Two Skies

An experiment writing a piece in the "voice" of an ancient history or religious book.

Once, there were the People. Under the yoke of the Masters did the People live, the People had never known freedom; the People had only known slavery.

 

For the People, there was no other life. The Masters used the People as they saw fit; for labour, for amusement, for food. The Masters were cruel and callous by their very nature; the Masters saw themselves as masters not only over the People but all peoples.

 

One day, a man of the People extended his thoughts beyond his life and into possibility and his thoughts were as steel. He asked his questions to himself and others of the People. “What if there is another life for the People?” “Is this the only life available to the People?” He dreamed of a life without the Masters, a life of freedom and peace, concepts and words the People did not before possess.

 

A thousand whispers danced from mouth to mouth; the whispers spoke of these new ideas. The Masters cared not; in their hubris they said “What are words to us? They have no power to harm us.” Unknown to the Masters, blind in their pride, words were swords. The Masters did not realize that there was no more dangerous weapon for a slave than the idea to be free.

 

One day, a woman of the People heard these ideas. She looked deep within herself and found the gift of rage within her heart. The gift burned within her brightly; as a single flame can light many others, so her fires of rage spread amongst all the People.

 

The idea had lead to the fire of rage, now the People had a purpose and the tools to make the idea a reality. Uncaring of their individual lives, they used their gift of rage against the Masters.

 

This is when the People truly became the People. Before, they had merely been individuals of the same race, now they were combined in a common desire to be free. Far better to have a brief moment of rebellion and have their flames quenched quickly than have their flames slowly die out.

 

The People suffered many losses in the revolt against the Masters but the Masters’ losses were almost total. The remainder of the Masters fled in panic and escaped the People.

 

All of the People knew that the rest of the Masters remained, the Masters would return some day, when they had regained their strength.

 

The woman with the gift of rage said to the People, “Let us hunt down the Masters and destroy them while they are weak!”

 

The man with the thoughts of steel dissented with the woman. “The People have attained their freedom �" is that not what we sought to achieve?”

 

The woman with the gift of rage rebutted him “While the Masters live, the People will never truly be free. For one day, there shall be a reckoning �" for either the Masters or the People �" I choose to take the reckoning to the Masters.”

 

The man with the thoughts of steel demurred “Enough of the People have died today. If the People hide and bulwark against the Masters, we shall never be slaves again.”

 

The woman with the gift of rage turned her gift on the man. “We have united into one People and you seek to make us two Peoples with your defiance! You betray the purpose of the People �" by your refusal to join in our Hunt, you side with the Masters; you are an Enemy of the People!”

 

“Not so,” opposed the man with the thoughts of steel, “we shall always remain the People, just the People divided. The sky above you is not the same sky above me. The sky above you is filled with bloody warfare and revenge, the sky above me is filled with regrowth and regret.”

 

“So be it, fool �" keep your regrowth and regret. I denounce you and those who stand with you. My followers and I will treat you as an Enemy.”

 

“We shall live under our two skies and we will Hide from the Masters and your Hunt. We shall defend ourselves from all threats.”

 

Then the People were truly a People divided, to live under two skies, the rift between the woman with the gift of rage and the man with the thoughts of steel insurmountable.

 

The Hunters travelled to a realm of dead gods drifting in the swirling star-eating void. Upon those massive corpses of slain deities did they dwell, using the bodies for their food and tools, the carved god-bone making their weapons, the sewn god-skin making their armour. As the dead gods spiralled slowly in the void to be consumed by the ever-hungry maw of Entropy, the Hunters took what they needed before travelling through the vast emptiness to more recently killed gods. From their realm they learned, over the generations, this lesson: “All things must die, even the gods themselves.”

 

The Hiders found a place to hide eventually, an ever-changing realm of raw potentiality. There the Hiders created a great fortress from what they had most of, ideas and concepts, for within their realm such things became solid. Through their wills and discipline they carved out a bastion that was as strong as their thoughts, ever-dynamic but unified, as was the Hiders’ individuality. In this realm where concepts look physical shape, their ideas were strong like steel, their words swords. From their realm they learned, over the generations, this lesson: “All things are possible, all limits are self-imposed.”

