The world was already filled with life, and the Annunaki, led by Anu, considered it their greatest gift. But, according to the great design, only the gods were to exist forever, while the rest of the creatures were destined to die.
Anu created a new world deep beneath the earth, and at its very center he placed a sickle on the altar, cutting off the threads of life. It could only be taken willingly, thereby assuming the duties of a deadly deity.
But no one was willing to take it.
Certainly Ereshkigal, the eldest of the goddesses, had no interest in that dark trade. She was more interested in the Tables of Destiny, because whoever holds the Tables holds the world.
She dreamed of becoming the most important among mortals and immortals, and by right of seniority she only waited for the moment when the Tables were handed to her.
But, and this is a great lesson for all of us, not everything happens the way we want it to. And therein lies the profound metaphor of death, the descent into dark Irkalla.
One day Ereshkigal was swimming in the lake, enjoying the sun, the warm wind and the cool water, when suddenly a giant dragon descended from the sky. It was so huge that its wings were sweeping the sun. The winds that he raised with mighty sweeps tore out centuries-old oaks and gave rise to devastating samumas.
Dragons grew all their lives, and since death had not yet established its orders, this most ancient of dragons became so enormous that the ground could barely support him.
He sat down beside the lake and drained it in two gulps, nearly swallowing the goddess. Without getting drunk, he tiredly exhaled a cloud of steam.
Ereshkigal rose, covered in mud and seaweed, glaring at the dragon.
- How dare you, you winged worm, spoil my lake? - She screamed, shaking her fist.
- Forgive me, mistress," the dragon murmured, and the world shuddered, "I did not see you. My name is Kur, and I am one of the oldest in the world. For a long time I fly over the sands and I cannot quench my thirst, for I have not met any river or lake deep enough for me.
Ereshkigal shook her head.
- Your stupidity is only comparable to your size, Kur. But... you can serve me if I show you the greatest river in the world.
The dragon nodded, a flicker of hope in his eyes.
Ereshkigal grinned. How had the mindless giant managed to miss the Red River? It had enough power to quench the thirst of a dozen such dragons.
- Sit on my back, goddess, and tell me where your river is.
Ereshkigal happily climbed the living mountain, and they soared into the sky. The dragon flew leisurely, but covered vast distances in a couple of strokes of its giant wings. Truly, such a beast should have been kept close at hand when the Tables of Destiny finally found a worthy ruler. So that neither Ishtar nor the rest of the gods would have any claim on them.
From this height, the Red River seemed a barely discernible thread in the midst of the sands and hills. No wonder Kur had not noticed it before.
- Come down! - Ereshkigal shouted.
The dragon heard only the third time, because the wind carried the words away, and the giant's head was far away from the goddess.
Kur was drinking for a long time, and Ereshkigal was worried that he would drain this river too.
- Stop!" she waved her hands. - Are you not drunk?
- Only a little thirsty," Kur looked fresh and full of energy.
- Shall you go to the land of snow and ice? There mighty rivers and babbling waterfalls flow from the mountains, and hot springs gush from the earth.
- You are right, goddess. And I now have the strength to reach even the most distant lands. But, don't be angry, I'll use up my new powers as I see fit.
Kur swallowed Ereshkigal and soared upward. It rumbled from the heavens, breaking through the solid earth, and stopped only so deep that it was impossible to get out - in the underworld Anu had created.
The dragon spat out a furious Ereshkigal.
- That was the deal," Kur murmured, spreading his wings. - I have brought you to a new realm, and in return I will get nectar from the Celestial City that will quench my thirst once and for all.
- Nectar? - Ereshkigal squinted. - Did one of the gods send you? Ishtar!
Furious, the goddess looked around. And her eyes fell on a black altar, on which a strange sickle shimmering silver. Grabbing it, Ereshkigal struck Kur. No weapon, not even those created by Mulungu, could have damaged the dragon's tough scales, but the sickle easily took its life.
Thick blood flowed from the wound, and the poisoned water of the Red River flowed from its gutted belly, and the two streams intertwined. Thus appeared the great subterranean river Hubur, across which the dead souls were ferried by the ferryman, collecting the obols.
Taking willingly the sickle with which to cut the threads of destiny, Ereshkigal doomed herself to carry death into the world.
From the bones of the defeated dragon she created Irkalla, the city of the dead, and swore vengeance on her sister for deceiving her by depriving her of her rightful power.