The Rebellion of The Angels, page 20
Thus, galloping at full speed and practically without resting, they travelled for a few more days with greater warmth than those of wind and cold that they faced near the coasts. One day, they came to border on a wide arm of the many that were part of a river that extended until flowing into the sea.
And under a mild day they reached the top of a hill covered with grass, which bordered on the arm of that river, which twisted and continued beyond.
Then, slowing down the gallop of her horse, Experience told Kindness, with whom she led the group of horsemen:
—There is the place where I met a man who might be able to help us... —Kindness and Experience stopped their horses, and the first one raised her hand as a signal that indicated that the rest of the horsemen had to do the same. Then she contemplated the landscape, far and below, travelled by a slight breeze that only there, took over the top of the hill— It was the house of that man where Experience and Youth, in the company of Rahab were they met again with their celestial brothers and sisters Peace, Light, Love and Compassion, and from where they later left with the canoes borrowed by the man, who particularly Youth believed he was crazy, for building a huge caravel that he kept very jealously on the piers, with the illusion of knowing the sea someday, with their help—.
—I will ask for help but I must go alone. I do not think he likes so many visits together, at least without warning him before —Experience explained.
—But how can he help us? —Kindness asked.
—If I succeed, you will know. In that case, as a positive signal I will approach a horse a few meters towards here.
—Do not you want me to go you?
—It will not be necessary. Really, Kindness, he is not a bad man.
—We will be taking care of you from up here, and in case any enemy gets in your way, we will immediately go to meet him —Experience affirmed what Kindness said by saying:
—Remember my signal —And she left downhill at a quick gallop.
As she said, Kindness and her group of horsemen from the top of the hill, followed with attention all the way Experience galloped, making sure that she was not in danger until she reached the man's house.
Suddenly the figure of Experience became small, almost losing itself in the distance near the banks of the river where the man built his ranch, and his tall and resistant piers built with strong wood, which in turn hid and protected his great caravel, although those piers were a bit damaged because of the passing of time and the storms; at the same time, several docks were observed, which, also made with strong wood, were distributed in different strategic places.
Still mounted on her horse, Experience approached the man's house step by step, as she did when she met him, although on that occasion she was with Youth and Rahab, although Light, Peace, Love and Compassion joined later.
And like that time, the man surprised her again with his knife, after leaving his hiding place behind some wooden barrels.
—Oh ... it was you, my young friend —He said, lowering his weapon—. But where is your rebellious companion? —He thought, raising his knife again—. Come on, rude girl, where have you hidden? What weapon will you threaten me with this time? —He asked, looking for her among the tall reeds. Experience laughed out loud.
—No, she is not here, good man, I have lost her...
—¡What! Who could do it? Even I would not have dared to hit such a beautiful creature —He said sadly.
—No, do not misunderstand me. I meant that I lost her, or rather, that I lost sight of all my friends, not that they have die.
—Oh... well, it makes me happy to know that both she and the rest of your friends are alive, but how is it that you have lost them? —He asked more calmly in allusion to Rahab, Light, Peace, Love and Compassion, whom he also knew.
—It is long to tell. I suppose they will all be together. At least I hope so.
—And what are you doing around here?
—I came for help.
—Help, more help... —He thought out loud, so Experience remembered.
—Oh yes, I know you have lent us three of your canoes, and I assure you that I will bring them to you as soon as I finish my mission. We hide them in a forest, which grows shortly before the river flowed into the sea.
—I do not know what your mission is, girl, but mine was to set in motion my great work, my greatest creation, my caravel, and I will never be able to do it. I no longer get people who lend themselves to that service. They claim a high reward in exchange for such an adventure. So I listen to you, what do you need from this poor old man whose dreams are destroyed, submerging under the water?
—I told you once that I had no doubt that you would set your caravel in motion, perhaps being the great captain of a huge crew —The man nodded but with no consolation—. Well, never stop dreaming ... elevate your heart and let your dreams come out, that emerge from the bottom of the ocean where they have fallen. Follow me —Experience said, hurrying away from the coast of the river, followed at a distance by the confused man who said:
—Wait young girl, wait, you ride a horse and I am no longer for these jogs...
Experience galloped in the direction of the hill as she told Kindness, and at that signal, from the top of that place backed by the sun's fall, Kindness ordered the horsemen:
—Come, Experience is waiting for us —And little by little those horsemen were discovering themselves descending the hill. While still far away, but seeing them approach, Experience said aloud:
—All of them and I will be the crew of your caravel, although for that we will need you to take us to the farthest northeast of the northern continent, where the Ghost Port awaits us, bordering on the cloudy forests.
The man was speechless and with tears in his eyes, for the happiness he felt since he knew he would fulfil his dream, so he answered:
—I would take you to the end of the world if you asked me, young lady... May God bless you and have you in glory forever, my dear friend, for giving more life to this old heart that I thought would die without fulfilling its dream, its maximum wish... —Experience smiled excitedly.
Minutes later Experience introduced the man to her sister and friend Kindness, and then he waved to everyone else. There were too many to do it one by one.
Shortly after, they all divided the work in the old and high piers of strong wooden walls. There, near the dock, was where the man remembered, while dozens of companions of Kindness went up to the caravel by wooden stairs on whose sides they checked the details:
—My young friend, I have a problem. I do not think I have food for so many crew members.
—Do not care, we bring food for everyone and plenty of it —Experience said, while Kindness asked.
—Can we take the horses?
—Oh sure. I designed this caravel with a special room to transport animals and heavy objects. There will be no problem, and the most important thing, those will be comfortable and safe like us.
