Regions of the Homewind (Part 2)

(Part 1 is at the previous post.)


Report recorded by Druid.

The sun has risen and set many times since my last report. My thanks for your communication.

I searched for some sign indicating in which direction Cheroka had been moved, but found none. As darkness was falling I saw a column of smoke rising in the distance, and climbed towards it. As I drew nearer I heard sounds. Silence had surrounded us for so long that even the smallest sound now surprises me.

I imagined human voices. A bird flew over my head, soon, a second one. As I reached a point close to the smoke, the rocks fell away to a deep narrow ravine with a stream of water flowing through it. To my amazement I saw a small group of people sitting on the grassy bank of the stream, around a fire. High above them, with no route into the rocky ravine, I was unable to make contact. These people may have tried to help Cheroka I resolved to find a way to reach them as soon as light returned.

After searching for a route into the ravine during many periods of light, my supply of nourishment and liquid diminished rapidly. Finally, almost exhausted, I came upon a hidden pathway leading downward, winding and twisting to the floor of the ravine. Darkness was falling as I approached the settlement. A group of three people stood close to a fire. I called out to them. The two men and a woman looked frightened.

"I am Druid of Alterion, we are of the same family, you and I".

The group stared, backing away. I held out my hands to them.

"What you want?" One of the men spoke at last, his voice deep and rough, but he was using my own language.

"I am looking for my friend. She fell, on the mountainside."

The woman approached me, long hair flowing over her shoulders, her body displaying exaggerated curves, her dark eyes flashed in the glow from the fire. She looked quite unlike Alterian women.

"We see her. She here."

The woman beckoned and led me to a group of roughly made dwellings. She pushed open the door of one of them. A crude lamp gave enough light for me to see Cheroka lying in a corner, sleeping. Leaning down, I touched her forehead. She woke immediately, jumped to her feet to greet me. Injuries on her legs and arms appeared almost healed. These people had cared for her well. The woman smiled, and returned to her companions.

Cheroka will continue, telling what she learned from these people.

Peace be with you,
Druid

Report recorded by Cheroka

After falling on the mountain I was in great pain. When Druid left me I lost consciousness. When I recovered I found myself in a different place, with three people watching over me, tending to wounds on my legs and arms. I was shocked, but not afraid, for they were gentle and kind. Their voices sounded harsh to my ears, but I understood most of the words they used.

I spoke to them, thanking them for their care. This seemed to frighten them. They asked where I came from. My torn space suit must have appeared very strange to them. I tried to explain that I had travelled, with a friend, from a distant star to find the people of our ancestors. They did not understand.

I asked if more people live nearby. The female told me that there are a few others in the mountains. She knows of them, but has not met them. She told me that some have children, and have moved on to live in a different group, where some elders had recently died.

These people have lived on the mountain all their lives, as did their parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and beyond. What little knowledge they have of their past and why their people came to live in this place, comes from simple stories passed from one generation to the next.

They told me this:
Hundreds of Earth years ago their world suffered many bad events: an explosion which caused the whole planet to shake, the waters to rise up and flood the land, a black cloud covered the sky and for a long time there was no light from the Sun. Most people died then, but the ancestors of these people found shelter underground - they describe it now as “a magic place”, where much food, water and medicines were stored. When forced to emerge from the shelter after many years, to look for water and more food, they climbed higher into the mountains and discovered streams and vegetation. The sky had cleared, birds had returned. They have never dared to explore lower reaches of the mountain again, and their descendants have not done so.

These people have been taught that the land at the foot of the mountain is dark and dangerous. They have learned how to survive in their surroundings, building rough dwellings, eating seeds, nuts, roots and leaves. They catch fish from the streams or sometimes birds or small creatures. They cook and eat these, but only at certain times. They respect a strict rule that whenever a creature is killed for food, every part of it must be put to use. They have the greatest respect for living things. Life here is rare and precious. Their clothing is rough, fashioned from material made from dried handwoven roots and parts of plants and trees, mixed with small skins, and pieces of what I believe to be scraps from ancient clothing of their ancestors, or materials from the ”magic place”. They consider these pieces of material to be their most valuable possessions.

I have tried to find more about the “magic place”, but know only that it is located lower down the mountain. I sense that it is important that we search for it.

Peace be with you,
Cheroka.


Report recorded by Cheroka

The three Earth people gave Druid and I food and shelter for two more nights (periods of darkness). Their names are Mara (the female), Mos and Ari. Their name for this mountain is "Cristo", they say that it is an old name, spoken by their great-grandparents.

