Quest for Knowledge (Volume 1 of the FirstWorld Saga), Christopher Jackson-Ash [ebook reader web TXT] 📗

the first time that night, but he also made love for the first time. The feelings shocked him. The situation shocked him. He enjoyed them anyway. Simon and Ju didn’t go to the communal fire that night. They didn’t feel any hunger. They were consumed by each other. Simon lay on his back, sated, and held her as she slept. Against all of the odds, he felt happy, really happy, for the first time in his life and it scared the hell out of him.

The next few months passed in a blur. It was a simple life. Simon’s days were spent with the other men, learning how to hunt and fashion weapons and tools. He felt like a novice athlete in training as he learned to run fast for long periods and throw spears with power and accuracy. He was also taught how to fish with their primitive, yet effective, hooks and nets. As he learned their physical skills so he picked up their language. Despite what Mandred had told him, he found it to be rich and sophisticated although he often found the correct guttural pronunciation difficult. The men often laughed at his clumsy endeavours or his mispronunciation of words. He took it all in good humour and enjoyed the camaraderie. Yet, as he enjoyed the happiness of his new life and new friends, always his thoughts turned to his old friends, how they were faring, and whether they were missing him.

The summer was warm and the men wore only simple loin cloths. Simon’s slim frame filled out a little as his musculature increased. His skin suffered in the sun. He didn’t tan, but burned on a regular basis and his skin peeled off in sheets. His freckles grew, until his skin became mottled with small spots. His facial hair, though slow growing, eventually covered his face with a bright red beard. His was not as impressive in quantity as the rest of the men, but it more than made up for it in colour.

Simon’s evenings were spent around the communal fire. He had long philosophical discussions with Mandred. Amongst other things, they discussed the meaning of life; the need for Balance in all things; the prospects for the future; the nature of good and evil; and how to find happiness. Simon was barely on speaking terms with Manfred, who seemed to spend most of his time alone in his cave. The summer evenings were warm and long. Simon enjoyed the social atmosphere around the fire. He grew to be held in high regard by most of the tribe, including the old chief, and he enjoyed his status. He began to think of himself as the natural choice to be their leader, when Yo died. He had long discussions with Mandred about what new technologies or skills would be appropriate to introduce to help his people. Mandred cautioned him not to act too hastily.

Simon’s nights were spent with Ju. In her arms, he really felt like he had come home. The baby grew quickly, and appeared to be enormous compared to her tiny frame. By seven months, it looked to Simon like a full term pregnancy. He began to worry about the birth. Concerned about Ju’s and the baby’s health, and conscious of the tribe’s taboo, they stopped having sex around the fifth month of Ju’s pregnancy. It didn’t matter to Simon. When he lay with Ju, just holding and cuddling her and his child, he felt complete joy and peace with the world. He completely forgot that Kin Slayer was buried at the back of the cave. He wasn’t sure when the metamorphosis occurred and he began to view the baby as his, but he now did. His plans for the future revolved around his mate, his child, and his tribe. Ju was very intelligent and before too long, as his language skills improved, they were able to lie in the dark and chat about all sorts of things, mostly about their future together.

Ju was very intelligent and as Simon's skill at the tribe's language improved, he also managed to teach her some words of his own. Before too long, they were able to lie in the dark and chat about all sorts of things in a strange mish-mash of tongues and gestures which would have been utterly incomprehensible to any outsider listening in. Their stumbling attempts to understand one another frequently left them giggling and served to cement their closeness. Mostly, they talked about their future together, and Simon felt that at last he had what he had always wanted; a real family, and a sense of belonging.

During the last two months of her pregnancy, Ju was unable to work. She was confined to bed and the old medicine woman, Wa, spent many hours each day with her. Simon wanted to stay with Ju, but Wa would chase him out of the cave. As well as his hunting duties, Simon had to fetch water and wood for the cave, but he didn’t mind the extra work. He examined Ju every day, making sure that the pregnancy was progressing normally. He wanted to help Wa with the birth, teach her simple medical techniques and help her to understand about infection and the need for good hygiene. At every approach he was shunned and ordered to concentrate on men’s business. This was women’s business and it was taboo for men to get involved. He continued to monitor Ju’s progress in secret and vowed that when he became leader things would be different.

It had been a glorious summer. The hunting had been good, they had been untroubled by predators, and the women had collected an abundance of fruits and roots. They were well prepared for this winter with large stocks of dried food. The tribe was excited about their harvest festival which always took place when the chief determined that enough food had been collected. It would be the last feast until midwinter. They would farewell the sun on its journey to find new life. At midwinter, they would feast again and plead for the sun to return and bring the new life back to them.

