Postby Pallas » Sat Jul 07, 2018 7:51 pm
In The Beginning
Two figures strode across the lands, looking over what progress the people had made. 'They haven't got very far, have they?' one said. Although 'said' may not be the best word to use. Those two did not communicate with words. Perhaps they shared their thoughts, or passed ideas directly from one mind to the other. But for us and our limited understanding, the term 'said' will have to suffice.
'They have tools, of a sort. And weapons should any creatures trouble them.'
'Aye, they do. But primitive and limited. Wooden cudgels, little more than sticks to carve furrows so that they can plant their crops. They need something more.'
'What do you propose?' The two were passing through Dundee, though none of the townsfolk were aware of the fact.
'They'll need something more substantial than staffs and pointed wood in days to come. I remember ... no, it's not happened yet ... the future warns me of conflict.'
They were in the western mountains now. One reached into an outcrop partway along the upper pass and pulled out a handful of coloured rock. 'There is the basis in this stone, within these rocks, for implements better than wood, do you remember? Placed here when the lands were born.'
Thoughts and images flickered between the two, wavering images drifted in the air around them, as though they walked through a different world. 'They will have better tools to grow their crops,' one commented.
'Yes, and better weapons roo, should they be needed,' added the other.
'They will be. We know what these people are like. There always comes a time when they will want weapons. But here, they may become necessary rather than desired.'
'How shall we do it?'
'A new gift for them. A new tool for their use.'
The two looked north, spying a far-off mountain. 'We can use that, to channel energy if there is too much,' said one.
'And,' added the other,' it will consume some of the mountain stone, forming rivers of molten rock. That should be a hint to them, a sign of how to use the gift,' Again images wavered around the two as they walked unnoticed through Milltown. In their image, tongues of red and yellow danced and wavered, and were put to use. Metal was extracted from ores to produce weapons and tools. Travellers found light, warmth and comfort at night as they gathered around the dancing colours of the new energy bent to man's use.
Thw two figures looked on the images, and signalled their satisfaction. After a while, one remarked 'They are creative. They'll use the energy as a metaphor, to describe feelings they couldn't otherwise define. Courage, endurance, love. All those emotions they don't fully understand.'
'Neither do we,' the other reminded the speaker. 'That is why we watch and study them.'
'There will be pitfalls What we give will be a great friend, but a terrible enemy.' Another image came into being, echoing around them from the future. A town, far to the east, laid waste and brought low by the power of the gift.
'We are decided then. We know what to do. It will be interesting to see what they make of this gift, to observe if they enslave it, or become enslaved by it.'
The other nodded in agreement. Then the two gods stood side by side, and raised their arms. They spoke in unison ' Let there be ... fire!'
In each town centre, a small pit appeared. And within those pits, seen by humans for the first time, flames wavered and flickered in a dance, announcing their promise of warmth and light.
Pallas
53943
The joke is on the bloke who never spoke a word at all
But whose dreams lay unrevealed 'til they were rotten ...
Lindisfarne 'The Things I Should Have Said'