Exodus
A Legend of Armengar
Note by Cosaint
The Exodus is the earliest tale of our people and tells of our flight from the lands of those who had enslaved us and our arrival on Amnor. It, like most of the scriptures of Heramacles, does not embellish upon the facts much but imparts the knowledge of events in the most general of terms. In spite of this however, there are a number of lessons contained within the text which a careful reader may pick out.
The most striking lesson in this text concerns the nature of captivity. The warning is quite dire - that not all who seek to enslave which announce their intentions to the world, but will oft come speaking gentle words. The "gentle yolk" is to be feared, for it can lull a free people into accepting that which should be anathema to them - a gradual relinquishing of liberty and freedom.
This first of all tales also warns against the assumption of helplessness. When Heramacles first seeks to incite the people to leave, they plea that they have always been slaves and know not how to be anything else. Thus from the very beginning, Heramacles teaches that one must always be ready to take responsibility for ones self no matter how difficult it may seem, nor how much others may try to convince us that we have neither need nor right to do so.
Listen to the tales of Heramacles, and be wise!
In the days that are past, the days long ago before the memories of our mothers' mothers' fathers, we lived in another land. We know not now where that land might have been, but it was not an island such as is now our home. It was a pleasant land, that place where we lived long ago, with rivers full of fish, and fertile fields, and woods full of game, and we lived easily and well. Our people, perhaps, grew soft and complacent, and forgot to give thanks and respect to their Ancestors - Ancestors whose names we no longer know, for they have no power now. Whether that was of moment or no, we were conquered.
Conquered? No, we were enslaved. Our people, in those idyllic days, knew nothing of other peoples, nor of the ways of warfare, and when the sand-devils came out of the East and razed our lands and carried off our people to their own settlements, there was naught we could do but bow our heads beneath the yoke of the oppressor. And it was a gentle yoke at first, for such is the way of the conqueror, that the conquered people not realise their plight and rebel, while they still have the strength so to do. And so it was long, and long again, and our people all but forgot that they had ever been free.
And then there arose in the people a leader, and he was a farmer, and his name was Heramacles. And he tilled his land, and his crops grew mightily, and the people were in awe of his power. And Heramacles was also learned in the ancient lore of the people, and in due course it came to pass that Heramacles arose and spoke to the people, and said, "Our life was not always thus, and the yoke of slavery did not always lie upon us. Let us arise, therefore, and depart this place, and seek once again our freedom."
And the people replied and said, "This cannot be so, for our mothers and our mothers' fathers have always been slaves, and so is our life, and so is it meant to be."
And Heramacles spoke again, and said, "You know it is not so, for our faces are not as the faces of our oppressors, nor are our tales and songs as their tales and songs, and they hate our lore and forbid us to remember it. Therefore let us arise and go now, and regain our ancient freedom."
And the people replied again and said, "But we are afraid. We know not where we may go, and the sand-devils may follow us and wreak revenge upon us, that we dared to rebel against their rule."
But Heramacles said unto the people, "Be not afraid. For I have dreamed a dream, and it is a true dream sent by our Ancestors, and I know the way to a place where we may be free once again, where the sand-devils may not follow us. Put your trust in me, therefore, and all will be well."
And so the people were convinced, and in the dark of a moonless night, they arose and left that place, and fled into the North, where the sand-devils dared not follow. And the way was long, and hard, and many died of the hardship, but there were many of us still, when at last we reached the shores of a great sea. And Heramacles spoke once more, and said, "Now we must find us wood, and build us boats, for the place of our sanctuary is across the waves."
And so we found wood, and built boats, but while we built boats the sand-devils, who had pursued us, came upon us, and we had to fight for our freedom. And then it was seen that Heramacles was more than a farmer, for he took up a saw in one hand, and a scythe in the other, and he smote the sand-devils. And seeing his rage, and his courage, our people gained strength, and took up what they could that would serve as weaponry, and fought with their leader. And the strength of each of our people was as the strength of ten, for we fought for our freedom, and so the sand-devils were beaten back, and they fell away in disarray, and the day was ours.
And so we continued and built our boats as Heramacles instructed, and set sail, and steered a course Northward, and North again, into the unknown seas, following the dream of Heramacles. And it was a long voyage, and it was long and long again before we saw land once more, but we had faith in Heramacles, and were not afraid. And at last we saw land, and Heramacles bade us steer therefor, and land there, and told us that here was our sanctuary.
And the people were afraid, for this was a rocky and inhospitable coast, but they trusted in their leader, and landed the boats in a safe harbour. And they explored this new land, and found that it was an island, and that it had much fertile ground, and that it also had a citadel, though that citadel was deserted, and there were no people there.
And we gave thanks and praise to Heramacles, who had led us to this sanctuary, where we might be free henceforth.
All Works are © Original Author
(OC Author - Fergal O'Brien)