The Gods move in mysterious ways. My name is Jared, and I am a close friend of the man that many are proclaiming as the new messiah, Adam. I write this note as a record for these times when records are scarcely kept due to the chaos of the last few years.
A few years ago, Adam went out with his father to scavenge for supplies at the remains of the local city, but it was far from a routine trip. Whilst he was gone, there was a large commotion in the village- lots of shrieks and shouting. I went to have a look, and there were hundreds of people, far more than inhabited the village. Some were huge and vacant looking, others were tiny and terrified, but all had peculiar features, whether they were strange patches of body hair, colourations of the skin, or their size, then all were different from any human I have seen before, and no animals were to be seen. Many villagers quickly came to the conclusion that these were those animals, as when you have exhausted all other possibility then what remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. I read that in a book somewhere. Anyway. When Adam returned, he was carrying one of these strange humanoids, and had another walking with him. Apparently he had got into an argument with his dad, and when his dog tried to protect him then the dog transformed, as did the nearby birds- one of which was the one with him.
The bird-man tried to explain his thoughts on what happened, that humans were too short-sighted in the eyes of the gods and forgot too easily, so with animals walking as humans did then it would serve as a reminder of the god's power and the fact they are always watching, and being more 'simple-minded' they could offer a different perspective on world affairs. He seemed slightly upset though, like he was battling inner demons, much like when Adam was talking about his father before setting out. I don't think the bird liked the idea of being used as a tool for the sole benefit of guiding humans. Now something had to be done though, because all these animals couldn't live in this village and we had to consider that what we once thought of as 'pets' or 'domesticated' animals could now be thought of as slaves, if their intelligence matched that of humans. It was soon discovered that this was only true of some species though, such as the cow-people who seemed just as docile and subservient as regular cows, but it still didn't feel right to be herding them about in that shape.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and things changed a lot. Some villages are trying to coexist with the animals, sharing responsibilities and letting cows and horses work for wages in their animal forms, and others have decided coexisting is impossible in these circumstances and have segregated into separate societies. One of these is the one I joined, as Adam decided to found a new world based on nature and self-sufficiency- something I agree with, because it can't be doubted that a lot of technology leads to power, and power leads to corruption and death. This is where the messiah stuff comes in- it seems that Adam was definitely the cause of this miracle, and as such was at the eye of the storm- a huge surge of magic originating from one spot and spreading throughout the world. This has had a profound effect on him, as he seems to have some use of this magic- only little things at this point, but there nonetheless. There's also the mysterious circumstances surrounding his father's death... I would have thought he would develop some power also, but died before he could make use of them, which Adam keeps very quiet about. Another somewhat disturbing consequence of the animal humanoids, now we're a couple of years on, is that babies are being born. And they're not normal human babies, nor normal animal babies. I think you see where this is going. And it's rumoured strange unexplainable things happen around them also. I shudder to think of what will happen when these babies grow older, if their respective parents will let them.
Now to the present- we've set up a village in the forest, mostly made of treehouses. Things are going well, I guess, but all these things take time to develop. Adam has let the power go to his head slightly, declaring himself founder of the new breed of human- he believes that as animals gained intelligence and human characteristics, so it would make sense that we have also- as the 'morally superior' humans. With animals resembling creatures of legend appearing, such as vampire bats and pixie-like insects, he found it only fitting that he should name our new species 'elves' after the glamorous mythical creatures, and with a name with such good connotations then many are embracing this. I'm a little less optimistic. No utopian society has ever succeeded, indeed many crash and burn and their leader never sees it happen, and although elves come across as beautiful and graceful in literature, there's just as many instances of them being less than pure. Despite this, I shall remain at Adam's side and hope that he will listen to me if things take a turn for the worse.
I also grow increasingly concerned for the bird that first accompanied Adam back to the village. He left without trace, taking a flock of his kind with him to the north, and so far we are yet to hear any more. With his mood over the days before he left, I increasingly worry for his well-being and his intentions, especially if he has developed some magical ability as well, being an eyewitness.
I can only hope my predictions are misguided, but time will tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment