Chapter 79: The Great King of the Forest

The mythology of the Neanderthals (or at least those of that particular tribe) was quite varied. According to them above all was Eywa, the Creator Principle, an entity who had shaped everything and everyone, and that constantly reigned over the whole universe moving the sun, moon and stars in the sky and making sure that the balance between life and death wasn't affected. Below her were other supreme beings called Lords of the World, creatures halfway between the divine and the mortal world, created by Eywa at the dawn of time to rule over the elements. Probably in the Western mentality of the Earth they could have identified as spirits, angels or even demigods. There was the Lord of the Waters, the Patron of the Mountains, the Lightning Master... The Neanderthals believed that such entities incarnated themselves in the form of legendary animals (a bit like Egyptian gods or the Native American totems). The Lightning Master, for example, was pictured as an extremely large pterosaur, so large that its wings could obscure the sun as if they were clouds and that its flight alone caused so much friction that it unleashed lightning and thunder, even if the description was a bit vague. And among all the Lords of the World, the Great King of the Forest was the most important one. He was created by Eywa as her emissary, the one who reigned over all living creatures and who protected the balance of life on behalf of the goddess: he was a creature who took no one's side, except when the forest was in serious danger, but he ensured that the fragile bar between life and death remained unchanged. He was described as calm and quiet, but terrible and vengeful towards those who dared to threaten the eternal balance of life and death. Once unleashed, his wrath knew no mercy towards any earthly creature, and the ground ran red with the blood of the unworthy who died in his jaws and were devoured. In the Neanderthal's imagination he was represented as an enormous and ferocious predator, because obviously there was no creature more powerful than a giant carnivorous dinosaur, and there was no anger more feared than its. Ancient populations always tended to associate certain animals with powerful entities. This was because it was very easy to see strange animals around, that then improved with the stories until they became powerful and invincible. An example on Earth were dragons: probably the first who saw one of them had seen only a very large snake, and over time the stories had grown to create that famous mythological creature. The same was true for the Neanderthals: if anyone could have traveled back in time thousands of years before they would have discovered that the originator of the legend of the Great King of the Forest had been just a mapusaurus affected by a particular form of gigantism. Over time the stories had expanded to the extreme, and now the Great King of the Forest was imagined as a giant and supreme being with a royal symbol on his body, even if no one had ever specified what that royal symbol was. Consequently, to claim to have seen the Great King of the Forest was immediately equivalent to making the eyes of any listener open wide, and if such listener were represented by the spiritual leaders of their people, such amazement could only be even more immense. "Are you sure?" teacher Ninat asked when she had recovered. "Absolutely, my ladies!" Eytucan replied. "It couldn't be anything else. He was huge, he looked as big as a small hill! Even manhaks would be small in comparison!" 'Manhak' was the common name Neanderthals used to refer to tyrannosaurs, giganotosaurs, carcharodontosaurs, and other giant carnivorous dinosaurs. All hunters shuddered at that name, since meeting one of them meant almost always finding death. Even those who had never left the city knew how big those predators were. Therefore the claim that the manhaks were small compared to the creature that the hunters had met left no doubt to the Manas: that could only be the Great King of the Forest! "What was he like?" teacher Ninat asked again while her heart started beating fast. Eytucan shuddered with excitement. "He was just as the legends describe him: proud and majestic, an absolute presence in his every move. And he had the royal symbol! It was on his back, a gigantic sail, which was not as clumsy as that of the targons..." (Note: 'targon' was the name Neanderthal used for the spinosaurs and other dinosaurs of their family) "... but had a harmonious crescent shape and stood out in the sky as if it was about to cover it! He had the face of a crocodile and claws the size of a human arm... he was amazing!". Eytucan wrung his hands. "It is thanks to him that we took so much water. When we were at the lake a manhak attacked us, but the Great King of the Forest emerged from the water and with just a look he made it run away. Then he observed us, as if he wanted to study or evaluate us, and then he went in the forest and left. On the way back home we didn't find any animals! He must have protected us and ordered the other beasts to let us pass!" Actually Sobek hadn't done any of that: simply when he got out of the water and walked through the forest he didn't activate [Ambush], so the noise he made made all other animals in the vicinity, including predators, run away. Sobek was now a carnivore twenty-eight meters long and nine meters high, and he weighed the beauty of fourteen tons; consequently if he didn't activate [Ambush] his passage couldn't go unnoticed. And when he got out of the water to search the Internet for information about Neanderthals, he hadn't bothered to hide his presence, so any other creatures had run away. No animal would be foolish enough to remain in the vicinity of such a powerful and dangerous predator. The tyrannosaurs were 'just' about thirteen meters long, fourteen at most, and it could be at most six meters high. The presence of a creature like Sobek would have made them run away too, or at least it would have attracted them to his position, leaving the way free for the Neanderthals. Regardless of what happened, that area of the forest had automatically become a 'safe zone' for that single day. In the eyes of the Neanderthals, however, obviously what had happened could only be a divine blessing from the Great King of the Forest. Anything that had to do with forces they did not understand could only be the will of a higher entity. The Manas were silent for a moment, then Mo'at spoke: "The Great King of the Forest doesn't take anyone's side, but this time he has decided to help us. Whatever his reason was, it is not our duty to question his benevolence. On the contrary, we absolutely must pay homage to him, or we could run into his wrath" The other Manas nooded. They all approved, and even if someone was against it she didn't complain: the Supreme Mana had taken her decision and everyone had to obey. "I propose to organize a great ceremony in his honor and to burn several offerings on the altars, so that he cannot believe that we are hypocrites or profiteers" teacher Peyral suggested. "We should also create an image of him" teacher Ninat proposed. "The Lords of the World rarely show themselves to us mortals. It is important to immortalize their majesty when they are so magnanimous to let us admire them" "That's right" Mo'at said, and then she looked Neytiri. "Young apprentice, you already mastered the art of embroidering, right?" Among the subjects that the apprentices were taught there was also weaving, this because it was important to be able to renew the tapestries that depicted the mythical scenes when they were ruined. Neytiri had her heart beating wildly and her face flushed. Embroider the image of the Great King of the Forest! Neytiri couldn't imagine a more noble task than that. "I'll be honored to do it, my teacher" "Then it's decided" Mo'at concluded. "Captain Eytucan, you will go to apprentice Neytiri's rooms and describe the appearance of the Great King of the Forest. Your contribution is fundamental, so don't miss a single detail" "It will be done, my ladies" Eytucan said, lowering his head. "We will hold a grand ceremony in the middle of autumn, where we will honor and thank the Great King of the Forest for his gift. By then, the tapestry will have to be completed" Mo'at said to Neytiri. "You can get to work immediately" "Yes, my teacher" Neytiri answered without thinking twice, bowing her head in respect. Meanwhile... "Etciù!" Sobek sneezed. Strange, there didn't seem to be any pollen or dust in the air... was someone talking about him maybe?