened depths of this place for all eternity! I shall not grieve for him. Come, my beloved. Let us leave this place and hurry to my mother's sanctum. We must save her from Ereshkigal's attentions!" "Before I came here, I appealed to mighty Ninurta," Ninshubur said. "He agreed to be set over Ningal as a guard. He wields the mighty mace Sharur – he has never been beaten yet! He may have already defeated the dark queen!" "It is unlikely, Ninshubur. Not even he would be able to stand against the might of Lamashtu channelled by my sister. I could fight him to a standstill in times past – he could not prevail against her now. But you have thought well, Ninshubur. You have bought us more time to prepare – once again, I can but thank you for the boundless love and loyalty you have shown me." Inanna clasped Ninshubur tightly to her bosom. Ninshubur gasped with the strength of Inanna's grip, but returned the embrace eagerly. "Now come – let us go!" Hand in hand, Inanna and Ninshubur strode towards the gates. [to be continued]