Chapter 7

Our story has its roots in the very beginnings of civilization.

As man slowly evolved from the savage beast of the field into the agricultural master, history recognizes six cradles of civilization. Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, and Ancient China are believed to be the earliest in the Old World, while in the New World, there is the Caral-Supe civilization of coastal Peru and the Olmec civilization of Mexico.

There have always been rumors of other civilizations. The most famous of these, of course, is Plato’s description of Atlantis. And there are reflections of these myths in the works of the Aztecs and Incas and the temples of Angkor Watt.

While the world has had only rumors and myths, it is from this civilization that we draw our history.

But long before there was a civilization, there was a small village on the northern coast of what is now Germany. It was mostly populated by members of a large extended family who had worked over many years to become one of the more prosperous fishing communities along the coast and they had earned quite a reputation by building sturdy boats and venturing forth and exploring the coasts of Northern Europe.

These ancient people of the north were slowly becoming quite efficient at their seamanship. They had figured out how to build better and more stable ships, and they were even learning to harness the wind rather than just rowing. They were also improving their knowledge of where to find the fish, on which their lives depended. After each trip, they would record where they went and what they found, enabling them to begin to see patterns in their fishing success.

The people were also egalitarian. Men and women of the village worked together in building boats, tying nets, and daring the open seas to bring in the fish. They also shared childcare responsibilities. In this way, they had more hands to do the work and more minds to think about their observations. Even the children would contribute to the work as part of their education.

As they lived in a rather remote area, away from other human settlements, they didn’t have a lot of need for defense against other human aggressors. Like most human settlements at the time, their primary concern was on avoiding predators and natural disasters. Illness and disease killed most people in the village, but they had already figured out that clean water and proper disposal of waste was the best way to avoid diseases.

One day, a day that started just like any other day, a young couple, newly married, ventured forth in the boat that the groom had worked on over the past three years. The boat had been given to her as a wedding present. The couple in question, and their best friends who were also a couple, were the most prestigious of the young couples in the village. Most people expected them to be the village leaders when they were a bit older. They were among some of the brightest and hardest working people in the village.

A storm front had passed though the previous night, and on that morning the seas were calm, the sky was a clear bright blue, there was the hint of a chill in the air, and the rising sun was painting the seas a beautiful blue color.

The villagers took this as a sign that a good day of fishing was to be had and the shore was bustling with the activity of launching a small fleet of fishing boats.

Our young couples were among the first of these many boats to set out that morning, and within a few hours had located a rather large group of fish. They were casting and reeling in their nets, each time pulling in a generous catch. And as more villagers joined them, they were already beginning to think of the feasting and celebrating that would commence when they returned home with their boats and nets full.

And then disaster struck.

While the ground was known to shake and rumble from time to time, the earth chose that morning to shake and settle just a bit more. This produced a huge wave that surged toward the shore and the village that was built on a small prominence overlooking the sea.

As the wall of water approached the village, people stood and stared in wonder, and then panicked. Unfortunately, there was no escape. That wave wiped out the small collection of buildings that made up the village. And when it was done with its destruction there, it rebounded out to sea, capsizing and destroying the small boats that it found in its way.

One small group of boats, including our young couples, had been chasing the last of the school of fish, venturing far out into the sea, losing sight of the land. When the sea began to grow turbulent, they reeled in their nets and prepared to head home.

But then the seas suddenly calmed and a strong current began to pull them backwards.

Our couple knew that a large wave would soon be coming. They turned their boats so that they faced the open sea, dropped their sails, and lashed themselves down. They prayed to their gods for survival.

And then the wave came. It lifted them high into the air and pushed them faster than their fragile little fishing boats were designed to travel. They found themselves rushing along the crest of the wave as it propelled them far away from their now destroyed homes.

When the terror was over and the wave had passed, three small boats had somehow survived. As they freed themselves from the lashings that held them down, they took in the state of the boats and found that they were in very rough shape. Three boats and five survivors, in very poor condition, lost upon the seas. It was not very likely that they would survive. But they did the best that they could. They immediately began to patch the boats with what supplies they had and to assess their food and water supplies. While they could survive on the fish they were able to catch, water would be in tight supply. And they were wondering if they would ever make it back to land.

For countless days and nights, they drifted, lost on the sea, their sails filled with wind but no idea where they were or where they were going, for the stars that had so often guided them back home were suddenly unfamiliar and of no help. Still, they sailed on and prayed that the day would come when they could once again set foot upon dry land.

Of the five survivors, there were two young couples, our protagonists, and their childhood friends. They had grown up with each other and had great affection and loyalty to each other. The fifth was an older gentleman who had lost his wife in the storm and had tailed along, not knowing what else to do and grieving for his lost wife.

Then one day, they had awakened and realized immediately that the third boat was missing and they diligently began to search for signs of a boat on the horizon. They searched for most of the day and had almost given up when far to the south they caught sight of the tip of a sail on the horizon.

Setting their sails full, they caught the third boat just as night began to fall only to find that the man who had occupied the boat had died in his sleep during the night and his boat had drifted off course because he had fallen against the tiller.

That night they spent in mourning, and when the sun began to rise, they said their goodbyes and threw the dead body overboard.

It was at that moment, as they looked to the rising sun and wished his spirit a safe trip into the realm of the spirits, that they saw their first sign of land, a sea gull.

They followed the gull for another day and soon they reached the shore of a beautiful and glorious new land. They sailed onto the beach towing the third boat behind them. When they reached land, they dropped to their knees and gave thanks for their lives.

There was even a small river with fresh water nearby and when they had drunk their fill, they pulled their boats further onto the beach and set up camp for the night.

Each day was a challenge for our two young couples. While there was food aplenty in the sea and in the river, they needed to build shelter and repair their boats. They didn’t have the tools that they were used to using, and they had to recreate all the tools they had used in their village.

There were also fruits and vegetables to be gathered, and while some looked much like the fruits and vegetables of their homeland, they were also different. No one was certain what was safe to eat and what wasn’t. One day, the four had ventured far into the jungles of the interior of the land they had discovered, and they found there a most unusual plant, one that had red and black leaves, and a beautiful white berry. It had a most delicious aroma and the party decided at once to try a few of its berries. The berries smelled sweet and delicious, but they were most bitter and made them all nauseated and ill.