The Age of Illumination

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Though it was still widely spoken, English had not been a written language for more than half a century. Oral tradition tells us that before the Great Darkness men recorded their history in written words for more than six thousand years.

Brother Lazarus was raised by the monks of the Order of Illumination. Abandoned as an infant, he was taken in by them and raised in their monastery. Though he memorized and recited all of the poetry and stories, there was one he preferred above the rest. The Legend of the Repository told the story of a place in the Western Mountains that held the key to rediscover this history.

He had reached the age of his pilgrimage, thirty summers, and petitioned the Elders of the Monastery to provide him with supplies for his journey. He asked for enough food and water for a band of seven men on a six month trek, as well as weaponry so they may hunt and protect themselves. The elders approved his petition.

There were many volunteers to accompany Brother Lazarus on this quest, but he was very careful about who he selected. He needed young men in prime physical condition, to survive the arduous journey, as well as strong skills in logic to be of value should they succeed in locating the repository. But most important, he needed men of resolve who would stay the course in spite of any hardships they encountered. He found six.

Over the next two weeks ranks were designated, responsibilities were assigned and oaths were taken. Supplies were checked and double-checked before being packed and stored. Finally, it was time to begin the journey. There was no celebrations or gathered well wishers, the team simply left the monastery.

The journey quickly developed a rhythm of its own, up at sunrise and make camp just before sunset. They would journey this way for three days and then rest for one day. The evenings were the most important part of the day. After their meal, the men would gather around the fire and talk about the day's travel.

This was not a casual conversation though, it was a structured meeting that was called to order for a specific purpose. The first order of business was to recite the story of their journey, from its beginning - to its current day. This had to be maintained flawlessly so the story could be passed on.

The second order of business was to decide if anything from the day's activity was to be added to the story. If something was important enough to be included, it needed to be said in a manner that would fit in the story and be easy to remember. It was repeated until all could recite it without error. Then the entire story was told again including the new addition.

The final order of business was to recite the Legend of the Repository. Afterward, they would discuss how any information in the story may impact the next day's journey. If they needed to be looking for specific landmarks, altering their direction of travel, or staying their course; decisions about the next day's travel needed to be made.

When all of the business was concluded the meeting was closed and each man would take care of personal responsibilities before retiring for the evening. This is how they traveled, day after day, and the days turned to weeks - and the weeks to months.

There were few exceptions to this routine, but they occurred from time to time. On days of rest for example, they hunted or fished to add some occasional meat to their diet. This was always a welcomed diversion, and sometimes they observed a new species of plant or animal to be added to their story.

On the eleventh day of their third new moon, they saw the Western Mountains. This was a day of rejoicing and renewed hope in their journey, and so they celebrated the entire day. They sang and danced, and offered prayers of thankfulness and supplication to the Creator. All of these things they saved in the telling of their story that evening.

After this day, the journey took on a new excitement. Nearly every day presented a new landmark reference in the Legend of the Repository. Even so, they maintained a strict adherence to their established rituals and continued to build on their story.

Then, on the third day prior to the fifth new moon, they spied the Repository in all of it glory. Though in places it was in need of repair, the hand hewn stone walls, nearly the width of an arm from wrist to elbow, had stood strong against time. The interior, while in disarray with scattered debris and overturned furniture, was truly impressive. Wall to wall throughout its entirety were shelves filled with books, some as thick as the palm of your hand and others less than the width of a child's smallest finger.

They spent the next three days cleaning up debris and reestablishing some order to the Repository. Then began the task of examining the books to see if they could find some level of understanding to the strange glyphs contained within them. They quickly understood that there were fifty-two symbols, twenty-six large and twenty-six small, that were repeatedly used. They even located a massive tome that seemed to establish an order to their priority. It was called "DICTIONARY". But the way that these symbols interacted eluded them and their understanding was fruitless.

On the seventh day of the seventh new moon, as the story goes, Bother Lazarus found a book called "A CHILDREN'S ALPHABET". On the first page it said, A is for Apple, and it showed a picture of an apple. The second page said B is for Boy, and it showed a Boy. It had twenty-six pages, one for each large symbol. It was the key to the written language...

...and the dawn of a new age, the Age of Illumination.

WORD COUNT: 998 words.