LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE STATE OF THINGS - SECTION 21

 

After the scholar Fradel had left the room, Yenis hung her head, pouting for a long while, as seething anger stirred within her.  Eventually putting her disappointment and rage forcefully aside, she reclined and attempted in earnest to get some sleep.  Still, her melancholy and irritation drove away any sleep and she stayed fully awake most of that night, wrapped in a despondent, fitful mood, suffering from emotions and thoughts that obstinately refused to go away.

In the next room, Nevetsecnuac (Fradel) had spread out his overcoat next to a dry wall, rolled his outer garments up into a neat bundle and placed them under his head as he lay down to sleep.  Hearing a stirring behind him, he instantly turned and sat bolt upright.

Luminous, swirling vapors circled the center of the room, finally settling to reveal the apparitions of three handsomely clad monks kneeling to face him in supplication, flanked by two novices carrying lamps which glowed with a cold fire. 

Rising to his feet, Nevetsecnuac (Fradel) was about to accost them when the center monk bowed low on courtesy and, in a resounding voice, gave solemn greetings to him invoking the name Prince Nevetsecnuac Alric Therran Valamir. He then added:

"Abbot Tuho respectfully requests an audience with Your Highness.  Please follow us."

Not waiting for Nevetsecnuac's reply, they rose to their feet in unison and, bowing, floated out of the room.

"Please wait up, sirs."  Nevetsecnuac grabbed the bundle of garments and rushed outside after them trying, as he moved, to clothe himself decently.  Everything outside was bathed in unnatural, cool daylight, its beauty almost taking Nevetsecnuac ‘breath away.  All had been transformed into the exact semblance of its former glory.  In the splendor of the days before the monk's demise Nevetsecnuac noted the red columns, inlaid with jewels lining the halls.  Cut diamond chandeliers were suspended from the ceiling, their brilliance mirrored in the smooth marble of the floors.  Brilliantly colored murals surrounded every door and, flanking the portals, tall, lifelike statues stood sentry over the rare fragrances wafting in from the courtyard outside.

Nevetsecnuac passed through polished white terraces, over petal strewn paths checkered by the cold sun's golden rays, and around crystalline ponds housing darting goldfish.  Rare birds sang joyously from branches adorned with spring flowers, their melody in perfect consonance with the monk's lugubrious harmonies and the rhythmic pealing of bells.  All was so indescribably beautiful, so entrancingly transient and serene that Nevetsecnuac felt as if he was in a heavenly palace among the immortals.

Returning inside, he trod on plush carpeting, so soft he felt he was walking on clouds and noted with interest the identities of the idols that inhabited the great hall.  His wish to stop and pay his proper respects to these gods, however, was overridden by the monks' unwillingness to wait.  After a slight bow from the waist, he picked up his steps and rushed after the monks, who had very nearly vanished from view.  Seeing them disappear behind a large set of doors, he followed their lead and entered the Great Hall, where some seven or eight hundred monks, draped in magnificent capes, had already assembled. 

Separated into two neat groups arrayed around the center like a palm leaf, they were kneeling, hands clasped, in absolute obeisance (homage, respect) to the surprisingly young-looking Abbot, who was sitting in his golden cloud-patterned high-backed chair, positioned at left, center of the dais (platform). Abbot was the only one that did not have his eyes closed in deep trance.  Behind him at slightly lower podium, in intricately carved chairs set, the key (prominent)administrative priests, other high-ranking staff and scribes. etc. 

Instructed to wait at the door by the portal's guards, Nevetsecnuac watched his three guides take their respective places, close their eyes and strike the same pose as the rest. 

The two novices brought their lighted staffs to Nevetsecnuac's side and quietly led him up to the Abbot's dais.  His eminence’s eyes were at first lowered (half-closed) in contemplative pose, as if in prayer, his manner, serene yet imposing and dignified.

Nevetsecnuac waited until the golden-haired, most august-looking Abbot Tuho finally looked up and smiled at Nevetsecnuac.  

02- ABBOT TUHO

At once, Nevetsecnuac bowed his head reverently to the Abbot, who solemnly reciprocated (returned) the bow, then placed his palms together before his chest then raised it to his forehead in the traditional greeting.