We left, promising to return with news, should we discover their "magic place".

Mara gave us food for our travels, packed inside a bundle of dried leaves. To us, at first, their ways appeared rough and dirty. We are learning now that nothing is unclean, we have found it necessary to adjust our attitudes. Their food is nourishing and tastes pleasant. These people know nothing of sterilisation or refrigeration, yet they survive, and so shall we.

After following the hidden pathway from the ravine, led by intuition, we proceeded downward towards the other side of the mountain. Trees were taller there, more dense, sheltering a variety of bird-life. We looked for a pathway, or a pattern of younger trees which might give a clue to the secret location. From the story Mara told, we imagined the "magic place" could have been some kind of shelter built by those in authority, at a time before the worst of Earth's disasters. A shelter stocked with many essentials for the use of Earth's leaders, who later may have been unable to reach it - or who may have been among the group of original survivors.

Just before darkness fell we saw below us a number of huge rocks forming an almost straight line. These seemed to have been deliberately placed, possibly as markers.

Quickening our pace as much as we dared, we reached what appeared to be the mouth of a wide cave in the mountainside. Once inside the cave it became clear that the back wall was not of rock, but some kind of metallic material. We had portable lights which shone along the wall illuminating a series of handles and buttons. After much experiment and manipulation slight movement was felt, then after a short pause, a section of the metallic wall lifted. We walked inside.

Movement had activated energy - the space behind the metallic wall was now flooded with light. A broad spiral ramp led downward, we followed it and emerged into an open area, surrounded by many metal doors, most of which opened to empty spaces on two levels, where perhaps, long ago, as many as 200 people could have made temporary homes.

Behind one larger door was a room filled with what we recognised as ancient communications equipment. Behind another, a dark stairway led downward. Using portable lights we made our way down hundreds of steps to arrive in a small chamber containing only a metal cube which stood at eye-level height. A clear window on its side was the only possible entry point. An implement embedded in the metal seemed to be of significance. We detached it and placed it on the clear panel, which caused the panel to open, revealing a metal bar. As Druid pulled the bar towards us the front of the cube opened with a soft buzzing sound. The contents, stored untouched for so long, appeared to be in good condition. Here we shall find many answers.

Report recorded by Druid

The contents of the cabinet include images, maps, documents, letters, and what the ancients called "books". There is also an implement which, if I have understood the markings on its cover, can be activated by light from the sun.

Our first important discovery is that we have landed in a country which was known as North America. These mountains were known as the Sangue de Christo Range in an area known as Colorado. These names are strange to us and convey little. There are maps and documents here showing rapid change in shape of the lands of Earth over a period of fifty Earth years. Many lands became submerged in water, others became uninhabitable because of lack of water. Volcanic activity caused much disruption.

We surmise that these items were brought here, as a place of safety, just before final devastating events occurred on Earth. There is a letter dated December 2045, the writer tells of a violent struggle between the peoples of different areas of Earth, brought about by populations fleeing from continued natural disasters. The writer feared for the planet and its peoples. Threats of enormous force were being made by leaders of lands in conflict. It is recorded that there will be an opportunity for some people to join a mission into space, to attempt to find another habitable planet where they might safely settle. He adds that this carries great risk. Technology for travel into deep space was still in experimental stage. At the time of writing, few were willing to risk such travel, even in the face of Earth's devastation.

A beautiful book filled with images of the peoples of Earth drew our attention. Their appearance varied greatly one to another, unlike the Alterian population. Alterians must surely be a blending of these different peoples, for our skin is lighter than the darkest shown here, but darker than the lightest. Our features reflect many of the traits we see in these images. The females, however, have a distinctly curved outline, quite different from the delicate outline of Alterian females.

Cheroka gasped as she gazed at an image showing a group of men and women wearing ornate robes, decorated with feathers and beads. She read the description. "Cherokee".

"Sounds like my name!"

We went on to read that those people were some of the original inhabitants of this land, centuries before the troubles which caused devastation.

We looked further into the book, my own heart beat faster as I saw among images of ancient peoples of Earth, an illustration of a bearded man wearing long robes, under which was the description " A Druid". Also from Earth's distant past, the book tells us that Druids once lived in an area of the planet known as "Europe."

Exhausted from our excitement, experiencing emotions so alien to us, we lay on the floor of the chamber and slept.

