The other creatures were larger than him and the raptor was much smaller than his actual size. Forming a cocoon so tiny would probably pulverize his bones, leaving him a hawk-sized lump of flesh. The possibility made even a man known to be rash cautious and unwilling to take the risk.
“I am here about the proposal,” a voice came from the open doorway. The door had been closed only a moment before.
Jubal turned, recognizing the speaker. “What proposal?” He asked and gave a respectful nod of greeting to the priest.
Mel walked over to the cage. “You need perspective. From your current vantage point this is a small creature. If I close one eye and look at you from the other side of the hawk, it appears to be bigger than you.”
Jubal was not finding the conversation to be helpful, but did remember the proposal. “Did Aram and his friends agree or do they need a change in perspective?”
“They agreed. For some reason falling to their deaths held little appeal as an alternative.”
“I can see why,” Jubal replied. “What I want to know is; how can we trust them to keep their word?”
Mel stepped away from the cage. “There was a time when you were not so cynical.”
“I see things differently now. I spend most of my time teaching, studying, and producing Aakatools. Trusting those particular people is riskier than my experimenting with potential,” Jubal replied. “But, I will release them. There,” the Da Capos vanished from his mind, “it is done.”
“You could have let them down gently,” the Priest chided.
“How did you know I did not?” Jubal asked, experiencing no guilt for dropping the lot of them.
“Nothing mystical, I surmised the action by your obvious contempt for them.” Mel walked over to the desk. “I also know you are still conflicted over not taking the issue to your friend and the fact you believe all of those men ought to be punished for causing trouble. Believe me the vast majority of humanity will follow the Nephilim to Semidon. Hundreds will follow the rabble rousers and most of those have been taught to cause trouble. The leaders have sown discord and will be taking their harvest with them. Do not think the guilty will go unpunished.”
Jubal looked him in the eyes. “I thought they would stay here and be a problem for the eight ancients.”
“No, and as a matter of fact, those people who choose to depart will discover just how difficult survival is without the Nephilim. They have forgotten the titanic changes I warned about. The powers you are developing will become a necessity for years to come. The harder test facing the Nephilim will come after the earth stabilizes, to the degree that it ever will.”
“So the changes will go on forever,” Jubal concluded, while wondering what test would be harder than fighting the natural elements.
“Of course, but the changes will happen slowly and take place over many lifetimes, so gradually you will not notice. However, in some regions the seasonal changes will be drastic and in others very subtle,” Mel explained. “I will add this before I depart, Nimrod has been told of the imperative, but only sees it as one opinion among many, and his own above all others.”
Roddy having a high opinion of his own opinion was not news to Jubal. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
The priest nodded his head. “Very well, your problem is perspective, and you need to change your vantage point from time to time.”
“What do you mean?” Jubal was curious.
“For seven days you have seen things only from the perspective of this house and school, but have seen nothing of what is happening out there,” Mel said while pointing at the wall as if it did not exist. “The things you learn and do in here are important, but to fulfill your duty you must go outside; change your vantage point. The same is true in regard to your relationship with your childhood friend. Like when I was standing by the hawk with one eye closed, the bird appeared to be larger than you, so large I could see little else but the bird. My perspective made it impossible to see what was behind the hawk. In your mind, Nimrod looms so large you are unable to see what is behind him.”
“Roddy has a big ego, but he also has talents that give him a reason to be proud. Yes, for some reason he feels he must be in control, but his urges along those lines are tempered with benevolence. He truly does want what is best for everyone,” Jubal felt compelled to defend his friend.
Mel lifted up his hand. “Hold, I am not trying to turn you against him. I am aware of Nimrod’s many good qualities, so do not need a listing just now. All I am telling you is to change your vantage point because your current perspective is affecting your understanding of what is, and limiting your imagination.”
Jubal stood up from his chair. “Perspective, change my vantage point, got it. Is there anything more I need to know?”
Mel rubbed his smooth chin a few times and then nodded in response to some inward thought. “Yes, but you are not ready. To answer your question on how we can trust your brother and his friends to stay out of trouble, I implied you would use your mysterious powers to spy on them and if they broke the agreement you would track them down one by one and kill them.”
Jubal nodded his head. “I have spent a good part of my life protecting the community from nuisance beasts. The sad part is, I actually half see those men, even Aram, as pests that need to be eliminated. I see them as a danger to the rest of the population.”
“That is the main reason I came in person. I am hoping to tilt your perception of the conspirators back toward them being men rather than animals to be eliminated; for your own good even more than theirs. Something you do need to beware of, if the mighty hunter, after the exodus is complete, does not begin the process of sending out people to fill the earth, you must either convince him or a crisis will arise and you will be compelled to start the process yourself, failure to do so will result in turmoil from above,” the priest pointed upward, “I have said it once and will say to drive home the point; a crisis shall arise compelling you to act if the king refuses to honor the imperative. And one other thing, in regard to your pursuit of knowledge, think bigger,” he stated and then exited the room as quietly as he had entered.
