Another Hero's Journey

There he is. Man…. An ordinary primitive man, furs and pelts covering his body. A vast open plain lay before him with all sorts of fauna dotted across the landscape; antelope, buffalo, stag, mammoth, numerous other horned and hooved animals that called this place home.

He stood under the hot sun, stone spear in hand. Gazing out onto the land, he studied, looking for his next meal. It had to be something small as he was alone. The tribe he was once apart of had all but disappeared, having lost them in a bad snowstorm the winter prior. He wondered how he survived this long without them. After all a man needs a tribe or else fall prey to elements he can’t handle on his own.

Though the man wasn’t truly alone, at least not on this plane he wasn’t. As sitting high above him, in a realm far beyond his reach or comprehension sat a deity. A most powerful deity, one who has taken large strides in seeing to this man’s survival. Restless it sat. Though it was patient in appearance; it couldn’t allow them to have the satisfaction.

“Give it a rest already.” One of the other gods groaned. “This so-called man is clearly no different from the other piddling bipedal apes that came before him. Why take such a special interest?”

It ignored them, knowing they knew little of what it had known. These other deities, watching on high didn’t know that man would change the world as they knew it. The other gods had their opportunities to foster great beings’. Giant reptiles, microscopic germs, little grey monstrosities (though according to some they had been showing some promise).

It viewed this ‘piddling’ creature differently. The deity knew that man was bound for greatness. That one day these ‘apes’ would span across every landmass, every ocean on its globe, even other planets similar to this one. Though man nor this specific man knew any of this, most likely unable to grasp the concept at the current moment. It seemed that the other gods couldn’t grasp it either, all of them filled with doubt. Though not this god. It couldn’t see completely into the future, but it knew certain things that would unfold.

Given this, the man did know one thing, there was a power beyond him keeping him alive. It wasn’t something he knew empirically; he believed it in his heart. He called this godly power Ya-Ta, the great sun god. Carved black into his skin he drew a half-sun, half-moon symbol, representing the almighty bringing the salvation of the sun into the world. Besides this gesture, the man was completely oblivious to how much this deity was involved with his day-to-day life. Leading to much frustration for Ya-Ta itself.

The deity had a name for this man too. In truth he had many names though it couldn’t decide, Adam, Askr, Narmer. Most of the time it stuck to Herc. It watched carefully over Herc as he maneuvered through his life. Just a few moons prior, before this man lost contact with his tribe, he stumbled across a herd of buffalo.

Thinking he could kill a bull on his own, he stalked the herd, wielding his stone spear and axe. Though little Herc knew, a pride of lions prowled nearby. Ya-Ta threw all the signs at Herc, paw prints, rainclouds, vultures feasting on dead carcasses. The man took no warning, staying long enough until the lions attacked. As the pride scattered the beasts, they pressed on the weak ones, driving them further and further.

In the midst of this, one lioness spotted Herc, making him her next meal. The beast charged and pounced on him; her mouth stretched wide enough to fit a small child. Though to the surprise of both the deity and even Herc, he got the better of the lioness, his spear lodged deep into her ribcage. Once killing her, he thanked the almighty, butchered the animal, and went on his way. Herc praised Ya-Ta, knowing it was his work that kept him alive.

The deity accepted the praise, though annoyed at Herc’s ignorance. This was just one of many instances where in the face of danger Herc did not follow the deities’ warnings, yet he survived every time.

It was now autumn with winter soon on the horizon. Herc would not be able to survive on his own and the deity knew it. But Herc kept heading north despite his tribe’s custom of migrating to warmer climates in the winter season. Ya-Ta tried to steer him away, throwing bad winds and omens towards the man, though unperturbed he pressed on. It was as if he was trying to get himself killed.

