2.33 The Original Gods

        "Think of Darkness as a big black cloud blocking the sun" Mina prompted as Zara wiped her eye. "You cannot see very much because of it. Knowledge can be blocked by clouds too. Without a clear view, all you can do is believe what you are told about that which you cannot see" Zara felt the flicker of Hope fill her heart as Mina cleared her view. "The reason our homes were destroyed is because Gaia has survived Godly Wars, wars fought by much godlier gods than Atalon and his family."

         "Atalon's family?" The flicker of Hope was merely that. This so-called Knowledge wasn’t helpful at all, Zara had studied her history books, she knew how the Atlan Empire came to be. "I know all about the Great War that founded the Atlan Empire!"
         "There was a much older, much greater war than the war that founded the Atlan Empire" Mina informed.

         It was breaking news to Zara, was it true or were these more lies to embellish their lies about Medel? "If that was a fact, then we would have learned about it in school" she protested.

         "Like our architecture?"

         Zara dug her fingers into the ground only to uncover a buried crystal.

         "Gaia was born into the real Great War. The real Great War is still going on, the real Great War is a War of Planetary power. Spiritual power. The Original Gods of the Universe are still waging their war today."

         "Original Gods?" Zara echoed, wondering now about the discontinued race. "You mean, the Origians?"

         "No” Mina smiled, gently shaking her head.

         "The Anunnaki are the Original Gods!" Flickers of Hope turned to flickers of Rage. "They created all of us, they told us! They have proof! If it wasn't true, then I wouldn't exist!"

         "I thought you said that Medel created you" Mina reminded. 

        It was a minor glitch compared to Mina’s ridiculous ideas. Zara scanned the friends for telltale signs of a lie, they were still wearing blank expressions, no one was offering any help. The truth was, the planets were a subject she knew very little of. She was very aware of the importance of astronomy in the infrastructure offices, she had noticed reference to the planets from time to time, she had noticed that Nolan's astronomical knowledge had granted him a higher path. The truth was, the planets were meaningless to her, she had no reason to think they were anything more than lumps of rock, floating out in space. To think they were the Original Gods was a ridiculous concept!

         "Before the War of the Planets, the sky looked very different than it does today..." Zara cringed as Mina continued to lie as if it was true. "The sun that we see here today is not in the same place it once was. Once there was a second sun, there were two suns in the sky."

         "Two suns?" Zara chuckled. Did they think she would actually believe them? She scanned the faces again, searching for a clue. Why they were allowing Mina to lie to her like this after all she had been through? Even if it was true, simply believing the story would only make her look just as insane as they looked for even suggesting such a thing!

         Mina sensed the abyss Zara was facing, realizing the need to go slow. She gestured to Mira, and passed her the sacred goblet. The changing of the storyteller helped to shift the energy, Zara watched with new curiosity as her estranged friend took the goblet in her hands and closed her eyes, just like Mina did. She studied her old friend in utter amazement as she took a moment to capture the light dancing on her face, then pick up where Mina had left off.

         "The ancient people that lived on Gaia believed the Planets were their Gods" she began. "and that some of them are no longer with us because they perished in their war."

         Zara stared at Mira, dumbfounded, chilled by her transformation. She would be thrown to the dogons for saying something like that in Atlan! She would have been flogged a thousand times over! Had they really brainwashed her so badly with this nonsense? Did Mata seriously believe it all to be true? Was this why they changed her name?? "Gaia?"

         "Earth" Mira explained. "The Ancients called her Gaia, they believed she was a living god too, with her own energy, life and spirit."

         "She?" Zara tried to imagine the concept o a living earth, what a strange idea. "Earth a god?" She chuckled out loud, dismissing the lot. "She's called Gaia? And you believe that?"

         Silence fell upon the friends seated beneath the old Yew tree.

         "I believe a Divine Energy created this all." Mira finally replied, free to express her own thoughts about the things she had learned. "I don't know what to believe, but I don't believe Medel made Gaia."

         Zara couldn't believe her ears, she had never heard a Gen speak like a Lunie before, it was so strange…

         "No one really knows the truth of our ancient history" Mina explained, nursing her shock as best she could. "Some of us think our history has been told in the symbols left behind in the caves, none of us were alive back then, except for maybe this ancient tree. All we have are the stories passed on from family to family, all we have to cross reference the stories are ancient texts and symbols that our ancestors left behind, and the mere existence of them assures us that the Atlan version of history is missing major chapters. So why not open our minds? Why just believe what we are told?"

         Zara opened her mind momentarily; Mina's story was absurd. She could accept that perhaps there was a history of life before the Atlan Empire but she wasn't going to buy the Planet God story. It was deeply troubling to see how willingly Mira was going along with the lunatic version of history, but then again, Mira didn't have a University Degree. She did. She was educated. There was no way she would fall for the lies. If Mata now Mira wasn't insane before she arrived here, they had certainly made her this way, perhaps because she was only a Farmer. Perhaps her memory loss had enabled them to take advantage of her mind, it was a cruel scam. What if Medel was real? What would He think of her now?

         Mira sensed Zara's affection towards her crumbling without a word being spoken, she could feel the shifting energy, just like Mina was teaching her to do.

         A gust of wind swept through the valley, energizing the moment. A few red berries dropped to the ground from above. Feeling the connection fade away, Mira passed the goblet to Jasun. He was handsome, a younger and darker version of Neter. He looked strong and warrior like, his gestures seemed kind…He didn't seem insane...

         Zara questioned the new storyteller as Jasun held the obsidian goblet in his hands, the sun's reflection dancing across his face illuminated his chiseled features. He seemed too tough and intelligent for fluffy fairy tales, did he really believe the story or was this some test? At that moment, she decided to make up her own mind about Medel, no matter what he had to say. She had to, she didn't know who to trust anymore.