《The People of the Rivers》


 The Forging

    When the world was young, the Ancients roamed the land. Glistening cities towered high above the waves, mountains which overlooked the world. Great metal creatures flew high above the clouds and the sun itself was tamed as if it were a mere beast of burden. In these times, the Gods walked among these most archaic of peoples. The heavens and the earth were one. The line between divine and mundane was only a suggestion.


    The Ancients, however, were divided, as were the gods. With their great powers, the Ancients warred against each other. The Gods, in their youth, knew no conflict. They attempted to reason with the Ancients. Pleading with their old friends to come together, to bring peace back to the world, yet to no avail. The Ancients, consumed with their own squabbles turned the seas against each other. Then the mountains. Then the sun itself, yet they were not satisfied. They turned to the Twins, Ghensw?agh and Z¨®ac, for aid. To Ghensw?agh, they promised an end to war and a return to normalcy if she were to give them the power to rewrite nature. To Z¨®ac, they promised to dedicate a feast in her honor if she were to assist them in a finishing blow against their foe. Ghensw?agh blessed their voices with songs pure enough to coax Existence itself to their whims. Z¨®ac blessed their bodies with the ability to withstand divine energy, so that she may inhabit them and lead to victory.


    In song and dance, the Ancients continued their rampage against each other. The once glistening cities that the gods played in crumbled away. The heavens twisted and contorted in agony as the ancient unleashed storm after storm. Lightning rained upon the earth for years. Even the Gods themselves grew strained, their divine essence used as weapons for further destruction. Fooled and ashamed, Z¨®ac and Ghensw?agh tore heaven and earth asunder, so that no earthly creature could misuse their powers. The earth soon fell into complete chaos as the Gods abandoned the world to its own device. It was in this crucible which the forebeasts were born as the wild creatures of the land turned against the Ancients. With fang and claw, they lashed out at the beings who wrought destruction upon their home. They preyed upon the weakened Ancients, whittling down their numbers. The Ancients begged the Gods for aide, to smite the forebeasts, yet the eldest of the Gods, M¨¦s¨¥¨¬z?sa, refused to them. His heart ached as his former friends fought. His body, their battlefield, was bruised, battered, and scarred. He condemned them to their fate, not yet able to set a curse upon those he once sojourned with.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    The once numerous Ancients, now fought in their ruins as the Gods watched Existence itself spawned forth monstrous creatures. Eight-legged abominations with the intelligence of men crawled out of the swamps and deserts. Venom-laced fangs pierced through the armor of the Ancients. In horror, the Gods stripped these beasts of language, so that they may never use the songs of the Ancients. This, however, did not stop these creatures, who hunted the Ancients to the last man.


    Thus, the Ancients were no more. In their haste to fight against each other, to surpass each other, they turned Existence against them. They turned the Gods against them, yet in the fires of war and chaos, the Gods matured. Coming together, they created the first men in their image, although far weaker than they. With the fires of the sun itself, Ghencer¨½i forged these first men out of copper. Once their forms had pleased her, she forged the first women of the remaining copper. Once their forms had pleased her, she mixed the few pieces of copper with lesser metals and created helpers for humanity, small furry creatures with the intellect of a child. She took them to Medh¨ªr¨¨, who cooled their forms and breathed life into them. The first humans looked upon the faces of their Gods and bowed in reverence.

 Inheritance

    In the early days of man, sunbaked ashes covered the earth, remnants of the Ancient¡¯s wars. Their cities, now towering ruins above vast wastelands. The monstrous beasts Existence created to combat the Ancients, the Cuheksen, ruled over the desolated land. They feasted on the flesh of man. They grew drunk on the blood of the young. The Gods looked on as their children were hunted, yet Existence was pleased. Their creation flourished in the windswept deserts which now covered the earth.


    Humanity, in their grief, bid the Gods to help them. ¡°Why did you make us?¡± They asked. ¡°Why must we struggle for food and water? Why must we be hunted like mere animals?¡±


    M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa, the earth so scarred by the Ancients, heard their pleas. He thought upon the Ancients. How he played with them. How he laughed with them. How he came to love them. How they burned him. How they bruised his body. How they tricked his younger sisters. He calmed his mind as his heart longed for what was no longer there. He cast aside his memories of the Ancients, locking them away. Hearing the pleas of humanity, he opened his heart to them. He watched as they eked out what little moisture they could from drying riverbeds. As they chased insects and ate mosses to survive. He saw them build fires at night and sing songs of hope, despite the desolation around them.


    M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa smiled and came to one woman, Mese?i, as she scraped mosses off of boulders. He whispered in her ear, commanding her to go to the mountains. Upon hearing his voice, Mese?i froze in fear. His voice, though a mere whisper to him, boomed in her head, rattling her bones. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°Do you not know the voice of the man on which you stand?¡± M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa asked.