Coming forward next, the Abbot took Nevetsecnuac's hands and, smiling warmly, said,

"It’s very kind of Your Highness to honor us with your presence.  May we now request that Your Highness permit us to show proper and due respect as well as our boundless gratitude."

He ushered Nevetsecnuac into a seat of honor, a magnificent high-backed chair intriguingly carved with a dragon motif, bearing the Seal of the reign of Nevetsecnuac's grandfather, on a singly higher podium to the right.

"This is where His Majesty, Zuronghan Therran Valamir, always sat to receive our oaths of fealty.  This honor is now conferred on to you, Your Highness."

03- NEVETSECNUAC BEING HONORED

 After Nevetsecnuac, with all due modesty, took up his seat, Abbot Tuho, the elder monks, the Prior, the Abbot's assistant, the Deacon, the two senior scribes and all others arrayed themselves by rank in single file to the accompaniment of bells, drums and gongs.

 When all was still once more, the long procession of monks came forward in measured steps and, one by one, knelt and touched their foreheads reverently to the floor before Nevetsecnuac.  Each one proclaimed their fealty and gratitude to him.  Their resounding, rippling words permeated the air of the Great Hall with an aura of auspicious light.

Just then a scented breeze wafted through the Hall and the ceiling of the Great Hall parted with reverberating thunder.  All eyes(heads) turned upwards; Nevetsecnuac, the Abbot and all the monks without exception, immediately and with reverence (of this miracle), had dropped to their knees, mutely expressing deep gratitude to all the Gods, Immortals and Royal lineage, for this special (favor) blessing.

 Nevetsecnuac with misted eyes observed high above him, hosted by various Gods riding the backs of Dragons, his majestic grandfather, his father, and the other members of the Royal family, all, peering down at him from the luminous clouds and approvingly smiling at him. 

Subsequently, after all the revered beings had departed and the ceiling once more sealed (closed up), Abbot Tuho wreathed in smiles coming forth, invited Nevetsecnuac to a feast in the huge dining hall of the Abbey, to commemorate this auspicious occasion.  They took up their respective seats and happily partook (consumed, shared) the delightful array of exotic fruits from distant lands and sundry, intercontinental vegetarian dishes; meanwhile, from silver goblets all drunk heartily the refreshing liquids to quench their rising thirsts, while they listened to the soothing melodies of the harp.

During dinner Nevetsecnuac, seizing an opportunity, politely asked Abbot Tuho for his guidance.

"All is to be done according to Heaven's will."  The Abbot paused and then, in a quiet, serious voice, added, "Your Highness, you must remember that perceived reality is an illusion, and things are rarely what they seem.  Lay your trust in the unlikely one and pluck out the root of evil implanted in the abandoned son."

"Help…Help!  Save me!"  A sudden, desperate cry shook Nevetsecnuac into wakefulness.

He found himself, fully dressed, seated on a wooden crate in the middle of the large, dilapidated hall.  Only the moonlight, streaming through the broken windows and the gaps in the walls illuminated his way.  It was most fortunate that he had marked the area well during the day's surveying, for now he had to blindly rush back to Yenis' room.  She was obviously in mortal danger.

When he reached the outside of her door he hesitated to enter for a moment or two and knocked instead.  "Are you all, right?" he inquired, afraid she may not be decent; afraid she may only be having a nightmare.

"Ay!  Get away from me!  Help me, Master Fradel!  Save me!"

Her shout quickly made up his mind for him.  Forsaking propriety, Nevetsecnuac (Fradel) burst inside; to apprehend the culprit but he found no such person there.

 She was sitting, all alone, on the edge of the bedding, trembling in fright.  Soaked in perspiration, her diaphanous inner garment clung tightly to her body, attenuating the outlines of her exposed bosom as it swelled and heaved with her gasps.

Embarrassed, Fradel lowered his eyes to the ground at once, muttering apologies for the intrusion, and started to take his leave.

"Please don't go.  I'm so frightened." the girl pleaded in a quivering, provocative voice.

"Don't be." Fradel (Nevetsecnuac) assured her, his eyes still pinned to the ground.

"It's your taut nerves that are playing tricks on you.  It was only a bad dream.  I'll light this torch and leave it here for you, if you like."

"But I really did see someone sinister lurking about.  It was not a dream, I swear it!" in a tragic tone she protested.

 "I was not asleep yet.  Truly there was someone in my room.  I did not get to see his face, but he stood over there, as surely as I am here…A monstrously big man with grizzled red hair and blazing beard."

