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There was once a society where all members were equal. There were no leaders and no followers. Everyone had a place in that society equal to everyone else. Everyone had something to contribute for the good of all. This was a prosperous and peaceful society where no one wanted for food, shelter, clothing or love. There was love abundant. Each member was appreciated for the person they were. There were no petty jealousies and no envy. There was no private ownership of land or property. Each citizen was given the resources they needed to survive and took only what was necessary. They lived in harmony with the land and environment, knowing that their children would some day need those same resources to live and flourish. Upon reaching maturity, each person was paired with another of complimentary personality, interests and talent. They formed a union and took their place next to the others in the community of One. For centuries they grew until their size numbered in the thousands.
In a far away land across the horizon there was another community. The people of Ing were a greedy lot. They were not so prosperous because they'd overworked the land and its people. Many of its citizens went hungry for days and weeks on end while its leaders lived in splendid luxury, oblivious to the suffering around them. The warriors of Ing had conquered and subdued every community around them. They stole, raped and pillaged everything in their path with no remorse. They enslaved the strong and murdered the weak and infirm.
The people of Ing worshipped a God called Yawa. Yawa was a brutal God. He sent lightening bolts to strike those who did not pay him proper homage. He demanded unquestioning loyalty, in exchange for which he might help win a war or spare the life of a child--if he felt like it that day. The Keepers of the Temple of Yawa collected tribute for their Master at regular intervals. It didn't matter whether a person was poor or rich the Keepers demanded payment. They, too, were afraid of the God Yawa. It was for the common good so the Keepers told the citizens of Ing. Without Yawa they would all perish of disease and pestilence. So, the people gave and gave until, one day, there was no more to give in all the land. The Keepers panicked, certain that Yawa would hold them responsible.
Among the Keepers was a young man named Crin. He was, perhaps, the most industrious of them all. He was the one who managed to find ways to turn the paltry belongings the poorer citizens gave in tribute into items "worthy" of being offered to their God. He was also the one to find a reason to increase the Temple's purse as an "agent" of Yawa. Since he'd joined the Keepers the Temple had prospered even while the ordinary person had suffered. Crin looked around him one day. From all sides all he could see was desolation. It wasn't that he minded that so much because it was, after all, part of the price one pays for the protection of Yawa. No, what bothered him is that the Keepers couldn't collect any more from the people of Ing. It would do no good to demand more from the outlying colonies because they too were poor. Therefore, the only thing left was to seek new sources of tribute. He'd once read about a place rich in soil and resources, lying virtually unprotected in a far off land. It was little more than a fable that he'd found in a book in the Temple's library. Still, if there really was such a place it would help to solve their problem and prevent Yawa from wiping them off the face of the planet. He proposed this idea to the elder Keepers. They thought it risky, but brilliant. The Keepers gathered together their greatest warriors and navigators. They culled every map they could find and came to a consensus about the likely location of this place called One. They believed it located on a vast continent only discernable from the ocean's currents because no explorer or conqueror from Ing had dared venture out that far. Until now.
As a reward for his cleverness, Crin was appointed to lead the expedition. The troops were gathered, with the sons of Ing's ruling families serving as officers who commanded the lowly conscripts; the ships were outfitted with the best that the country and colonies had left to offer; and weapons were forged with any metal available and suitable for the purpose. Within two months they set sail for the far off land of One. It was a difficult journey for all, but the conscripts bore the brunt of the burden. The meager food stuffs available to them were insufficient to ward off disease and many died on the journey. What little there was was horded by those strong enough to fight to keep it. The quarters were cramped and damp. The officers fared better, but not much. At least they were able to eat the occasional sea gull they'd catch, or a fish or two during journey. Crin, on the other hand, slept in the richest silk and fur. He ate the smoked beef and pork that was brought aboard specifically for his generals, captain and him. Of course, what would a good meal be without a bottle of ale?
They sailed for 100 days and nights. On the 101st day they sighted land. The captain took out his telescope and saw the lush greenery of the mountains and the pink sand of the beach. He ordered the anchor dropped and waited until the dark of night to launch a scouting party. Crin was one of the first to set foot on the shore. He set out with four conscripts and a lieutenant in search of inhabitants. After several hours of tramping through the woods they came on the community of One. From their hiding place in the brush they could see the roundhouse that served as the center of the community's life. They saw tall men with hard muscles and beards. They saw women with wide hips, long hair and beautiful angular faces. All were naked, seemingly unaware of the differences between the genders. They noticed that there were many huts and buildings, each with a light shining through the doorway. However, there seemed to be no defensive structures in sight. There were no great walls and no weapons. Next to the roundhouse was an enormous plate made of a metal that looked like gold. Someone came out of the community center and hit it with a long bar padded at one end. The sound startled the men from Ing. It was, perhaps, the loudest sound that they'd heard since their journey began. Men and women began filing out of their homes towards the roundhouse. After a while there was no discernable movement on the paths. Seeing this, Crin sensed that perhaps this was their opportunity to take the community of One by surprise. He sent two men back to the ship where the others had been preparing their weapons for the conquest that was sure to come. The two soldiers who'd been with Crin gave the generals an intelligence report saying that the community was indeed there and vulnerable to attack. He told them that the only problem was that they were outnumbered at least three to one. Still, there were no visible weapons and no defenses.
