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Ancient Civilizations

Nahor (of The Stone Cutter, by Brock Meier)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a young sculptor working the art world in the spectacular Nabataean Kingdom of ancient Arabia (you know its capital as the fabulous city of Petra). But his secrets of implication in the
deaths of his sister and mother, and his father’s abandonment, leave a
dark chasm in the flint of his heart.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I was born near Hawara, Nabataea—a place the Greeks called Arabia. It was a few days travel south of the capital city of Raqmu, or Petra as you call it. It was one of the last stops on the caravan road from the port at Aila, on the way to the capital, and finally on to the port at Gaza. From Gaza, they shipped luxury goods—incense, silk, and gemstones—to the rest of the world around the Great Western Sea.

Any memories of childhood?

I loved roaming the rocky white hills beyond Hawara, and swimming in the cool waters of the town’s underground cistern—when no one was looking. And I recall times of joy I spent with a girl about my age—Qainu. At the tender age of seven, I thought I might marry her.

But the place holds bitter memories as well, since I was implicated in my younger sister’s death, and later, that of my amma. And for that reason, my abba abandoned me in Raqmu/Petra, leaving me in the care of a stranger. But that man became a better abba than the one who sired me.

What did you first think when your father abandoned you in Petra ?

I couldn’t really imagine that he was abandoning me—in a city I’d never known, and to a man I’d never met. I could not grasp that I would never see my family again. I don’t think my mind, and my heart, could face the terror of that reality.

What do you do now?

I was on the fast-track of the art world in Raqmu, as protege of the famed sculptor Aslah—the man who was my foster abba. He instructed me well, and also said I had a gift like none he’d ever seen. But that all came to a horrendous end one day at the stone quarry. The collapse of a rock wall crushed him to death, and caused grievous injury to my right hand. I not only lost the ability to excel at my craft, but lost the man I cherished as my abba.

I then went on a quest to find something—the Shamir—that I thought might resurrect my career. It was said to be a powerful, but mysterious object, buried beneath centuries of myth. It took me to the very ends of the earth. And the cost of this quest grew far more than I could possibly imagine.

Continue reading “Nahor (of The Stone Cutter, by Brock Meier)” →
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Rhuna (of Keeper of Wisdom, by Barbara Underwood)

Dear readers, tonight with me is a young woman who grew up on the fringes of the empire of Atlantis. 

She is here to tell us about her travels across oceans and ancient worlds (from Atlantis to Ancient Egypt), her inherent mental powers, and her mysterious visions.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I grew up on a small island called Chinza.  It’s in the middle of the world’s biggest ocean and far away from any other place.  I didn’t even know that there was anything beyond the big blue horizon until I was about 12 solar cycles in age and met Tozar, who was hiding in my cave and told me he came from a land far away.   Up to that point, I lived outside the village with my mother who was always unhappy and picking on me for everything.  It wasn’t really a nice a place, and everyone thought I was strange because my skin was paler than everyone else’s.  People sort of avoided my mother and me, so I grew up playing by myself in the caves.  Chinza is a volcanic island and has lots of caves, so I used to explore those and play in them.  It was a dull and boring place until some strange people wearing white robes came to Chinza and began making huge stone statues that looked like people.  I spied on them once and saw that they used strange and special powers to make the big stone statues.

What was the most important thing that happened in your life?

Tozar – the man I found hiding in a cave on Chinza – took me away from that depressing place and told me about the Atlan Empire and the beautiful City of Atlán, where he lived.  The Atlan people have advanced knowledge and technology, as well as special abilities that enable them to transform elements such as sand to stone and metal to gold, just with the power of their minds!  They can also summon visions of faraway places and people using the reflection of a still body of water.  But the most exciting thing is that I found out that my father was an Atlan with such powers, and that I inherited those abilities from him!   At first I couldn’t believe that a plain girl like me could learn to summon visions of distant places, transform sand into stone, make heavy stone blocks almost weightless and then build my own small pyramid to harness lunar and cosmic energies!

What do you do now?

When I became an adult, I went to the City of Atlán to be with Tozar, and that’s where I attended a school to learn about healing and herbs.  Besides being a Healer, I also became part of the High Council of Atlán, alongside Tozar, helping to solve people’s problems, big and small.  But the biggest challenge was when the Dark Master started subverting our way of life, causing death and suffering among poor and helpless people.  That’s when we discovered that I had extra special powers of summoning visions, and this helped us stop the Dark Master…at least we thought so at first. Continue reading “Rhuna (of Keeper of Wisdom, by Barbara Underwood)” →

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Niklas, Eighth Son of Jesse (of Tyrants and Traitors by Joshua McHenry Miller)

Dear readers, tonight with me is a fifteen-year-old shepherd, who spent his whole life dreaming of revolt against the hygiene-adverse Philistines. Recently an all-but-impossible mission is thrust upon him, and he started to rethink the whole hero business. What chance does the daring schemer have when lions, the Mad King, and a literal giant stand in his way?

He is here to tell us of his race to uncover the hidden traitor, conspiracies and armies which converge on the nation — with his hometown directly in the crossfire.

What’s the most vivid memory you have as a child?

I’ve been wrongfully identified as the chief mischief maker in our family. While I’d never deny my penchant for a bit mayhem, one of my older brothers, Abin, is the real godfather of all things chaos. Growing up, he was always seeking the next prank to pull off, and he often used me as patient zero for his ideas. Once, he convinced me to try every spice in our mother’s cabinet. It went alright until I chomped into a blackened mustard seed. My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, and I spent the next two hours impersonating a waterfall, spewing fluids all over the house. He lovingly referred to it as ‘Abin’s Surprise.’

Tell us a little about where you grew up?

Ancient Israel is a tale of two worlds. On the one side, our countryside is awesome. We’ve got fertile hills, clear rivers, and some of the best wine this side of the mesopotamian peninsula. It’s a dream scenario, except for the tiny fact that every one of our neighboring countries want to wipe us off the map. Every decade or so, another regional war breaks out, and we spend the next five years cleaning up the mess. Plus, my people aren’t exactly known for a surplus in courage. We’re more of the ‘flee in terror’ crowd than the ‘stand up and fight for yourselves’ demographic, which only paints a larger target on our backs. Continue reading “Niklas, Eighth Son of Jesse (of Tyrants and Traitors by Joshua McHenry Miller)” →

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