The Book of Gleanings

Part 5

Hanok had three brothers by his mother and one by Sadara, two were with him on the great ship and one was saved in Megin. Hanok ruled all the land of Bokah, and his sons, Labeth and Hatana, were born at Nasira, after the great ship became fast.

His brothers divided the water-washed land between them. One went to Tirdana and built a city there, and he ruled the western waters. One ruled the eastern waters and the swamps down to the waters of the sea. The other raised up Eraka in the midst of them, and he was the greatest. The city of Eraka stood for a thousand years, but in the days of King Naderasa the people made great images with faces of gold and bodies of brass. Children were offered to these demons conceived in wickedness. Then God in His wrath unleashed the winds and they were swept through the city as a whirlwind. The gold-faced images were thrown one against another and were broken, they fell and were buried under their temples. Eraka was then removed from the eyes of men. All the cities were rebuilt and the kings were dead; the people had multiplied greatly when Lugadur, he who taught the working of metals, was born. He was the mightiest of kings and his deeds are known to all men and written in his books.

Wisdom came to the land by the hand of our father Hurmanetar who was called Hankadah, born at Egelmek in the land of Khalib under Eraka, of Nintursu, Maiden of the Temple, by Gelamishoar, Builder of Walls, son of Lugadur the Metalworker, son of Dumath the Shepherd, son of Gigitan the Tiller of the Soil.

In the days when the mother of Hurmanetar carried him under her heart with pain, the king, his father, had a dream. He saw a woman and knew he had just lain with her but could not see her face clearly, for whenever he almost recognized it the likeness changed to that of another. The woman was purifying herself over a bowl of incense, and while so doing she made water. Then a great cloud of smoke arose up from out of the bowl and filled all the room, and it went out through the doors and filled all the city and all the temples of the city. The following night the king was disturbed by the same dream. Therefore, knowing he had received an omen, upon his arising he hastened to send a messenger to the Temple of the Stargazers. Two wise men came and he told them concerning his dream, requesting that they read its meaning. Having heard the words of the king they, thereupon, left, going away to consult The Book of Heaven to discover what was written in the future concerning such a matter. In two days they returned, coming in unto the king as he sat within the hall of judgement, and they bowed before him saying, "Woe unto us your servants for what we have to say, for thus it is written. One is to be born of a woman whom you have ravished and he will be a slayer of kings, a destroyer of temples and a contender with the gods. He is one born to be great among men and his hand will be against you". Hearing this the king bethought himself of the women he had taken by force, but they were many and scattered. So he sent again for the wise men, requesting their aid, and the wise men received his words.

Now, the wise men knew these things were written of a son to be born to Nintursu, but they were perplexed not knowing what to do, for she was a Maiden of the Temple of the Seven Enlightened Ones, which had been built in the days of Sisuda. If the blood of one thus born were shed or its breath stopped within the boundaries of the land, the corn would perish within the furrow and the blossom would fall from the trees, so that they yielded no fruit. Yet the wise men were not loath to bring down the wrath of the king upon this temple, for it was one whose god had but small estate yet it paid no tribute to the god of the land. Nor did they desire to deceive the king in this matter, for if by perchance the deceit were uncovered they lost their protection.

The wise men, therefore, went before the king and spoke thus, "O king, light of our lives, we your servants have discovered this child, though it is yet unborn. It is to be born of a maiden bound to the Temple of the Seven Enlightened Ones; therefore, its blood may not be shed on land worked by the hand of man, nor may its breath be stopped. So now we say unto you, send those who are your most trusted servants and let them take this maiden and carry her away to a place afar off. If it be beyond the boundaries of this land, the child when born, can be slain there and no evil will befall the lands of our god." Hearing these words, the king remembered the Maiden he had taken for his pleasure, for while hunting he had come upon her as she bathed. Neither the temple nor its god were known to him and he had no fear of its priests.