"That's impossible." Fradel shook his head.  "This room has no windows and no other openings besides the door I just came in.  I made sure of that earlier.  How could he appear out of thin air?"  He was beginning to lose patience with her.

"You're mocking me.", she said indignantly, pouting, puckering her lips. "Has it occurred to you that there might be a secret passage here that you might have overlooked?"

"No, that was ruled out when I thoroughly searched this room earlier."  Fradel (Nevetsecnuac) was unrelenting, but softened his tone to urge her, without turning around, "Please do not be afraid and try to get some rest."

04- YENIS LUKO

"Oh, please, I implore you, don’t go." She whimpered (moaned) seductively, then rushed over to tug at his sleeve.

 "I don't care if you believe me or not, just don't leave me alone.  I'm sorry if I spoke harshly just then."  Stomping her foot, she rebuked him gently, "You just don't care what happens to me; you obviously don’t! But how can you be so heartless to leave me here all alone without any protection?"

 Weeping, she ran back and threw herself on the bedding.  "I'm afraid.  What if he comes back?" she looked up to ask, despairingly.

Recalling the other set of footprints in the tunnel, the large ones paralleling those of Yenis, which she’d claimed to have had no knowledge of, and remembering the Abbot's parting injunction that ‘things are not what they seemed’, Fradel stopped.  The girl was frightened in earnest.  Perhaps there was something in what she claimed, for that odd sensation of being watched by unseen eyes gnawed at him again.

 "Well, all right." he acquiesced with his back still towards her.  "You may rest easy; I’ll stand guard outside the door."  He closed the door after him then sat down with his back against it.

Is this scholar made of flesh and bone? Nevertheless, comforted by his presence outside, shrugging her shoulders, Yenis closed her eyes to sleep.

 Oh well, there will be plenty of other opportunities.  Resigned to this night’s temporary setback, she yawned a few more times then, rolling over, soon drifted into blissful sleep for the remainder of the night.

 

(END OF SECTION 21)

                                                                                        ~

 

LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE PROLOGUE

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE PROLOGUE

 

 The northernmost border of Korion had been marked by a range of lofty, serrated peaks, seven in number, appropriately named “The Pillars of Heaven”.  Their astral summits (stellar zeniths) were completely obscured by crowning clouds, relegating all perception of their true elevation to the realm of fantasy.  Snow and ice permanently capped the stratospheric part of this mystic range and from the north (the north-pole) the driving, howling winds thrashed the slopes mercilessly, scouring the glacier clean of any life form. Ergo, the popular folklore of Korion had always maintained that the breath of the world was being drawn in through these august peaks. This inhospitable region of sub-freezing temperatures meanwhile had effectively deterred any human from traversing it; yet remarkably, the national lore persisted of an ancient race, old beyond the Earth itself, possessing powers most strange and subtle, dwelling and thriving in this desolation.

 

                                                                                          ~

 

In that never ending cycle of nature, as anew (afresh) the darkness enshrouded (veiled) the Earth in obscurity, on the majestic slopes the falling flakes yet again sought refuge from the relentless scourge of the wind by hiding in crevices and under ledges in swirling eddies. 

ELDERS OF KARN

ELDERS OF KARN

 On this typically forbidding (austere) night, “The Elders of Karn”, an ancient race of people each ranking over six feet tall in height, with long white or fiery red hairs, pale gray eyes and pale skin, some identically clad in dreary, nondescript garments with hoods, but all without exception, sporting a different shades of crystal amulet that hung from their neckline- had been standing or, seated around the lashing tongues of fire, for an indefinite period, listening with rapt attention to the one named Dwengzur recounting the success of his mission. 

DWENGZUR

Silence fell at the conclusion of Dwengzur’s report. The primary, the most ancient one known as “Aegeus”, thoughtfully stroking his long, snow white beard, now slightly leaned forward and without moving his lips, in measured intonation suggested to Dwengzur that the report may need a touch more elaboration.  Before Dwengzur had a chance to show his surprise at this most unusual request, the other Elders displaying an uncharacteristic curiosity added their collective nods and silent murmurs, as if in droning chorus.  “Yes, brother,” their voices burst in his head, tells us more news of the outside world.  “Tell us of the recent changes!”