“Think bigger,” Jubal repeated the advice, and filed the warning away in the depths of his mind, figuring he would worry about that after the move.
The desire to eliminate the men at the gathering had been different from his desire for the would-be assassins to drop dead, that feeling had been kindled by outrage and a desire to protect his wife. When the time came for justice he had not wanted the conspirators to die because the moment had passed and he had begun to think of them as people whom he spent years protecting. His recent feelings were different. Canaan, Aram, Magog, Cazzhe, and the rest had become less than human in Jubal’s eyes. “What do you know? The priest was right. I did need a change of perspective in order to affect a change in my perception.”
The hawk let out a screech in response to the words.
Jubal walked over to the cage. “I thought the form had to be as small as you if I ever had any hope of actually flying, even though if I did manage to shrink down to your size and survive, I would still be unable to flap my arms the way you do your wings,” he told the hawk, who stared straight ahead regally as if the creature in front of him was beneath his notice.
Instead of picturing himself as a tiny hawk, Jubal mentally performed Metamorphosis and pictured the body of the bird he wanted to become as being slightly taller and wider than him, with his arms being wings in the same proportions as those of the hawk in the cage. When the notes reached the point of summoning potential, Jubal was suddenly in a giant hawk-shaped cocoon.
“I am a hawk,” he spoke out loud and affirmed in his mind. “A really big hawk that cannot fly, but I am a hawk.”
Chapter Seventeen: All Settled In
Laara’s third birthday was only a day past. Born one month after the mass exodus to Semidon, she and her mother were the darlings of Jubal’s life. The presence of the little girl greatly affected
his perspective, which he made a point of changing from time to time as the priest had advised. They lived at the top of a five level pyramid with the top floor divided into three bed chambers; his and Vashti’s, Laara’s, and a guest room. The school was on the first floor. The second level had his workshop, reception room, and the kitchen and dining area. Some of the staff and a squad of Weapocarns, two of which were Cassiopeia and Anak, lived on the third floor. The fourth level and above was private living space.
His daughter had a golden complexion, an interesting blend of his copper and Vashti’s alabaster tones. The energetic child had silky hair like her mother, but the shimmering strands were dark like that of her father. She also inherited his eyes, shape and color.
Herara made the trip down river occasionally as did Lilith. Victoria was a more frequent visitor. She had many suitors but none who apparently met her standards and so at a time when many of her friends were married and had given birth, she remained single and not the least bit sad about it. Aphrodite was determined to find her a man, yet Vicky’s passion was Melody-wielding and every visit was an opportunity to add to her repertoire. If Jubal had to place a wager, he would bet on his mercurial sister.
Vashti, nine months into her second pregnancy, was at home on the first floor teaching her students how to read music and play their instruments, lessons that could be interrupted by the expected twins. His wife was determined to work right up to the moment her labor pains signaled the time had come.
Bast, after leaving the Weapocarns, and Romulus, another former student, were hired to teach the Nephilim who only wanted to learn how to operate the producers they purchased. The two trainers also worked as assistants with Hermes and Ursa, the sister of Andromeda.
Jubal strolled along the broad street with Laara riding on his shoulders and the newly-wedded couple, Andromeda and Orion, to the right and left of him. It was time to share his achievements. He would not normally bring his daughter on such an outing, but with all the women in the house focused on the impending births, it seemed best to have the darling with him. It was also a selfish excuse to spend time with his little girl.
Aphrodite took credit for bringing the pair of hunters together. Her hobby was matchmaking, she adored seeing men and women fall in love and get married. The love of her life had waited too long and before he worked up the nerve to speak of matrimony, her parents arranged a marriage into a prominent family. Obediently, she married Hephaestus, whom she respected as a decent and talented person, but for whom she had little in common. A person who thrived and reveled in social activities was united with a virtual recluse who considered guests an interruption. He preferred working on his gadgets and other creative hobbies over human companionship, although did love his wife. Jubal understood her need to help single men and women find what she called their soul mates. He loved Vashti, body, soul, and spirit, and so figured Aphrodite’s goal to be a worthy pursuit.
It was a pleasant day with a partly cloudy sky. Jubal found the cool morning walk to be refreshing and enjoyed the flowery scent being carried on the gentle breeze. The streets in Semidon were lined with trees and paved with flat stones, although the outlying areas were mostly gravel. The houses of the affluent were made of stone but even the wooden structures belonging to the poorest in the community were well-built and far better than what they had left behind. The administrators, judges, and royal couple, lived up ahead in palaces, the grandest of which belonged to the king and queen. Jubal’s home, although constructed in a wealthy neighborhood, was modest in comparison.
