Gilgamesh Immortal (Chronicles of the Nephilim) Read Online Free PDF Page B

victory over the lions that he decided to face the largest number of combatants he had ever faced in the Games: Six experienced challengers at once. The increased number of opponents would be difficult enough, but there was a small detail he was not aware of: One of the fighters had a personal vendetta against the king. His name was Dumuzi the Shepherd, and he had experienced the gut wrenching pain of jus prima noctis , forced upon him by Gilgamesh, and shortly afterward, lost his wife to sickness. Ninsun’s fears had materialized. A man had finally come to kill Gilgamesh. Dumuzi would do so with a secreted knife hidden on his person for just the right moment.
    Dumuzi recognized two of the contestants as soldiers but the other three he had never seen before. He thought they looked like foreigners but knew they could not be because foreigners were not allowed in the Games. The six men surrounded Gilgamesh. Dumuzi had a shepherd’s staff with which he had become adept at fighting wolves and other predators of his flock. He had also become quite a skilled hunter. One combatant had a rope, another had a net, two were competition wrestlers, and one was a champion boxer who had once knocked out a bull with a punch. Gilgamesh had his bare hands and was covered in a simple loin cloth and sandals.
    But could any of these men have killed the two great lions? Not even all of them together.
    Dumuzi attacked first. He was a bit hasty, but he did have a plan. He swung his staff with martial accuracy and got a couple of good blunt hits off before Gilgamesh took it from him and threw him ten feet away. He landed with a thud and lost his breath in a cloud of dust.
    The two wrestlers pounced simultaneously. One would have been a challenge, but two threw Gilgamesh off balance. He fell to the ground and they moved to pin him. They should not have been so confident. Gilgamesh grabbed both their heads and knocked them together with a loud CRACK echoing through the amphitheater. Groans of sympathetic pain peppered the crowd. Three were down so quickly. Gilgamesh looked at the other three with a grin.
    Dumuzi grabbed his secreted dagger from his boot and crawled through the dust cloud toward the back of Gilgamesh as he focused on the other three fighters. Dumuzi was considered out for the count and therefore out of Gilgamesh’s attention: Exactly what he had planned. It would be too easy to come up from behind and slip a blade into the king’s kidney or spleen and slice his life force right out of him.
    But then something happened that took everyone by surprise. The other three men positioned themselves at preplanned locations and each stooped down to quickly brush away some of the dirt on the ground. Even Gilgamesh paused curiously.
    The three warriors pulled up a series of weapons buried in the dirt for their retrieval. One drew a sword, another a battle axe, and the third a javelin. The swordsman screamed at the top of his lungs, “For the honor of King Agga!” and they attacked.
    The identity of the three strangers became clear in an instant when Gilgamesh heard the war cry. Agga was king of Kish and the two cities had been at odds for some time. Kish was the first city to have kingship lowered from heaven after the Flood. As current regent of that city, Agga had become quite aggressive in his attempt to dominate the region. He had demanded a tribute from Uruk and the elders of the city had counseled Gilgamesh to pay it and avoid hostilities. Gilgamesh refused and gathered the army on his side. Agga besieged Uruk. The walls of Uruk were not yet complete so Gilgamesh was vulnerable.
    But after his first envoy to Agga, Birhurturra, was detained and beaten, Gilgamesh was so incensed at Agga’s offense that he personally snuck over to Agga’s encampment on his own that night and surprised the king in his tent. Gilgamesh did not kill Agga, but rather, held his axe in hand and whispered to his opponent with poetic flair, “Agga, my lord, you