The men had had a successful hunt the previous day and there was no need for further hunting before the feast. Ju was in great discomfort, but Wa ushered Simon out of the cave. The medicine woman was clearly concerned. Simon was worried. The baby must be nearly due. He didn’t want to be too far away, but he didn’t feel like company, so he headed down to the river. No one was around. He sat on a log and watched the river. The flowing water enchanted him. The way the ripples caught and refracted the sun soothed him. He began to reflect on the past few months. What did someone need to be happy? He thought back to his upbringing in Melbourne. There, it had seemed to be a continual competition to amass wealth. Everyone wanted a bigger house or a flashier car. They had to have the latest technological gadgets. Were they any happier when they got them? Yet there was extreme poverty in his world too. A small percentage of the population was raping the Earth’s resources at the expense of the majority. As a result, the Earth was responding. Climate change had become critical and almost tipped the planet over the edge. Now the religious zealots were taking the world to the brink of war. Perhaps it was all over by now. Maybe the world as he knew it had been destroyed. Maybe they had stopped once again at the brink. At least when you fought with swords you couldn’t destroy the planet. Thoughts of swords reminded him of Kin Slayer for the first time in ages. Suddenly, he had a strong yearning to feel the comfort of his sword at his side. He fought the urge and refocussed on his train of thought. Happiness, he decided, was a full belly, a warm place to live, to love and be loved, to be appreciated for a job well done, and to be a part of a community. He had all of those things here. He had them in spades. He didn’t have an E-Pod or a view screen. He didn’t have a powerful car. What he had was worth so much more. Goodness was to put community ahead of self and to do no harm. Evil was the ultimate selfishness, to have no compassion, no thoughts at all for others, to act without empathy or sympathy.

He sat back on the log and stretched his legs. The autumn sunshine warmed his body. He was feeling pleased with himself. After all, he had just solved the problems the world’s philosophers had been grappling with for millennia. Then another thought hit him. Was he good or evil? He had killed innocent people. Was there both good and evil in everyone? What was the Balance? Could he hide here forever and give up on his greater destiny? He heard future Manfred’s voice in his head. Simon, you serve the Balance. You are the Everlasting Hero. Elannort needs you.

“No, leave me alone. I have found peace here. I am about to become a father.” Simon was unaware that he was talking aloud until he looked up and saw a wizard observing him. At first, he thought it was Mandred.

“Simon. I have been remiss not to spend time with you. I have been feeling sorry for myself and I have been neglecting my duties. I’m sorry. Can I ask who you were talking to?”

Simon was caught in a dilemma. How could he tell Manfred that he was talking to him, a future him, far into the future? He was spared having to answer, by a huffing and puffing Mandred. “There you are, Simon. Come quickly, it’s Ju, it’s time, the baby is coming. They have taken her to the birthing stone.”

Simon ran off, leaving the two wizards to follow at a more seemly gait. He was feeling a mixture of excitement and trepidation. He longed to hold his baby, but he feared for Ju. The sun was directly overhead when he got back to his cave. Before he went to the birthing stone, he had to do something. His earlier thoughts stayed with him. He crawled to the back of the cave and dug down into the sand. He pulled out Kin Slayer, stood up, brushed it off, and strapped it to his side. He was tempted to draw the sword, but restrained himself. He hurried off. He was about to become a father.

The Eternal Soulmate

The old man looked hunched and grey and he struggled to get to his feet as the heavily pregnant young woman entered his cave. Ju rushed to him and hugged him. She knew the rumours that circulated around the village and even in the dim light of the cave entrance she could see that they were probably true. Her father had little time left in this world.

“My child.” His voice was thin and croaky.

“Father, how are you feeling?” Ju hugged him again although the huge bump in her belly made a proper hug impossible.

“My time is near, but I hope to see my child’s child. Please let us sit. My old legs can barely hold me.”

They sat on a pile of soft skins on the cave floor and sat in silence for a while. Eventually Yo broke the silence. “I am troubled, daughter.”

“What is it, Father?”

“The laws of the tribe are for a great purpose. Without them we would have chaos. I fear that I have misused my power for personal gain and will have to pay a terrible price when Death takes me.”

Ju had an inkling of where this was heading. There were many things that they had never spoken about. They had skirted around them like hunters avoiding a big cat. “If I have wronged you Father, I …”

She was cut off in mid-sentence. “Hush child and listen to