5.4 Kane’s People Fill the World

Book V: The Book of Baal
Chapter 4: Kane’s People Fill the World

Although my last visit to Illusia was rather enjoyable (and I can’t believe I’m saying that), I rejoiced when I returned to Terra – it just felt like home, if you know what I mean.

Wanting nothing more than to continue my experiments with humanity, I reestablished my fellowship with Kane. I was pleased to see that he and his people had flourished and that every one of them had automatically been birthed with one of my tortured souls intact. Just as importantly, they’d continued their faith in Baal even though my god-persona hadn’t been around to visit them ‘in the flesh.’

When Baal finally did show up, after Kane recovered from the gruesome sight of me, and after he and his people had made the obligatory sacrifices, the man with the Mark of Immortality even boasted that his clans would follow Baal to the ends of the earth, so on Kane’s next birthday I instructed him to do just that.

“Leave a portion of your people here under your son Enoch’s control so he can continue to harass Seth’s people.” Baal instructed Kane. “But you and your sons Drok and Derk will lead the rest of your clans east. You will undergo a long and arduous journey across the flat plane that his your world. Along the way your people will populate the world — for I give it all to you. But you and your two sons must continue east until you reach The Promised Land.“

“The Promised Land?” Kane was confused.

“Because you have worshiped me according to my desire, I have created a special place for you — a land flowing with milk and honey. When you arrive, you will know it is Home. There you shall find rest, Kane.”

[This was all a lie, of course, across many fronts – for Kane and his clans still had no idea that mankind wasn’t the only race of intelligent beings on the planet, and the journey was going to be far more difficult than I led them to believe, and to top it off I had no special place waiting for them. But Kane wouldn’t figure that out for a long, looooong time].

Thus it was that Kane led his clans to migrate—over the course of the next century, he led his people all the way to TerrVerde (modern-day North America). Along the journey, they faced numerous challenges: harsh climates, dangerous beasts, and scarcity of resources. But Kane, driven by his faith in Baal, and wearing a shroud to cover his infamous Mark, pushed his people onward.

To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to what happened with Kane’s people during their migratory journey – first off because I was busy with a few other projects, and secondly because I figured that if Kane and his clans were going to be worth my time then they’d have to prove it to me by surviving the little quest I’d given them. Because of my lack of vigilance, I left an opening for my rivals to take advantage of. As a result, a couple things happened with Kane’s people that I didn’t learn about until much later….

One cold night, as Kane’s clans camped by a river [in modern day Russia], Kane sat alone by the fire, contemplating the path ahead. It was then that a mysterious wanderer approached. Cloaked in a robe that made him nearly invisible to the eye, the tall stranger was at the fire’s edge by the time Kane noticed him.

Kane jumped up and was about to call for help, thinking he was about to be accosted by an interloper, yet the visitor spoke with a calming authority, “Fear not, Kane, son of Adam, I am Gabriel – a fellow traveler, here to help you.”

Kane eyed the newcomer with suspicion. With a hand on his dagger and still ready to call out for his sons, he grumbled, “Help how?”

“I have watched your journey.” The mystery man said. He had about him an aura of calm and wisdom and his eyes seemed to hold the secrets of the universe. “Know this, Kane, you are being tested and there are forces at play that you cannot see.”

Kane took his hand away from his dagger and sat back down by the fire. Motioning for his guest to do the same, he offered a bowl filled with meat from the day’s catch. “Who are you?”

“I am a guide of sorts,” Gabriel replied, accepting the food offering. “I can offer counsel and aid, but there are those who wish to see you fail.”

As the pair sat by the fire, the wanderer revealed to Kane the existence of other intelligent peoples and he alluded to ‘the pawns of celestial politics.’ Though he could not fully understand, Kane was eager to continue the conversation. Unfortunately for him Gabriel advised his time was short and he had to get moving again.