The generals, upon hearing the intelligence report, sensed an easy victory. However, all being veterans of many a conquest, they decided to take no chances. A protective force was left aboard ship, but the majority of the men were sent on shore in full battle dress. They divided into four groups. Three groups would attack the community, driving the inhabitants into the fourth where they would either be killed or captured and taken back as slaves. Crin met with the generals once they reached land. He told them of the gathering in the roundhouse and ordered that it be set on fire to drive the people out. The generals agreed that this was a good plan and set about deploying their men. The soldiers, who'd been cramped, sick and huddled in the ship for so long, were eager to begin their task. They speculated among themselves about the treasures such an obviously prosperous community would hold. The officers told them to be quiet or risk being discovered, however, they too, could hardly wait to begin their conquest. Several men were sent from the western flank with torches blazing to set fire to the roundhouse. Men and women poured out of the one doorway just as the soldiers converged on them from the east, west and north sides of the city. They fired guns, arrows and canon. Others, the infantry, wielded axes and bayonets. Those members of the community that were not killed in the initial attack were driven to the south. There they met with the fourth group of soldiers. Some were captured and some fled back from where they'd come, right back into the chaos and blood.
By now, the soldiers who'd initially attacked were making their way through individual dwellings and buildings taking anything that looked as though it might be of value once they returned to Ing. Anyone who'd tried to escape and hide in the houses was killed instantly, unless, of course, the person was a woman. The women who were found met a fate too terrible to describe at the hands of men who'd themselves been brutalized. The soldiers came upon a house set further back from the rest. It was a house much like the others, made of wood, dirt bricks with thatch for a roof. It seemed newer than the rest of the houses on that path. The inhabitants were a new couple--Anya and Dwee. They'd been united for only a few months and lived in a house that the other members of the community had helped them build. Anya and Dwee, along with the rest of the community of One, had been gathered in the center when the attack had begun. She and Dwee tried to run through the smoke and flames from the front of the center toward the doorway. The panicked people pushed and shoved Dwee away from her. She'd seen her parents, who'd been sitting near the edge of the building, burn along with the walls. Horrified and dazed, she tried to search for Dwee with no luck. The people ran out ahead of her and were cut down almost instantly by the marauding soldiers. She couldn't keep up with them because she was heavy with a new member of One who stirred inside her at the worst possible moment, causing her to double over in pain. When she was able to stand again, she quickly made her way to the door. The roof caved in just as she entered the night air. Apparently, thinking that all the people were out of the center, the soldiers had left the doorway and gone on a rampage throughout the rest of the city. Anya had always been one of the community's best hunters and knew the art of stealth. She crept along the buildings holding her belly containing her unborn child, careful not to make even the slightest noise. Along the way she discovered her mate, Dwee, lying in a pool of blood. She choked back the screams that echoed in her head and made her way to their home. Their house was well suited to their needs, including a room where they dried the meat that she brought home. She hid in the room and covered herself with the pelts from the animals that she'd killed. Soon, she heard the soldiers. They burst into the house and began ransacking the cupboards looking for anything that they could carry away. A soldier burst through the door of the drying room and saw the meat hanging from the ceiling. He began clawing at it with huge hands, filling his mouth with the entrails. She lay as quietly as she could, almost not daring to breathe for fear of being discovered. The soldier stopped eating long enough to notice the skins on the floor in the corner. He positioned his bayonet to stab at the slightest movement. Nothing. Anya thought that she'd fooled him when the bayonet pierced the pelts and landed in the flesh of her arm. She stifled a scream. The bayonet was too bloody already for the soldier to see the fresh blood he'd drawn from Anya. Assuming that he'd just stabbed a pile of hides, he continued to gorge himself on the raw meat. After a while Anya heard the other soldiers calling to the one eating in a strange and unfamiliar language. The soldier took another handful and left.
Her body racked with pain, Anya threw the hides off and looked at her arm. It was bad. It was very bad. But, she had her child to consider. Her child was the only reason for her to live now. Her mate was dead, as were her parents. The community of One was looted and destroyed and all of the inhabitants killed or taken away. Anya had to save her child. She tied a tourniquet above her wound and crept to a window, careful not to be seen. What she saw before her eyes was death everywhere. There were men, women, children and old people. She ducked beneath the window to try to hold back her sorrow and anger. She was even more certain. She had to get out of there and save her child, and she'd have to do it alone.
