Question: How exactly does Ishtar have the power to rip down the walls of Irkallu? She doesn't seem statted for it, not having any Ultimate physical Attributes.
Indeed, Ishtar is not statted for destroying really, really difficult-to-break stuff. Oh, she probably has the breaking-stuff Strength knacks, and as a war goddess she’s definitely rocking Seige Juggernaut, but we’re not talking about some chump castle; we’re talking about the wall of the Underworld itself. It’s implied in Mesopotamian myth that the walls being broken would result in all the dead spilling out into the world of the living again, so we must assume that it’s a pretty big metaphysical deal.
But Ishtar probably doesn’t have some secret nuclear weapon at her disposal or anything. There are a few possibilities, but we think the most obvious one is that she’s just lying. She has Ultimate Manipulation, remember, and a reputation for having an awful temper to boot; all she has to do is say she’s going to do a thing, and by god, everyone will believe her. They can’t not believe her. She is hella convincing when she throws a tantrum. She may even believe it herself, because if there’s ever a lady who believes her own crazy-ass press, it’s probably Ishtar.
It might also be possible that Ishtar’s referring to her very direct link to the Underworld through her sister, Ereshkigal; sure, Ereshkigal is mightily pissed off with Ishtar after the incident with the Bull of Heaven, but before that they might have had a close relationship, and it might be understood that if Ishtar wants to cause problems in Irkallu, all she has to do is call up her sister and tell her these jerks upstairs are being mean to her. Ereskigal herself has also threatened to allow the dead out of the Underworld when insulted (way to go, there, Nergal), so it’s not too far-fetched an idea.
Either way, though, we suspect Ishtar would be in for a rude surprise if she actually tried to knock a hole in the Underworld. She would probably need to get somebody else in to do that for her.
I dunno.
ReplyDeleteThe lady has The Storm AND The Void. Those are two Avatars that can wreak all kinds of massive devastation. I'm not so sure that it's an empty threat.
I agree. In fact, I'm willing to bet the Wall of Irkallu is more than just a physical structure. It is the mythic boundary between the living and the dead, a very real force of primordial Order keeping the Worlds and their inhabitants in their proper place. I don't think the Storm should do it, but the Void? The Void is the ultimate dissolver of boundaries and antithesis to Order. It should definitely be able to break the Wall between the Worlds.
DeleteYou know, these are great points - she may not be able to just walk up to the walls and knock them over, but she has Avatars, and those can always do massive damage.
DeleteThat's Mummy for you...
ReplyDeleteQuestion asker here. Thank you for the answer. I didn't think about her purview avatars. It would take a shit ton of her power to break the walls, but if she threw every last ounce of her purview power at them she could break them. She is the queen of heaven after all.
ReplyDeleteEh,
DeleteI'm not so sure how much of her power it'll take. As Samudra said, the Void, alone could probably do the job. That's thirty Legend. She's got a hundred and forty-four. Not such a big deal.