You thought Nergal was scary? You ain’t seen nothing yet! Get ready to meet Lugal, the Mesopotamian god of madness in Fury of the Dragon Goddess.

Just don’t get too attached. Few people can claim they’ve met Lugal twice. In fact, he’ll probably be the last person you’ll ever meet.

But so what if he happens to be a murderous psychopath after having fought in every conflict since the beginning of time? Does that really mean that he’s 100% evil? Perhaps he’s just fallen on some hard times over the centuries. Or maybe he believes that reality itself needs a hard reset in order for humanity to live in peace. Isn’t that a good thing? Endless, eternal, unchanging peace. He wants to end all that pain. He wants to end . . . everything.

If Looks Could Kill

Although some may say that Lugal has “the drip,” they’re more than likely referring to the blood that’s literally dripping off his nasty clothes: a messy, tattered suit; a shirt with holes in it; and shoes held together by duct tape. Clearly, Lugal isn’t worried about making a good impression. But isn’t it what’s on the inside that counts?

Well, according to the people who have seen the inside of Lugal’s mind, there’s nothing there but immense turmoil, endless screaming, and unsettling images of death and destruction.

In that case, we suppose we can excuse how he looks. But man, could he at least invest in a little beard oil?

Summertime Madness

As the god of madness, Lugal has the power to induce rage and insanity in other people. Which is super handy if you want to cause a riot. It’s not great so if you’re looking to make friends and build meaningful relationships.

But who needs companions when you can rely on the loyalty of your pet magpie? A very special magpie with the ability to transform into a man. (Or is it a man who can transform into a magpie?) Regardless, his name is Anzud, and his title is “thief of the gods.” Together, these two make quite a team. While Lugal drives the crowds nuts, Anzud swoops down and grabs the MacGuffin.

Some might argue that if you can’t properly secure an ancient artifact that is capable of rewriting reality, maybe your museum deserves to be robbed.

Put It on My Tablet

Then again, we’re sure most people are unaware of the true nature of the tablet of destinies. In the wrong hands, this ancient stone slab is incredibly dangerous. Scratch that. Even in the right hands, this slab is incredibly dangerous!

As for what’s inscribed on the tablet, your guess is as good as ours. It’s not Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, or any period from recorded history. Some believe it’s written in the original protolanguage all others are descended from. As far as we can tell, it’s either instructions for how to create a parallel reality or a recipe for blueberry muffins. We’re inclined to believe the former.

Because anyone who grabs hold of the tablet can create a reality in which their wildest dreams come true. Sounds pretty sweet, right? Well, it turns out that only one reality can exist at any given time. So, whichever world Lugal wants to bring into existence would entirely replace our own. Guess all those multiverse movies were lying to us this whole time!

Mommy Issues

What compels a god of madness to overwrite our reality? You might think it would have something to do with all the trauma and bloodshed he’s been forced to witness throughout the countless centuries he’s walked the earth. And yes, that’s part of it . . .

But the primary reason has to do with the resurrection of Tiamat, aka the goddess of chaos, aka the mother of all monsters, aka the titular furious dragon goddess herself, aka Lugal’s mom.

Tiamat died in a fateful battle with the legendary hero Marduk. Following her destruction, Marduk created the entire universe from Tiamat’s body. Her bones were used to create the mountains, and her scales were placed in the sky to create the stars, the dwelling places of the gods.

Needless to say, if Tiamat were somehow reborn, she’d likely have a few objections over what happened to her. And we’d have a lot more to worry about than the simple destruction of our shared reality. Much, much more to worry about.

It’s probably not a good sign that she’s right there on the cover of the book . . .

Want to see more of Lugal, Anzud, and Tiamat? Be sure to pre-order your copy of Fury of the Dragon Goddess today!