2016
Removing his sword from its scabbard which hung around his waist, Aleph turned to face his attacker. Actually sword is a bit of a misnomer, since the weapon he held was nothing more than a scrap of slightly rusted metal filed to a sharp edge, with a piece of wood screwed on to act as a handle. It could still cleave a man in two and his attacker, recognizing this, raised his shield, a reinforced rubbish bin lid, to protect himself. The attacker was a tree trunk of a man with thick black hair and a thick black beard. His well muscled arms held a wooden club in one hand and the shield in the other. Aleph was tall for his age and, whereas his opponent had the bulk of a musk ox, Aleph had the musculature of a tiger. He had let his light brown hair grow longer as of late and it now reached the nape of his neck. Although he prided himself in it, his early pubescent beard was nearly invisible to anyone more than a metre away.
They had arrived at this pantry in the rubble of a house at the same time, and neither wanted to back down and let the other remove the twenty canned goods which the pantry held. With no words spoken, the man swung the club at Aleph’s head. Aleph blocked using the blade of his sword. Although the club was now nearly split in two, the force of the blow from the bigger man had knocked Aleph off balance and now he struggled to regain his footing. The attacker used this opportunity to his advantage and kicked Aleph in the stomach driving the wind out of him. Aleph fell to the ground, a piece of brick scraping his back. The man looked down at Aleph, conscious that ten years ago he would be sent to jail for this, and prepared to deliver a finishing blow with the remnants of his club. The man noticed a smirk on Aleph’s face and the young man’s blue eyes glancing over his shoulder milliseconds before a blow to the back of the head rendered the dark haired man unconscious. Aleph had to roll to the side to prevent the 115 kilograms of dead weight from crushing him. Aleph was helped to his feet by a smiling Hei who held a heavy quarterstaff which had been used to incapacitate his brother’s attacker.
“Thanks buddy, I would have got him….but as always your timing is impeccable.”, Aleph said to his brother, giving him a manly patting hug. Hei smiled at his brother, “Cheers Bro”. Though his back hurt tremendously, the wound was not deep and the blood had clotted before they were finished gathering up the loot. They quickly made their way home as dusk fell because a worse fate befell those who stayed out after dark.
Hei was the youngest of the Dobro clan. The way his bright mind worked through ingenious solutions to problems surprised both his parents and his older siblings. A long grey cloak hung loose over his slim frame. His blue eyes exhibited wisdom far older than his twelve years of age but there was also a laughter in his eyes that revealed his love for life.
The family Dobro had arrived in this country of rocky beaches, mountains, lakes and rivers, ten years earlier, shortly before the Great Devastation. When the riots began, the family of five had headed for the mountains which surrounded the city where they had been living. They abandoned their house, and set up a tent in a crevasse in an area not frequented by trampers in the past. The tent was covered by branches from the surrounding shrubbery camouflaging it from marauders. They thought it was safer to be away from the city below. Many people had stayed to defend their city dwellings and had paid the ultimate price. When the electricity had ceased world-wide the majority of humanity seemed to devolve, reverting to animal instinct, and it was now survival of the fittest.
When Aleph and Hei arrived home their older sister Yôdh was roasting a hare she had snared earlier in the day. Yôdh had developed into an adept hunter in the ten years since the family had moved to the hills. She could move quickly and silently through the trees hunting her prey with preternatural ability. The family had recently celebrated her sixteenth birthday. She wore the front of her hair in plaits which were pulled back to form a tiara that kept her hair out of her big blue eyes. Her sleek but newly acquired womanly figure was tastefully covered by a short green dress that was cinched around the waist giving her an elfish appearance.
Dàleth and Sāmekh, their father and mother, arrived at the camp at the same time as the boys and were happy to see that the boys had scavenged a large amount of food. Dàleth and Sāmekh carried a jug of fresh water between them. This was one of the real difficulties with the placement of their camp. Though the camp was out of sight from marauders, it was far from sources of fresh water, with the exception of rainwater. They had a set up to collect the water but it was not enough and this had to be supplemented with water from one of the mountain streams.
Dàleth had long bushy red hair on his head and a thin but full beard on his face. He wore well-worn blue jeans and a rugby style jersey. Ten years of physical labour had hardened his office-work-induced flabby body. After frequent sunburns in the early years, this outdoor life had darkened his skin and caused the former dappling of freckles to expand considerably.
Sāmekh’s long dark brown hair was tied back in a crown made of plaits like her daughter’s. Her figure had also benefited from the outdoor hard physical life, though she already had a beautiful body when the Great Devastation had hit. She wore capri-style jeans and a tight fitting short sleeve blue shirt. Her dark complexion was enhanced by the constant sun and despite the dirtiness associated with living outside the new environment made her all the more striking. Her huge green eyes caused many men who looked into them to become spell bound.