The government and business district was farther along and the huge rectangular buildings; Monolithic towers, colossal courthouse, and gigantic administrative edifices, could be seen from any point in the city. Twelve towers were built as places of refuge where people could enter and be safe when higher ground meant salvation from flood waters. The thirteenth and largest tower of all was a massive thing in the center of Semidon and was still under construction. It was Semi’s tower and she boasted it would reach all the way into the heavens, which seemed possible since the building already stood two times the height of the second tallest tower. Cassi believed it brought the queen closer to her beloved stars. Roddy’s wife used her zodiac to predict the future and often used royal authority to ensure those predictions came true.
Labor crews could be seen all over the city, working on the many public projects still under construction, paving streets either with flat stones or in the spreading and or replacing of gravel that shifts over time. Thousands of people had been convicted of crimes, some of which Jubal felt did not warrant such harsh sentences, but he seldom involved himself with social issues, especially judiciary matters, and only rarely did he exert his influence in the realm of criminal justice.
“Poppa made it,” Laara announced while pointing to a large dome-shaped house amid the square, rectangular, and triangular, stone structures.
“That’s right,” Orion confirmed.
The dwelling stood on a circular foundation that had five steps leading up to the dome, which had two floors. It was the first large-scale creation Jubal had attempted using Forge and the project had turned out quite well.
“I have been wondering; did you make the house because you feel responsible for what happened to her husband?” Andromeda asked.
Jubal eyed the dwelling he had created within walking distance of his own residence. “I am not responsible for what Japen did to himself,” he stated, still saddened by the incident but feeling no culpability. “I formed the house from the ground so Aricana and her boys will have a place to live, one close enough for them to obtain the provender I promised.”
“You never promised to build them a house in Semidon,” the female Anakim responded. “She lives among the wealthiest families. Why do such a favor for someone who clearly despises you?”
“The thing I never figured out is why she did not go south with Canaan, Cazzhe, and the few hundred people who went with them.” Orion obviously had his uncertainties stemming from the incident; the departure of certain tribal leaders had come as a jolt to many.
Roddy had been shocked and then furious when he found out his father-in-law did not follow him to Semidon. It took him several weeks to realize the fact, but when he did, the shouting could be heard a span away. Jubal would have disclosed the matter to his friend, had been tempted on several prior occasions to do so, but the men had kept to the agreement, and so Jubal had stayed silent. Semiramis had been hurt and disappointed over her father’s actions but kept her husband from taking any action.
The response also kept the king from going north after Magog and the few hundred of his kin who went with him. Oddly enough, Aram chose not to go, rather he stayed at the original settlement, although most of his offspring took part in the exodus to Semidon. He kept a wide distance from his youngest brother, but Jubal did not care about him or any of the fools, other than the fact they gained enough wisdom to stay out of trouble.
When he mentioned the defections at least contributed to the imperative to fill the earth, Roddy laughed it off as a joke. Worse in the three years since then he gave no indication of allowing anyone to leave Semidon with the intentions of going off for any reason. Mel’s warning popped back into Jubal’s mind from time to time but so far no crisis had come to compel him to act on his own.
Pushing the unpleasant affair and his part in it to the back of his mind, Jubal greeted the well-wishers who kept calling to him while Laara waved her hand in response to everyone who waved in his direction. Some of the people actually were waving to her, the tiny little charmer.
“Andie, Orion,” Jubal spoke up, deciding to answer the questions, “you are Anakim and Weapocarns and are both fully capable of supporting yourselves and did so way before you married each other. It is different for many of the Tinies who struggle to survive on their own, especially for a single woman, and add to that a pair of small boys,” he replied as they passed beyond the house.
The realization of the
need had arrived as a result of his changing perspectives, trying to see the struggles of life from a Tiny’s point of view. “Aricana is a fourth-gen and her sons are fifth, which means their lifespans will be shorter than ours. She stayed out of practicality. With Cazzhe she would struggle to survive until she married again and perhaps the need would be so great she would marry the first man willing to take her as a wife. Here, she and her children have security in a good house and access to as much food as they need.”
Orion nodded his head. “Of course, being fourth and fifth-gens, they will grow old and eventually die long before you are middle-aged. In essence, they will be taken care of for life.”
Andromeda eyed the passersby as if anyone of them might choose to attack, even though no such thing had occurred in years. Even so, her vigilance was appreciated. “I imagine plenty of men would leap at the opportunity to move into a well-built dwelling with guaranteed food on the table,” the Weapocarn rightly concluded. “You made it so she can afford to be choosy.”
“That, I did,” Jubal agreed.
“Instructor, may I have a word with you?” a voice he had not heard in slightly over a year called to him.
He turned to see Rue’s mother hurrying to catch up. She had on a light green wool dress with a dark green sash at the waist and sandals on her feet. His escorts made no move to stop her from walking right up to him, not that he had expected them to do so. “I am on my way to see Nimrod, feel free to walk along and have as many words as you like.”
Dawn Of The Aakacarns Page 34
