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Nanna - Moon God, Lord of Time, The Secret Hearted ([info]nanna_sin) wrote in [info]history_dot_com,
@ 2012-04-09 16:00:00

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Entry tags:~athena, ~nanna, ~thoth

New Kid on the Block [After the Titanomachy] (tag: Thoth & Athena)
Nanna didn't really consider himself old. Despite the number of chronological years that he'd been in existence, as Lord of Time, it was all more than a little fluid to him. He was both old and young, and all points in between, all at the same moment. Which, Nanna could admit, might get a tad confusing. If he thought about it too long himself it made him feel as though his brain was going cross-eyed. It was a novel sensation, and he enjoyed it on occasion, but most often, he simply accepted that things were as they were.

He was not old. But he was older than his good friend Thoth, upon whom he was waiting today. Not that the dear old bird was any spring chicken himself. Between the two of them, they'd seen the shifting sands come and go, destroy and create, and watched the wold change before their very eyes. They'd had some wonderful conversations about the very topic of change. And now, there was a new one.

Well, not that new really. The godlings had been mucking about over there on their little islands for some time. Honestly, though, Nanna didn't really want to get too terribly involved with a pantheon that seemed so intent on ripping itself apart with all the infighting the did. There was a pattern of fathers versus sons that was troubling to Nanna, given the deep connection he felt with his own family; his father and his son were so very important to him, how could he ever conceive of going to war with them? A fight, a bit of bickering, that was bound to happen in any family. But full scale war?

Though they did look to have settled down a bit recently, and Nanna had been hearing rumors he wanted to check out. Rumors of another deity that enjoyed learning. A goddess. It wasn't that he thought women were incapable of deep thought, his own beloved Ningal was one of the most intelligent beings he'd ever met – after all, she'd chosen him – but he hadn't thought the island people were all that forward thinking. They seemed to lean very heavily toward male dominance. So he was rather curious about this wise woman.

And he was sure his old friend Thoth would be too. Which was why he had called him to meet upon this little spit of rock in the middle of all the water. They were calling it Krete. Nanna called it a precarious place to live. Looking at the islands scattered to the north, some of them just smudges on the horizon, he shook his head. Give him fertile land with a good strong river any day. He was sure Thoth would agree with him. When he arrived. He was usually very punctual.

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[info]mr_ibis
2012-04-10 01:22 am UTC (link)
Punctuality was generally one of Thoth's better traits. At least when he wasn't caught up in something of intellect that roused his interest to the point of forgetting exactly where he was supposed to be an when. He was already on Krete and wandering his way toward where Nanna had requested they meet when he passed a most curious form of writing.

At least that's what Thoth assumed it was. It was primarily just groupings of small lines. Being more accustomed to hieroglyphs this was perplexing. Yet... fascinating. He was staring at it for an inordinate amount of time when the sudden realization that the shadows around him had shifted. Looking up from the tablet at the sun, Thoth realized he was late for meeting Nanna.

There was temptation to take the unguarded tablet to show his friend -maybe Nanna was familiar with the writing, but he decided against that. Just taking it was stealing and he wasn't a thief. Not even in the search for knowledge.

A moment later, Thoth appeared at Nanna's side. “Sorry,” he said quickly. “Got distracted. Lost track of the time. Have you seen? They have the most curious form of writing. No glyphs. Just lines.” He smiled then, knowing his friend would understand his penchant for being distracted by curious and fascinating things.

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[info]sprangforth
2012-04-12 12:04 am UTC (link)
To be quite honest, Athena didn't know what these gods wanted with her. She wasn't used to being 'summoned' by people who weren't in her own pantheon. But she was curious, like she was most of the time. She didn't think that they had any malicious intent. That was good enough for her.

Meeting in Krete wasn't quite what she was expecting either. When she arrived though, she glanced around to find the two gods waiting for her. She glanced at them curiously, and took a deep breath. Well who knew how this was going to go.

"Hello. I believe that I was summoned?" Summoned was such a bad word though. Asked to come was better, but it sounded a bit more odd. "I am Athena."