They settled in for dinner of canned beans and the roasted hare. Hunger satisfied they sat around the fire sharing the occurrences of their day. The boys had left early in the morning to scavenge in the city and had plenty of stories from the people they had met.
“We met this group who belonged to some kind of cult or weird religion…” Aleph said chuckling.
Hei cut in: “…and they said that the Great Devastation was caused by the ire of Gaia because of man’s treatment of earth’s creatures and the environment.”
“They wore these white robes and called themselves the…uhh…” Aleph pondered while he stroked his peach fuzz covered chin causing Dàleth to mask a snicker with a cough.
“..the Earth’s People.” Hei cut in to limit his brother’s embarrassment. “I thought that maybe Yôdh would be interested in joining” he added causing Aleph to join him in laughter.
Unfazed by the ridicule by her brothers, Yôdh spoke up proudly to announce “I spent most of the day up on the hill in meditation”. In the years since the Great Devastation some people had begun to develop what could only be described as magical abilities. The going theory was that with the removal of the steps between their everyday survival and the cycles of the earth, the innate powers of some individuals began to express. Yôdh spent many hours a day developing her new aptitudes. At present her abilities consisted of sensing where to find her prey while out hunting and limited communication with some of the animals but Yôdh was confident that with practice and concentration she could develop these further.
“Al and Hei, please don’t make fun of your sister. I am very proud of all of you and what you contribute to our survival. Alright, it’s getting late, time to tuck in for the night” Dàleth announced. A long day for all meant that this announcement was greeted with agreement from all and soon they were in the tent for the night.
The children left early the next morning. Since the boys had returned with that cache of cans and because Yôdh could pretty much catch meat for them anytime they needed it, the children were allowed to do as they pleased today provided they stuck together. They decided to climb over the ridge of the mountain and go for a swim in the stream that provided their drinking water.
As they crested the ridge of the mountain the wind hit them hard and drowned out any attempt at conversation. It would be this way until they reached the valley below. Hei wrapped his cloak tightly around him. Neither Aleph nor Yôdh had any covering so they toughed it out.
Suddenly, Yôdh halted the party with hand signals they had developed. She pointed to a copse of trees 10 metres below them and motioned for her brothers to stay silent. Weapons were drawn immediately to defend themselves - Aleph his sword, Hei his quarterstaff and Yôdh her bow. The government run biosecurity system had failed when the world was thrown into chaos and if it was an animal it could be anything. Many fearsome beasts that had been imported from overseas to protect their owners, had escaped and become feral. They had heard tales of tigers and giant snakes prowling the hills in search of a meal, though luckily they had yet to encounter any. Domesticated animals had also become a threat. Dogs that had once been friendly pets now roamed around in wild packs, viciously attacking anything that could be food. Pigs had gone feral and had grown tusks and bristly hair within weeks, confirming an interesting fact that Dàleth had seen on Discovery channel many years before.
But what emerged from the trees were humans, though the lowest form of this species. The three men were closer to trolls in appearance than humans. Their heads looked too big for their massive bodies. Heavy brow ridges and strong jaws increased their Neanderthal-like appearance. Each man held a spear and they looked like they were out hunting but when they saw the party of youths on the hill above them it became apparent that their prey had changed. A growl from one of the men came to them carried by the howling wind as the trio of trolls charged the siblings.
Yôdh let fly an arrow she had cocked in anticipation. It hit its target, straight through the eye socket of the man who led the attackers, killing him instantly. The other two men stepped over their fallen comrade and were upon the Dobro youth before Yôdh could level another arrow. Aleph stepped in first and his blade whistled through the air aiming for the throat of the closest attacker. Drug induced anger radiated from the eyes of the attacker as he easily stepped back to avoid Aleph’s attack and quickly responded with a swing of his spear using it as a club.
Hei was engaged in combat with the second man, effectively blocking blows with his quarterstaff, but never quite being able to gain the offensive. They were fighting seasoned warriors and although this was not the first fight for the siblings they were still honing their crafts.
Between blows Aleph chanced a glance over his shoulder to check on his brother and sister. He found his brother still locked in battle with his adversary but was surprised to find his sister sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, only a few metres from her brothers’ life or death struggle. The anger that welled up in him caused him to lose concentration and provided his opponent the opportunity he had been waiting for. With a brutal blow to his wrist, Aleph was suddenly disarmed. Now Aleph was backing away as the attacker pressed at him trying to end his life with a jab to his heart or other vital organ. Just as he was losing hope of surviving this incident, with his brother too preoccupied with his own struggle to lend aid and his sister uselessly meditating, the ground below the large troll-esque man turned to liquid and he was pulled down into a pool of mud which seconds before had been solid rock. Aleph looked over to see that his brother’s opponent had succumbed to a similar fate and saw a flailing hand trying to find some solid earth as the man was swallowed by the earth.
