GLN:6:24 Hurmanetar answered Pitosi thus, "You are one filled with the essence of wisdom, who justly occupies the seat of judgement. I ask with due humility that you give ear to my plea for this woman, who may not speak for herself. Denounce her I cannot; instead, I will claim her as wife under the law of Hudashum, for she has dwelt with me for twenty months and in that time has not known another man, nor have I cause for complaint."
GLN:6:25 Hearing this, and because Hurmanetar made claim to the law of Hudashum, Pitosi sent for Enilerich, priest of the Great Temple, that he should say whether or not Hesurta stood before him as the wife of Hurmanetar. When the priest came he enquired of the woman whether she were a virgin when Hurmanetar took her. Had she said "yes", then the passage of three months would have given her the standing of a wife; but she answered "no." The priest asked her if she were a widow when Hurmanetar took her. had she answered "yes", then the passage of twenty months would have given her the standing of a wife; but she answered "no." Then the priest asked if she were a harlot when Hurmanetar took her and she answered "yes." Therefore, as seven years had not yet passed since Hurmanetar first took her, she could not have the standing of a wife. Nor could she claim to be a harlot of the temple, for she had left its protection.
GLN:6:26 Now the mark of a harlot was upon her and Hurmanetar had forfeited his standing in the place of judgement. So, Pitosi gave judgement upon them and it was decreed that when Gaila came they would be led to the enclosure of death and there tied back to back. The woman would be strangled with cords, after the manner of harlots, while Hurmanetar would be left to carry her as a burden within the enclosure for seven days. Then, if the gods willed that he lived, he would be let out to wander as he willed, all he might take with him being three handfuls of corn and a gourd of water, The judgement was fulfilled. Hurmanetar lived. He departed and went his way, and the kindred of the slain men failed to catch him.
GLN:6:27 Hurmanetar passed across the land, coming at last to the temple of the Seven Illuminated Ones, and his mother was there. She dwelt alone with only an old serving woman, for now the temple was desolate and without walls, For two years, Hurmanetar dwelt with his mother, but then his heart went out again to the companion he had left upon the mountainside. He said to his mother, "I must depart, for my heart cries out for one who saved my life and whose ways are mine. Great is the love of man for woman, but greater the love of man for man."
GLN:6:28 So Hurmanetar came again to the mountains, and lo, he had entered the forest but half a day when he came upon Yadol. How warm was the greeting, how strong the embrace! Hurmanetar said, "Long have I sought you and found you not; yet I come again, and you are here." Yadol answered, "It was because of the harlot, I was here, but you saw me not, nor could I make myself known to you."
GLN:6:29 Hurmanetar returned with Yadol to the place where his mother dwelt, and they remained there, none knowing what they were, for they were garbed as priests. They tilled the ground about the place, enjoying its fruitfulness, and both were nourished by the wisdom of Hurmanetar's mother.
GLN:6:30 Nintursu was the last of the line of Sisuda. Ten thousand generations had passed since the beginning and a thousand generations since the recreation. The Children of God and The Children of Men had passed into dust, and only men remained. One hundred generations had passed since the overwhelming deluge and ten generations since The Destroyer last appeared.
Once man lived for less than two score years, now his years were three score and ten. Once, God had walked with men, and men knew only God. Now, He was hidden behind many veils, and few saw Him, and then but dimly and with great distortion. Where once there was one God, now gods were as numbered as the stars. Yet the Great Key remained in the midst of men, and it was here, at the Temple of the Seven illuminated Ones, the Key of Life, the Key which was given into the keeping of our father, Hurmanetar. It is a secret thing, something exceedingly great. It is not lost but has come down to us and is known in our times.
GLN:6:31 Now, one day, as Hurmanetar sat beneath a tree, enjoying its shade at the height of noon, he saw a stranger approaching. The man was weary and staggered, so Hurmanetar sent his servant to bring him into the shade. The servant hastened out and brought him in. He was given refreshment and his feet washed, and when this had been done Hurmanetar asked him where he was bound, and the stranger replied, "I go to Tagel, for in that place, there is a mighty man and a just one who will give ear to my plea, for untoward things are happening in the great city, things which should not be, The people cry out in the place of assembly, but they cry to the wind. Gilnamnur has seized the heart of the king and now rules. In twelve days I am pledged to marry, but there is no lightness of a bridegroom in my heart, for the king elects to be first with the bride. This is the custom come down to us from the gods of old, but my heart is wrung like a grape. I cannot find it within me to give her into his keeping on the wedding night. Therefore, I go to find one who can challenge him at the door of the bridal chamber, as the custom permits, for this is no low born woman. But this is a thing none has heard of as having been done before in our times, for men fear the gods. I know of none other who may stand before the king as one sanctified."
GLN:6:32 Hurmanetar heard him and replied, "Be of good heart, and go no further, for I am that man." Hearing this, the stranger, filled with gratitude, fell upon his knees before Hurmanetar and said, "How can I thank you, how can I repay you, what can I give?" But Hurmanetar answered, "When a man does what has to be done, then payment and reward sully the deed." Then he called Yadol and said, "Prepare, for we go into the city of the king, and because he was sanctified, Hurmanetar claimed the protection of Erakir. Then, they offered prayers in the antechamber between Heaven and Earth.
GLN:6:33 They dwelt with the brother of the bridegroom until the day of the wedding feast came, for the bridegroom was not of this city. When the feast was over, and before the guests departed, the bridal chamber was made ready with the bride within, and the young messenger of the temple went about making his call. Then the king came to the antechamber, passing by the husband who was to wait without. But there, standing before the door, was Hurmanetar, his right hand on the pillar, for none might otherwise challenge the king, and in his left hand were the reeds.
GLN:6:34 Those who were gathered there, the men and the women, drew back and men of the king's guard came forward, each claiming the right to enter the combat on behalf of the king; for one man could precede the king, but no more. Such was the custom. The choice of whom to fight from among those who came forward lay with Hurmanetar, and because he chose the captain of the guard, a man skilled in war, the people were amazed. But Hurmanetar knew the man's weakness. No more than five blows were struck when Hurmanetar, leaping to the left hand side of the captain of the guard, drove up under his armpit, so that he fell to the ground and died.
GLN:6:35 Then Hurmanetar and the king girded themselves and fought in the high courtyard, and it was a fight such as men had not seen before. The young and the old, agility against experience, stamina against cunning, they were both equal in the fight. They slashed at each other until their weapons broke and their shields split. They grappled, they stamped, they rolled in the dust, they lashed out at each other, and the combat went on until the water ran out, and still they both stood. Then, they could not fight with weapons but stood disarmed, and this time, neither might cause the death of the other. They circled each other warily, keeping away from the balustrade. Then Hurmanetar jumped aside and with a swift movement caught the king to him, twisting him so they both fell down into the courtyard below the ground, and the king fell over his shoulder, so that his breastbone broke, and he remained on the ground. Then the king's guard gathered about him, and a man skilled with medicines came forward; though grievously hurt the king would not die. Hurmanetar gave his seal and right to the husband and, with Yadol, parted the men who stood about in silence, for they could not harm them. So Hurmanetar and Yadol departed from the land, for it became closed to them and, mounted on mountain asses, they set out on the way of Anhu.