Covenant: Exodus

Chapter 25

Noahim stared out over the water, wondering if they would ever find a home. It had been many years since the disaster, and they seemed no closer now. They had been to many lands, always finding roughly the same thing; men and women living in terrible conditions, warring over what few resources remained. In each case, the Atlans had taught the people agriculture, architecture, and the laws according to the Book of Law. After years of searching for the proper place, Noah and the Mul'Ki, along with the help of the natives, had constructed one of the massive machines that Ratam Ra'Ava had called for. They now searched for a new place to call home, the place where they would build the final machine.

As Noah stood surveying the water before him, a pair of arms slid around his waist, and he felt Namaah press into him from behind. She lay her head down on him and squeezed and he felt her slightly rounded belly press into his back. He turned and kissed her forehead, "Are you feeling well this morning?" he asked her, the concern clear in his voice.

Namaah smiled at him as she held her hands on her growing stomach, "Yes Noah, I am fine, just as I am every time that you ask. When will you ever stop worrying about me?"

Noah smiled back, "Never," he whispered, and he meant it. From the moment they had realized that Namaah was pregnant, Noah's entire life had changed. He would soon have a child, and that carried even more responsibility than being the high priest of the Mul'Ki. He knew that he must protect Namaah and their child at all costs. It had been many years since they had seen Jakon and the other Mul'Ki that had left with him. In fact, Noah was not even certain that they were still alive, but he knew that he must remain vigilant. He had let his guard down once before, and it almost cost all of them their lives. That would not happen again.

Once they had survived the first few years after the disaster, Noah truly began to believe that they were safe. In those first few years, they faced dangers that Noah could not have imagined. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, massive flooding, and some of the most extreme weather that the planet had ever seen. One day it would be warm and calm out and the next so cold that exposed skin became instantly damaged. It had seemed that it would never end, but it had. Eventually, the planet began to stabilize, the weather returned to normal, the seas began the long slow process of receding back, and the Atlans continued to search for a new home and the right place to build the machines. It was on this search that Jakon and his men had found them.

Noah and Jikar had been hiking through the jungle for most of the morning, checking out a place that Jikar thought may work for building the first machine. Jikar could not read the Ratam Ra'Ava and many of the ideas expressed within those pages, especially those regarding the machines, were very difficult for Noah to convey. Even so, Jikar tried his best to help Noah find locations that would work for building the machines. On this day, he was taking Noah back to a place that he had stumbled upon while searching for food with some of the natives of the land. "It is just up ahead Noah," Jikar said, turning to smile at his friend, "I wish I understood more what it is that we are looking for...hopefully this place will be what you need. I think we can all agree that it would be nice to build these machines so that we can finally find a new land to call our home, to rebuild Atla, and to get off of these boats!"

Noahim smiled and answered, "The boats are beginning to smell a little bit...and Karok would definitely be much happier once we never have to set foot on them again." In response, the big cat let out a soft roar and picked up his pace, running up ahead through the jungle. "I wish that I could explain what it is that we are looking for, but I cannot. There are many words from the Ratam Ra'Ava that simply have no equivalent in our language."

Jikar stopped walking for a moment as they came to a divergence in the path they were following, "I know that you would not be taking so much time and care with this search if it were not important," he said thoughtfully, "and I do not imagine that you enjoy having to tell Namaah that her desire to have a child must continue to wait." At this, he laughed lightly and pushed his friend playfully on the arm.