As the visitor got up to leave, Kane reached out a hand to stay him. Looking around he make sure no one else was near, he asked urgently, “Can you help me with my Mark?”

Gabriel looked long at Kane’s Mark of Immortality, before replying, “Perhaps.” Yet even as he spoke the words, Gabriel vanished – leaving Kane to wonder if the encounter had ever occurred.

If that wasn’t bad enough, there was another deity who stuck his nose in my business – Lucifer!

Ever scheming, the Lord of Illusia learned about Kane’s journey. I’m sure Lucifer remembered the importance I’d placed on mankind and he was eager to keep tabs on Kane’s people – who were the first big group to leave the protected valley were Adam’s branch of humanity still remained. As a result, Lucifer sent one of his newly created ‘baals’—a fearsome demon named Malakar who I’d once used in a prior mission with the Atlantean Elara.

[Since Malakar hadn’t lived up to my expectations, I’d turned him into one of the baals I gave to Lucifer]. Apparently Lucifer found some use for him and sent him to monitor Kane’s progress and sow discord among his people.

I’ll give him some credit – Malakar, with his dark, twisted form and piercing red eyes, was a master of manipulation and deception. As Kane’s clans moved deeper into unknown territories, Malakar began his work. Taking on various personas from the clan’s people, Malakar spread rumors of danger and betrayal, whispering doubts into the ears of Kane’s followers. Tensions rose, and trust within the clans began to fray. I’m sure this was music to Lucifer’s ears.

Yet it was the strange wanderer Gabriel who secretly returned to help Kane maintain order. One night, as Kane slept a fitful sleep, Gabriel appeared to him in a dream, warning him of Malakar’s presence.

“Beware the deceiver among you,” Gabriel’s voice echoed. “He seeks to lead you astray. Trust in your strength and the bond you share with your sons.”

Awakening with a start, Kane knew he had to act swiftly. He called a council with his sons Drok and Derk and the other elders. Luckily for them Malakar was not present at the meeting. Although he didn’t mention anything about Gabriel, Kane averred there were supernatural forces working against them.

“The gods know about your journey to The Promised Land.” Kane explained. “Yet there are some who want us to fail and they have sent their minion to waylay us. Yet they will not succeed!”

Kane then laid out a plan to turn the tables on the traitor. As it turned out, the plan worked – when Malakar was exposed, the demon realized his cover was blown. Unleashing his true form, it wreaked havoc on the caravan before winking out of existence and returning to Illusia.

That test overcome, Kane’s journey continued, marked by ever more trials and triumphs. As they walked, Kane’s clans grew stronger, their bond fortified by the adversities they faced. At various points along the way, occasionally Kane would leave a small portion of his clan behind – for his interpretation of Baal’s command was that his people were to populate the planet. Thus it was the humanity expanded it’s footprint.

Yet the main bulk of Kane’s people continued their journey towards destiny – while the Promised Land remained a distant, uncertain goal, Kane’s faith and leadership carried them forward, ever onward.

Along the journey they were eventually discovered by The Amorosi clans who lived in the forests of the far east (Russia and northern China). The Amorosi were so shocked by the sheer numbers of Kane’s people that Adam’s first group of children panicked and started withdrawing further from the world like their Mylar brothers had done centuries past. In fact, so traumatized were the Amorosi by the appearance of Mankind as a species, their historians marked the discovery of this new people as THE major event that spelled the end of what their historians called “The Third Age of Substance.”

[As an interesting side note, Amorosi scientists eventually concluded that humans evolved from a race of intelligent sheep creatures because of their penchant for following each other in mindless herds – remind me to tell you that tale sometimes, it’s quite amusing]

Again I paid little attention to any of this while it was happening. Occasionally I’d reach out with my mind to check on their geographical progress and monitor the growing numbers of Kane’s clan, but otherwise I left them to fend for themselves because I had other important work to do. In fact I was making great progress on some of my experiments in The Lab…