GLN:8:5 Hurmanetar said, "We have a god, you and I, and you have a god and I have a god. The people have their gods and the strangers within your gates have their gods; but hidden behind all these is another God. These lesser gods are no more than His members. It is this God, whom I seek. How can I, a mere mortal, describe Him? Only this do I know, as I learned it in a remote temple. This God came into existence before all else. He ever was, so none could know Him in the beginning, and none knows His mysterious nature. No god came into existence before Him. How can I even name One who had no mother after whom His name might have been made? He had no father who could have named Him and said, "This is I, your father." None can display His likeness in writing, nor can it be cut with knife in wood or stone. He is too great, that men should even enquire about Him. With what words could He be described to their understanding? No other god knows how to call Him by name, even the greatest of them being less than a servant before Him. Yet this I have been told, that the spirit of man can know this Great God and can even know His nature; therefore, perchance the spirit of man is greater than any of the gods."
GLN:8:6 At this those who stood about queen Daydee murmured against Hurmanetar, but she gave no heed to them, gazing long upon him. Then she spoke, "Perchance, too, this Great God does not exist. Who besides you knows of Him? If He be so great, is it not more likely that He would be worshipped by gods rather than by men? Is it not more likely that lesser gods stand intermediate between Him and men'? If a shepherd or husbandman comes to the palace seeking justice or grace, does he see me or an official under me? You say your God is approachable by anyone. Does this enhance His stature? Which is greater, the ruler who judges disputes between swineherds and listens to their complaints, or the ruler who appoints effective officials to deal with swineherds? Surely the former rules amid chaos while the latter rules with efficiency. Do not both of us believe, as all men believe, that there is One Great God above all gods, but we believe that being so great, this Being is beyond approach by mere mortals. Only in this do we differ, you and I."
GLN:8:7 Hurmanetar answered her, saying, "I know him not as He is; all I know is that He exists. Look about you, you who are enthroned so mightily high that your eyes are bedazzled by your surroundings, so you cannot see the Truth lesser beings discover for themselves. Why, even the lowly worm crawling beneath your palace proclaims that nothing less than an almighty God could have created it!"
GLN:8:8 "Wise were our fathers in olden times, and wiser our fathers' fathers. Whence came their wisdom? Did it not come from the Great God, who holds the key to the meeting place of the two kingdoms, which now stand apart? Who lifted the lofty vaults of Heaven and spread Earth out in wide expanse?"
GLN:8:9 Daydee said, "Does it matter, whether it was this God or that? Your God or mine? Suffice it was some god, named or unnamed. These are labyrinthine arguments unsuited to those to whom time is precious."
GLN:8:10 Then, those who stood about the queen set a snare for Hurmanetar, asking him whether the Great Being of whom he spoke was The Mother of All or The Father of All. But Hurmanetar answered, "Let he who has examined the Great Being answer, for I am but a mere mortal man, one not even claiming to be wise. Let the wise among you answer for me."
GLN:8:11 Then Hurmanetar departed from the presence of queen Daydee. In a few days, he left her land, driven by the God-given restlessness that marks the true seeker after light. With him went the youth, Ancheti. Tame goats guided them to the border of the land, and from thence they followed the Way of the Chariot until they came to the land of Mekan, where they rested. In this place dwelt Formana, the strong-limbed, who gave them shelter.
GLN:8:12 Formana asked Hurmanetar whither he went, and Hurmanetar replied, "I go to seek the abode of Hamerit, which is set atop a mountain in the midst of this great forest, just beyond the river. There is a door therein, which I would open, to which I hold a key." Formana said, "This is an enterprise doomed for failure, for none may pass that way and return. I, who have dwelt here for many long years, know the truth of this; nor do I understand this talk of a key; this is a thing new to my ears." So Hurmanetar drew forth the Great Key, shaped like a sword, but like no other sword, for it could not be gazed upon for more than a moment without blindness striking the beholder. Yet within its strange scabbard, it harmed none.
GLN:8:13 Formana said, "This many-hued weapon is a strange thing, indeed, and I have no knowledge of its like or its power. But this I do know;, it is an unequal struggle when men alone, however weaponed, have to face dread Akamen, the Terrible One. This is not all, for first they must pass the fearsome watchman at the gate, and he never sleeps." Hurmanetar said, "I have set my heart on this enterprise because of my friend; also, if there is an evil thing lurking within the forest it must be destroyed. I am one whose destiny is already written; I must die that men might live. What a man cannot escape he must face manfully."
GLN:8:14 Then Hurmanetar left Formana to go apart into a place of solitude where he prayed, "O Father of the Gods, hear me. Hear me, O Father of the Gods, for there is evil abroad in the land and men die of despair. Even the tallest of men cannot reach the Heights of Heaven, or the swiftest of them encompass the Earth. Yet, men must struggle against things beyond their reach and overcome evils, which overshadow the whole land contained within the bitter waters. My destiny is decreed; I alone will enter the gate at the abode of Akamen. O Father of the Gods, when I return I will set up Your Name where now the name of other gods are written, little gods of no standing before you. I will raise a great straight monument to Your sacred Name, if I could but know it."
GLN:8:15 "Why did You move me, Father of the Gods, to embark on this enterprise unless I were destined to accomplish it? Why fill me with the restless desire to perform it? How can I, a mere mortal, succeed without aid? I sought no more than to know the lot of my friend; yet, a greater burden has been allotted to me. If I die, it may be without fear, but if I return may that return be glorified by the knowledge of Truth. O Father of the Gods, stand by my side, help me overcome the lurking thing and show it the strength of a son of Sisuda."
GLN:8:16 When Hurmanetar returned he felt strengthened, but Formana tried to turn him away from his intention, saying, "Desist from this thing; put this enterprise from your thoughts. You have courage, and it carries you far, but does it not also sweep you along, as one caught in the swift river current is swept to destruction? You cannot know what this means; the Guardian at the Gate alone is like nothing on Earth; his weapons are like no others, for they are invisible and strike down from afar. Why strive to do this thing? It is no equal struggle." Hurmanetar replied, "My heart is set on this matter. Though I must journey along an unknown road, perhaps a road of no return, and fight a strange battle, go, I will. I fear not the Terror at the Gate, nor that, which dwells within the abode of Akamen."
GLN:8:17 Formana said, "If go you must, then I who have seen many pass this way will go with you to the gate. Even through the forest, I will accompany you, for am I not one who has been purified before the Sacred Flame? But is it wise that any other should go with such as we? Surely, this youth, your attendant, this young man of few years, inexperienced in things such as we must face, should not accompany us. Is it not more fitting that he remain here to protect my daughters? Is it not better to exchange his inexperience for my experience, his youthful strength for my wisdom and cunning, his endurance for my steadfastness?"