The Mountain

I awoke as the sun rose, shining light upon my closed eyelids. I shielded my eyes as I opened them and slowly sat up. Morning dew had settled on the grass outside of my tent and cold air brought in the fresh scents of nature. I saw the sun rising from beside the great mountain. Wispy clouds were scattered in the sky and the pine trees below swayed slightly in the wind. As I got up and looked around I saw the other tents. No one else had awakened yet. I looked back toward the mountain. We had been camping here for days, waiting for him to return.

Him – a mysterious old man had come to us and told us of a being, some kind of higher life form. He said it would bring us good things if we only listen to it's one rule. The man showed us feats of magic to prove what he said was true. He split rocks without touching them and grew flowers without watering them. To achieve such power and even more, all we needed to do was provide him food, water, shelter, and follow him to this mountain. He would come down with a message from the being. The rule that would grant us great things. My people were desperate, so we eagerly accepted.

Suddenly, I spot something. A black speck on the mountain moving — could it be? I awaken the others, who join me at the foot of the mountain.

“Is it him? Do you think it's him?” They ask.

“I'm not sure,” I reply, “It just might be.”

As the figure approaches, we recognize him. The man is dressed in black robes and has a large gray beard and short gray hair. He holds a walking stick with him and he wearily lifts an arm to wave at us.

“You've finally returned!” I cry, “What did the being say?”

The man seems weak and sits on a rock in front of us. The others bombard him with questions.

“Please… Water.” He says in a dry, weak voice.

Two people quickly rush to get him water, when they return he slurps noisily as we wait patiently.

“So, what did they say?” I ask.

The man speaks weakly, it seems like he's aged a few years but it's only been a few days since we've last seen him. “The one rule we must follow,” he says, before pausing to breathe. “To gain their trust and support, we must never…” The man stops to breathe again.

“Are you alright?” I ask, concerned.

“Yes,” the man says, “they declared… we shall never perform acts of…” the man trails off in deathly silence.

“Are you alright? Hello?” I shake him slightly, but he remains silent. “Sir, please respond.”

The others form a ring around him, keen to offer assistance.

“Check if he's still breathing!” I yell.

A woman steps forward and listens to his chest. A young man checks his arm, feeling if his blood vessels are still pumping.

“He's dead…” they both declare. “What shall we do?”

No, this can't be, I think to myself. There must be something we can do. We must know what he was going to say.

“Someone will have to go up the mountain,” I say.

“But it's dangerous,” a man says, “he said only one person can go up the mountain. No more.”

“We are starving and three of our people, two of which are merely children, are sick,” I say, “We will send the strongest of us up the mountain.”

“Didn't the man say the gate to the being's home can only be opened by magic?” Asks another man.

“We will have to try.” I retort, “There is nothing else we can do.”

“So,” I ask my people, “Who among us is the strongest?”

“Amadeus,” they say, “He is surely the strongest.”

We gather supplies for Amadeus. Once that is done, he bids farewell to us and begins his journey. Our wishes combine with tangible desperation. As Amadeus climbs up, the crowd watches him disappear into the harsh wall of stone.

During this time, the old man is prepped for burial. Me and a few other men begin to dig a large hole as others cover the old man’s body in cloth. We then place him in the hole. I thank him for guiding us here and trying to help us. A few people cry because although we didn’t know him well, or for very long, he brought us purpose.

We go back to our daily tasks and before long it seems the day is over. I breathe in the chill evening air as I look toward the imposing mountain. The trees sway and bitter cold pierces my flesh. I cross my arms and shiver as I look up. I wish Amadeus well. As the sun sets, a pitch-dark blackness envelops the world around me. I go to light my campfire and warm up, others do the same. A couple of us take turns as night watch while the others sleep.

In the morning I am once again awakened by the golden light of the sun, shining on my face. It's hotter than yesterday, and I much prefer the cold. Today, a few others have awoken before me, they are talking to Amadeus. I get up and run towards him.

“Amadeus!” I exclaim, “Was your journey successful?”

He sighs as he turns toward me. “Sadly, it was not. There was a large stone wall at the top of the mountain. The gate would not open, no matter how hard I tried.”

“Then what shall we do?” I ask.

“Clearly, we will have to determine what the rule is ourselves.” It is the voice of Fergus, one of our hunters.

Fergus is a tall, long-limbed man in his late 20s. He has messy black hair and is our fastest runner. I do not like him very much, he can be quite rude and sometimes violent. The other hunters look up to him, however.

“For once I agree,” says Eudocia, our leading forager.

She is a 40-year-old blonde woman of average height. She teaches many of the other women and knows more about plants than anyone. Without her, we would have likely all died of poisoning.

“The act we mustn't commit must be the worst act of all, I believe that act is violence.”

