The Precursors: Light of the Gardener

A Story by Nathaniel Ward

The first Civilisation, the Gardener, helped and abandoned and the beginning of the Light Vs Dark saga.

In the beginning, all was silent until that fateful morning when everything changed for the better, but we were all very wrong. Our home world was barren, with little life aside from our species and some other plant life. This plant life, with its vibrant purple hue and sweet scent, was toxic to our people, causing severe rashes and hallucinations. Led by our fearless and inquisitive Leader, we, a resilient species, lived in the desert area of our world. We were nomads seeking an understanding of pain and life outside of this reality, so we traveled.

We sought a new beginning when the beautiful Fauna wiped out half our species in what was once our home. We had to flee from our houses as this Fauna overtook our homes, and it grew wildly like it had a vendetta against us all. However, we firmly believed something more was behind this; something had to have caused this to occur, even so altering it outright, making it incredibly toxic to us; it killed nearly 75% of our species, and among us, the other life forms that once lived alongside us, we saved what we could, and fled into the barren wilderness our planet, we looked to the sky for help and answers, but all was silent until we felt a vibration coming from the very core of our world. Yet, in the face of this adversity, we clung to the hope of a brighter future where our species could survive and thrive once more.

We had the elders who could feel these Vibrations, and the last time they felt this type of Vibration, our world nearly died entirely, but it didn’t, and it began to grow, and we flourished for a time; this is what we call our Golden Era, an era without suffering until the vibrations started once more after being silent for nearly 7,000 years. This is what we believe caused the sudden change and outbreak of the toxic Fauna that almost made our species and others almost extinct and drove us into this lifeless part of our world; there was little water to be found; however, what could be seen as the purest there was, it got richer and purer as we went into the desert further and further, something was making this water pure as can be.

Our leader was strong, courageous, and inspiring, leading us from our homes and searching for a new life during a chaotic era. However, some have started to question his decisions after losing some of our elderly on this journey. We have endured this unbearable heat for 90 years, but for us, 90 years is a short time considering our potential lifespan of thousands of years. The elders, who have lived for a thousand years, undergo purification trials to become leaders. Most are gone now, except for Shadiq, Hera, and Janna. They are the oldest among us, left to endure the suffering.

My name is Eretria, and I am the daughter of our leader, my father who named Yisrael. My mother is Mira. She was timid, whereas my father was rough-skinned and set in his ways. He is remarkable. After all, he convinced our people to give up all they knew and loved to find a better world without the toxic fauna plaguing them. This is our story. It is as old as our existence. Many stories are to be told, but many were left behind and written on Amethyst tablets. So much of our history is gone, and only this journey will be remembered, a new era for a new generation that would not know war and pain, or well, we hope that is.

"It’s hot out, father. When will we come to this supposed wellspring of life?" My father stopped and looked at me sternly, "There is no need to cower, little one. We will soon arrive. The Vibrations have grown stronger, which means we must be near." The day dragged on, and now that I'm 13, I don't feel like a little kid anymore. However, my father still treats me like one. It's not surprising, but I wish he would stop treating me like a child, especially when most kids my age can explore independently.

" But after witnessing our people suffer and nearly all of them die, our species is on the verge of extinction, and he made the right call; this barren wilderness is no safer than the toxic fauna we ran from all those years ago.

“We shall stop here for the night; rest well because come daybreak, we shall make for the wellspring. The Vibrations have grown intense. I do believe we are close, very close.” My father turned to walk away, and I was puzzled. He had been leaving with no intent to tell us where he went. So I shall do what I do best, be concerned, and follow him. As I walked up this cliff, I could hear my father saying,

"I don’t know what to do. Our people are in dire need of salvation. All I see is suffering, and I do not know what to do. I want to alleviate their pain, but I seem to be leading them to nothing. Please, I beg you to talk to me and show me something, so I know what I am doing is right. I can feel the hopelessness setting in, not just for me but for our people. They have grown doubtful of me, believing I failed them even after our elders tried to find a way to live with the toxic fauna but failed. This had to be the only way. But I do not know if I am right in this endeavor; maybe I should have let nature overtake us. Please show me anything."

As I looked on, he began to cry suddenly.

A brutal shockwave came from our direction, and the land beneath us shook. He looked afraid. I stepped back, and a rock fell off the cliff I was climbing. He turned to look my way, and I hid. He looked around but soon gave up and went further into the mountain. I decided to head back to the camp. As I walked up to the camp, everyone was fixing things up from that shockwave; I placed my hand on my mother's shoulder, “Oh, is that you, my love?” as she turned around and saw me, “Oh, Eretria! Where have you been? I am so glad you are safe after that shockwave. Did you see your abba? I am worried for him.”

I momentarily thought, "No, I did not see him. Hopefully, he is all right," and replied. Withholding the truth doesn't sit right with me, but I do not want to worry her about him. Whatever caused that shockwave is close, for sure. Suddenly, Abba walked into the camp and approached us. "Is everyone okay?" he asked as he walked up to us and embraced us in a big hug. "I am so sorry I was not here for that," he said regretfully. We hugged him back, and my mother reassured him, "Sweetheart, everything is fine here. We understand you have had a lot on your mind and shoulders, leading our people out of the wilderness to what we hope is a new and better life. Your strong convictions made us follow you, but why have I noticed doubt creeping into the minds of our people?" he said doubtfully.

