The Death Song of Wen'etra: An Epic Poem

By Wesley R. Turner

Over twenty years have passed since the ancient Ushani tablets were uncovered. Now translated, they reveal an epic tale that once became the pillar of a long-dead civilization.

Like many cultures, the Ushani had a creation story. At the beginning of all things, the deity Wen-Eba created everything. He manipulated the vast colors within himself to form the beasts of the air, land, and sea; all creatures were given the perfect amount of life color according to their needs. Even the trees were created with their colors to be sustained by the earth.

From the tallest trees, Wen-Eba sculpted the first humans, giving them part of his own spirit. He set them apart from all other creatures by not giving them color according to their needs. Rather, he wanted to give them life directly from himself, that mankind might be sustained by their creator.

Tragically, mankind soon rejected the will of their deity, seeking their missing color in the ground. From it, they pulled gemstones and precious metals, colors that were meant to sustain the earth. As their world slowly starved to death, their retribution began to awaken. Finally the greed of mankind unleashed a vengeful being known as Wen'etra, "the flame that consumes all color."

Though mankind had been ravaged by Wen'etra for many years, Wen-Eba did not forget them. A prophecy spoke of a hero who would someday rise to defeat the flame and restore all creation to newness and life.

This ancient myth chronicles the rise and fall of the Ushani people as well as their redemption at the hands of their legendary hero, Aedliss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638741602

Book preview

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The Death Song of Wen'etra

An Epic Poem

Wesley R. Turner

ISBN 978-1-63874-159-6 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63874-160-2 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Wesley R. Turner

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

XIII

XIV

XV

XVI

XVII

XVIII

XIX

XX

About the Author

Acknowledgments

I began writing The Death Song of Wen'etra in early 2018. It may not be the longest book ever written, but it has taken me on quite a journey. That being said, if you're reading this right now, thank you for being part of this journey! I sincerely hope you enjoy this book.

Profound thanks go out to my friend Eric, who recognized the potential of this work while it was in its infancy. Eric, without your excitement and constant encouragement, I may not have finished this project. You have forever earned the number 1 fan title for this book.

I would also like to thank my incredible wife, Alyssa, for cheering me on, for believing in me, and for being the most perfect partner I could have ever hoped to marry. I especially want to thank her for painting such beautiful illustrations for this book. Lys, your strength, selflessness, and love are clearly seen in everything you do. My life, much like this book, is colorful and vibrant because of you.

Over the past few years, several people have also read over my manuscript as it progressed. I don't want to miss anyone, so I'll just say, You know who you are! A big thanks to you guys for giving me your honest feedback and for helping me to push my creative limits.

Lastly, thanks to Christian Faith Publishing for turning this dream into reality. Not only have you all been helpful, but you made me feel like you were genuinely excited about this book. You guys rock!

Prologue

In 1998, a team of archaeologists unearthed a number of large stone tablets along the eastern border of Iraq. These tablets were covered front and back with a previously unseen written language. Perplexed by the strange symbols etched into the stone, they gathered linguistics experts and historians from the surrounding regions. Though many of these tablets were broken, there were enough intact fragments to allow a thorough study of the writing. Years later, they began to compare the markings to those found in Sumerian, Phoenician, Proto-Egyptian, and Ugaritic writings and soon found enough similarities to begin the daunting task of translation. By 2019, a dead language was resurrected and a forgotten civilization was returned to human history. The English translation of what are now known as the Ushani tablets became The Death Song of Wen'etra, sometimes referred to as The Devotion of Wen-Eba.

The word Ushani (oo-shah-nee) comes from the Ushani word for man, ushon. It is combined with the -ani, suffix, which denotes children. This combination effectively creates a word meaning children of man. This is the only known word for humanity or man as the Ushani had no discernable concept of different cultures or people groups. It is believed that the Ushani people lived and thrived around 5,000–3,000 BC. Though not much is known about them, Ushani history would appear to go back much further based on the Ushani creation account and early history. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Ushani existed largely throughout the Mediterranean region of the Middle East. Not surprisingly, much of the Ushani culture contains similarities to the surrounding Semitic cultures. Such similarities include a monotheistic deity (as in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and a special or symbolic meaning given to