At the leaders' meeting, on the outskirts of town.
"If you have any questions or complaints, you can speak now", I told everyone, both the leaders and the priests.
"We will follow your words, SuaChie Chuta", they all said at the same time. They had used my full name again, but I wouldn't blame them, since me giving them so many inexplicable orders must have fried their brains.
"The meeting is over", said the High Priest, dismissing everyone. The leaders stood up, and the priests followed. Everyone was supposed to help with a small celebration to commemorate the first leaders' meeting.
"Thank you for your wisdom, Son of Heaven", Simte told me after noticing that no one was around.
"Thank you for your support, Simte", I said respectfully.
"I will leave then", he said, beckoning my mother, who was approaching, worried.
"I need to talk to you later, Simte", I said as he left. He just nodded when he saw my mother approaching the stone stage.
"How are you, Chuta?", my mother asked as she took me in her arms.
"I know I have the mentality of an adult, but I still find his displays of love extremely comforting", I thought as I leaned against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. "I'm just a little tired, Mother… And I'm a little hungry", I said, a little embarrassed.
"Let's go home", my mother told me.
We spent the rest of the day playing and resting, and I even took a well-deserved nap. My throat started to hurt from talking so much and so loudly, and I reminded myself not to do it again for a couple of months or maybe a year.
In the afternoon, my father visited us again; he was very happy with how everything had turned out. The leaders had decided on the main leaders in a regional meeting, based on what I had instructed them. My father was chosen for the eastern zone because of his connection to me and some of the measures he took to protect people from the cold and the periods when food was not harvested much. The rest of the leaders would appear before me at the next meeting, according to what my father told us.
Later, as it was almost dusk, Simte visited our house as we had agreed. We both joined him in the living room while my parents went to the bedroom to give us some space.
"It seems everything went well at this meeting", I commented to open the conversation.
"That's right, Son of Heaven", he said solemnly.
"I'll get straight to the point", I said in a serious tone. "First, I'd like to clarify a few things about the gods. They are not only the gods of our people, but they are the gods of all beings who manage to be blessed with their light", I explained to Simte.
"But their gods are different from ours", Simte replied, a little worried. It seemed no one could deny their faith, even though I was supposedly a child of the gods.
"Calm down, Simte, just listen", I said calmly. "They speak a different language than ours, but the gods understand all people, no matter what their language. However, other peoples, having a different language, their beliefs change because the earthly language cannot attain the greatness of the gods", I said, trying to sound mysterious.
"I see, even our language cannot understand the wishes of the gods", he said, analyzing my words.
"You get it, Simte", I said, complimenting him. "Even for our language, the knowledge we have about the gods is the union of many generations who have tried to communicate with the gods, and even after all this time, they have not fully understood the gods. It may be the case that we have understood part of the gods' message, while other people have understood something we do not know", I said, sparking his curiosity about the gods.
"So, could it be that we haven't fulfilled some request of the gods?", Simte said, worried.
"Relax, they know more about us than we know about them", I said, calming his mood. "They understand that we lack the capacity to comprehend their greatness, which is why they send us tests from time to time, and only then can we realize that they are still there waiting for us to understand them." I continued, explaining an interpretation of the unknown things they didn't understand.
"I hope we haven't offended you", he said, his concern palpable. Simte was the most devout person I had ever met in my two lifetimes.
"I told you about this because one of the requests the gods made of me personally is to unite all humans into a single nation, so that everyone may know their greatness, their piety, and also their wrath", I explained the grand plan for the future I had been thinking about that afternoon.
"How great the gods are", he said, looking up at the ceiling as he knelt.
"Therefore, our first objective will be to unite our people and begin to unite the surrounding communities. To achieve this, one of the main weapons we will use will be knowledge", I told him with some emotion.
"We will create a written language that includes the gods, our origin at their hands, and our history", I continued to develop the idea while Simte looked at me intently. "We will learn the language of the nearby peoples, and above all, the message the gods left for those peoples. We must know as much of the gods' message as possible", I emphasized to Simte, emphasizing the importance of uniting the other peoples.
"Do you understand, Simte?", I asked him at the end of my explanation.
"My wisdom only allows me to understand a little of your message, Son of Heaven, but I will strive hard to fulfill all your requests and understand the gods more", Simte told me respectfully.
"No problem. You will understand in time", I consoled him.
"What will be your first order?", Simte asked me expectantly.
"First, you will gather some materials. I need very thin pieces of white wood and also some ink. I will create an incomplete version of our language", I asked Simte. "In a week, the priests must be present to explain how writing works, and they must also help improve the writing with their earthly experience and knowledge", I told him.
"Of course, it will be done as you request", he said without hesitation.
"That's all for today. Thank you very much for your help, Simte", I said, dismissing him.
"It's my duty, Son of Heaven", he said graciously as he left the house.
I tried to stand, but I was very tired from everything that had happened that day, so I could only draw on one of the powers I had.
"Mom", I called softly, getting his attention. This is one of the powers I have gained from being reborn: a mother's love.
"Are you finished yet?", he asked as he picked me up and we moved into the bedroom.
"Yes, I'm very tired", I said, yawning.
"Let's go to sleep, dear Chuta", she said lovingly.
A week later.
"Son of Heaven, everyone is gathered", the High Priest told me, pointing to the priests from the different villages that made up our new nation. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the writing. The High Priest had already explained how it would function and what they could do with it.
"Okay… Hello, everyone. You are the people appointed by the gods to impart our beliefs and culture. However, we have never been able to leave that knowledge in the earthly world. We have only been able to learn about the gods through the stories passed down by your ancestors", I introduced the topic. "But now everything will change. With this writing, we will be able to leave the knowledge and our devotion to the gods imprinted in the earthly world. We will be able to preserve stories about our heroes and enemies, about the saints and the wicked. Even your grandchildren's grandchildren will be able to learn about you with this", I continued, explaining how versatile the writing would be.
"How great the gods are", they said in unison, reverently, as they looked up at the sky. "Now we will give you a table with two groups of signs, and some examples of how writing is represented in our words. The first group of signs will be called vowels, and the second group will be called consonants. These will be grouped in different ways to give a representation of our language", I explained in detail what was on the tables.
"I hope you understand. I spent quite a bit of time making them… Well, just the first ones; the rest was done by Simte and my mother", I thought as I watched everyone look at the tables in their hands.
We spent a few hours repeating letter by letter, on a loop, all with the goal of helping them learn as quickly as possible. However, my worries were unfounded, as all the priests, like Simte, were quite skilled and open to new ideas or knowledge, which turned out to be very helpful, and they progressed quite quickly.
"So, now that we've gone over each group of letters, I need you to write your names and something unique about you on the table", I asked everyone. After a few minutes, they were finished.
"Now we'll review your progress with the High Priest, and we'll meet again tomorrow", I told everyone as we wrapped up our first writing class.
"Looks like writing has a check mark on my list", I thought as I checked one of the tables at random.
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[N/A: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Thanks to everyone for reading the novel. Especially to Melshan for the first review, haha. And also to lc248, for the first powerstones.
Progress begins in the village. The protagonist will approach the surrounding communities diplomatically.
Will this be forever?
Comment if you have any questions.
Read my other novel, called The Walking Dead: Vision of the Future.
You can find it on my profile.]