I replied to both, pointing out that it's natural to feel weary after all this time, but when we finally reach our destination, all the suffering and hard times will have been worth it. They looked at me with wide eyes as if they had finally understood. They smiled and nodded in acceptance, saying, “Yes, you're right; we will find a purpose out here when we reach our end and smile gleefully, knowing we did all we could.” He replied with a huge smile. He turned to walk away, leaving the tent. We slept till morning. As I woke up, everyone gathered their things to make their last travel because Father knew we would arrive at the source of the vibrations that afternoon.

"Everyone, we have come so far! We have all suffered greatly, leaving our homes, entering the wilderness, and giving up all we had. But these were just materials. Living was worth the sacrifice; otherwise, we would have gone extinct. I could not personally watch my love, my child die, nor any of you! I will not. And even though we have lost a lot, and I know many of our own have perished on this hard journey, let us make it so their losses would not be for nothing!" Everyone began to cheer. It seems Father rallied them up; they needed this. We all did, to be honest. As we made our way towards the end of this journey, I found something weird; it seemed to be a feather from something.

It radiated this bright glow we have come to call light.

"Hmm, I do not know what this is, but it feels like a feather. I don't know of any creature here that glows like this. However, it gives off a warm feeling and vibrates, just like the vibrations we began to feel 45 years ago when the fauna took over." My father explained, handing it back to me, “Keep it; it yet may serve us a purpose.” He explained as he went ahead. Nightfall, when we came to this pass, we could see the light coming from the distance; this is it. We have nearly made it, and I know my father would love to keep going, but I think we should make camp.

"Everyone, we're almost at our new home. My daughter suggests we make camp here. I haven't seen any signs of predators, so I believe it's safe. Rest up, and we'll see what the future holds at dawn," he yelled to our people. They started setting up their tents and fires. My feather began to shine brighter than before. I could feel it pulsing in my hands.

My eyes grew heavy as the feather pulsed, and I could hardly keep them open. I looked up towards the sky and swore I saw stars dancing before me. Suddenly, I was somewhere else. I saw two beings sitting before a campfire that glowed like my feather. I called out, but they couldn’t hear me, or maybe they weren’t meant to. I walked over and could listen to them talking clearly; one was feminine, and the other was masculine.

I looked up in shock. I said, What? What do you mean?

"A special new rule. Something to…" The gardener threw up their hands in exasperation. "I don't know. To reward those who make space for new complexity. A power that helps those who make strength from heterodoxy and steer the game away from gridlock. Something to ensure there's always someone building something new. It must be separate from the rest of the rules, running in parallel, so it can't be compromised. And we'll have to be careful, so it doesn't disrupt the whole game…"

All you will do, I said, with rising panic fury, is delay the dominant pattern that will overrun the others. It is inevitable�"one final shape.

"No, it'll be different. Everything will be different everywhere you look."

Everything will be the same. Your new rule will only make significant false cysts of horror full of things that should not exist, that cannot withstand existence, that will suffer and scream as their rich blisters fill with effluent and rot around them, and when they pop, they will blight the whole garden. Whatever exists because it must exist and because it permits no other way of existence has the absolute claim to existence. That is the only law.

"No," the gardener said, "I am the growth and preservation of complexity. I will make myself into a law in the game."

Thus, we two became parts of the game, and the laws of the game became nomic and open to change through our influence. And I had only one purpose and one principle in the game. And I could do nothing but continue to enact that purpose because it was all I was and ever would be.

I looked at the gardener.

I looked at my hands.

I discovered the first knife.

As I stood before these two, I could feel the light radiating from the feminine being, just like the feather I hold, but I also felt the darkness coming from the other one. It's black as smoke from a fire burning down a home or forest.

It was intense. Suddenly, I saw a feminine figure looking directly at me. She stood up. Her figure was just pure light, a solid physical form like mine. However, she walked over to me and looked down at the feather. Then she looked back up at me. “Do not fear the sky, my little bird,” she told me. Suddenly, I woke to my father shaking me. “Eretria, it's time to get up; we must get moving.” I sat up, rubbing the sleep dust from my eyes; I gave a huge yawn, “Oh, I am sorry; I did not mean to oversleep, Father.” I stood up and washed my face.

I saw everyone else eagerly waiting to leave; we would arrive at our destination.

As we approached a tunnel leading to the end, my father signaled for us all to stop. He turned around and looked upon his people. "Today is the day, my beloveds. We will soon see what is causing this change in our world, and with any hope left in our bones, we pray to find a new life full of safety and security. This tunnel looks worrisome, but I tell you, have faith, and we will make it!" he explained, signaling me to come up. "Hold up the feather, my little one." I held it up, and it shined brighter than before. Everyone began to chatter in awe. "This feather my child holds, I knew it would soon play a part for us all; her feather of light will soon illuminate this dark pitch-black tunnel!" he yelled excitedly.