    The woman fell to her knees, horrified. ¡°Why are you here,¡± she asked. ¡°What wrongdoings have I done?¡±


    ¡°None, dearest creation of my brother and sister. I have heard your pleas. Now go uphill to see the salvation you seek.¡±


    The woman ran up the mountain, boulders and stones moving out of her path. The sun¡¯s rays cooled as she climbed the mountain. Once at the summit of the mountain, she was met with a man with skin of polished onyx. He towered over her, emerald eyes piercing through her soul. Afraid, she took a step back, but recalled the words of M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa. With as much courage as she could muster, she walked towards the imposing figure. He smiled and stepped aside, showing a verdant field. Antelope grazed upon the lush grass while birds flew above the skies. She turned to where the man was standing, only to see a grand marula tree in his stead.


    ¡°All the land across the mountains is for you to inherit,¡± M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa said in his booming voice. ¡°Lead your people to prosperity.¡±


    Behind Mese?i, she heard the rambling chatter of her clan and their Curevken servants as they walked up the mountain. ¡°Behold, the glory of M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa,¡± she proclaimed as her clan reached the summit of the mountain.


    Thus the clan of Ghensa came to be, blessed by the Earth itself. From this one clan came the mightiest of peoples, the Evye and the Senwe. The inheritors of all the world.

 The River of Light

    The clan of Mese?i, the Ghensa, thrived in the fertile plains created by M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa, yet they were not the only clan to be blessed by the Gods. Inspired by M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa, many of the gods took different clans under their wings. One night, soon after the migration of the Ghensa clan, Cu?¨´ek appeared before the Gh¨¦na clan. While M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa showed himself to only one woman, Cu?¨´ek came before the clan as they dug for water. He sprung forth from the well, dark lapis lazuli skin shimmering in the sunset. Golden flecks glimmered in his eyes. The Gh¨¦na prostrated themselves before him, a mighty spout of water erupted from the ground. The earth rumbled as the waters washed mountains away, carving a shining pathway into the fertile plains. Cu?¨´ek turned to the Gh¨¦na clan and spoke. ¡°Rise, my children. Become one with your brethren in the fertile plains and multiply.¡±


    The Gh¨¦na clan, upon hearing Cu?¨´ek, gave him thanks, and followed the Illiern out of the sunbaked mountains. For three generations, they lived side by side with the Ghensa; however, the passage of time made them forget their mandate from Cu?¨´ek. When the fourth generation came into their own, they began to clash with the Ghensa. They argued over fishing rights and hunting grounds, but the eldest of them retained the wisdom of past generations. Peace was maintained between the two clans, yet time still acted upon the human mind. With the fifth generation, the Gh¨¦na declared war upon the Ghensa. Having the bountiful river valley under their control and their higher numbers, the Gh¨¦na launched a night assault upon the Ghensa. They attacked the mountain village and the farm in the plains below.


    Cu?¨´ek watched as the Gh¨¦na, the clan he brought to prosperity, warred with the Ghensa. He recalled the Ancients and how they fought each other. How they tricked his sisters, Z¨®ac and Ghensw?agh. In his rage, he flooded the river when the men were away. Their village was washed away, just as the mountains were many years ago, for the Gods remember all. The elderly, women, and children who were left behind cried out, begging for answers, yet they neither heard nor saw Cu?¨´ek. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa, in his mercy, raised an island in the river for the children to wash upon. He spoke to his brother, calming his temper, as the children were innocent of any wrong-doing. Merciful M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa appeared before Ile?, the descendant of the gracious Mese?i. The moonlight reflected off of his onyx skin as he approached her. ¡°Go to the river, and take in the children of the Gh¨¦na. Treat them as your own and claim the blessings of Cu?¨´ek as your own.¡±


    She, alongside her husband, M¨¥kwo, decided to make the journey. The various beasts of the land and of Existence watched as they made the treacherous down the mountains. The men of Gh¨¦na, previously preoccupied with their plots, rushed past Ile? and M¨¥kwo as the light of the moon illuminated the overflowing river. In the midst of the roaring river, stood an island of hardened earth and stone. The children of the Gh¨¦na lay motionless upon it. As the couple approached, a shimmering blue figure rose from the earth below, spouting forth another river to wash away the remaining Gh¨¦na forces. He turned to the couple and spoke. ¡°Do as M¨¦s¨¥¨ªz?sa has commanded, lest the fate of the Gh¨¦na befall you as well, for I shall give no mercy to those who betray the Gods.¡± He sank into the earth as suddenly as he appeared, leaving the path clear for the couple to continue.


    Once at the river, a bridge of earth and stone rose from the river, connecting the island to dry land. They carried the children, one by one, away from the floodwaters. When the sun rose, the children awoke, confused and panicked, yet the calm resolve and understanding of Ile? and M¨¥kwo soothed them. Together, they walked into the Ghensa village where Cu?¨´ek awaited them with the rest of the clan.  He smiled and said one word before leaving. ¡°Prosper.¡±