Chronicles of the Seventh Realm, Scroll 1 : River of Blood

Prologue

Trouble In Paradise

The mundane tasks of Eden's garden have grown trivial, as the animals, among other things, have all been named and now seek only council and comfort from Adam's blood. The family lay tightly packed under the Tree of Knowledge, and the children entertain themselves by pointing out shapes in the stars as they await peaceful slumber.

"The word is gal-ax-y...right, Mother?" the all-knowing feminine voice of a preteen asked; as her younger siblings blurted out words for each cluster they saw.

"Yes Deborah. Try not to be so critical, they're only pretending."

"Yes Mother, but...Father says its dangerous, and that words have power and...."

She was cut off by her father who said, "And they can leave lasting effects, Lilith, so Deborah is right—although it is difficult for them not to, they must try. We shall not have to rerecord everything as it takes on a name given." He chuckled at the thought and continued. "Now go to sleep little ones; you will need your rest in order to grow."

The rest of the night passed without further discussion on the matter, but it wasn't long before Adam and Lilith were in disagreements again.

"Is this about what happened with Leo yesterday?" Lilith asked as she and Adam sat watching the children at play.

"Females are natural providers, Lilith; I do not see why there was even a need for discussion, or the resulting condition. I would have preferred an opportunity to weigh in before judgment was passed."

"Adam, you can not be in a hundred places at once, and I handled it. Those cubs are fully capable of providing for themselves. It isn't that much to ask of them to walk a few feet and reach for that which they desire. Sariah was trying to rest after a long day with the new cubs. I do not think an adolescent adding to that weariness by refusing to feed himself is appropriate, considering the circumstances."

"You decreed that all adolescents are to be removed from their parents' care."

"Adolescent males, dear," she interrupted, "and I do not think Leo was at all ungrateful for the provision. He has been concerned for a long time now that they spend too much time under the females, and your workload is vast enough."

Lilith was quiet then, as she noticed a few of the children paying attention to their discussion rather than playing in the garden, and thought it best to lower her voice. Adam did the same.

*

Laughter and joy filled the air as children played in the garden. A young boy of nine sat off to the side listening at his parents squabble in hushed tones.

"Look there, Lilith," his father said, pointing to a pair of dragonflies on the branch of a tree coupling. "Or there," he added, pointing off in the distance at a pair of zebras engaged in likewise activity. "He created all of us, yet they submit. Why do you find it such a daunting task to do the same?"

She looked down and pulled one of the toddlers at her feet into her bosom and looked at him. "Because he gave us domain over all, Adam...equally, and I say the submission should be shared. We don't..."

The boy stopped listening. He didn't know what the bid deal was, he only knew that whenever they argued, mother was unhappy. Pulling a few twigs off the ground, he started building stick figures. After several moments, he noted that the conversation must have been over, because his mother stormed away.

"I wouldn't ask her right now, Benjamin; give her a bit to calm down." Benjamin diverted his attention briefly to see who was speaking and sighed. He dropped the twigs he held in hand, and stood looking in the direction of his father.