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[info]nanna_sin
2012-04-12 03:48 am UTC (link)
Bold. That was the first thought that crossed Nanna's mind when he saw the women. Two foreign gods were standing on a beach that was by all rights hers, and she did not come with any other god to stand by her. She did not come with a sword drawn. She did not even come cautiously. She came with certainty and confidence. She was bold.

That was alright. Nanna did not mind a woman that knew what she wanted. His own beloved Ningal was a creature of graceful and poised boldness. She seemed subtle and ladylike, but her will was iron and Nanna was incredibly proud of her, even when she'd manipulated him and her parents to get the courtship she desired. And deserved. Somehow, he did not think this Athena would be as circumspect. She would simply state what she wanted.

As she stated, bluntly and without preamble, who she was and why she was there. Summoned. Nanna looked at Thoth and teased, “Did you summon her, old friend? I told you to ask her. Politely. I warned you this would happen if you didn't let me write the invitation. I know how to use lines rather than glyphs.”

To Athena, he said, “I'm very sorry. Did he put a little birdy where the little scarab should be? It should have been a request, not a summons. We are, after all, on your land.”

Something that had been done deliberately. It would make her feel more at ease, Nanna was sure, and that would lead to a more open first discussion surely. If she understood that he was only teasing. He'd been friends with Thoth far too long and took it for granted that wisdom came with a sense of humor.

“I am Nanna Sin, of Sumer,” he introduced. “You may call me either Nanna, or Sin, I answer to both. And the tall, handsome fellow is Djeheuty, of Egypt. You may call him Thoth.”

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[info]mr_ibis
2012-04-17 01:39 am UTC (link)
“Did I?” Thoth asked, expression blank at first and scratched at his chin. “It's possible. I am getting rather absentminded in my old age.” Then he grinned broadly at both Nanna and the newcomer. Athena. “I shall be sure to let you inscribe all further correspondences.” It was just a joke, of course, and the jovial look on his face would give no other impression. Thoth being the inscriber of judgments, and a sort of keeper of knowledge and hoarder of documents... amateur librarian in his opinion, it was a funny statement.

Thoth nodded then to Athena, bringing his right hand to his chest for a moment before extending his arm out, palm up in a gesture of peace and honor. “We appreciate you coming to meet us today. I do hope we are not keeping you from anything.” Which he meant. Thoth didn't particularly like to inconvenience anyone, especially those he was just meeting for the first time, unless it was for the greater good. But then it was always a matter of deciding whose greater good trumped whose.

“In Egypt, I am known as god of wisdom, law, language and writing.” Then he waved his hand in the air to dismiss the other titles he'd acquired that weren't particularly important for this meeting. “And some other things as well.”

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[info]sprangforth
2012-04-17 04:15 pm UTC (link)
It wasn't that she was no wary, for Athena was. And she had a healthy respect for other gods. As much as she liked to boast, and was quite proud of her strength and her wisdom, well she didn't know these gods as well as she would have liked. The first rule of encountering an enemy or a friend was not to under or overestimate them. To be respectful and keep yourself at a distance until you can figure out what it is that they want, and how they mean to get it. Athena was cautious somewhat. If she suspected anything, she'd be gone in an instant. That didn't mean she had to be rude about it and come out hostile. That would get them nowhere.

The tension between the other two was rather amusing. They seemed to be at ease with each other, and she could tell they were friendly. That was good. Sadly, she wasn't really one to crack a joke and smile or anything. She glanced between the two of them, taking in what notes she could about them. Any knowledge was good, she figured.

Finally she nodded her head in respect at both of them. "It is quite all right. Summoned is a bad choice of words on my part. I meant nothing by it. Truly." The corners of her lips barely tugged up into a smile. Just because she didn't want anyone to think that she was taking them seriously. "It is a pleasure to meet both of you, nonetheless. I appreciate the offer to come," she assured them.

"No, I have no plans for today, so I can do as I please." It wasn't any inconvenience. Though it was really only until they announced what they both lorded over, that she began to really understand. "I see. We are quite similar in some ways, I see. And you, Nanna, are you a god of wisdom or knowledge yourself? Or war perhaps, as I also reside over?" She didn't really know, but she was curious.