Fergus scoffs. “Then how will we hunt, how will we fight our battles when death comes knocking?”

“Battles?” Eudocia says, “With what enemies? As for hunting, we can easily gather food in other ways.”

“Is that a joke?” Fergus scoffs, “We are starving!”

“Well maybe we wouldn't be if your hunters started foraging,” she replies, “you can't catch anything but small animals anyway.”

Fergus approaches her angrily and I stand between them.

“Enough of this arguing!” I yell, “We will find out what to do.”

As the day goes on many people argue about what the finished sentence could be. Before long two groups have formed. Those who follow Eudocia believe we shall never perform acts of violence. Those who follow Fergus believe we shall never perform acts of weakness. In other words, we must fight for the right of survival.

Now my people have been divided and tensions are growing, each group believes opposite things.

I go to Amadeus, not knowing what to do. I ask him, “Which side are you on? What do you believe?”

He shrugs. “I don't think I agree with either side,” he says, “in a way, we need violence to defend ourselves, but weakness is definitely not a crime. As the strongest, I believe my duty should be to protect the weak, but if enemies ever come I may need to use violence to do so.”

“That is very wise,” I say, “So what do you think the worst act is?”

Amadeus thinks for a while, rubbing his beard and tapping his foot on the ground. After a few long minutes, he speaks.

“Betrayal.” He says, “We should be kind to our allies, our friends and family. Any type of betrayal is an unforgivable crime. Why on earth would you hurt someone that is good to you?”

I think for a while. “Maybe you are right,” I say, “betrayal is quite cruel. I do not see anyone good who would betray their allies.”

I look at the others, who are still arguing. “Perhaps we should tell them,” I say, “they may believe us. You are the strongest and I am our leader. If this keeps up I may no longer be our leader.”

Amadeus nods, “Yes,” he says, “it must be true, I can't think of something worse than betrayal. And if it's not, at least we might be united again.”

So me and Amadeus tell the others about our belief, and soon many have joined us. Our belief prioritizes unity, collaboration, and kindness. It is not long until our group is the biggest one. Still, I think to myself, the problem is not solved, we remain divided.

By the next day, another group had formed. They were led by Cressida, the oldest among us. She and her group believe that we should go back to our old ways, and reject living our lives governed by one rule we don't even know.

Tensions continued to increase since the new group formed. Many believed Cressida’s followers to be wrongful for not having faith in the old man's guidance.

Arguments between the followers of Eudocia and Fergus continued to increase as well. Eudocia's group was now accusing Fergus's hunters of stealing food. Her followers had noticed that Fergus and his group had an abundance of food, while they were going hungry. I will try to resolve this issue. Amadeus accompanies me.

“Please, calm down,” I tell the arguing groups. “What has happened?”

“Fergus has stolen food from us,” says Eudocia, “we are missing food and they have more food than ever before.”

“Lies!” Fergus yells, “Stealing is for the weak, we would never stoop so low. You must have misplaced your food. As for our recent prosperity, we were held back when we had to share our food with weak allies such as you.”

“Calm yourself,” Amadeus says, “you may be right Fergus, I do not believe you would steal. However, it would be kind if you could share some food. Your group is clearly prospering, it will not hurt you to spare a little. So please, will you?”

Fergus does not respond. He only stares at Amadeus in anger.

“Fergus, we are still your allies.” Amadeus says, looking at him with disdain, “Don't be so cruel.”

“Fine,” Fergus says, not wanting to anger Amadeus. “We will share some food with Eudocia’s followers.”

One of Fergus’s followers scoffs.

“Thank you,” Amadeus says, smiling.

The next day I decided to reunite my people. We were only weaker when we were separated. My followers and I gathered at the base of the mountain. Me and Amadeus stood atop a large flat rock. We then called all the other groups to come and gather.

“My people,” I said, “we are becoming separated, this is only weakening us more. One of us who was ill has already passed away. They were but a mere child. We must go back to our old ways and find somewhere new to live, somewhere more prosperous. This clearly isn't working.”

“I object!” Yelled one of Fergus's followers. “The followers of Fergus are thriving, we are stronger than ever. Clearly, our way is the right one!”

“You are thriving because you keep stealing, Fergus has broken his word!” One of Eudocia's followers yelled.

“Lies! Stealing is a weakness, I have not broken my word!” Fergus yelled, “We will be doomed if we go back to our old ways!”

Fergus looked at me furiously. “You are wrong.” He then looked at the rest of the crowd and yelled. “Magnus has betrayed us! He is a non-believer, siding with Cressida! Have you forgotten the magic we witnessed? Amadeus himself said that there is a great wall and gate atop the mountain.”

His followers cheered and chanted. Cressida's followers were upset. Eudocia's followers were annoyed. I didn't know what to do.

“Everyone calm down!” Amadeus yelled.

