Gilgamesh: Armor of War (defiance)

 

 

Background:  Gilgamesh is the second-oldest member of the Sentinel Warriors (Astarte is the oldest).  While his exact age is unknown, it is estimated that he is nearly 5,000 years old.  His mother was a powerful high priestess in the ancient kingdom of Uruk.  His father, though rarely mentioned, was a god.  His relationship with his father was not close.  He apparently would show up to give Gilgamesh fantastic presents and make him grand promises, but it was his mother, Ninsun, who raised him.  Ninsun saw the future and knew her son would be king and tried to instill noble values in him.  But his father filled his head with visions of power and glory. 

 

When Gilgamesh became king of all Uruk as a little boy, he let the worshipful admiration of his subjects go to his head.  He became arrogant, frivolous, and self-centered.  His mother’s advice fell on deaf ears.  He would start great building projects and abandon them when he got bored, heavily tax his people to support his hobbies and adventures, and leave his people without leadership to go on hunting trips with his entourage.  The people became angry at his behavior and prayed to the gods for relief.  The gods sent a vision to Ninsun of a wild man named Enkidu living with the animals of the great forest.  This man would help her son become a better person.  She spread stories of Enkidu’s abilities, knowing that Gilgamesh would become curious and investigate.  Gilgamesh was jealous when the people started singing Enkidu’s praise instead of his.  He sent agents to corrupt Enkidu with human vices, but they were unsuccessful.  Instead, Enkidu came to the city to find Gilgamesh.  The two of them fought in the streets, but neither could win.  It was then that what Ninsun hoped for came to pass—the two of them realized how foolish they were being and started a friendship instead. 

 

Gilgamesh became more sensitive to the people around him through his relationship with Enkidu, but he was still somewhat arrogant and headstrong.  He dragged Enkidu into his quarrel with the vengeful Sumerian goddess, Ishtar.  She would not risk a confrontation with Gilgamesh’s father by killing Gilgamesh outright, but Enkidu was fair game.  Watching his friend die changed something in Gilgamesh.  He became obsessed with finding a way to bring his friend back to life.  He left his life of luxury looking for answers.  Ishtar and her father Anu allowed him to find the secret to immortality, but they imbued him with it as a cruel joke instead of letting him find a way to bring his friend back to life.

 

Gilgamesh wandered aimlessly for many years, wishing for death, but knowing he would not find it.  That is how Astarte found him.  She had an old rivalry with Ishtar and Anu and was angry at what they had done.  She nursed him back from the edge of madness and gave his life purpose.  The Armor of War had made itself known to Gilgamesh by this time and he, Astarte, and her family declared war on the Sumer-Babylonian gods.  Anu escaped them, but they destroyed Ishtar and many of her cruel relatives.  Then the Greco-Roman gods began taking over the worshippers and lands of the other gods, so Astarte, Gilgamesh, and the gods of her pantheon tried to fight them off.  They lost and were exiled to another dimension where they had almost no powers.  Astarte and Gilgamesh were trapped there for about a thousand years before Hecate freed them.  At first they allied themselves with Hecate, but her cruelty made Gilgamesh uneasy from the start.  He left Astarte to help the Sentinels and Ronins fight Hecate.  He later convinced Astarte to turn against Hecate as well.  He and Astarte both lost their immortality in the fight against Hecate.  Gilgamesh didn’t mind at all.  He and Astarte are now living with Mia and have begun to share their true feelings with each other. 

 

Good Traits:  Gilgamesh is an incredible hand-to-hand fighter—he’s had a lot of practice.  He evaluates his opponents and their methods and adjusts his style accordingly.  He never backs down and if he feels fear, he never lets it slow him down.  He also has a hard core of honor and integrity that keeps him going and tends to make others lean on him for support in a fight.

 

Bad Traits:  Gilgamesh can sometimes still be arrogant.  He also doesn’t like to talk about himself or his feelings.  This often makes him seem aloof and has caused misunderstanding with others—especially Trace and Astarte.  Although he is a good planner before a fight, once he’s in the midst of battle he tends to lose himself in the adrenaline rush.  He prefers to fight hand-to-hand even when his sonic powers would end the battle quicker.  He sees war and battle as his destiny and rushes in with gusto.

 

Abilities: Gilgamesh wears the Armor of War.  The armor is dark rust-red with black trim.  Gilgamesh is a muscular, tanned man with dark hair who looks like he’s only in his early twenties.  But he’s actually a hardened war veteran with the physical scars of many previous fights to prove it—the most obvious are two long scars on his face.  His weapons are two huge battle-axes.  When Gilgamesh wants to use his sure-kill, he crosses the axes in front of himself and yells, “SONIC SHOUT!  HHHEEAAAAAA!”  A sonic wave blasts everything in its path.  His Shout usually just blows things away or knocks them down.  In extreme cases, Gilgamesh’s Sonic Shout has actually liquified solid objects.