Both brothers turned to find their sister, eyes still closed, visibly radiating energy and smiling to herself. She opened her eyes and the ground returned to its solid state. Mouths agape the brothers could say nothing for the whole walk home. They had decided through mutual, though silent, agreement that speaking to their parents about Yôdh’s new abilities was more important than a swim in the stream.
They had arrived at this pantry in the rubble of a house at the same time, and neither wanted to back down and let the other remove the twenty canned goods which the pantry held. With no words spoken, the man swung the club at Aleph’s head. Aleph blocked using the blade of his sword. Although the club was now nearly split in two, the force of the blow from the bigger man had knocked Aleph off balance and now he struggled to regain his footing. The attacker used this opportunity to his advantage and kicked Aleph in the stomach driving the wind out of him. Aleph fell to the ground, a piece of brick scraping his back. The man looked down at Aleph, conscious that ten years ago he would be sent to jail for this, and prepared to deliver a finishing blow with the remnants of his club. The man noticed a smirk on Aleph’s face and the young man’s blue eyes glancing over his shoulder milliseconds before a blow to the back of the head rendered the dark haired man unconscious. Aleph had to roll to the side to prevent the 115 kilograms of dead weight from crushing him. Aleph was helped to his feet by a smiling Hei who held a heavy quarterstaff which had been used to incapacitate his brother’s attacker.
“Thanks buddy, I would have got him….but as always your timing is impeccable.”, Aleph said to his brother, giving him a manly patting hug. Hei smiled at his brother, “Cheers Bro”. Though his back hurt tremendously, the wound was not deep and the blood had clotted before they were finished gathering up the loot. They quickly made their way home as dusk fell because a worse fate befell those who stayed out after dark.
Hei was the youngest of the Dobro clan. The way his bright mind worked through ingenious solutions to problems surprised both his parents and his older siblings. A long grey cloak hung loose over his slim frame. His blue eyes exhibited wisdom far older than his twelve years of age but there was also a laughter in his eyes that revealed his love for life.
The family Dobro had arrived in this country of rocky beaches, mountains, lakes and rivers, ten years earlier, shortly before the Great Devastation. When the riots began, the family of five had headed for the mountains which surrounded the city where they had been living. They abandoned their house, and set up a tent in a crevasse in an area not frequented by trampers in the past. The tent was covered by branches from the surrounding shrubbery camouflaging it from marauders. They thought it was safer to be away from the city below. Many people had stayed to defend their city dwellings and had paid the ultimate price. When the electricity had ceased world-wide the majority of humanity seemed to devolve, reverting to animal instinct, and it was now survival of the fittest.
When Aleph and Hei arrived home their older sister Yôdh was roasting a hare she had snared earlier in the day. Yôdh had developed into an adept hunter in the ten years since the family had moved to the hills. She could move quickly and silently through the trees hunting her prey with preternatural ability. The family had recently celebrated her sixteenth birthday. She wore the front of her hair in plaits which were pulled back to form a tiara that kept her hair out of her big blue eyes. Her sleek but newly acquired womanly figure was tastefully covered by a short green dress that was cinched around the waist giving her an elfish appearance.
Dàleth and Sāmekh, their father and mother, arrived at the camp at the same time as the boys and were happy to see that the boys had scavenged a large amount of food. Dàleth and Sāmekh carried a jug of fresh water between them. This was one of the real difficulties with the placement of their camp. Though the camp was out of sight from marauders, it was far from sources of fresh water, with the exception of rainwater. They had a set up to collect the water but it was not enough and this had to be supplemented with water from one of the mountain streams.
Dàleth had long bushy red hair on his head and a thin but full beard on his face. He wore well-worn blue jeans and a rugby style jersey. Ten years of physical labour had hardened his office-work-induced flabby body. After frequent sunburns in the early years, this outdoor life had darkened his skin and caused the former dappling of freckles to expand considerably.
Sāmekh’s long dark brown hair was tied back in a crown made of plaits like her daughter’s. Her figure had also benefited from the outdoor hard physical life, though she already had a beautiful body when the Great Devastation had hit. She wore capri-style jeans and a tight fitting short sleeve blue shirt. Her dark complexion was enhanced by the constant sun and despite the dirtiness associated with living outside the new environment made her all the more striking. Her huge green eyes caused many men who looked into them to become spell bound.
They settled in for dinner of canned beans and the roasted hare. Hunger satisfied they sat around the fire sharing the occurrences of their day. The boys had left early in the morning to scavenge in the city and had plenty of stories from the people they had met.
“We met this group who belonged to some kind of cult or weird religion…” Aleph said chuckling.
Hei cut in: “…and they said that the Great Devastation was caused by the ire of Gaia because of man’s treatment of earth’s creatures and the environment.”