“No!” Fergus yelled back. “Cressida’s followers are wrong! This lack of faith will bring all of our downfalls!”

“I've had enough of you!” Yelled one of Cressida’s followers. They jumped at Fergus and tackled him.

Soon both sides were in a frenzy. Cressida and Fergus’s followers were spread about punching and kicking, even hitting their allies in confusion. Mine and Eudocia's followers tried to break up the fight. Amadeus rushed towards Fergus, who was stomping on the man who had tackled him.

“Stop it!” Amadeus yelled as he grabbed Fergus's arms.

Fergus struggled and kicked, but he couldn't break free of Amadeus's grasp. Two of Fergus's followers jumped at Amadeus and tackled him to the ground, but he was able to break free of them and grab Fergus by the shirt as he was trying to escape.

“Please, stop this!” Amadeus yelled. “Tell your followers to stop!”

Fergus shook his head furiously. “No! I will nev—”

He was cut off as Amadeus slapped him while still holding him by the collar with his other hand.

“Fergus, get a hold of yourself!” Amadeus yelled. “Can't you see the chaos you're…”

Amadeus looked down as he felt a sharp sensation in his gut. He stared at the obsidian knife Fergus had embedded into him with horror.

“What have you done?” Amadeus said as he dropped to the ground.

“Amadeus!” I yell, running towards him after shaking off one of Fergus’s followers.

Fergus runs into the forest as he sees me, his followers running after him not far behind.

I crouch next to Amadeus's body and grab his hand. “Amadeus?”

I squeeze his hand tighter and put my ear to his chest. He's not breathing, his heart isn't beating. My eyes begin to tear up. “Dammit!” I yell through tears. “Ferguuuuuus!!!!”

“Amadeus… please get up.” It's no use, his eyes remain soulless.

Fergus and his followers had murdered Amadeus and two of Cressida’s followers. That night we give the fallen proper burials and many mourn and sob loudly, their cries being heard far into the night.

The next day I gather everyone and stand atop the same rock with tears in my eyes.

“Fergus's followers have committed two ultimate crimes.” I say, “violence and betrayal… We will not forgive them!”

The crowd cheers and yells with fury. They want vengeance. I want vengeance.

We prepare our weapons and what little armor we have. By sunset, our three groups — my 30 followers, Eudocia's 22 followers, and Cressida’s 16 followers — head into the forest to attack. Our small army consists of around 70 people. Fergus has only 19.

After some searching, one of Eudocia's followers finds a small cave that is lit up. This is where Fergus and his followers are hiding. Our group splits up around the cave and throws a few rocks into the entrance, hoping to lure the enemy out. Fergus's followers are quick to anger and come running out. We continue to fall back until Fergus himself is urged out by his comrades.

We all hide amongst the trees and bushes. Fergus's group is now out in the open, forming a protective circle around him.

“We're being attacked.” One of them says, scanning the dim forest.

“By how many?” Asks Fergus.

“Only a few I think,” another one of his followers says, “Just a small amount of stones were thrown.”

“They're throwing stones?” Fergus scoffs, “It's probably only Cressida’s followers, we can easily beat them.”

With that, I whisper a command to a couple of Cressida’s followers. They throw two stones and dash off deeper into the forest. Fergus's followers chase after them, while the rest of our army runs parallel to them. They hear the loud noise and stop to look around. Now their formation is broken. I have a clear shot on Fergus.

I draw my bow and aim it shakily. This is for Amadeus, I think to myself. I steady my aim and release.

Fergus falls to the ground and his followers rush to gather around him. They scream and yell angrily when they learn of his fate. We reveal ourselves, surrounding Fergus's followers. They are clearly surrounded, but some of them still rush forward angrily to attack.

They are quickly defeated by the larger force and Fergus's followers surrender, but Cressida’s followers are still angry.

I notice one of them beating one of Fergus's followers, it's a man I recognize. It's one of the men who buried the old man with me.

“What are we… what are we doing?” I say.

I run towards the fight, yelling. “Stop it! Can't you see what we've become? We are no better than them. Stop it.”

Some of my followers help me and we can break up the fight. In the end, Fergus and three of his followers were killed.

The next day I gathered everyone, including Fergus's followers, whose weapons had been removed. I stand atop the same rock I gave the two other speeches on before. I pray that I will not regret this speech, after the carnage that unfolded previously.

“We must stop fighting,” I say, “the being's rule is not important. We are going to find a new, fertile land to live in. Better than our old home and certainly better than here. We will live united and in acceptance of each other. From now on we will fight together, not against each other.

As the crowd murmured in agreement, I breathed in the fresh spring air and slowly exhaled. I looked into the distance, taking in the sight of the hundreds of trees, distant mountains, and the grassy hills and plains between them.

I hope we'll find what we're looking for.