AU
Nikkal and her friends were born earlier, and were recruited into the army to fight against Kengir. Alone, Nikkal ends up under the command of Enki's general. Her goal: to survive and regain control over her magic.
Notes: Some parts of the reenactment are taken straight out of the Enuma Elish, with the occasional modification! Other parts were taken from The Creation of the Pickax, The Great Hymn to Shamash, and adapted from the myth prologue in 1x01 of Tiamat!
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It was ironic that festivities, which were meant for people to relax and celebrate, first required so much stress and people bossing each other around. And then the same afterwards during the clean-up.
The entire camp had been on its feet since early morning, preparing for the celebration that would start in the afternoon. It was weird. New Year was supposed to last for at least ten or eleven days, not one afternoon.
Nikkal remembered the one last year. She had still been at the Children's Home, with Ethan, Su, Shimun and Varassa. During the day they sang the hymns and in the evening danced late far into the night. They ate more than they had for an entire year, and simply had fun.
Since she was part of the re-enactment, Nikkal was ushered into a tent behind the little stage the guys had built the day before and was told to change. The stage wasn't that big, but it was covered by curtains on most sides. In the back, there were a few coulisses, cut out from thin plates of wood, which had trees, columns or towers drawn on. Nikkal had seen how Nanniya had recruited a few of the children to help him and Rimush draw them. She had also seen that they made coulisses of a volcano and a big wave.
The dress had been adjusted by Nanniya - who was really good at sewing - and fitted Nikkal well. Her bare stomach and sides felt cold though. After the dress was on, Nikkal had been given jewellery: rings with big gemstones shaped like flowers, rings that looked like claws, bracelets with intricate floral engravings; long necklaces made of beads of gold, lapis lazuli, and agate; a choker necklace patterned in blue and gold triangles, and golden leaf-shaped earrings..
When she was done dressing up, Nanniya entered the tent and told her to sit down, as he would help her put on the headdress. Nikkal glanced at it with mistrust. It looked heavy.
It turned out she was right. After Nanniya put the headdress - made of leather, gold and gemstones, with parts shaped like horns - in place and braided sections of her hair, adding colourful ribbons into the braids and leaf-shaped gilded decorations at the ends, she barely could turn her head.
This felt just like her heavy armour.
"Wait, last touch," Nanniya said.
"Don't you think it's already overdone-"
But no, Nanniya didn't listen to her. Instead he brought a vase full of flowers - Nikkal had wondered why that was here - and after breaking them from their long stems, added them into her hair and the headdress as if they weren't full enough already.
