Finding Answers: Chapter Five
Creation And Destruction
"Their foolish hearts were darkened"
Deborah and Andrew stood speechless. Ruth, still clinging to Andrew, seemed oddly unaffected.
"What do you seek?" Elder Ezekiel asked, his voice carrying an unexpected authority. The twins weren't used to hearing him speak like this. He might have been their grand-uncle, but among the Great Four Guardians of the Archives, he had always been the most reserved and awkward.
The Guardians of the Archives were the revered elders of the Archivers' Clan. Their grandfather, Elder Jeremiah, was the Guardian of the Present Histories - responsible for recording the current histories of all twelve clans: genealogies, notable events, the rise and fall of lineages. Elder Paul, another grand-uncle, oversaw the Sciences - inventions, medicines, practical knowledge passed through generations. Elder Amos guarded the Prophecies.
And Elder Ezekiel... he was the Guardian of the Ancient Past, which were technically myths; at least, that's what Deborah had always thought.
"It was an accident, we were just—" Andrew began nervously.
"No one stumbles upon the Veiled Archives by accident," Elder Ezekiel interrupted. "They reveal themselves only to those who seek with purpose."
Elder Ezekiel had declared, before repeating his question, his eyes fixed on them. "So I ask again, what do you seek?"
"Answers," Deborah said suddenly, stepping forward. "Answers about our world. About how we came to be." Her cheeks flushed with emotion; she hadn't expected to be so emotional.
Ezekiel gave a small nod, the faintest hint of approval in his ancient eyes. "And so you shall receive them," he muttered.
He walked to the center of the wooden platform that aided their descent, raised his staff, and inserted it into a slot at the very center. With a twist, the entire platform began to move downward.
The three children gasped and instinctively clung to each other as the ground beneath them shifted. But Ezekiel, the oldest among them, stood firm and dignified. He tapped his staff twice, and a soft glow emerged from a gem at the top, casting warm yellowish light as they descended into darkness.
Ezekiel spoke again, as if the ground weren't vanishing beneath their feet. "Before time was counted, before the winds learned their songs, there was nothing. No sky, no land, nothing but— the Great Deep. And the world you now walk was but a sphere of endless water, adrift in the silence."
"But why was everything created?" Deborah asked, her voice echoing softly.
"No one knows," Ezekiel replied. "Only that it pleased The Creator. As we mortals feel the yearning to dream, to shape; so did He, who dwells beyond mortal grasp, desired to form."
With a sudden thud, the platform stopped. The children almost sighed with relief, until they looked around.
They had entered a large, bowl-shaped room. Its round floor dipped like the hollow of a spoon, albeit slightly. It felt like the Hall of Learning above, but inverted. The walls and floors shimmered faintly, glowing with a soft golden light, though no sunlight reached them. The glow was gentle, not blinding, but exactly enough.
Unlike the Hall above, these walls were alive. The light emanated from every surface; walls, floors, even the ceiling. Yet the room was empty, and now all four of them stood at its center.
Soon the kids slowly stepped out of the wooden platform and spread out to survey the room before them. They were fascinated and bewildered, to say the least.
Elder Ezekiel stood at the far end, watching them. He allowed the children a moment to take it all in.
"Ahem," he finally said, clearing his throat in a way that felt more deliberate than necessary. The children hurried to gather around him, like chicks eager for warmth.
He turned toward the radiant walls.
"It all began when light was formed," he said.
Then the room transformed.
The walls began to shimmer and reshape - colors swirling, images forming. The moment Elder Ezekiel spoke, the walls became even more alive. The children were no longer just listening. They were witnessing.
"When the sun was formed?" Ruth asked, confused.
"No, child. Be quick to listen and slow to speak," Ezekiel replied gently.
"He who was before time began created the heavens and the earth with His voice. He who dwells in unapproachable light made all the lights that line the heavens. The Great I Am. He made man, animals, birds, trees, all of life, and gave mankind authority over it. It was a perfect world; free of pain, suffering, and sin... until the first man and woman disobeyed the Creator. In their misuse of free will, sin entered. Corruption began. And every child born since has carried a part of that burden."
The children saw it all: the beauty of creation, the intimacy between God and His creation, and the slow unraveling into darkness. It played across the walls, the floors, even the air seemed charged with the images.
"Their descendants grew in number and knowledge and ability beyond the normal man," Ezekiel continued. "But with pride came rebellion. They sought to be equal with their Creator.
In that arrogance, they envisioned and began to build a tower to reach the heavens that would rival the towers of God; such utter foolishness. But the Creator dispersed them, their languages, their lands; in the middle of their evil plans.
Yet one man was hidden away. One who remained faithful, who sought after God and did not share in their rebellion."
"To him was given the charge: to destroy the scrolls and books of knowledge that existed in those times. All but one."
He turned, eyes glinting.
"The one book you now seek."
"How do you know all this?" Ruth asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"The books were opened to me, child. And all who seek, would eventually find what they seek."
"What does this all mean?" Deborah asked, frustration breaking through.
"You've always sought answers," Elder Ezekiel said gently. "You held hope; one of the three Great Tenets, but you lacked faith. That's why you needed her."
He gestured to Ruth. The twins turned to look at her astonished. She stared back, wide-eyed.
"You doubted that words could shape our world. You questioned the existence of a Creator," Ezekiel continued. "Yet you know in your heart, nothing exists without cause. New life does not just materialized from nothing around you."
He turned to all three of them. "But your journey is only beginning. You seek the scroll that contains truth, and you will find it."
"Isn't it here?" Andrew finally spoke up.
"No, son. The Book of Truth must be opened to you as well, when you seek it."
"How do we find it?" Ruth asked quietly.
"Walk in the Way and you will find the Truth."
"But where is the Way?" Deborah pressed. "There are so many roads. Which one?"
"There is only one Way," Ezekiel said. "And just as you found this place, you will find it. For everyone who seeks... finds. But you must find it before the Festival of Lights. If not, all will be lost," he added as he turned back toward the glowing wall.
The children stared at him, hearts pounding, unsure of what awaited them next.
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