Crin was quite pleased with the night's haul. There was more than enough to appease Yawa and add to the Temple's stores. He, himself, would be quite wealthy when he returned to Ing. He'd taken a risk and it had been well worth it. The men were drunk on their own accomplishments as well. They too would reap the rewards of their exploits once reaching Ing. The people that they'd captured all looked strong and healthy and would make excellent slaves for the ruling families and the Keepers. There were even several women who'd make fine concubines with proper training. He'd have the generals put on a watch through the city until they departed in a day or so. Most of the community was either dead or enslaved, but it didn't hurt to be careful.
Anya knew that she had the best chance of hiding out in the heavy forest. She was at home there, having hunted the boar and deer that were her specialty. Both took skill, cunning and subterfuge and those attributes would serve her well now that she was the hunted. The portion of the city that she used to live in was deserted now. The soldiers had taken everything that they wanted and carried it off. In the distance she could hear voices speaking that odd language the soldiers had spoken in what used to be her home. She knew that she had to avoid those, but they were growing closer by the second. She couldn't wait long because dawn would come shortly. She gathered her hunting knife and bow, along with some arrows and a heavy piece of wood. She was a strong woman used to carrying her kill, but with the child inside of her, she was slower and more clumsy. Slowly and carefully, she made her way out of the house. She blended into the shadows where she could and ran as quickly as possible across open spaces. Inch by agonizing inch, she made her way to the forest where she stopped for a moment to rest in the protective leaves of a bush. The child inside of her was unusually active and seemed to be moving its head back and forth. She rubbed her abdomen in an attempt to soothe it. Once, she would have hummed to it, but now, she didn't dare. Anya knew that she had little time to rest. She had to escape so that her child would have a chance. Just as she was about to step out again, she heard the voices. She froze in her tracks and withdrew the knife from its sheath. The voices came closer and were within a few feet of her now. She readied herself to strike if she had to, knowing that it would likely bring more men who spoke the strange language. The men were right in front of her now. She felt the adrenalin rushing to her heart and muscles. Another few inches and they'd be standing on her foot. She waited. They stood there talking to each other for a few minutes and moved on. Anya let out a sigh of relief and stowed her knife away.
After walking for a considerable distance, Anya found herself in a small clearing encircled by trees and heavy growth. She was at the foot of a mountain range that stretched as far as the eye could see. There were caves there where she could hide, but that would have to wait until morning. The child inside her had started to stir again, but this time much more violently. One of the bushes on the edge of the clearing had leaves that calmed the body when chewed. She ate some of these in the hope that the child would be pacified so that she could rest. She was tired beyond anything that she'd known before. All of the blood, the burning flesh, the flames and the tension had taken their toll on her. She longed for her mate Dwee. She longed for her parents. All were dead. She'd never been alone before. In the community of One there was always someone to care for her. She, in turn, had cared for others who were lonely and didn't have anyone to turn to. That was the way life had been until this nightmare began. She knew that it would be that way no more. The leaves began to work and the child was quieted. It was her turn to get some rest now, protected by the surrounding forest.
Crin and his men were so pleased with their loot, and so greedy in their desires, that it took them much longer to load the ship than planned. Still, they wanted more. An expedition party was sent to discover new areas of plunder and Crin suggested that they find whatever burial sites were around. They found the site at the foot of a mountain, perhaps three miles from the city itself. The men set about digging up the burial mounds and removing whatever artifacts were buried with the corpses.
Anya had awakened from her sleep at the sound of the men. She was less than a mile away and the sounds of their digging had caused her to awaken startled. She gathered up her weapons and made her way deep into the brush again away from the voices and the digging. She knew that she had to get into a cave soon. That would be her only protection from the heat of the day and serve as a defensible barrier should she need to do so. Her child has also awakened and was more active than ever. Only, it seems different now. It was as though the infant was kicking her in her upper body cavity now. She remembered the tales of the old women and knew that she had to find a cave and quickly. The safest way to the caves was also the longest and hardest. It meant that she'd have to climb some steep rocks and double back around. Still, if she had to, the rocks would help her defend herself and her offspring. She'd never killed a human, but she knew that she could if it meant her child's life. She hoisted herself over the rocks causing her wound from the previous night to bleed again. She also noticed blood dripping from between her legs and a searing pain beginning to rip through her. She couldn't stop now because she was almost there. She moved with her back against the mountain in an effort to blend into the shadows cast by the overhang. Thankfully, it was cooler here than where she'd just come. As she began to double back along the ridge, however, the sounds from the grave robbers grew louder. She moved very slowly, trying to watch her footing with every step. A loose rock fell just above her head and crashed down to the foot of the mountain below. This caused the soldiers to stop their looting long enough for Crin to send some men to search for the source of the noise. Anya was within feet of her cave. She heard the men approaching and didn't move. The blood was trickling down her leg and arm, leaving a trail for anyone to follow. Then, she heard it. It was the sounds of a mountain goat following a path worn smooth with time. The soldiers saw it too and began to laugh. One of them took aim at the poor creature with a single shot rifle, but it was too fast for him and he missed. The sound of the retreating animal covered Anya's wince as another pain hit her unexpectedly. She looked down and saw not only the blood, but that there was a clear puddle where she stood. She fell to the ground dizzy and bleeding. The only thing in her mind was that she had to get to the cave or else she and her child would die.