 

The People divided were all still the People; the zeal that they pursued their agendas was unmatched. The Hunters continued the Hunt; the Hiders kept Hiding from all. Both groups of the People sent their scouts and soldiers to explore the world at large, both seeking knowledge of the Masters, the Hunters seeking their prey, the Hiders seeking forewarning of invasion.

 

When the Hunters and Hiders met, the land drank blood. There was no peace between both sides of the People divided, swords of god-bone met swords of mind-steel and one of the People would be no more. Hunter declared Hider Enemy, Hider declared Hunter Enemy. Many times did their hatred override their deeper purpose, destruction of the ‘betrayers’ became their new purpose.

 

One day, a woman of the Hunters thought deeply and said “What if we weaken ourselves too much in our war with the Hiders? What if the Masters return when we are weak? Our homes on the dead gods do not have adequate defences �" the Hunters would be destroyed.”

 

The other Hunters heard her and denounced this woman. “You speak like a Hider! You are no true Hunter �" you do not belong with us.” The Hunters exiled the woman from the realm of dead gods, never to return.

 

One day, a man of the Hiders thought deeply and said “What if the Masters have grown strong as we have? We have done nothing to stop their progress. Before when we fought the Masters, we surprised them and still took grievous losses. Now, we may at best achieve a bitter victory, at worse our total extinction.”

The other Hiders heard him and denounced this man. “You speak like a Hunter! You are no true Hider �" you do not belong with us.” The Hiders exiled the man from the realm of thoughts-made-real, never to return.

 

One day, the woman who was no longer a Hunter met the man who was no longer a Hider. Both cautious, for the woman who was no longer a Hunter was dressed in god-skin and carried a sword of god-bone and the man who was no longer a Hider was dressed in steel-thoughts and carried a sword of mind-steel.

 

The woman sensed that the man was no longer a Hider; the man sensed the woman was no longer a Hunter. Putting aside their swords, they talked and shared their histories. The woman saw that the man had the gift of rage; the man saw that the woman had the thoughts of steel.

 

A communion grew between them, the woman and the man grew close; they both knew that they were a breed apart from the two groups of the People. Together they became the People reunited, combining the philosophies of the Hunters and the Hiders. They did not Hunt as well as the Hunters; they did not Hide as well as the Hiders. The reunited People Hid better than the Hunters and Hunted better than the Hiders. Theirs was a composite way, a middle path.

 

The reunited People grew in strength and numbers, neither Hunter nor Hider knew what to do with them, since they were both Hunter and Hider, but neither Hunter nor Hider.

 

The Hunters, living the realm of the dead gods, vanished with the march of time. As the woman predicted, the Masters came upon their lands when the Hunters were Hunting. Laying in wait, the Masters picked off each band of Hunters as they returned home. The Masters killed and ate them, leaving nothing behind but the Hunters’ artefacts of god-bone and god-skin.

 

The Hiders, living in the realm of thoughts-made-real, vanished with the march of time. As the man predicted, the Masters had grown strong in the time the Hiders had built their bastion. When the Hiders saw the immensity of the host of the Masters, one undisciplined mind knew Fear, that Fear growing and spreading to other Hiders. On that spreading Fear rode Doubt and the thoughts of steel became not steel, the thoughts grew weak and the fortress grew weak. Through the seed of Doubt did the great castle of the Hiders come tumbling down, leaving the Hiders unhidden, naked to the power of the Masters. The Masters killed and ate them, leaving nothing behind but the Hiders’ artefacts of steel thoughts and mind-steel.

 

The Hunters and Hiders were no more, no longer did the People live under two skies but now under one, the People were truly one once again. With the gift of rage and the thoughts of steel did the People bedevil and sabotage the machinations of the Masters, with the gift of rage and thoughts of steel did the People make ready and prepare for the return of the Masters.

 

Who shall triumph, the Masters or the People? All wish to know, but no one does know.

 

Time will tell its own story.

Author's Note

Think I might have not kept my attention equal on both groups. I use a lot of repetition in this deliberately, not sure if resonates or is just annoying :)