From Reckoning, Rebirth.

An experimental little story going with the theme of the Apocalypse. A fictional retelling of the birth and death of mankind, with a nice little twist.

In the beginning, they, young and naive, were sent to this world. The sands of time began their descent through the middle passage, and as the hours began to tick down, the first ones craned their necks up towards the sky. Without memory, without prior knowledge, they looked for answers in those stars, glistening and gleaming in the land above the clouds, so out of reach, yet always in sight. Always taunting them. The sought answers, they sought purpose, but all they knew was a voice inside of their heads telling them to go. And so they went. To discover the world in which they were placed, mankind became the great explorers, risking life and limb in a quest to discover themselves. The seas, the skies, the beasts of Terra, none were off limits to the chosen few. Every cubit, every particle, every atom of space that they could see would ultimately fall into their hands. But they couldn't do it in their current state.

 

          So the children of man split themselves into tribes and spread themselves thin across the plains of the harsh earth. Each tribe had but one purpose, one mission: To settle the world and discover the truth of it all, to help human kind ascend to its potential. Where they stopped blossomed great cities. They called themselves Egyptians, and Mongolians, and Norse, and in the passing of time they began to change. Their skin, bleached by the dying star, turned ever darker, their features, delineated from the genealogy of their ancestors, began to change. They had become different, not just physically but mentally. They began to think differently, act differently and adopted different behaviors. As these great cities grew, so too did their triumphs. Some indulged in artistry while others reveled in their in philosophies and thoughts. Many began to build great monuments to unseen celestial beings that watched over them, while some prepared only for war. The once united legion of man was no more.

 

          Soon, they began to forget their original ties. What was once a great legion was now but scattered warring states, each vying for their survival. The new ones saw themselves cursed to share the land with those who were not like them. They argued over land, over resources, over whose god was better, and soon nothing was beyond the reach of man's hate. Slowly, they spiraled down into an irreversible state of ethnocentrism and racism and prejudice. Anything different from themselves...was wrong, and must be eradicated. Mankind had entered into a perpetual era of war. Great Empires and Dynasties rose and fell to the oncoming storm of chaos. Men manufactured great weapons of war to steal, kill, and destroy each other...but the foulest of their weapons were their own vile hearts. Some men, seeing themselves as so superior to their brethren treated them as slaves. The women made subservient to the males, and those different became outcasts, even less than human.

 

         This blasphemous state lasted for thousands of years until the great reckoning. December 21st, the second millenia, 12th year. That's when the great shadow threatened the citizens of Terra. From their hatred and evil spawned a new threat to their existence. They were shapes made up completely of darkness and doubt, without hope. Without happiness. Mankind's greatest enemy. They spread like a virus across the land, destroying everything in their wake. Every Nation, every tribe, every family rose up individually to defend themselves...but none could avail. In one last ditch effort, the Nations of man banded together to repel the beasts. They lured them all onto the field valor for one last stand. Every man, woman and child had to stand strong. They were black, white, yellow, brown, gay, straight, religious and blasphemers. They came from bustling metropolis and long forgotten villages. They came from every class, every level, every section of society. Every hand was armed, and every heart was lit with will to die for what was theirs, willing to die to defeat the hatred within themselves. There was oh so much death but from the ashes of dead, humanity stood victorious.  Not because of the strength of an army, or the superiority of a group, but because of the combined effort of every living soul on the planet.

 

          That is when mankind died. For with their prejudice vanished and their hatred gone, the defining points of mankind were eradicated. Forced to work together, they had found new meaning in brotherhood. They had rediscovered their original identity, and ascended into something so much more. Mankind was gone, and in their place was something new. Something better. From the Reckoning came the rebirth of Humanity, and together they would rebuild the world.

 

They called this new place Earth.

Author's Note

Not my first short story, but the first I've ever written in this format.