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[info]nanna_sin
2012-04-17 10:17 pm UTC (link)
Nanna gave a rueful smile at her question and admitted, “No, war belongs to my younger brother. He does excel at it, I have to say.”

That was probably an understatement, and he deliberately avoided giving Nergal's name. It usually got a reaction. And for once, he was not letting his baby brother steal the thunder before things even got started. Though he was mildly surprised that a goddess of wisdom would also dabble in war. From what he'd seen of it, war was sometimes necessary, sometimes justified, but rarely wise.

“No,” he explained, “I am the Lord of the Moon, Master of Time, the Secret-hearted. There are many that study and pursue wisdom and knowledge under my auspices, so I take a special interest in such things myself. I look after those that study in secret.”

It had not escaped him that the Greek woman did not smile, not really, nor did she return the jokes. Perhaps she was not as bold as he'd originally thought, maybe she was more cautious. Or it was possible that she did not find them as funny as they found each other. Truly, he and Thoth had hit it off from the first and they'd had many years of camaraderie to refine their wit with one another.

“Given our various interests,” Nanna said, waving a hand to including Thoth with himself, “we thought it would be advantageous to meet a fellow thinker. Even if that thinker were not... a fellow. As it were.”

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[info]mr_ibis
2012-04-24 01:09 am UTC (link)
Thoth chuckled. “We mustn't forget Seshat, old friend. She might take offense to being forgotten, or worse, being lumped in with us fellows.” It was, like many of the things he shared with Nanna, a bit of a joke. Seshat was terribly wise and would know that no harm was meant. But they weren't there to discuss Seshat or to make jokes at one another -even though Athena seemed to not understand their humor, they were there to meet and learn about this goddess and her people.

He took it upon himself, then, to ask the question he was sure Nanna was probably currently pondering. “Now, you say you have war in your purview as well as wisdom. I am curious, how do you find those two things work together? I know wisdom and knowledge can be found in all things, but it seems curious to me to have both of those principle aspects in one divine being. How do you reconcile it?”

It was perplexing to him, but not in a bad way. Thoth rarely found anything negative in a strive to learn something new, even if that something new was simply someone's perspective. He was rather certain that there was a way to balance war and wisdom, even if he couldn't imagine doing it himself. Thoth had no personal need for violence or war, there were other deities that managed it spectacularly with flourish.

He'd probably just whack something with a stick, then feel wretched about it because what if the thing he whacked had logical reason for doing what it was doing and its greater purpose in the universe was to do that thing?

Besides, powers and magic were far more satisfying than physical violence.

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[info]sprangforth
2012-04-25 06:30 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, she really didn't get any of these inside jokes or whatever, but she could at least smile a little and look a bit amused. She didn't want to offend anyone. And she was a bit more than cautious. Not to mention that it just took a lot for her to laugh. She didn't mean anything by it. Humor tended to go right over her head most of the time. She wasn't quite sure why that was.

"My brother is also, I suppose you'd call it the true god of war. His rule is over the actual battles themselves, the fighting, the bloodshed. Mine is completely strategic. I suppose that helps. I don't like fighting for the sake of fighting like he does." She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "They work well to reconcile a goal. To plan an actual win. To figure out what your opponent will do before he does it. However I wish that war wasn't needed. No matter what strategy in battle you use, people are going to die."

It was just what she was meant to do, lead heroic men into battle and help them defeat their enemies. "Finding strategy to defeat opponents is often off the battle field as well though. I'm much better off in a battle of minds, not swords."

Though she could kick ass when she had to. And she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy fighting herself. It was needless death that she didn't enjoy.

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[info]nanna_sin
2012-04-25 10:21 pm UTC (link)
Nanna grinned at Thoth, knowing that his friend would know he didn't mean any offense to his lovely wife. If he were not to totally and completely in love with his own, he might be jealous of the Egyptian. After all, finding a match that suited one so perfectly was not as easy as the storytellers liked to make it sound, and Seshat was a perfect compliment to Thoth.