“They wore these white robes and called themselves the…uhh…” Aleph pondered while he stroked his peach fuzz covered chin causing Dàleth to mask a snicker with a cough.
“..the Earth’s People.” Hei cut in to limit his brother’s embarrassment. “I thought that maybe Yôdh would be interested in joining” he added causing Aleph to join him in laughter.
Unfazed by the ridicule by her brothers, Yôdh spoke up proudly to announce “I spent most of the day up on the hill in meditation”. In the years since the Great Devastation some people had begun to develop what could only be described as magical abilities. The going theory was that with the removal of the steps between their everyday survival and the cycles of the earth, the innate powers of some individuals began to express. Yôdh spent many hours a day developing her new aptitudes. At present her abilities consisted of sensing where to find her prey while out hunting and limited communication with some of the animals but Yôdh was confident that with practice and concentration she could develop these further.
“Al and Hei, please don’t make fun of your sister. I am very proud of all of you and what you contribute to our survival. Alright, it’s getting late, time to tuck in for the night” Dàleth announced. A long day for all meant that this announcement was greeted with agreement from all and soon they were in the tent for the night.
The children left early the next morning. Since the boys had returned with that cache of cans and because Yôdh could pretty much catch meat for them anytime they needed it, the children were allowed to do as they pleased today provided they stuck together. They decided to climb over the ridge of the mountain and go for a swim in the stream that provided their drinking water.
As they crested the ridge of the mountain the wind hit them hard and drowned out any attempt at conversation. It would be this way until they reached the valley below. Hei wrapped his cloak tightly around him. Neither Aleph nor Yôdh had any covering so they toughed it out.
Suddenly, Yôdh halted the party with hand signals they had developed. She pointed to a copse of trees 10 metres below them and motioned for her brothers to stay silent. Weapons were drawn immediately to defend themselves - Aleph his sword, Hei his quarterstaff and Yôdh her bow. The government run biosecurity system had failed when the world was thrown into chaos and if it was an animal it could be anything. Many fearsome beasts that had been imported from overseas to protect their owners, had escaped and become feral. They had heard tales of tigers and giant snakes prowling the hills in search of a meal, though luckily they had yet to encounter any. Domesticated animals had also become a threat. Dogs that had once been friendly pets now roamed around in wild packs, viciously attacking anything that could be food. Pigs had gone feral and had grown tusks and bristly hair within weeks, confirming an interesting fact that Dàleth had seen on Discovery channel many years before.
But what emerged from the trees were humans, though the lowest form of this species. The three men were closer to trolls in appearance than humans. Their heads looked too big for their massive bodies. Heavy brow ridges and strong jaws increased their Neanderthal-like appearance. Each man held a spear and they looked like they were out hunting but when they saw the party of youths on the hill above them it became apparent that their prey had changed. A growl from one of the men came to them carried by the howling wind as the trio of trolls charged the siblings.
Yôdh let fly an arrow she had cocked in anticipation. It hit its target, straight through the eye socket of the man who led the attackers, killing him instantly. The other two men stepped over their fallen comrade and were upon the Dobro youth before Yôdh could level another arrow. Aleph stepped in first and his blade whistled through the air aiming for the throat of the closest attacker. Drug induced anger radiated from the eyes of the attacker as he easily stepped back to avoid Aleph’s attack and quickly responded with a swing of his spear using it as a club.
Hei was engaged in combat with the second man, effectively blocking blows with his quarterstaff, but never quite being able to gain the offensive. They were fighting seasoned warriors and although this was not the first fight for the siblings they were still honing their crafts.
Between blows Aleph chanced a glance over his shoulder to check on his brother and sister. He found his brother still locked in battle with his adversary but was surprised to find his sister sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, only a few metres from her brothers’ life or death struggle. The anger that welled up in him caused him to lose concentration and provided his opponent the opportunity he had been waiting for. With a brutal blow to his wrist, Aleph was suddenly disarmed. Now Aleph was backing away as the attacker pressed at him trying to end his life with a jab to his heart or other vital organ. Just as he was losing hope of surviving this incident, with his brother too preoccupied with his own struggle to lend aid and his sister uselessly meditating, the ground below the large troll-esque man turned to liquid and he was pulled down into a pool of mud which seconds before had been solid rock. Aleph looked over to see that his brother’s opponent had succumbed to a similar fate and saw a flailing hand trying to find some solid earth as the man was swallowed by the earth.
Both brothers turned to find their sister, eyes still closed, visibly radiating energy and smiling to herself. She opened her eyes and the ground returned to its solid state. Mouths agape the brothers could say nothing for the whole walk home. They had decided through mutual, though silent, agreement that speaking to their parents about Yôdh’s new abilities was more important than a swim in the stream.
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