“This is most peculiar! Much has changed during my long absence; why this sudden interest in the forsaken mortal realms?” Dwengzur locking his mind up and retreating to that private segment that could not be penetrated, a privileged right, he for a spell, pondered. Centuries had passed since the last great struggle that’d in the interim seriously depleted their numbers and erased in its entirety the female gender of their race. From thence unable to propagate, their longevity being the only other boon to their special powers- yes, the final war had been won but at a heavy cost.

CESSARS

CESSARS

Cassars, rock spirit entities, that had eventually been enslaved by Karns and so kept in check- had been the catalyst of this catastrophic dissention (discord) among existing ancient races. Set against one another the other elite powers had all one by one been eliminated, purged, extinguished. As sole remaining custodians of this world, by consensus of the elders of Karn, they had spared Cassars from total annihilation only to imprison them and allowed the species of men to have the sole dominion over Earth.

 Since that time, spanning several centuries now, race of Karn had secretly co-existed with men, in the remotes corner of these icy-peaks; meanwhile, affording mankind that certain measure of safety- as Cassars’ contained or bested by the utilization of ice or water were then indefinitely imprisoned in the protective water crystal amulet that each Karn wore. It was a bane (burden) to be endured till the end of time.

                                                                                ~

The ancient race of Karn had always lived by very stringent tribal laws.  On most rare instance, any would be offender, without mercy and without the benefit of any trial, would be condemned to be a non-entity and then swiftly terminated.

The other unwritten law was that no one got to leave the tribe, willingly or unwillingly, alive.  But then one resourceful renegade Immortal known as Chandor, (also known as Zandar Kuntzu, the name he’d adapted at outside), had succeeded in doing the impossible. 

The day before Dwengzur was to depart on the most difficult and dire assignment, he’d been secretly informed (briefed) By Elder Aegeus (who had the power to only visit the sight and invoking an incantation, pick up all that had transpired there) on the pertinent details relating to this case.

 It so happened that Chandor (Zandar Kuntzu) was the only surviving direct descendent of the primary, the most ancient Aegeus. Chandor hence, carried the Royal bloodline and the rare gene that would enable him, when he reached the Earth years of 40, to be transformed at will, into the most fearsome creature, Dragon.

 Dwengzu’s assignment had been to find and destroy him as well as the children (twin boy and girl)  that he’d secretly sired, well before that time. Extrapolating on this, Elder Aegeus had then revealed to Dwngzur that, in an undisclosed sector of the main Cave, a prisoner had been held for some time now who happened to be the daughter of His Eminence Olavingemar.  Her name was Tekubzan, the most enchanting creature born to the race of Karn. In fact, she’d been the sole surviving female species of their race who had escaped total inhalation   because of her secret (captivity) incarceration.  At the earth age of 10, at the Divination Ceremony where the new generation’s fortunes were read, her ominous prediction had revealed that she unfortunately was the carrier of a seed that would be the harbinger of, utter obliteration (eradication) of their (Karn’s) race.  She was therefore condemned to die by the Chief Elders in a unanimous vote in order to circumvent (avoid, prevent) this inevitability.

OLAVIGEMAR

His Eminence Olavigemar entrusted this task to his most trusted and able assistant Meju, but he at the last moment had found out that he could not carry out this sentence. Instead, he privately consulted the Stars and chose another option, a preferred alternative to her execution. Of course, he’d paid the ultimate price in order to preserve this great secret forever, the very secret that had been discovered only recently due to a strange set of circumstances.  Anyhow, her life had been spared but she’d been condemned nevertheless to a far crueler fate: an imprisonment for life behind an impenetrable, a one piece of solid rock at the furthest point and the deepest recesses of the Cave which the Elders of Karn once a year held counsel. The thickness of it muted all sound from escaping. The council meetings were later transferred at a more favorable location.  For nearly a decade, this fair maiden had languished in the dark, well forgotten, save for her father who secretly still longed for his only offspring.  Tekubzan being an immortal never needed sustenance or liquids; she’d been therefore only provided by Meju (before his demise), some textiles and garments to appropriately (cover her body) cloth herself as she grew up.  She lived in solitary confinement and in pitch darkness behind that solid rock wall that looked to be a natural part of the cave. In time she was totally forgotten, especially by the new generation which Chandor (Zandar Kuntzu) happened to be. 