He was pleased his friend had taken up the gauntlet and tackled the question he wanted to know about. Nanna just hadn't been certain how to approach the topic with this goddess who didn't seem to joke much at all. He liked to think he was a good-natured fellow, so it was a little out of the ordinary for him not to have his humor met with at least a bit more enthusiasm. He was, after all, only trying to put her at ease.

But as he listened to her speak, Nanna forgot about kidding around and concentrated on her answer. He nodded at some of her words, and frowned slightly at some others. Then he reminded himself that she was rather young in the scheme of things, and she would learn as she gained experience. Given what she said, she already had a good foundation.

“I suppose that strategy and tactics would be a challenge for a clever mind,” he acknowledged. “Though I think I would use that cleverness to avoid the conflict at all. As you said, war is never a pretty thing. Even if it is sometimes necessary.”

Not things he would ever say to his brother. It would hurt Nergal's feelings.

“You know, we should make a game. That challenges the mind with strategies like war, but without the violence and death. Wouldn't that be fun?”

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[info]mr_ibis
2012-04-29 11:20 pm UTC (link)
Thoth liked where Nanna was going with this. A game was a wonderful idea. Even if it was something they were going to need to develop. He nodded to his friend. “A game of strategy?” He asked. “Do you mean a tablet game requiring maneuvers and strategic thinking mixed with contemplation? Or a quick paced, think on-your-feet sort of verbal game?” Or something else altogether, perhaps. Regardless, Thoth was all for it.

He was all for fun, in general. And perhaps it would be a way for this goddess to loosen up a bit and relax, as they meant her no harm at all.

“I think anything that challenges the mind would be fantastic.” He was always welcoming of anything that challenged his mind and if Athena was up for it, three thinkers from three distinctly different nations could come together to learn a great deal about many things. The prospects were definitely appealing.

Smiling, he nodded to Athena, “What are your thoughts on this proposal?” Thoth really hoped Athena would accept it, but if she declined, he would respect that. It did no one any benefit if things were forced during first meetings.

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[info]sprangforth
2012-05-01 05:38 am UTC (link)
Her shoulders shrugged a little. "I suppose I just don't mind fighting, even if I'd rather be planning battles instead of actively participating." But she just had one of those personalities. She wasn't a cheerful kind of god. Still though, a game did sound like fun. She hadn't played a game in quite a long time. "Either of those two would be all right with me, if you'd like to play a game. Both sound challenging in their own way," she answered.

As wise as she was, and as much as Athena thought she was smarter than most (at least in her own pantheon) she didn't dare assume that she was going to win this little game. They were far older and wiser than she. The wisest person knew how to pick their battles and to not over or underestimate their opponent. She hoped that she would be worthy of this game.

She turned her head back towards both of them. "What did you have in mind?" she asked curiously. If Nanna had a plan already formed, then she would willingly go along with it.

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[info]nanna_sin
2012-05-03 12:56 am UTC (link)
Nanna blinked, momentarily nonplussed at how swiftly his companions had jumped on the idea. With total honesty he admitted, “I don't have anything in mind, actually. I had just thought of it and as soon as I'd done so, I said it. So...”

There was a long pause as he considered, then he said, “I think I was considering a tablet game, Thoth. But it should be portable. Something that we can take when we visit one another. And Athena, of course. Something that requires strategic thinking would be good, but it might play too heavily to her area of expertise. Just as a verbal game would give you too much of an advantage. It would leave little chance of me winning either way.”

He grinned. “And you know I pout when I lose. Perhaps something that combines the two? Both verbal and maneuvers? Or would that be too complicated?”

It was rather exhilarating, he thought, to toss around ideas with not only one, but two brilliant minds. While he always enjoyed his discourses with Thoth, he was actually quite looking forward to seeing what Athena might think of. That might make up for the lack of smiles. Which he found just a tad discouraging. Nanna reminded himself that not everyone was jolly, but he was having a difficult time reading her. So a little creative input would help him get a better handle on where she stood. Generally speaking.