Dusk soon fell upon him. Looking for a place to sleep, he settled atop a nearby hill. It was at this time he did his usual nightly ritual before the moon rose above. He called it ‘watching the shadow’ which he did by looking at the way the shadows of certain objects appeared. This process would inform him about his future and how to proceed. Good or bad, plentiful or scant, it was these answers he needed. Ya-Ta couldn’t tell what Herc thought about them, only observed his next course of action the days following. For Herc the shadows must have been favorable as he pressed on the next morning further north.

“Look at him.” The other gods said. “Without the rest of their pack they’re useless, Wandering aimlessly. No purpose. Perhaps we should create a flood or another meteor impact, Start anew. We always do it.” The proposal was tempting. After all, the amount of time it would take for new creatures to evolve, one’s worthy of the heavenly realm’s approval, is miniscule. Though another few million years wouldn’t hurt just to see what came of these mortal beings.

They don’t understand what you’re capable of. It thought to itself. I see something special, never before seen on this plane. I just hope you get there before I have to do something drastic. It watched over Herc even more carefully through the passing weeks.

In one episode, it cleared an entire path of trees for him, in order to steer him clear of a nearby tar pit. All in an effort to reconnect Herc with a nearby tribe, as humans seem to do better in them. However, Herc was too interested in the hunt, wanting to find a sizable animal to kill and add to his trophies, seemingly even more emboldened without a tribe. So, stumbling upon the tar pit, he killed some of the stranded animals, taking whatever he could cut off as souvenirs and continued as if he hadn’t almost fallen in a dozen times.

One day, the god jumped for joy, it’s hope swooning. Herc finally stumbled upon other humans, females in fact. He realized that if Herc could not advance his race, as the deity had been hoping for, he could settle down and teach his children all his knowledge. Leading to a more hopeful generation, ones that will have better sense and listen to Ya-Ta’s omens.

Then that night, after Herc charmed one young lady, they did the one thing mortals can do on par with that of gods; create life. To the deities surprise, just after a few hours of fun, he left. Quietly slipping from under the tiger skin furs that so tightly bound them, retreating into the night. In the following hours, Ya-Ta released his fury and anger onto the continent, splitting it into two. However, Herc believed it to be a sign of a favorable fortunes in the future, burning an effigy in the god’s honor. The deity could only sigh in frustration at Herc’s optimism.

Before long, winter had arrived. The cold snow drifts descended upon the earth for days on end. The billows of snow and ice drifted across the land, wiping out large swaths of life. The survivors were only able to subsist on meager nutrients, with many more perishing. By the time the storm finished the entire world was seemingly covered in white frost.

Herc was well equipped, covered in even more skin and furs than previous, his beard monstrously thick. He was a survivor, the deity knew, but surviving an entire winter alone was impossible, even with his luck. Though to the man’s credit, he was more cautious in these times, knowing full well death could envelope him any moment. Dark forces lurked all around, he knew. The lions prowled through the day, though the Hyenas and bears still hunted in the late hours of night. Food was scant too, as most animals were either in hibernation or dead from the cold.

All he could do was hope for something to scavenge or a blessing by the grace of Ya-Ta. He missed his people; it was fun for a while to be by himself, but now he realized he was truly alone. It was at this point he couldn’t tell which was more threatening, the bitter cold or the loneliness…

“We have waited far too long for this mortal ant to perish. I say we strike him down, along with the rest of his species!” One impatient god said.

“You will do no such thing.” Ya-Ta spoke. “I have told you that time will tell- “

 “And it has.” It responded, cutting off the powerful deity. Cutting off the almighty didn’t bode well with Ya-Ta as silence permeated the air. “Fine, then perhaps… We can SPEED UP THE PROCESS!” Before Ya-Ta knew it, the deity released a bolt of lightning from the skies above. With all it’s might, Ya-Ta threw a bolt of his own to intercept the attack. The two deities soon began a lightning battle as both fired more bolts down upon the mortal realm. The clouds above the earth began to fester, culminating in a grey monstrous beast of a storm.