A crew member from the ship had been sent to find the grave robbers and tell them that they were ready to sail. Though Crin would have liked to gather more loot, there was not time. There was a storm approaching and they had to leave quickly if they intended to leave at all. He gathered up his men and began to move out loaded with their macabre treasure. By the time they got to the ship the clouds had begun to roll in and the rain to fall. The captain knew that there was no time to load the extra loot onto the ship, and it was riding low in the water already with the weight of the new slaves and the other bounty they had pilfered. Still, Crin insisted. It was difficult getting all of it aboard, but several hours later they were ready to set sail. The ship was much heavier than when it had arrived in the land that had held the community of One. Hence, no one noticed that there was a reef below the surface. Sitting low in the water, the bottom of the ship scraped the reef and stuck. The winds were howling and rain swirled around them. The ship leaned heavily to one side and then the other. Water spewed over the railings and onto the decks. The sails came loose and didn't help matters any at all.
Anya had lost consciousness just outside of the cave. By the time the wind began to blow in earnest she'd awakened somewhat to find herself drenched and in agony. The dragged herself 30 feet or so around a bend to the entrance of the cave. She stopped, thinking that she couldn't drag herself anymore. She didn't notice that the men had gone, but when the pain hit her again she could no longer stifle the screams. She felt as though she were being ripped in two. She'd never felt pain like this before. Then, there was the blood. It was everywhere. It was as though she'd been hacked and killed like her husband the night before. She could feel the child pushing her insides to get out. She tried to breathe the way she'd seen other women do while giving birth, but it didn't seem to help. Her body was exhausted and drained. Her mind told her to simply give up and die, but her soul told her that she had to see this child come into the world and raise it as best she could. Even the thunder couldn't drown out her screams of pain. She dragged herself further into the cave and pressed her back against the wall while sitting in a crouched position. After a few minutes she could see the baby's head. Somehow it didn't look quite right. The color was all wrong. As another contraction started she pushed down with all her might. The neck came out and the umbilical cord was wrapped around it. She fought through the pain to find her knife. Once she had it in hand, she cut the chord from around the baby's neck. Another contraction came and she pushed very hard to get the shoulders out while holding her arms down between her legs to catch the child. She had a moment to breathe before another long contraction hit and the infant spilled out of her body. It was a girl child. She rubbed its body a bit and pinched the skin. Nothing. No cries. No movement. It was still. Desperately, she tried to remember the teachings of the old women of the community. She remembered how one of them had said that a new mother could breath gently into the baby's mouth after clearing it of tissue. She opened the child's mouth and found some spongy, bloody debris. She cleared this away and breathed into the child, then, she rubbed it a little more. First, the arm moved. Then, she saw the child inhale. She pinched the baby again. This time, the eyes opened briefly and she cried loudly. Anya didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she did both at the same time. Her body, however, was spent. She collapsed to the floor with the baby in her arms and breathed a long sigh. She had a daughter and they were both safe. Now, finally, she could rest.
The storm battered the ship, its crew and its passengers. Several men had been swept overboard with no hope of being rescued. Below decks water was seeping in from everywhere. Before long the captain gave the order to abandon ship. The crew was smart enough to know that their captain was no fool. Crin, the generals and the soldiers, however, refused to leave their plunder. The surviving members of the community were chained and bound, so they were unable to leave. Bit by bit, the ship broke apart. Everyone on it was drowned--Crin, the generals, the previously surviving members of the community--all gone. The crew members who'd abandoned ship were also drowned, as was the captain. There was nothing left. They had been destroyed by their greed and lust for power. By the time the storm broke there was nothing left of the ship but a broken hull and bodies hanging from what used to be the deck. It would serve as a reminder to men of future generations that greed can kill.
In the cave, Anya proudly examined her newborn daughter. She also grieved for those who'd been killed by the men from Ing. Her husband, who had looked forward to the birth as much as she, had not lived to see their contribution to the community of One, but she had. She would name the child Lara after one of the founding members of the community gone centuries ago. She would instill in Lara the hopes, values, knowledge and skills that had been bestowed on her as a child. Lara, was the future. She was the last bead in a long string of harmony that was the community of One, captured in the protective embrace of warmth, love and greatness that the only other remaining member had to offer.