Chandor (Zandar) at 20 earth years, possessing a curious and explorative nature, more than once had secretly ventured into the forbidden depths of the Cavern. Due to rare, once in a millennium seismic event, a fissure, a crack had occurred on the solid wall, which Chandor (Zandar), on one of his expeditions, came upon. He drew near to examine it.  With his unusual and super-human hearing, he at that point happened to detect the slight sound of stirring behind, telling of a life, a creature that must have dwelled there. He enlarged the gap as best as he could, and holing up a light to it, peered in to investigate the source. He was shocked to discover an enchanting being, clearly a female creature staring back at him. He worked diligently and secretly for almost a year, till eventually he could get the opening large enough to get his physical body through it. The beautiful creature clad in tattered clothing on the other side was frightened at first and besides which, forgotten the vernacular. But no words were necessary for communication. He pitied and same time was terribly drawn to her. From then on, whenever he could he stole away and visited her. In time having gained her confidence, the two grew quite close. They spent many happy moments together and eventually fell deeply in love with each other. Being sort of a rebel in character, he would not shy away from most taboos; but he was nevertheless reluctant to be too intimate with her, knowing the consequence, knowing that if he did, she might be impregnated. When the desire became too great for them to resist, thinking he’d taken apt precautions, the two one night shared a most blissful, intimate time together. That time he’d left after promising to visit her the next day. But unforeseen circumstances had prevented him for many months from calling on her. When he finally could get away, he rushed to the forbidden pace to present her the most precious gift an ask her to be his mate forever. He’d decided well before this to rescue her from her prison and after the two had made good their escape from the mountain, he would make sure she would never be impregnated, to live a long and happy life with him in some secret location, in some remote corner of the world.

Fate unfortunately had intervened to destroy all his hopes and dreams. What greeted him instead, was a heart-wrenching tragedy. He found her long dead with a precious naked twin infant boy and a girl, wrapped in a cloth, beside her. A brief note etched on a wall had recounted her most dire ordeal which she’d courageously faced. Worse, however, been the days of waiting and longing for him; though trusting him, her generous heart had forever absolved him from any blame. Finally, when his eyes beheld the words of her written declaration of lasting love for him, his heart ripped open, and he broke down and sobbed uncontrollably for quite some time.

Eventually a slight whimper from the twin infants, whom she had transferred her life force to after severing the umbilical cord, the poor entities which had waited in darkness and solitude for so many months, had just at that point in time drew his attention. He at once dried his tears, tenderly picked up his son and daughter and pressed them to his bosom. After a long spell, eventually reason took hold. As the ground was hard, he fetched many rocks and reverently covered the body of his beloved in order to provide her at least some solace in afterlife; he said his prayers and then made a solemn wow to take good care of their beloved offsprings.  He’d made good his escape and   disappeared for many a year, living in secret and under disguise, as a woodsman, close to some remote village in Korion.

ELDER AEGEUS

Elder Aegeus abilities being vast and mysterious, he had seen the truth in a vision. For reasons known only to him however, he’d kept some facts that Dwengzu had discovered only later, to himself. Dwengzur at the time had only been instructed to find Zandar and eliminate him and his mortal wife and the chilren they had.

 In truth, for the sake of his twin children, Zandar’d befriended a widowed mortal female (a local farmer’s third daughter,) living alone with a son equal in age to Zonar (boy twin) and Arnora (girl twin). Through mutual arrangement he took her as his mate and settled down to work the fields like an ordinary farmer.  His new wife had been a good-natured, kind soul and, from the start, she’d treated the toddlers Zonar and Arnora as if they were her own. Zonar and Arnora had both been happy children then, though briefly, as they then had an elder brother.

Again, these details Dwengzur had discovered, later and quite by accident:

 Zandar’s twin children Zonar and Arnora were never told of their true heritage; in those early years they had grown up believing the mortal human was their mother. Zandar Kuntzu during his years living among the mortal humans had undergone such a metamorphosis, in order to perfect his disguise, that he had remained successfully well concealed for over a Decade, until the day of reckoning when he had finally been hunted down by Dwengzur and along with his mortal wife and mortal boy and a girl child were properly disposed of.

