A World Divided
L.M Owens
Before the earth was divided by oceans and
mountains, there were three kingdoms spread across the world. The first kingdom
was ruled wisely by kind King Benignus who was the world’s best healer – though
he was but a boy. His laws were obeyed by his peoples across the lands of Africia and Oceaniac,
and his kindness and loyalty were known across the globe, as was his
courage and cleverness – more befitting to a man twice his age. The second ruler
was the lily-livered
King Mitis, an ally of King Benignus in the south, always to be found
wanting at the first sign of trouble, even in the defence of his own territories of
Europia and Asiac. In his old age, Mitis had developed a fatal disease but was spared its
vengeance, due to herbs and tonics prescribed to him by his noble and generous ally.
The last and
worst of this trio of kings, whose name was spoken with fear throughout
the lands, was the ruthless King Cupiditas. His mind was sharp and his tongue sharper.
He controlled North and South Ameraci with an iron fist - callously disposing
of of any opposition and his greedy fingers were always grasping for more land. Despite
the temptation, he never dared to invade King Benignus’ territory, who he
secretly both feared and admired, but he had already made several attempts to conquer Mitis’
land – and would have succeeded had the old man’s ally not come to the rescue.
Cupiditas had a sinister influence over a group of giants in a separate self-governing land of Antartictia who he had cultivated as a valuable ally. The
other kings always felt threatened by this friendship – knowing that if an attack came
from King
Cupiditas, supported by the giants then they could never win.
It was on a sunny morning of Thorsday* when the two allied kings’
worst fears were
realised. Birds twittered in the garden of King Mitis as a messenger
rode into the castle grounds. His appearance was haggard and worn, as though he
had been travelling for many days and nights. His message to the weakest king
was as follows: “Your Highness, I come from your friend King Benignus, who warns you that
your territories face grave danger. King Cupiditas approaches with 20,000
men and and army of giants! They are at least 3 months walk away from you, Your
Highness. Alas, the giants’ immense weight has already ruptured the earth’s
core and the ground has cracked, causing an underground geyser to erupt and
flood the land. He commands you to build a wall of immense strength. His own
territory is withstanding the tirade, with a mighty wall, built by the finest
stone masons. He loans this service to you and implores you to build a wall
tall enough to scrape the sky and strong enough to endure a thousand
nightmares. Hurry for the army
approaches and so does the flood!
Bewildered and
frightened, Mitis retired to his chambers leaving his two emboldened sons as regents to
conscript
every mason and man strong enough to pull a cart to begin construction on the
largest wall ever seen in the kingdom. It was to stretch around the perimeter
of the entire kingdom. The subjects waited on tenterhooks for news of the
approaching army, but none came. The structure began to take shape without
delay. The two regent kings spurred on the workers with rallying speeches
and assurances of victory - though Mitis’ dejection still seeped through the
kingdom and under doorways like a noxious gas, despite his sons attempt to spur
the people on. The tension in the air was so thick that you cut it with a
knife. A month past. Two months past. On the third month the enemy was visible
on the horizon. The giants were so huge, that even from a distance their clubs
and massive hands
were clearly visible. They moved with long blundering steps, and were so
tall and wide it was like watching bits of the mountain behind them moving. Their
craggy features, as though carved from rock by a stone mason unsure what a
human face looked like, were twisted in evil snarls. The kingdom was in disarray.
Everyone was running, shouting, screaming that the giants were coming. But all hope was
not lost– for the wall was almost finished. A few days after the herculean
job of building the wall was finished, the quiet night was disturbed by a
deafening SMASH! Lights flicked on as candles were lit in every window.
Pyjama-clad citizens rushed out of their homes all trying to see what had
happened. The army of Cupiditas (including the giants) had been hurled against
the wall by a giant gushing wave that - like a leopard that had reached the
high ground and was pouncing on its pray from above. Loud shouts told that men
and giants alike were repeatedly being battered against the hard stone wall,
their bruised bodies finally going limp. The whole country waited with bated
breath to see if their arduous work would pay off. The wall stood like a
fearless soldier constantly denying the enemy entry to their kingdom and every
person breathed
a long, deep sigh of relief.
Now separated from his ally by an
ocean and so unable to receive his medicine, King Mitis passed away shortly
after Cupiditas’ failed attack. His two sons continued to rule together - one presiding
over Europia, the other Asiac. King Cupiditas drowned along with the rest of
his army when he failed to conquer Mitis’ kingdom. The land of Ameraci and
Antartictia became uninhabited. King Benignus continued to rule Africia but was
unable to rule Oceaniac which had drifted away and its people installed their own
system and governed themselves. And that, dear reader, is the story of how the continents
were created and the catastrophic events brought about by the greed and lust for power of a
ruthless king.
