Avaross gave everything to his children. He spent a century raising them, teaching them, placing all of his hopes upon them.
And Royo began to see...
A fledgling Hun’Sho. A boy by any standard. But with an unparalleled father.
Avaross inspires them all. He instills in them principles of morality. Of goodness. Hope. Prosperity. And of course, peace. He teaches them of an ideal world. One which He wants their help in building. That is why He has made them the way they are. That is why He granted them immortality.
The boy can only admire Him. Avaross is greatness personified, loving them all in equal measure, giving them all equal attention.
Under His guidance, the Hun’Sho flourish. Their numbers grow quickly at first, as Avaross instructs them in how to have children. New incarnations of themselves. Identical in every physical aspect, yet still carrying a new soul and new ardor. Male or female, every Hun’Sho is able to bring life into the world.
In time, this strikes the boy as strange. He comes to learn of the surface world and the people there. Of the men and women there. He decides to ask his father about why He decided to give the Hun’Sho two genders.
“With you, my beloved children, I have done my best to replicate the civilizational successes of humanity as I have witnessed them--and likewise, to avoid the failures. I do not believe that either gender is one of those failures.”
The boy is not sure he understands, but it matters little. There is much yet to learn, and he has eternity to do so.
They work hard, all of his brethren. They build. They follow Avaross’ every command, listen to His every word and desire. They become His ideal people. And the world they create for themselves is good.
For a time.
Father begins to change. His behavior. His actions. He grows impatient with them, at times. Not as kind as He once was. More and more, He seems weary, yet when they ask, He says nothing is wrong. He says the world is wonderful. He says they have nearly achieved His ideal.
Nearly achieved. Nearly. Ever nearly.
The boy and his kin continue onward, undeterred. One day, that ideal WILL be achieved. They are immortal. It is inevitable. One day. And then Father will smile again. Father will be happy again.
But that is not what happens.
Instead, Father creates the Hun’Kui.
They are different. So very different. Each of them is distinguishable in their physicality. None can reproduce independently. They are much more like the poor wretches of the surface than the Hun’Sho are.
The boy pities the Hun’Kui. But he understands them, as do the other Hun’Sho. He understands that Father has created these ashen beings so that the Hun’Sho can guide them to their own level of greatness--and in so doing, perhaps even achieve still higher greatness as well. Then the Hun’Sho will be more like Father than ever before.
No comments:
Post a Comment