Day 273

 Day 273

It has been close to a year since my last writing.  I have been preoccupied and it felt out of place in my life.  But I would like to record at least some of my travels for my own memory as I enter my final years.  

I have come upon a civilization!  One I didn’t know even existed.  An offshoot of humanity, grown from just a small tribe long ago.  Over hundreds of years of isolation becoming a mighty nation of free peoples.  But I feel that context is needed for how I even came to this place.  

It was after I had been healed that I decided to continue on to the South.  I had traveled through the foothills, spending spring in a verdant utopia of nature.  Being immersed in a land that was abundant with both wildlife and awe inspiring natural wonders.  There were no major incidents and I felt the greatest sense of peace in my life I had ever felt.  I was truly in the heart of the wilderness and there were no other souls in that vast expanse.    

The further South I got the warmer and flatter it became, and with Summer approaching the land began to dry out.  I then came to parched lands where food was scarce and it became increasingly difficult to forage.  And despite setbacks and many hungry days I pressed on.  Making it through took a month and I lost significant body weight.  Biting winds would whip the dust up in colossal storms that would send walls of gritty sand flying across the world - only survivable by taking shelter immediately.  

After traversing the arid desert, I came to more hospitable lands that renewed my joy.  These places were much different from those in the North.  Strange plants and fruits were abundant, and most were good to eat.  Though I had an odd encounter with a red berry that left me with a swimming head for the evening.  I avoided eating them going forward.  

More months went by and I decided to travel West.  I had only ever heard myths of what lied there.  But I had the notion that if my legs would carry me, I would gaze upon that mystical land myself.  Ever West I traveled from that point on.  

The first place I discovered after my shift in course were desolate rocky lands in which little grew.  While in them, I felt strange forces acting upon me, centered around rough spires of rock and metal that jutted from the ground.  A strange thing happened while walking near one to examine it more closely.  My spear flew out of my hand, smashing into pieces, all of which stuck to the pillar.

I tried for the whole day to get the fragments unstuck.  Even trying to carve out pieces of the rock it was on.  As I got close to the rock the rest of the metal objects in my posession became stuck as well.  Fortunately, I did not have much that was metallic.  And I was able to untangle the things that were from out of my bag, that had been dragged with them to the rock.  With no other option I was forced to leave these behind.  The only thing I truly missed was my spear, and that was simply for nostalgic reasons.  

I came at last to a range of mountains, that after finding a passage through, came into a strange land.  A jungle basin where giants roamed.  It didn’t take long to see the creatures that dwarfed the land and shook the Earth when they thundered by - many a fallen tree their doing.  Even so they still possessed a gracefulness in the way they moved, sparing much of the flora in their stride.  I was in awe.

The only features that could match the creatures in scale were large pillars of stone that dotted the horizon to the West, intermingling with the sky.  Providing food for the voracious giants.  When one would pass by I would take shelter in the shadow of these formations, so as not to be accidentally crushed.  Waiting out the trembling ground.  

Some weeks later, I had my biggest surprise.  Stumbling upon another person.  I was so shocked that I was speechless for a time, forgetting all my manners.  I had resigned myself to never seeing another human.  So this encounter filled me with wonder and a hundred questions.  At first we had great difficulty communicating, as the dialect they spoke was foreign, though with similar structure and cadence.  I was only able to pick out a few words here and there.  

This surprise woman turned out to be friendly, and soon we were communicating through primitive means.  As I soon found out, she was anything but primitive.  From what I understood, she had been sent out to gather special stones, only found in the bottoms of crystal clear jungle streams.  Her mission interrupted by my arrival.  We then headed towards where she said there were others.  

It was a few days' journey back to her people, and I felt my excitement mounting the whole way. Sign of habitation increased the further we got.  Rough paths turned into cleared pressed roads, which then led to paved streets that dipped underground through long tunnels as a way of avoiding damage from wandering behemoths.  

The people I met along the way were all very curious about my presence.  Referring to me as an old human.  I quickly began to pick up more of the dialect and was able to converse roughly with those inquiring.  I learned just as much about them.  Finding out that these people had come from the first human tribe to reach Pangaea, having wandered for decades before settling in this place.