In the meantime, Herc could only watch in horror as he saw flash upon flash of light scattering around him. The forest now set ablaze; he ran as the fire consumed all in its path. The inferno brought about chaos throughout the wilderness as deer and other woodland creatures sprinted for their lives.

Herc was forced to drop his tools as his body started to tire. Just when things couldn’t get worse, to Herc’s shock a bolt struck the trees in his periphery, causing one to collapse before him. He dodged to the floor, thankfully it missed by just a few feet. He belted out a distressed yet joyful shout as he lay on his backside.

However, his celebration was short lived as deer and rabbit were not the only animals disturbed. With a small pack of wolves darting out of the brush. Defenseless, they surrounded him; lightning still flashing in the skies above. Baring their teeth, they stalked closer, nipping at his feet as they drew nearer.

The gods battled furiously, with Ya-Ta matching bolt for bolt against his unruly opponent. Though in the end the other deity gave up, leaving Ya-Ta victorious. His last shot, however, was not in vain. As to both their surprise, the god’s final bolt of lightning struck the side of a mountain below. Knowing the damage was done, Ya-Ta could only watch, hoping for the best.

With the flames still around them, a rumbling soon began, far behind Herc and his pack of assailants. Before any involved could react, an avalanche soon ensued. Herc got to his feet as quickly as possible and ran, the wolves following suit. In the next few moments everything went black as Herc was thrusted to the ground, encased in the snow. With the air hard to breathe in, he thought he was done for. Though by the grace of the almighty, the snow gave way from under him.

He slid out, tumbling down a small drift of packed snow. He could only lay on his back as his breath ascended above his face; rising once he gathered his strength. But something caught his ears, hearing a low whimper nearby. To his dismay, as he turned to spot the source, there laid a juvenile wolf. Its fur was caked with blood on one of its hind legs, crying out for help. As he began to make his way to the wounded pup he was startled by the crunch of twigs and leaves.

Once more, the pack was soon on him, slowly putting themselves between the two. He stared the wolves down, making sure they didn’t leave his sight. Until a faint light flickered in his periphery. Looking to see its sources, he saw a stick jutting out of the snow, its tip still aflame. He slowly dug at the surrounding snow and grabbed its base. He began to swing it wildly, backing off the alpha and its subordinates. For as suddenly as they came, they suddenly left, abandoning their wounded compatriot. The man approached the dying wolf once more, grabbing a rock he prepared to end its misery. Though he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Instead, he backed off, feeling the warmth of the flame. He then used his fire stick to make more fire sticks, stacking them in a pile to make some sort of fire stick pile. The heat dried his clothes and kept his body warm through the night. Looking back at the wounded pup he felt a sense of empathy, dragging it with him to the fire. He went to sleep soon after.

When he awoke the fire was out and by some miracle the wolf had lived, though barely. After grabbing the first small tree rodent he could find he brought it back to his little camp. Bringing a stick with him as well, as he wanted another fire. Though he didn’t know how to start one. Sitting down, he tried a slew of things, smacking sticks together, banging them into the ground, rubbing them with ash.

Finally, something worked as he scraped them together in such a fashion that allowed for a spark and after a few more times, a flame. He put his meat over the fire to see what it would do, and he liked the taste. With fat dripping down his chin, he shared some with the wolf.

The deity watched in astonishment as in the following days Herc would find more suitable shelter. Hunkering down in a small cave with his fire and the wolf. He nursed the wolf back to health and helped it regain its ability to walk.

Once that was accomplished, the wolf seemed to trust Herc. Allowing him to pet and caress his fur. Soon after enough snow cleared, Herc and his companion set out from their cave into the wild world. The other deities now were silent as man found fire. Ya-Ta himself didn’t gloat, only relaxed. Sitting back as it watched its creation do the rest.

As by the grace of some force even beyond gods, Herc the human survived. Sparking the beginning of innovation never attempted in the world. Concluding this hero’s journey…