David's Army
Hope strengthens a person's will a hundredfold.
Elisium. Year 5L 21/15
A day after he was given the title of the Savior, Moses decided to have a proper tour of the Refuge. He wanted to have a close look at this settlement and meet its people. In a very short time Moses realized that Refuge, just as it had appeared to him in the first glance, was a place in completes shambles and brimming with despair. In every house, every corner, every alley there were people who had their own tales of miseries. From their loved ones getting murdered, to their houses being burnt, to their lands getting snatched, almost every person had his own story of misfortune to tell. Refuge was an abode, where people shared their suffering in a hope that some day this will all come to an end.
After hearing scores of such sorry tales Moses now knew one thing for sure. Whether he was the prophesized savior or not, but he was surely going to fight with these people against the tyrannical rulers of Aden. Right till his last breath.
In the next few days Moses found himself spending a lot of time with Jacobs and George, trying to learn more about this world and its predicaments. Arthur and Joseph also sometimes joined them in these chats, as the two old men shared all the information they had about the two worlds and transferred their vast treasure of knowledge to the next generation.
One such morning, sitting in the corner of their dining room, Moses asked Jacobs, "You really seem to be possessed by this theory of the Dance of Two Sisters. All your hopes of Transition are firmly based on that theory. But what happens if it turns out to be just that? A theory and nothing else. What happens if you learn that whatever you had heard about the past was actually facts mixed with fiction. What if the Transitions never happened and whatever happened at the turn of loops were just mere coincidences? What if there was no grand scheme of Nature or the Supreme Beings behind all this? It could very much be possible that the two worlds quietly co-existed because none of them had any idea about the other. But when people of both the worlds came to know about each other's existence, the powerful one decided to subjugate the weaker one and now nothing can be done about it. May be this is the real destiny and there is no way out of it."
Jacobs smiled, "Well we are just two small worlds in this immense universe. There may be hundreds of worlds out there and they may all have their stories, their own cycles and their own loops. Here we have a Dance of Two Sisters, maybe in some other place in this universe there could be A Twirl of Three Maidens or A Symphony of Four Friends. I firmly believe that the Almighty Creator and the Supreme Beings, who looks after all of these worlds, have created beautiful symphonies in these systems. A balance, a harmony. And I am sure they want that balance to be maintained. This transition is just a way to preserve that balance."
"So why these transitions need an amulet, or a person, a so called savior to trigger it? Why can't it just happen on its own?" asked Moses.
"Just like water evaporates from the ocean, forms clouds, then it rains down, feeds the earth and helps the plants grow. We harvest those crops, cook them and then we get the energy to live on. Why this long process? Why can't our star directly give us energy? Well, this whole process is a part of this beautiful symphony of nature. Nothing happens on it own. These chains of events are all connected to one another. One triggers the other. These are endless cycles. You and the amulet are parts of this cycle. Vital cogs in this giant wheel of destiny."
Moses wasn't entirely convinced by Jacob's reply but he wanted to move on to some more practical aspects "Okay, let us believe that this theory about transition is true and let us also assume that this amulet has powers. Powers, which i don't know how to use yet. But to win a war we cannot just rely on some magical artefacts. Our enemy is supremely powerful. You haven't seen the weapons they have. We won't stand a chance against them."
"Don't worry, you are not fighting them alone," replied George, "When the first troops from Aden came to this world, and took over the Ruins, there was very limited resistance. The enemies were too well prepared and our people were caught napping. They had outdated weapons and very few men in their army. They stood no chance against the might of Aden. First there was a blood bath and then there was the massacre. There were a few small rebellions in the later cycles and they all were quashed without a noise. But then people in Elisium became a little smarter. They stopped confronting the enemy and started to bide their time. They knew, if the theory of Transition was true, their best chance was at the turn of the loop. A few generations got wasted, yes, but they went with the hope that their children will outlive this darkness and will get to see a bright day. Even at the turn of loop, not all of us might survive this war, but whenever we meet our deaths, I hope that we leave this world with a belief that our deaths didn't go in vain and we have left our worlds in much better hands."
Jacobs then took over from George "Since the last cycle, with the end of loop getting close, an army started to form in the Refuge, known as David's Army. It all started with a bunch of some honorable men, who believed that the only way for their world to come out of this crisis is to fight their oppressor. But they didn't want to just fight headlessly and get massacred. So they started to train and learned to fight. They started to build weapons. They began to keep a close eye on their enemy and their actions. Slowly their numbers started to grow as more and more people joined this force. David's army now has thousands of soldiers and they are waiting for the right time to strike. They are being trained by Nathan, one of us, the Solomons. He was banished with me to this planet two cycles ago. Nathan was an army commander in Aden, before they came to know of his roots and banished him. He has a decent knowledge about their tactics and weapons, though all that knowledge is two cycles old and may be a little outdated by now, but still it is a good enough head start for our men. So you will not be fighting alone. You will have some very good support."
"I don't know how to fight myself," said Moses, "and you expect me to lead them in a war?"
"Kings don't always need to be great warriors, but they must be an inspiration for their troops," said Jacobs, "George is the leader of David's army and he is a pretty good soldier. But you must become their inspiration. You must become the beacon of their hope, because hope strengthens a person's will a hundredfold. Upon seeing you they must believe that they can win this war. As for your fighting skills, you are the heir of Solomon, David and Abraham. I am sure you will surprise yourself when you take the battlefield."
"Since you mentioned Solomon," Moses decided to ask a question which had been nagging at him since the day he saw that portrait of Solomon, "do you really think I am a reincarnation of Solomon?"
"I don't know about reincarnation," replied Jacobs, "but right from your appearance to everything else, you have Solomon in you. And for that fact David and Abraham and Noah and Adam as well. They reside within you. And for winning this war you have to bring them to the fore."
Moses was about to say something when he saw Alex hurriedly enter the room. He rushed towards George and said in a voice filled with panic, "One of the survivors of the drowning has vanished. Apparently he has run away."
"Who?" asked George.
"Arthur, the one who looked like me," Alex replied a little sheepishly.
"I had told you to confirm if everyone of the survivors belonged to the Solomon lineage," said George, clearly infuriated by this lapse
"We did that" replied Alex "and he provided us a perfect link to the Solomon lineage. There was nothing suspicious about him."
"If he was of Solomon lineage he wouldn't have had a duplicate in this world," said Jacobs in a matter of fact tone, "He wouldn't have been your copy. You missed the most basic rule."
Alex hung his head, "yes, I think I got too excited on seeing my duplicate and overlooked this simple fact."
"But why would he run away? Where would he go?" asked Moses.
"I assume he must be a spy of Aden and he must now be headed towards their base with all our information." replied George, "If this is true it means we are in some serious trouble."