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[info]mr_ibis
2012-05-09 01:20 pm UTC (link)
Thoth shook one finger to indicate that Nanna was on to something. “No, I think anything... if we put our minds to it, is possible.” It was a very important point to make about many things. Thoth deeply believed that all things were possible given proper consideration. “Complication is what you make of it.”

It was another belief of his, one Nanna would be familiar with. Individuals made simple things complicated. Very rarely did something start out complicated without having a simpler solution. And in those instances, it was just that a simpler solution had yet to be found. Right now, things were only complicated if Nanna made them so. “Perhaps we start with an existing game and adapt it to our needs.” Which was a simplification of Nanna's suggestion.

“Though,” he added while chuckling. “I fear if we base it off senet I have an unfair advantage and not just because I win versus Khonsu.” It was a tease. Thoth enjoyed Senet a great deal and he and Khonsu were frequently found playing it against one another with a wager on the line.

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[info]sprangforth
2012-05-10 11:01 pm UTC (link)
Games were always fun, as far as she was concerned. Especially the ones that were actually going to make her thing. It was rare that she met any one who could challenge her, so she was looking forward to it. "I'm sure if anyone can come up with something suitable, it's the three of us," she assured him.

She hm'd a bit, trying to think. "Well chess is generally the thing that mortals play when they want to test strategy and knowledge. We could start with that. Not to mention, it's portable. In a manner of speaking." Though she was open for other suggestions, if they had them.

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[info]nanna_sin
2012-05-12 04:26 am UTC (link)
“Chess,” Nanna mused. “That is like chatrang, yes?” It was definitely a game based on military strategy. Infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariotry were translated into peices on the board that was marked with squares, eight by eight. It was a bit simplistic to Nanna's way of thinking, but it was a good start.

So was senset, though Thoth was right, he'd definitley have an advantage. He always beat Nanna whenever they played, and he was quite fond of the game. It was both simple and complex, again a game of peices moved on a board of squares, though this one was three by ten. Truthfully, Nanna had more fun watching Thoth play that game with Seshat. She made brilliant and unpredictable moves.

“Both chatrang and senset are good games, but they are both strategy games,” he pointed out. “That only addresses the maneuvers we discussed. But we wanted to incorporate verbal challenges as well. Perhaps riddles that must be answered before a move can be made? They could be put on scraps of parchment and drawn so they will be random.”

Nanna looked around for a stick. He wanted to doodle their ideas into the sand so they could keep track. He was always fond of keeping lists.

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[info]mr_ibis
2012-05-15 01:45 am UTC (link)
Thoth nodded. First to Athena for her recommendation, then to Nanna for his embellishment of it. This was a perfect meeting of the minds. Riddles were a good and logical place to go. And if they were posed before a strategic move could be made, well, then that was an added challenge. There was no way Thoth could see this not working out for the betterment of the relationship between them. And building relations with other nations was an important thing.

He raised a finger and waggled it in the air in approval. “you are on to something there, friend. I say riddles are a good way to with it. Perhaps we each contribute riddles that reflect some aspect of our homelands and cultures in a way to not only encourage thought, but foster an environment to learn about each other's lands and people.”

And Thoth was always for learning new things. He, for one, looked forward to anything that Athena might know that she could share with them.

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[info]sprangforth
2012-05-20 05:13 am UTC (link)
She could just imagine what other gods would think, listening to the three of them. Athena could think of a bunch of gods she was related to who would be rolling their eyes and calling them all boring. That was almost more of an incentive to do it. Not just that it would be fun to do, but the extra little kick always made her smile. It would be nice to do something that built bonds. She had no reason not to dislike other gods.

"Riddles are all right with me. That's a very good idea." Undoubtedly she could come up with some riddles about Greece. "I'd very much like to learn about your homeland and your culture," she said sincerely. All knowledge was good as far as sh was concerned. Thankfully they had all of that in common as well.

She even smiled at both of them, a genuine smile. "Shall we depart and find each other perhaps in several days time, when we have had a chance to create several riddles for each other?"

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