The Beast Within

Titans in the Distance: Chapter Six

Leave.

That was the thought racing through both our minds.

Go back to the woods and leave the titans behind.

I could barely stand to look at the beasts, but fear would not allow me to take my eyes from them.

Running away didn't feel like a cowardly thing to do, but a smart one, for under the trees there were no giants. Jedd sensed my desire to flee, and at dinner he looked at me with sympathy.

"You're afraid," he noted. "You cannot stay."

"I am afraid. Aren't you?"

"Be a fool if I wasn't."

"How do you live like this? Constantly anticipating an attack—with the titans two steps away?"

He considered my question for a moment, then set his bowl down and gave me a hard look.

"Haven't you ever felt a kind of way...like you know who you are...and even if others find it odd...to you, it's as natural as breathing?"

I nodded. "When I first arrived you said the woods were dangerous. But I was born there. I know the woods. The monsters there are nothing compared to what you face in the plains."

"I believe I would feel the same about the trees." Jedd paused. "Go into the chest where the robes are kept and tell me what you find."

I obeyed his request.

"There's just wool," I said.

"Anything else?"

"No."

"Look harder."

Confused by his request, I dug through the wool, examining it for any peculiarities, until my hand hit something hard beneath it. Under the wool was a book. There was no title on its cover or an image to suggest what was contained within. I held it up for Jedd to see.

"Open it," he urged.

The smell of hay wafted from the pages. I turned to the beginning of the story and let my eyes wander over the words. It was the history of Lightning that Jedd told me, but the story was changed. From what I gathered in the first few pages, there never was a man named Micah.

Instead, the First Worshipper of Lightning had been a ram.

"I don't understand," I whispered. "What is this?"

"The truth. When Lightning rose from the water, the first creature He laid eyes on was not human. The story is the same as the one I told, with a few...slight differences. The people of the plains were not people, not at first." Jedd grinned and a softness filled his eyes. "Lightning loved us because we were gentle and did not engage in the same sins as humans. We knew nothing of stealing or hurting each other. The only thing that threatened us was man. And when the human shepherds refused to cease their slaughtering of us, Lightening decided to teach them a lesson. 

The sheep of the plains became humans. The humans of the plains became sheep. That is why Lightning's first gifts were language and knowledge. I told you the titans were sent by Lightning's brothers to bring Him home, but the truth is they were sent as revenge. Lightning's brothers were fond of humans and refused to see their bloodlust as evil. 

Lightning is the only god who's ever cared for us. Man must learn the error of his ways, and we will teach them through Lightning's gentleness and mercy. They will learn that life needn't be a violent war, but should be spent caring for others and being cared for. Until then, we will continue to protect people, showing kindness that was never bestowed upon us. This has been our charge from the beginning. That wool in the chest belonged to my earliest ancestor, from when he shed it to grow human skin. All descendants of the first twelve families own such a relic."