
It began just like any other day. The sun lazily crept across a cloudless sky, casting its sleepy gaze over the lands stretched out below. Hundreds of herds ambled across the vast plateau in search of fresh pastures and cool water.
Groves of trees and thickets broke the monotony of the churning sea of grass, while elsewhere several mile-long fissures interrupted the deep green fabric of vegetation. On the edge of the horizon, the blurred outline of a mountain range quivered in the haze.
A network of tracks led towards the widening entrance of one of the fissures, leading to a pond nestled deep inside the canyon. It was the only source of fresh water for miles, where the shaded rock walls safeguarded the still waters of the lake.
A herd of antelope was headed towards the life-giving waters. Some – mainly the young of the herd – broke away from the others, scampering about as they frolicked in the morning sunshine. The dry leaves of the shrubs poking through the mass of gently swaying grass quietly rustled in the light wind. It was a scene of innocence and tranquility.
In the distant north, a small herd of mammoths trotted slowly through the land, headed towards the distant mountains shrouded in mists. They proceeded with undisturbed calm, oblivious to the looming danger. There was no need to be concerned as there was no sign of the impending disaster threatening the blue planet – yet their doom was hurtling towards them at incomprehensible speeds from the icy depths of space in the form of an immense frozen rock.
The cosmic projectile was not from this solar system or even from one of the nearby planetary systems. It was a lonely wanderer plying the endless void for eons, only to bring ultimate devastation and subsequent new life to the tiny world that had the misfortune of crossing its path, concluding its infinite journey in a matter of minutes.
The surroundings of the watering hole were dotted with stunted shrubs and handfuls of long-stemmed pampas grass scattered by clumps of rocks deposited by the most recent rockslide. A lonely tiger lurked in the shadows of the rocks, cautiously padding towards the herd of antelope gathered at the shallow edges of the lake. Its lithe, muscled body scraped the rocks as it stealthily closed the distance to the herd. The thirsty beasts gathered on the sandy, gritty shores. Although the fissure wasn’t particularly wide, it was big enough for the watchful animals to notice any danger in time.
The ravenous hunter crept from shrub to shrub, rock to rock, inching ever closer to its prey. It often froze for minutes when it suspected they might become aware of its presence. Its pale-yellow fur helped it blend in with its environment almost seamlessly. The antelopes paused in their drinking, nervously sniffing the air, yet it seemed as though they were oblivious to the presence of the hunting big cat.
The tiger assumed a striking position, when suddenly, a heavy silence fell over the fissure and the entire plateau. The gentle breeze sudden dissipated and all creatures of the land, insects, birds and all nature of beasts suddenly fell silent. The sky that was gloriously clear above them a moment ago, abruptly darkened and grew opalescent. The big cat halted, fixing its gaze on the heavens above. It anxiously sniffed the air, yet couldn’t sense a thing. It had never experienced anything like this before. Its instincts warned it of the danger. Its muscles tightened before it suddenly leapt up from the rocky soil and broke into a wild sprint. It no longer heeded the hunt and its instincts urged the beast to return to its den on the plateau. Yet just as the other inhabitants of the continent-sized island, it could not escape its fate.
The fragments of smaller rocks passing through the atmosphere set the sky ablaze, heralding the arrival of their “big brother”. The colossal mass crashed into the blue planet with terrible force and speed. A blinding sea of fire swept across the plateau at a maddening pace while the deep thrumming came only seconds later, gradually intensifying into a deafening shriek. The searing shockwave turned all forms of life into charred ashes. The plateau writhed from the waves of tremors that coursed through it again and again. The collision ripped open deep crevices while towering mountains were born elsewhere accompanied by lava flows and raging fires, followed by a black, stifling shroud of ashes that covered the continent-size island.
Billions of tons of seething rubble fell from the sky for days on end before the madness finally subsided. Once the darkness dissipated and the sunshine filtered through the dust clouds, the seemingly dead plateau came to life. Although the destruction was immense, life could not be snuffed out once and for all. Despite the firestorms and the subsequent weeks of darkness, there were survivors – although battered and blasted, they eventually ventured forth from their dens and hiding places.
The dry husk of smoldering earth was broken up by the great drops of rain falling from the thick clouds that blanketed the sky as life finally crawled back from the brink of extinction. At first, minute islands of green appeared across the smoldering land and after the week-long rains, new blades of grass shoot up out of the tortured land to finally cover the entire plateau in green. New shoots appeared from the ashen stumps of trees, recapturing the desolated wastelands at a dizzying speed.
Somewhere, in a giant crater amongst the mountains, a huge block of ore emerged from the molten, glassy rock. Its surface was scarred with deep pits and gashes that emitted a bluish sheen from their depths. The glow faintly pulsated like a heart throbbing deep inside the rock. The pulsing light slowly coalesced into a growing pillar of light, endlessly beaming into the clouds swirling across the sky. At every beat of the “heart of ore”, the faint glow spread across an even wider area until finally, the pillar of light encompassed the entire island, wrapping the entire region in a swirling, thrumming wall of mists.