Report recorded by Cheroka

On waking, we continued investigating the newly discovered treasures. Images of Earth's countries and cities, books describing man's history and achievements. Books known as Holy Books, "The Bible", and "Koran" among them.

All of human life on Earth in a single container! We wondered how so much could have become so little, and felt great sadness.

We retained only two maps, and the implement activated by sunlight, then replaced all other items in the container, to await a later visit.

The sun was high in the sky as we emerged from the cave. We decided to continue exploring this side of the mountain before darkness fell. Several small creatures crossed our path as we made our way through the rocks and trees.

We found no other signs of life until, just before the sun descended. A man and a child stood on a rock above us, facing the opposite direction Druid called out to them. The man didn't move, the child pulled at his arm and caused him to turn and see us. They started to hurry away. I called out, asking them to wait, they seemed less afraid of my voice, stopped, and stood watching as we tried to reach them.

"We are friends. We have travelled far to find you", I said as we approached.
"You from dark place down mountain?"
"We have travelled much further than that. There is no need to fear us. We would like to meet your people."

They looked at our clothing, hair and general appearance.

"You strange", the child said, and laughed.
"Yes, we are!"
"Come, We take you to home, see people."

We followed them as the sky grew dark. Soon the flickering of a fire was seen a short way ahead.

A group of rough dwellings stood in a circle by a stream of rapidly flowing water. Ten people sat on the ground eating food cooked over the fire.

"Strange people came", the child called out. The group turned to look.

"Welcome!" A tall young man jumped to his feet, ran towards us. He was beautiful. His rough apparel could not hide the beauty of his face and body.

"I am Roul, son of our elder Feder, who died at the last Moon. I am leader now."

Druid held out both hands to Roul who understood this gesture and mirrored it. I held out my own hands, Roul ignored them but advanced to embrace me, which startled me so much that I fell over a piece of rough ground, to my knees.

"Oh! I will help you", Roul lifted me to my feet, my body felt energised by his close presence. I felt my heartbeat quicken.

Roul and his companions treated us kindly, provided us with food, water and shelter. We were able to converse easily with Roul, who passed on to us much of the information he had learned from parents and grandparents. His family have led the survivors on these mountains from the time they emerged from the "magic place". We suspect that many generations earlier, one of Roul's distant ancestors could have been leader of the great country which existed here before the devastations.

The original survivors from "the magic place" apparently scattered, forming separate settlements within this great range of mountains. Roul told us that the scattered communities come together on two occasions: on the day when the sun remains longest in the sky, and on the day when it lights the Earth for the shortest period. At these times the communities celebrate together. It is common for groups to exchange members, for a variety of reasons: to supplement or balance population levels, and to ensure that the population will not become interbred. Many children die either at birth or soon after. Life-span of an adult here is short. We understand that maintaining even the present level of population is difficult. We were shocked to learn of the primitive method of birth women of Earth must endure, a very different experience from bringing forth new life on Alterion.

From Rethiko of The First City via Starcast

My pilgrims:

I am relieved to know that Cheroka is safe and well. Your latest reports are of great importance. Your news comes as a surprise. I sense a need to discuss a somewhat delicate matter.

Cheroka made mention that the birth process on Alterion is not the same as that you might encounter on Earth. This is an important difference.

As I have explained in earlier communications, and as you are well aware, life on Alterion is tranquil, devoid of fear, hatred, violence .... and one other emotion. In eradicating strong negative emotion from life on the new planet, a side effect occurred. Passion, which can be both positive and negative, also gradually subsided and became buried deep in our psyches. Sexual urges between male and female faded over several generations, until it became necessary to procreate life differently, in order to maintain the level of our population.

The system of gathering eggs and sperm necessary for reproduction from all Alterians of a certain age group, has been used for at least ten generations. New generations are grown in our laboratories, and reared by designated families, who give our new children unconditional love, attend to their needs and education until fully grown. There is no further need for the female to give birth physically - in fact it might now be impossible.

Passion, and the type of love which was not always unconditional, has faded gradually from our way of life here. I believe that Cheroka's feelings towards Roul may be an echo of passion, hidden, but still residing deep within her.

I would advise caution. Your bodies may have evolved much further, and differently from those of your Earthly companions. Bear this in mind. Physical connection with one whose body has not evolved in the same way might be dangerous to your well-being, I cannot be certain, of course. Your situation is new to me also. I am using intuition, and as much insight as my long experience will provide. You must do the same. Your psychic training will assist you.

Go with safety and caution my pilgrims
Peace be with you both.
Rethiko

To be continued