"The First"

My mother. I love you. Mother. Why did you have to die? Why did you leave me? I miss you. Where are you?

I rested in your arms. So soft, so warm. Every fear and every pain I felt was soothed away. I dreamt that I was riding high above the clouds, for nothing in the world could pain me, not again, not ever. Why did you leave me, Mother? I wish you were still here.

---

The great one commanded me to wake. I rose, and knew my mission. I am Cain, and I am the leader. I shall bring about the resurrection of the great one. There are minions waking around me. There will be others, eventually, but these... these shall always be mine.

The great one commanded me to wake. I am Cain. That is all that matters. When the great one is resurrected, the world will be glorious. I am supreme, and I shall lead my minions to the resurrection.

There were even more, now, I sensed. More tools to be used in the resurrection. They do not know they are tools. Only I know that they are tools. They know nothing. I am sure that they will happily go and build their own little world, never asking where they came from and why they exist. They are but sheep, and I am the shepherd. No. My minions are the shepherds; I am the Emperor.

I commanded my minions to begin to shepherd the lambs. There will be many lambs eventually; we will need many shepherds. There will be minions serving my minions, and minions serving them, but I shall lead. I shall lead, and the resurrection shall be glorious.

---

I woke to a world bustling with new life, and those people are building lives. It is a beautiful thing, life. As I wandered, I began to realize that there is one out there whom I must find. I do not know who he is, but I know that I love him. Together, we shall care for the people, for they are still young, and must be guided. The people; where did they come from? Where did I come from? I suppose it doesnÆt matter, for people live; thatÆs what matters.

I met a man, who seemed to be lost. I knew it was him. I felt a certain feeling, as if I knew him from somewhere, though we had never met before; of this I was certain. Perhaps fate told me of him; told me I must find him. Thoughts for another time, for I must introduce myself to him. I had no name? Wait. Elhaym. That was it. I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

---

I could not remember who I was when I woke up. I was scared, for I was in a strange place, and I could not remember anything, other that there was something I couldnÆt remember. Ha. This scared me more than anything. I ran, because I did not know what else to do. There were people everywhere, living their lives. They could have been here for generations, but I knew they hadnÆt. They all looked a little lost. I was lost too.

I wandered, living off the land, as years passed by. I met a few people, was friends with a few people, but I still searched. Something, anything. I found nothing. Still I wandered. The people were being used as puppets, I began to believe. Perhaps the only thing I discovered in my travels.

Yes, they were puppets. I did not know why, but I knew it. The puppeteer, I knew not. But it didnÆt matter. I searched.

Eventually, I found. I knew my search was over, for some reason. She looked so much like..? Who? Who did she look like? Why did I know her? I felt at ease to be near her, but why? She introduced herself, and smiled at me. I felt myself smiling back, and introduced myself. I had called myself different things in my travels, but something came to me, perhaps something I had forgotten long ago, and I named myself as Abel.

---

The lambs were easily influenced, for my minions were their shepherds. It was not long before we ruled over them all, unseen, but ever present. The lambs bred, producing more lambs, all in the name of the great one.

They obeyed those they called ôKings,ö all of whom were my puppets. My minions selected lambs to work for us, to build our kingdom in the mountains. Eventually, however, I will rule from the sky, for I am the emperor. I serve the great one, and eventually paradise will return.

Paradise. Mahanon. The great one. He who commanded me to wake. I am Cain, and I shall bring paradise back for the shepherds. The great one shall use the lambs to return, and the shepherds shall rule from paradise. I shall rule. I am the Emperor.

---

Elly and I were taken to the mountains, where we learned of the puppeteer, he who calls himself Emperor. The people who were there lived in fear of him, as they built his kingdom of vanity and greed and power. Their fear was justified, for to the Emperor and all of his lackeys, the people were nothing more than tools, to be used and thrown away.

The two of us escaped from the workforce with little difficulty; the lackeys were lax in their duties, believing the people all too afraid to dare escape. We returned to the outside world, and found men warring with each other. I knew it was the Emperor, pulling strings.

The toll upon the people was wretched; men had never been at war with one another before, and the fighting was almost everyone for themselves. Neighbor fighting neighbor, kill or die. I didnÆt know the EmperorÆs motives, but I could not simply watch. I had to try and stop the fighting.

---

Abel stopped the fighting wherever we went. As he spoke to the people, the EmperorÆs strings dissolved. They were still angry and in pain, but they were no longer controlled. Abel stopped their fighting and killing, and the people he saved proclaimed him leader, for they needed someone to follow.

Abel brought an end to their fighting. I brought peace. I preached to the people who were angry and full of hatred, and their hatred melted away. Those who were in pain, I did what I could to heal. The people, angry for so long, began to be happy once more. They named Abel leader, but they named me savior.

Under our leadership, the puppet Kings were brought down, and good men rose to take their places. Abel did not rule by command, he ruled by example. As for myself, I founded religion, and the people found something greater to believe in. I taught about peace, and prosperity, and how people must lean on one another to succeed.

---

Who were they, to defy me? I am Cain, and I shall bring about the resurrection of the great one. I learned their names: Abel and Elhaym. The lambs had fought one another under my minionsÆ direction, with the purpose of gaining knowledge, but that had come to an end.

The shepherds were no longer leading the lambs. A disaster. But I am the Emperor, and I shall destroy those who oppose the resurrection. I will personally destroy Elhaym and Abel, for I am Cain.

---

The Emperor asked to meet with us, to discuss the future. I was uneasy, but Abel said that since we would be escorted by many of our followers, we would be meeting with the Emperor on equal ground. Even so, I did not want to go, but I would not let Abel meet the Emperor without my protection.

With 50 men who would die for us, we went to the meeting place that the emperor and Abel had agreed on. The Emperor was there already, riding in a carriage upon the shoulders of his lackeys. He looked at Abel and I, and asked, Are you Abel and Elhaym? We nodded, and he smiled.

Then our men began to die. The Emperor pointed, and men died. Our followers charged the Emperor, yelling at us to run. Abel pulled my arm, and we ran as fast as we could. The Emperor and his men followed. I stopped and fell to the ground, and felt my life slipping away. Abel looked at me in shock. As I slipped away, I cried out, Abel! Live! I dimly heard him cry out to the skies above before I was lost to the winds of time passing by.

I love you, Abel.

---

I killed their men, and it was nothing to me. Better to kill a few lambs then let all escape my grasp. I followed Abel and Elhaym, and as I killed Elhaym, Abel cried out in agony. Interesting. Perhaps if I leave one of them alive, gutted by the loss of the other, it will remind people of the results of defying the Emperor. Moreover, it is a fitting punishment for leading the lambs away.

So be it. I smiled as Abel knelt by the empty shell of Elhaym, weeping, trying to bring her back in vain. Now he, and all lambs, will know better than to leave the shepherding my minions provide.

Now nothing will stand in the way of the resurrection of the great one. Nothing CAN stand in the way. I am Cain, and I shall bring back Mahanon.

---

My Elhaym. Why did you have to die? Why couldn't I save you? Abel! Live! I should have died, not you. Why you? Why not me?

I love you, Elly.

<END>