GLN:9:10 Then Hurmanetar spoke with the maidservant of she who had mothered the daughters of Formana, and the maidservant agreed to do the things he told her. Thus, on the morrow, she went forth unaccompanied, and coming to the place where Asarua dwelt, sat down outside the gate. When the eyes of the maiden eventually fell upon her Asarua saw the bent, old woman, weary and travel-stained from the journey; and out of kindness, for she was gentle and compassionate by nature, brought the old woman in, that she
might sit under the shade of a tree to rest herself and eat some fruit.
GLN:9:11 After the maidservant had rested in the shade and refreshed herself, she spoke to Asarua and said, "How lovely is your garden, how well watered, how bright and refreshing its many fruits. I have heard much of this place, but more of you and your beauty; but no words of men have done justice to what I see with my own eyes." Asarua said, "The words of men often differ from the thoughts of their hearts; while flattering words are bait above a well set trap. Let us not talk of men and their wiles but of more pleasant things. Come, let us walk around the garden."
GLN:9:12 They walked and came to a place where grew a tamarisk tree, and about the tamarisk entwined a vine holding many bunches of grapes. The old maidservant said, "Behold this tree, of what value would it be were it not for the vine? Would it have any value, except as firewood? And what of the tree to which it clings, would it not straggle along the ground, laying in the dust to be crushed underfoot by any passer-by? It would be a helpless thing unable to raise itself up, a barren creeper bearing no fruit. So, see what benefit comes from their union, and learn wisdom. Is not the tree named as a man is named and the vine as a woman is named? We who are old see lessons in such things and, in learning from them, gain wisdom. The young are ever loath to even read to their benefit from the book which is always open before their eyes."
GLN:9:13 Asarua listened, but said little, and as they walked the maidservant spoke of the young daughters of Formana whom she had nursed, and of the ways of man and woman. She spoke as such women speak, her tongue following a winding road. The speech of men comes out like an arrow, but the speech of women comes out like a puff of smoke. Men talk with the naked tongue, but words from the mouth of a woman are veiled and devious. The tongue of a woman is a sword sheathed in silk. Not for nought are women called the twin-tongued. Perchance, these words were added in the days of Thalos, for not all men think thus of women.
GLN:9:14 The maidservant had an inexhaustible supply of words, and Asarua was so taken aback to hear the things of which she spoke that she could find no words to answer. Thus speaking, they came to the small dwelling place, where the mother of Asarua was preparing a meal. She invited the maidservant to eat with them and to sleep there that night, and this the maidservant gladly accepted.
GLN:9:15 After they had eaten, the maidservant spoke with Mamuah, the mother of Asarua, and the talk was of unfortunate women, whose daughters were fair yet refused to be married, daughters who closed their ears even to good advice on marriage, whether such women were true women or unnatural women. The words which mattered were few while the words in which they were buried were many, but the former were not lost on Mamuah, whose ears were not closed to such talk, and they entered her heart. She gave attentive ears when the other spoke of Ancheti who, though but a youth, was wise. Though he had not yet drunk deeply from the waters of wisdom, nevertheless the well from which he drew them was a never failing one. "Be wise," said the maidservant. "Choose this young man, for surely none better will come this way. He does not wander from his place of duty; he is not slothful in manner, nor does he spend his days in futile pleasures. He does not go from woman to woman, and while it is true that this could be because of his age, yet he speaks of women only with respect, which is not the way with budding fornicators. He is manly; he is of the blood of kings, and above all, he is wise, because he has a wise instructor. He is a youth of good promise and one who would not bestow his love lightly."
GLN:9:16 The mother of Asarua heard the words of the maidservant with both ears, and when the maidservant was departing said, "Come again when the moon is new, that we may speak more of these matters." Ancheti visited the place again and when the maidservant returned at the new moon, Mamuah said, "It is well, my daughter will marry the youth, Ancheti. But first he must bide in the place where he now serves for one year; then, he must labour in this place for one year; after this he may marry Asarua with my blessing." This seemed good in the eyes of Ancheti, and so it was that he laboured two years in order to marry Asarua.
Chapter Ten - Death of Hurmanetar
GLN:10:1 In the days when the Elshumban were gathered in war hosts, Hurmanetar departed with his household and the household of Ancheti to dwell in the land between the Great River of Sweet Waters and the Bitter Waters of the West, and they built an encampment there. They were in a land where some men spoke as Hurmanetar spoke, and though there were men of blood with them, the people of the land let Hurmanetar and those with him dwell in peace among them, because in those days men were inflicted with Inahana.
GLN:10:2 When the task set upon him was nigh finished, Hurmanetar knew that his days in the land of the living were not to be many more;
therefore, he betook himself into a place of solitude. There he fasted for many days, casting his spirit that it might commune with the Father of the Gods, but the voice of God remained silent. Then, he left that place, going into a cave, where he dwelt in the half light for many days; but again there was no response from the Father of the Gods. So Hurmanetar departed from the cave and returned to his people, where he was heard to say, "Woe, for truly my God has forsaken me and remains dumb against my pleadings. yet, I have done all the things told me beforetimes and written in the great Book, wherefore have I failed?
GLN:10:3 Then he went apart from the people and slept alone, for his heart was heavy. But behold, in the night he had a dream. In it, he saw the Sacred Symbols spread out upon a cloth of white linen, and each was displayed according to its form. As he gazed upon them and numbered them, each by its own number, an ass came and ate up the Sacred Symbols, and lo, the ass became a falcon. Then as he looked, the falcon became a cow, and between its horns was a crown of silver and a crown of gold, and the cow spoke to Hurmanetar, saying, "Drink of my milk, and anoint your eyes with it; thus they will be opened and you will see." Hurmanetar drank the milk and anointed his eyes, and then he awoke. Remembering the dream and being wise, he needed no other to interpret it for him. So then, he straightway did the things which had to be done, about which those with understanding will know, and departed from the people.
GLN:10:4 Hurmanetar went out towards a place of solitude, about one day's journey distant. Having gone about half the way, he became weary under the noonday sun, and so sat down beneath a tree to rest in its shade. Then, as he drowsed, behold, a great flash of light came down from out of Heaven, and it smote the ground before him. He heard a great noise like a mighty whip crack, and he was blinded. Then, he heard a voice saying, "Behold I am here, the God of Gods and the God of Men in the beginning." Hearing this, Hurmanetar fell upon his face and cried, "O Great One, I am Your servant."
GLN:10:5 Then God said, "Wherefore would you open a door unto me? Because the race of man has been defiled, and men are no longer with Me, am I not the withdrawn One, the Hidden One?"
GLN:10:6 Hurmanetar, still on the ground, answered, "O Father of the Gods, I Your servant would know Your will. I have a task nigh finished and seek to know whether it is well in Your sight, or whether it is a thing done