 Then again Zandar Kuntzu had foreseen this outcome well in advance and had entrusted his toddler twins Zonar and Arnora, separating them as precautionary measure, to the care of two different ordinary mortal families, along with a complete set of instructions that would be visible when they reached teen years. Each Immortal born lived as a mortal being until the age of adulthood, hence they were unremarkable (indiscernible) in that period. After maturity, it was of course, a different story; the Immortal’s congenital (inherited), varied (wide-ranging) powers were fully restored to them and from then on, every time they used their innate powers, it left a subtle subatomic trace that could easily be picked up by those who knew how.

At the time Zandar had further ensured Zonar and Arnora’s safety by purposefully remaining ignorant of the identities of the foster families and by choosing an ancient, infirm go-between (to carry on the transaction) who had died soon afterwards. Any hope of tracing Zonar and Arnora hence, had become practically impossible.  Before leaving Zandar Kuntzu had also implanted a magical command in the toddlers’ unconscious which prevented them, from teen years to adulthood, from knowing of or using their powers while still hidden in Korion.  Unfortunately, it was through this faint trace which had eventually enabled Dwengzur to (detect, locate) find Zandar and his mortal family.

At the time Dwengzur had been assigned to this task of tracking and disposing of this renegade Immortal Chando (Zandar Kuntzu), his immortal twins, as well all his intimate human associations (like his mortal wife and his offsprings), forced as he’d been to the re-entry into the outside world, Dwengzur had been privately instructed, by the most ancient elder, Aegeus, on this taboo (most prohibited) skill, the means with which to track and kill another Immortal.

                          ~                                 

 Back at the Immortal’s hidden abode (habitat), each time Dwengzur had utilized his powers, through a beacon of sorts, Aegeus and the governing body of the elders of Karn, had tracked his steady progress (feat, achievement) and as they did this, in the interim, (as the unwanted side-effect) they had gradually got ensnared by the intriguing affairs of man.  Dwengzur’s latest exploits, the acutely unusual set of events however had been rather ambiguous and warily obscure, meriting (necessitating) at present, an explanation.

“This is unwarranted curiosity,” Dwengzur reticently grumbled. “They should have had, after all these centuries of abstinence, been immune to it and all!  The Elder Aegeus’s present request countered their most sacred of unspoken laws.  Perhaps after centuries of detachment, they’d craved variance; a dangerous precedence, to say the least.”

Dwengzur, as he surreptitiously searched the faces of governing body of Elders seated about, inwardly asked: “What degree of contamination would be acceptable, the inescapable resulting consequence, and in the end, what would be forfeit?”

Casting a wary glance into the recesses of the cavern, where the hibernating groups of the younger (middle-aged) clan members lay dormant, as if in hibernation but regenerating, Dwengzur nodded to signal his eventual acquiescence to their request and opened his mind once more for the siphoning of information.

 His eyes closed, his face perfectly composed, his thoughts perfectly lucid, moment later all seated about heard in their heads Dwengzur’s somber voice resounding with respect and care.

“It so happens I have a singularly intriguing mortal tale to impart, one with a particular charm all its own, as well as an incipient promise of good.  It is a chronicle of good versus evil, a narrative in which courage, loyalty, friendship, honor, sacrifice, romance, is pitted against, treachery greed, lust for power and abominations of every imaginable kind; but firstly, it is a tale of moral vengeance.  You, my brothers, who have long since purged yourself of these and other such frailties, you may assume the task of an impartial judge. And at the end of it, decide whether the prince Nevetsecnuac of this tale had acted in a righteous cause, or was he merely a pawn in the game of fate, a straw dog, blown about by Heaven's breath.”

He rose to his feet and summoned a tendril of flame to his fingertip.  Walking over to the cavern wall, he incised a circle of fire as he invoked the familiar incantation:

               "Zukonaren..koture..lozuk..

               "Yeme..rike..tokure..kizerune..dom..

               "Do-kume..ke..ki..

               "Kazuuuemmm.”

 

The circle of flame instantly collapsed upon itself at its center then exploded outwards, creating the window to the world.

With an expansive gesture of his hand, Dwengzur invited,

 "Behold!"

 

Just then eddies of burning mist had cleared away to reveal a barren coastline.

                                                                                  ~

 

Note:                                                             

 

(Stay tuned for the next post. Chapter 1- Fisherman's prize. As each chapter being so very long, it shall be divided into segments, culminating in many, sequential posts, over time.)