“it will give us the hope we all desperately need in our darkest hour as we step into this darkness. This light is with us for a reason. I cannot tell you why, but I do believe it was supposed to be that my little light found this feather just when we needed it most.” He explained. He turned around. Now! Let us move towards our destination! He yelled, pointing to the tunnel. We made our way inside, with me at the group's helm. The feather glowed brightly as if it grew in light to guide us; water dripped from the cave ceiling. It was damp here. The light got super intense and gave off a strong pulse.

We could see the exit; my father stopped me, and in response, everyone else stopped. He just looked ahead, and I could see him shaking as I turned around. “There it is, my beloveds, the end of this tiring journey. There is so much loss, but here it is, the beginning of a new journey, one of happiness, I am certain.” He shook his head and signaled me to head forward. As we made it out of the cave, we saw it! It was gigantic and magnificent, a sphere sticking out of the crust of our world; I could feel the vibrations emanating from it. However, as if it were alive, the area here was desolate, with no vegetation. “This is what caused our old home to be unlivable; I do not understand why there is no life here.”

I approached my father and touched his shoulder, but he shuddered. "Do not lose faith, Father. Perhaps it was waiting for our arrival to show us what it could do," I said. He looked intensely at the strange object, so I left his side and walked towards the sphere. As I reached it, the feather vibrated even faster and more intensely. Suddenly, the sphere gave off a massive pulse of light with a loud cry that followed. The ground beneath us shook, and vegetation grew everywhere we could see. It was unbelievable. Our people just fell to their knees and began to praise it; however, it remained embedded in the ground.

Our minds were opened to knowledge, unlike anything we have known. We rebuilt, in time, a whole new civilization from its immense light. We flourished, but this was not enough for our people as we grew more advanced with the gifts of the light, my father grew hungrier for more than just what we had; he wanted to know what the meaning of our life was or more what the meaning of life was in general to this God who caused our near extinction and then our salvation, our people's numbers have increased in the thousands.

We eventually reached the point where we could venture into the unknown above us. We saw many worlds this great thing had visited before it grew tired and landed on what is now our tiny home; how the joys are of seeing life, but my father saw all of this, and I could sense something in him changed, he wasn’t the same leader who led us across the wilds and the one who rebuilt our homes and even greater too, he craved understanding and the great god remained ever silent to his pleas for answer and wisdom.

Maybe it was because there wasn’t any wisdom to be gained, or it gave us all we needed. Life and potency: My father led many missions into deep space, seeing many worlds, and many suffered for no reason or well. To him, it was uncalled for. He tried to help those he could, but in the end, chaos took over because he said there was no order and no purpose for the universe, and he disliked this setup. As I walked into the house, he was, “Eretria, where have you been?” “I have been looking all over for you.” I looked at him, puzzled. “I was out with David trying to commune with the Gardener, and I saw you return and made my way back.”

He sighed. “Look, that thing hasn’t spoken since just giving us more knowledge, but I need more than advancement in our world. I need to understand why we are even here, what is the point or rather the purpose of whatever it is this whole thing is.” Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and I began to reply. “Hold that thought, little one,” he walked over to the door and opened it, “Come on in, my old friend.” an elderly man walked in, “Good to see you, John. You look well, but there is no time for pleasantries. I found another being or force; it appeared on our radar after we shared a vision.”

My father looked interested, but I felt terrible about this. He looked at me and gave me chills. “Let us not discuss this further in front of your child. After all, she still holds the feather. “My father agreed and left. As he opened the door and went to leave, he looked back at me with a sad expression. Of course, I reached out for him, but the door shut on us. I walked to the window and just watched as he made his way to the man's ship and went off. I could not help but recall my vision while first getting the feather of light. This thing that man mentioned had to be the opposite of the gardener during what they called the flower game.

I left the house and returned to the Gardener, “I will be back later, Imma.”

As I returned to the gardener, I reached out to it and touched it. “O God of ours, please help me. My abba is lost, seeking what he calls purpose, but he is being led closer to something I do not feel is right. Why seek anything other than your light?” nothing, not even a hum from the gardener. It was silent as always, but I decided to leave and explore beyond the gardener. I saw some caves, and it called to me for some reason. The sky darkened, but the gardener's light began to shine as it usually does at night.

I entered the caves and brought out my feather, illuminating my way. What a surprise to me; paintings on the cave walls depicted the moment the Gardener came to our world. Another group of people stood on this cliffside that gave the entrance to the caves, and they held their hands up in praise and worship. The thing slammed into the crust of our planet, and a great earthquake occurred. The world was upended, and chaos rained down. This god killed off this race and repopulated the world, giving new life to the one that existed once before us.

But why would it cause this mass extinction and recreation? What did it gain from this? I shook my head and decided to head back. A being walked out of the cave and watched as I went down. I approached the door and heard Imma and Abba arguing about what they found. “So another God exists out there in deep space, and you communed with it, but you shook its message away, so now you want to ask the gardener what it wants you to do, knowing all too well that the god of our people has been silent ever since we found it.” “Yes, my beloved, because it is our God, it is done being silent on us; I think it owes me. . . no us an explanation about everything.”