The Descent

By L.J. Hayward

A retelling of the ancient Assyrian myth, the Epic of Gilgamesh, through the eyes of his sworn brother and companion, Enkidu.

Betrayed by the gods he served and worshiped, Enkidu lies on the brink of death while Gilgamesh despairs over his ailing body. But before he can enter the House of Dust, the place where all men go when they die, Enkidu must endure seven trials on the endless road. Each trial forces him to confront his deeds at the side of Gilgamesh, taking from him all the things he believed made him human, until all that is left is the truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: L.J. Hayward
• Release date: Dec 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311909862

L.J. Hayward

L.J. Hayward has been telling stories for most of her life. Granted, a good deal of them have been of the tall variety, but who’s counting? Parents and teachers notwithstanding, of course. These days, the vast majority of her story telling has been in an honest attempt to create fun and exciting ways of entertaining others (and making money).As such, she is still a mad (always provoked!) scientist in a dungeon laboratory (it has no windows. Seriously, the zombie apocalypse could be going on outside and she’d have nary a clue) who, on the rare occasions she emerges into the light, does so under extreme protest and with the potential hazard of bursting into flames under the southeast Queensland sun.

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The Descent

A Tale of Ancient Assyria

L.J. Hayward

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Smashwords Edition

Copyright L.J. Hayward 2015

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Cover Design by L.J. Hayward

Other Books

Night Call Series

Blood Work

Demon Dei

Here Be Dragons (short story)

Rock Paper Sorcery

Bone Magic Trilogy

Dead Bones

The Descent

A Tale of Ancient Assyria

Enlil, father of the gods, said, Let Enkidu die...

I stood on a barren plain, grey and cold. Above me the heavens hung low, boiling clouds dark with the anger of the gods. They argued about me. I, Enkidu, the wild man caught and tamed, forced into the civilised life of a man. Forced to die like a man—at the behest of the gods.

Before me was a window, framed in stone and suspended in mid-air. Through the window I saw a room, bright with the glory of Shamash, the Sun God, and within that room was Gilgamesh—my friend, my mirror, my bane. He sat at the bedside of an ailing man, his grim countenance such that those who saw it might think he was the one about to die.

Why? I heard him say to the man on the bed. Why are you punished alone for the deeds we did together?

It is not punishment. The words came from beyond the window.

The speaker was a man, but the strangest man I had ever beheld. His face resembled Anzu, his hands were the paws of a lion and his nails the talons of an eagle.

Who are you? I asked, hands feeling for my ever present knives.

I am to be your guide. He smelt of dry things; dust in a drought, sunburnt grass on an empty field, wind off the desert. His scent swarmed through me, reminding me of death and long forgotten decay.

It made me think of the words of the gods, condemning me to this end while Gilgamesh lived.

A knife was in my hand without a thought. I spun, bringing its keen edge to the strange man’s neck. In a blink, he was gone and the blade cut