It was the birth of a new world…
Time unstoppably pressed on and over the succession of hundreds and thousands of years, the world shrouded behind the stormy walls was gradually repopulated.
Then, approximately 60,000 years ago, after the last ice age, a new species appeared on the island. Mankind emerged in the forgotten lands…
…another 30,000 years went by…
A team of men, women and children were headed south through the lush green valley. They were led by Noah’t, the hunter. All told, there were barely thirty souls left after the storms that descended on them four moons ago decimated the numbers of the explorers. He himself lost his wife and child, yet he still pressed on, as dictated by the law of life. The law of survival…
They had been wandering through the hills and mountains for days, traversing craggy plateaus and deep river valleys – Noah’t couldn’t get enough of the beauty and richness of the lands they passed through. He was no longer a young man as he had lived to see 32 summers over the course of their wandering in search of the all-important herds – the likes of which he had never seen before. The animals were well-nourished, strong and incredibly fast while their senses were beyond belief.
Since they managed to make their way out of the destructive vortex, they barely managed to catch any game and mostly had to make do with young, curious specimens that knew no fear. Unless their fortunes changed, they were faced with the growing prospect of agonizing starvation. They did their best to stave off their hunger with berries, roots and the bearings of trees.
Although he was a strong man, their hardships had taken a toll on Noah’t as well as his garments. He lost weight and his broad chest was sunken and his limbs grew thinner. His sinewy arms and formerly powerful legs protruded naked from under his rough-cut leather clothes.
Over time, their troubles seemed to intensify. First the children and then the older began acting strangely. Some mysterious disease was preying on their minds, making them capricious, unpredictable and even extremely aggressive at times. In the span of a week, all the surviving members of the clan had departed to their ancestors. Noah’t was the last to succumb to the sickness. His body grew feeble and his soul wavered until finally, a blinding light flashed in his mind and he blacked out.
He came to from the sensation of cool water and the gentle touch of a girl’s hand. For a long time, he had no recollections of what happened to him. He squinted at length until the black haze slowly lifted from his eyes. A girl was kneeling next to Noah’t, dribbling water on his forehead from a huge dock leaf. When she noticed that he came to his senses, she backed away from Noah’t.
He propped himself up on one elbow with some difficulty and scanned his surroundings in a daze. He was lying in the middle of a spacious, half-open cave. The girl sitting opposite him had a slender figure with rich, reddish-brown waist long hair that gently cascaded to her shoulders. She wore no clothing whatsoever. Her skin was smooth as polished amber and her green eyes shimmered like emeralds. Noah’t could tell from her bare, firm breasts and flat belly that she bore no children. Her features were soft, not nearly as rugged as the contours of the women and girls of his tribe, while her slightly almond-shaped eyes clearly signified to him that she wasn’t from the people of the plains… in all actuality, he had never seen the likes of her before.
“Where… where am I? What happened to me?” groaned Noah’t hoarsely, unsuccessfully attempting to get up from the ground.
“On the island. In a safe place,” came the odd reply.
“What’s that? I don’t understand… what sort of island?” he pressed on, while attempting and failing to stand up again, slumping back down on the ground.
“You’re on the island,” she chimed again in a quizzical tone. “And it is here that you will stay forever. The island has spared your life so you could become a part of it.”
Noah’t heard her words, yet couldn’t see her speak. It took him a few seconds to realize that her voice was in his head. He recoiled in fright, suddenly mustering the strength to stand and withdraw back to the wall.
“Who are you? What kind of demon? I can hear your voice, yet you don’t speak… I can see you, but you are not like me…”
“I am Illie, child of the island. I do not speak, for you would not comprehend my words, yet our thoughts are alike…”
“I don’t believe you! You must be some kind of spirit that has come to possess my body.”
She silently rose up from the ground and approached Noah’t. She gently took him by the hand and pressed his hand to her chest.
“Haeite nome riete mo nugaime… toke mai no Illie,” she said quietly. “I am no spirit. My name is Illie and I am a child of the island, just as all the others who live here,” he heard her ‘voice’ resound in his mind again. “We can better understand each other this way,” smiled Illie warmly.
Noah was deeply confused. He revered and feared the denizens of the realm of darkness, the spirit world, yet he was still comforted by the warmth of her skin and her soft voice.
“You…you are so different,” he noted absently as he gently ran his hands along her firm breasts and warm skin before cautiously caressing Illie’s face as if he still doubted the reality of the figure standing in front of him.
“Perhaps I am different, yet our children will look just like me.”
Illie’s words had an odd, unreal nature to them, yet for some reason, Noah’t felt no surprise. Her words were etched into his mind, arousing lustful desires in his loins.
Illie took a step closer to him and pressed her body to his as their hands touched. His resistance broke down as his body surged and his instincts swept away all his aversions, fear and caution.
He was dead in less than an hour, yet his death was not in vain, as new life was conceived in Illie’s womb. New life that was graced with immortality. New life that would pass on this miraculous gift to its descendants in time.