They had always known about their kin,  but distance and treacherous terrain had kept them apart all these years.  Growing as separate civilizations, until both were but a distant memory to each other.  They had been able to thrive in this part of the world, even more so than the kingdom of Duram it seemed.  Their lands had not been ravaged by war - in fact they weren’t even aware, and were shocked by such a thing.  

My impromptu guide Kiri brought me deeper into her land.  Prompting me along the way to share my story with people, and to eventually tell the elders.  The people of this land differed quite drastically from the folk I was accustomed to being around.  Shorter, and with a paler in complexion, but with stunning and elegant bodily features.  

Their dress was simple and complimented the nature around - made from plant materials and flexible mushroom fiber, stretched and melded together.  Drastically different from the animal based clothing worn by those in the North.  Made of wool and leather.  Fastened in place by metal or bone.

We eventually came to a metropolis beyond my wildest imagination.  Built between a three of the largest rock pillars, the city dominated the land.  Both nestled and sprawling simultaneously.  The white and red stone complimented the surroundings perfectly, enhancing the natural beauty of the region.

We traveled into the heart of the city and I was taken aback by the great number of people living inside, equivalent to any of the great cities, possibly even more than Tennora where I had spent most of my life.  The people were happy and content.  There didn’t seem to be any central ruling system or created order, but the people found their own way.  

I stayed for a few days, enjoying all that Rigda, which was the name of the city, had to offer.  After I had explored, I was taken to an expansive domed structure near the center of the city.  Both the outside and inside had been decorated elegantly.  Within, there was an open central space, surrounded by small chambers.  

It was an open forum of sorts.  Since these people didn’t have official leaders, and the decisions of life lied with its individuals, there were instead elders and wise citizens who made themselves available to all for counsel.  So that when faced with hard choices, anyone, regardless of status could seek out advice or opinions before making their own conclusion.  Certain elders carried a reputation, but anyone could serve this way if they felt so inclined, each person giving or specializing in certain matters they felt passionate about.  Forming a community with the other counselors.  

I was introduced by my guide to an elderly group sitting near the back.  Kind people with a welcoming demeanor.  They were warm and inquisitive about my journeys and the society I had come from.  Marvelling at all that had been accomplished and how far humanity had progressed on both sides of the world.  

They were shocked and sad at the news of a war.  There had been nothing but peace in this land since settling down for them.  The only indication ever was signs of disruption in nature that the sages had noticed, but even then, these had been only minor.  The elders I was talking to were most interested in broad cultural intricacies, and the impacts it might have on their civilization.

Therefore they were most curious when I told them of the seraphs I had encountered.  And It’s emphasis on telling of my encounter with Samael.  They were quite concerned by this.  They knew of the seraphs, though they had a different name for them.  Regardless they were highly esteemed as bearers of the true nature of the world.  A link to Ulmec.  

The more we talked, the fonder I grew of these people.  They didn’t seem to strive as those in the Kingdoms did.  But creativity and complexity still spontaneously originated from simple lives lived with purpose.  Creating something more grand than the sum of its parts.  

I was invited back to talk with more people, lasting multiple days in a row.  Eating and conversing, with people looking on as the news of a foreigner had spread like wildfire.  I felt strange that I was the bridge for a gap that my people wouldn’t even know existed.  An ambassador of sorts for a people that had no knowledge of my life. 

As I spent more time in the city, getting more acquainted with the people and its features, the traveling desire that had been burning in my heart began to fade.  I must have fulfilled something that I was meant to do, the prompting put inside me to bring this about replaced by the desire to settle down.  

What had once been such urgent feelings, causing great restlessness, swapped in a matter of weeks for me, until I had no desire to continue but to stay indefinitely.  It was funny how a feeling could change that drastically and quickly. 

Over the coming years my decision was ever rewarded as my life became fuller than I could have imagined - integrating myself gladly into the society.  I shared my time between becoming a counselor, offering my experiences up to those who were increasingly taking interest in their lost kin, and drawing large detailed maps.  Piecing together other smaller fragments and hunting down scraps and information from every source.  I now had plenty of time to explore and craft the things that had always held my attention. 

Growing older, I lived out my days in peace.  Not caring about the news of the world beyond.  Enjoying the simple things in my life.  This new home and the place I had chosen to spend my remaining days on this Earth.  

All that are left of my travels are the words written to preserve a most exciting time of my life.  I wish the world well and that the two peoples can one day find each other, and that peace can reign over the world.  Farewell

THE END