In The Beginning
Page 54
Chapter Fifty Four
Over the next seventy years the nation continued to grow. We settled two more cities to the north of the capital, and continued our inexorable push towards the mountains far to the south. Our nation was now vast, stretching so far from the northern end to the southern that none besides the royal family and a few intrepid travelers would ever consider trying to visit every city in the land.
It was now much more common for people to live outside the cities, and small villages existed in the forests near almost every city. There will always be those that prefer the quiet and peace of a small settlement to the bustle of a large, active city. As long as these villages lived in peace and obeyed the law of the land they were allowed to exist. The villagers traded with the cities, providing much of the game the city people ate.
My children and grandchildren ruled all the cities throughout the land as Princes and Princesses. Besides being the rulers of every city in the nation, they were often the leaders of the trades, and they always served as scholars and teachers to the people, trying to advance our culture and civilization.
A loose confederation of warriors had developed in the royal family; keepers of the law who would go out to fight whenever it was necessary. This was not required often, since for the most part the hunters of the cities were able to keep the peace. But on occasion a strong leader would arise that pulled people in the wrong direction, away from peace.
A man or women would find enough followers that believed it was better to steal than to work. Sometimes these people would become too powerful; their numbers too great or the leader too strong to be captured by the hunters. At these times the royal warriors would join together. They were looked upon as the heroes of the land, and it was said that evil would fall wherever they went.
They came to be known as the Nephilim. This name was given them by the people, and was a combination of words which meant conquering royal warriors. They went forth rarely, but whenever they were called out they always came home victorious.
Over the past few years pressure had been increasing to cross the great river and settle the far side of the barren grasslands None had crossed the river since our ill-fated trip of so many years ago, when we had visited the eastern tribe.
At that time I had vowed we would never again cross the river, but much had changed in the intervening years. The nation had now grown to a great number of people. There was still land enough for two more cities to the north, and some land also remained near the southern mountains. But we were getting too close to those mountains, and I feared the consequences if we were to try to settle any more than two additional cities in the south.
Vile, fearsome creatures lived in those soaring mountains and the deep valleys within. I knew it was dangerous to settle too near them, lest we begin to draw the animals out in search of easy prey.
We needed more land, and east was the only direction we could go if we were to continue to grow as a nation.
In truth, the Easterners had continued to weigh heavily on my mind all these years. I thought of them often and still continued to second-guess myself. Had I done the right thing by leaving them alone, perhaps condemning any innocents to lives of continual pain and suffering?
Though I knew that I bore no responsibility for their well-being, the thought that innocent people may be suffering or dying on the far side of the river while we prospered on this side had caused me many a restless night.
I had no idea what had occurred across the river. It had been hundreds of years and perhaps they had killed each other off, though hopefully they had learned and now tried to live good lives. There might be a few small villages, or even a great nation. While I didn't know what I would find, I could no longer deny what I must do.
The Eastern lands would be the final great challenge of my life. I had to go back.
Part VI – The Future