The king called his chamberlain to his side, a man most trusted, and charged him, saying, "Go take this Nintursu, this temple maiden, and carry her into the land of Kithis, entering by stealth. She is with child and when it is born slay it letting its blood fall upon the soil in the land of Kithis".

The chamberlain prepared and departed, taking with him men of blood and their captain. They traveled so they came upon the temple at first light in the morning. Nintursu was taken and they left ornaments of gold and silver.

Now, Nintursu was not delivered of the child when they came to the boundary of the land, so they camped there and in the days that followed men went out to spy. The captain was a man skilled in war and courageous, a man of many battles, and Nintursu spoke often with him. But between her and the chamberlain few words were spoken.

It happened that when Nintursu's time was upon her and the child to be delivered, it was the days of full moon; therefore, the child could not be slain, so they bided until the dark of the moon. Then, when the order of things was right, the chamberlain called the captain and said, "This is a task for a man of blood and I am not such a one, therefore you take the child and slay it over the border. Seven men will go with you, that all these may bear witness to the deed and swear to it".

Now, the men of blood were grim men of battles, strangers to soft beds and gentle ways of women, but some among them were the companions of Nintursu during the first days of her motherhood. Also there was one whose father had been a worshipper at the Temple of the Seven Enlightened Ones before it was abandoned by all who followed the king. There were those who murmured, saying, "This is a task for those in high places who speak with honeyed tongues and carry concealed knives that stab in the back, this is not for fighting men". It was true. This was no task for men of clashing metal, it was a deed more suited to squeamish-stomached courtiers; but, lacking backbone, these have ever needed others to do their dirty work spawned through intrigue and conspiracy. Lord, hasten the day when real men are no longer manipulated by half men!

The captain put the child into a basket prepared by Nintursu. It was placed upon an ass. Then he and his men went over the boundary to a place where neither tree nor grass grew; but about ten bowshots distant a stream ran through it to water fields and pastures in the valley below. When they stopped, the captain took down the basket and opened it, but when he gazed upon the face of the child his heart held his hand. He was a man of battles who slew in war, a slayer of men in combat, not a weak-kneed man of intrigue and slayer of children. He closed the basket and said to those who had come with him, "We will bide our time here until nightfall. If we loose the blood of the child here it will be absorbed into dead soil and do no harm, but if we carry it further, down into the valley, it will fall on living soil". None with him answered, for they were but simple fighting men knowing not that the blood could have been let into the waters. Or maybe they understood the heart of their captain. The captain said, "It is hot, we have time enough before those who dwell below are asleep; therefore, let us drink wine and rest awhile". So they drank wine which had been brought and rested; becoming drowsy they eventually fell asleep. Darkness fell.

Now, the ass had not eaten since the morning, nor had it drunk at the stream and the captain of men bided his time, for he had a plan and this was a place known to him. In the gathering darkness he put the basket, with the child inside, back on the ass. It was a good place of concealment, under an overhanging rock, with thickets of thorn all around while below the ground fell away steeply, being covered with rocks and loose stones. Only the captain knew how, in the darkness, a large stone was loosed from above, bringing down many others with it, so that stones fell all about the place where the men lay under the overhang. They were heavy with wine, they shouted, they stumbled and fell; one was struck by a dart, another by a spear; there was a clash in the darkness though none was killed. The ass, loosed from its halter, fled and none could stop it.

Wrathfully the captain shouted, "What kind of men have I been given, why have you not brought trumpets to announce our coming? Who can see the ass among the bushes or hear it among the stones? Then, as lights appeared below and the voices of men were heard in the night, they withdrew.

Coming to a place of safety the men took counsel among themselves, for the captain of the men said, "If you would go unpunished for this night, then you must slay me now; even then, can you return without me? Also, who knows where the blood will flow? Therefore, shall we not all say, with mine own eyes I beheld the blood of this child and know it is dead? Are we men of wisdom who live, or are we foolish ones who die? Thus, borne on the back of an ass Hurmanetar came to the land of Kithis.