Laas Kingdom

Chapter 1: The Discovery

In 2021, following unexpected heavy rains on the vast Laas Geel Mountains near Hargeisa, Somaliland, a rare event occurred. The rain dislodged many rocks, revealing places that had remained hidden for centuries. Laas Geel is renowned for its unique archaeological sites, boasting one of the most significant rock art locations in the Horn of Africa. These sites have attracted researchers and tourists alike, seeking forgotten historical relics.

But this time, the discovery was entirely different. A new cave was found, distinguished by mysterious markings on its walls, unlike the usual pictorial rock art. These markings stood out, appearing more like a written language than pictures. News of the discovery quickly spread online and across social media, sparking the interest of archaeologists worldwide.

Enthusiastic scholars began studying these unique markings and gradually noticed a common pattern. The symbols were a strange mix of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and modern words. This discovery was peculiar, but what added to the intrigue was that the texts included Somali words—a language that hadn't been written down until recently. How could texts over 3,500 years old contain Somali words? This puzzle baffled scientists and deepened the mystery of the find.

When the team of scientists managed to decipher some of these texts, a curious phrase emerged: "Hoosta Qod," meaning "Dig below." With this clue, everyone wondered what might be buried underground. A team of archaeologists, led by Dr. Dejen, organized a major excavation, with high expectations from all involved.

After significant effort, the team uncovered two massive metallic structures resembling ancient chests. Each chest bore unexpected modern symbols, such as an emoji of a smile accompanied by the phrase "Good Job" in English. This contrast between ancient craftsmanship and modern symbols created a sense of awe and wonder. Everyone questioned the nature of these discoveries and whether they were connected to extraterrestrial civilizations or part of an elaborate hoax.

Opening the chests was a challenging task, and the world watched this process with anticipation. When they were finally opened, the surprise was immense: one chest was filled with jewelry and gold, while the other contained books made from animal skins. These books, written in Somali, began with a mysterious message:

"Hello, how are you? I hope you're having a great time (this was my greeting when I had a YouTube channel). The only way to read and understand the contents of this box is if it was opened in the 21st century or later because the language I'm writing in, Somali, was transformed into written form in 1970, and the vocabulary I used to reveal the location of these boxes could only be known through this language. Considering this theory, I will write my story based on this concept. So, if that's the case, the whole world must be wondering: Am I a time traveler? An alien? Is this all a joke? Although science will quickly reveal that this is no joke and that these are true temporal relics, to understand all this, we must go back 20 years from my present time when I was living in the 21st century, specifically in the year 2024.

I was just an ordinary young man studying at one of the universities in Hargeisa, having recently graduated from the College of Business Administration to spend some fun time after the graduation, we went to laas-geel Mountains and everything was fine at first; we learned about the meanings of the artifacts in the mountain and many things, and the place was great, all that it meant. Although it sparked many questions inside me that I couldn't find answers to, the most important being why the artifacts resembled ancient Egyptian artifacts so closely. Why is it that no one knows who lived here? What happened to them? Why doesn't anyone know about them? These were the things my friends and I discussed among ourselves. But at the middle of this exciting atmosphere, something happened on the mountain. Suddenly, it began to rain, and at first, it was fun to be on a beautiful mountain in the rain. Despite the guide warning us and asking us to go down, the weather was too nice to miss, or so we thought. The rain intensified significantly, making visibility difficult. We started descending gradually because the guide said it was possible that floods could start and the situation could get worse than it was now. Suddenly, as we were descending, we heard a scream from one of my friends who had lost his balance while walking, and fortunately, we managed to catch him. But at that moment, I lost my balance by accident and fell to the other side of the mountain opposite where we climbed, landing on a large tree that was the reason for my survival, after God's will.

However, due to the shock, I hit my head, and blood began to flow, then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, there was blood everywhere. My leg was broken, and it was nearly dark. I had no idea where I was, and it was terrifying. My phone wasn't with me because we had all put our phones in one of our bags to protect them from the rain, so calling for help wasn't an option. Then I started shouting with all my might, hoping someone would hear my voice, but the only response I received was the echo of my voice in the deepest and darkest place.

All I had left was my faith in God. I prayed not to die there and started trying to climb back up. However, I quickly realized that was impossible because all the rocks were slippery from the rain, and most of my body was in pain from the fall injuries. It was a scary, terrifying, and painful situation, alone, injured, with continuous rain and increasing darkness, as if it didn't know how to wait. Here I decided to search for shelter. From the rainy sky, hoping others would find me, I found a cave and took refuge in it. As I leaned against what appeared to be a wall to get some rest, I accidentally fell into a deep hole, very deep, beyond imagination. I couldn't determine its depth. All I felt was a continuous fall into what seemed like an endless abyss. The fall felt like days, yes, the fall was very long, and alongside all the negative feelings I was experiencing, the pain of hunger began to join them as if they were forming a team to defeat the final villain (my life). Here, I surrendered to my situation, closed my eyes, losing all hope of survival.