The range of the caravel allowed dozens and dozens of neutral angels with skin of men and women who, led by Kindness in the company of Experience, would be part of its crew.
The man pulled strong and thick moorings and went down a ramp that, starting from the caravel, settled on the platform of the dock, which even inside the pier communicated with the terrestrial platform on the sides.
—You can take up the animals —He said later, for which he had also ordered them to open a wide porthole, which extended between two of the three posts that held the sails. And then continue with food, weapons and everything essential for such a relevant trip.
After a few hours they finished the task of getting everything necessary and indispensable to the caravel. That was when that man told Experience and Kindness:
—You two will be my guests of privilege. Join me —So they went to the back of the caravel, where the helm rested in the open air of a cabin—. Comrades, untie the moorings and pull them to drag the caravel off the pier, where you can climb through the outer docks —Then, an important group of men pulled the thick moorings of the caravel to bring up that jewel of a ship under the open sky, until it could take strength by itself. And then, those who pulled the moorings got up the caravel, using both exterior docks on the sides, and the captain gave movement to its maximum creation.
Thus, under a young night of swarm of stars and a crescent moon, that ship sailed, which in its interior had many cabins and a great dining room, besides the corresponding baths and more than a room of recreation. Captained by that man who, thanks to Experience and Kindness as privileged companions, and all those others who were neutral angels, as sailors perhaps, he fulfilled his dream, no matter what his fate was, a fate that was not even known with accuracy by Experience.
After several weeks, winter was established with desire crowning with snow all the roads and mountains that cross the West region, but no longer from the southern continent, but from the North, although in its southwest cardinal point.
For Youth, Light, Peace, Love and Compassion those lands were a novelty. Not for Eyes of Heaven, Hope and Abed, who had once visited those beautiful landscapes difficult to travelled.
For days they had become accustomed to the cold, sometimes exasperating, that the gallops of horses were not so long and fast and, fundamentally, that the days shortened unpredictably, even more when the sun rose, that the king of the sky barely appeared two of the seven days that made up the week, and even so, disputing a preferential place among the clouds.
For all this is that the group was forced to spend more hours resting.
The dawn continued to be their alarm clock, because when it was on, the crew started its new day of travel.
They spent several more days, perhaps a few weeks, until on one of the many cloudy days, they left the main path that separated mountains on the sides, and positioned themselves on the mountain range at West, they took a path that was born at the foot of a first mountain, which by that route that rose in the distance sometimes twisting to one side and sometimes to another, even with slight slopes manifesting at times, communicated with many other higher mountains, forming a large community among them.
The road was narrow, allowing only two horsemen to ride at once. It was surrounded by snow on the sides, bordering against the mountain on one side and with free fall to the precipice on the other. Soon after, the first puddles of snow appeared, which not only made the horses nervous, but also their horsemen.
—¡The horses must return! —Eyes of Heaven exclaimed, raising his voice to be heard, because as they climbed the mountain, the wind whistled with more intensity.
—But we will never get there —Abed said immediately.
—¡The horses must return! —Eyes of Heaven insisted, and Hope, who along with Youth headed the group at the time, made her horse stop, and she said:
—I agree with Eyes of Heaven —Looking at her secret beloved, although many already thought that between them there was something more than a brotherhood or a friendly bond, because their eyes spoke by themselves.
—You do not understand, it is the life of my daughter Rahab what is in danger —Abed said.
—Who do not understand is you, friend. It is the life of this planet, that of everyone, which is in danger —Peace corrected.
—I hope that this act of immaturity on your side is only a product of the desperation to save the life of your daughter, a life that we also want to save, because otherwise, I will regret forever your act of selfishness, and fundamentally, your little appreciation for all the things that God our Father gave to all the human beings who inhabited and will inhabit the Kingdom of Earth —Light said.
—Where you look at, you will find life. Observe the landscapes, the vegetation, and your companion —Love described in reference to his horse—. He has been your faithful friend up to here and even recognising the danger before you, if you asked him, he would accompany you to death. But only you, I think, have the conscience and ability to understand and prevent his death —Love got off his horse, as his companions did, with the exception of Abed who was still on his.
—If your heart is noble, you will feel compassion for him —Compassion concluded, making Abed finally get off his horse, and after a whistle made by Eyes of Heaven that resounded in the heights, the eight horses took the road back without their horsemen.
Meanwhile, at a distance, Youth greeted them.
—Go home friends that, even secretly, we will also fight for your life —And turning around she reached the others, who walked forward, although Light had delay a bit to wait for her.
Apparently, the loss of her sister, her soul friend, Experience, had made Youth mature, to the point of not fighting or arguing with the person with whom she had so many differences, with Light, who in turn, seeing the change of attitude of Youth, approached her in a friendly way as good friends and sisters that they were, although Light would never have wanted that change in Youth to happen after the loss of Experience.
They walked that rising route for a few more hours, going back and forth, according to the route, being surprised later by very cold first drops, which after a few minutes became snowflakes, and as the minutes ran they stopped being flakes to become a snowstorm, which brought with it a strong wind that blew from East to West, pushing the group against the rocky walls
—We must take refuge —Hope shouted, trying to be heard under the snowstorm that hit them from everywhere.
—I do not think there is a refuge. It is best to go back —Abed shouted this time.
—To return! Look down friend, how long you think it would take us to get there? —Peace asked, and observing the distant surface, Abed, surprised, said:
—¡Look at that... It is impossible!... —With caution not to fall rolling down the mountain, they poked their heads into the surface, where by the wide path that separated mountains to the sides, hundreds and hundreds of demons were advancing, not in their form of men but in their natural form of demons, whose red skins gleamed among their armour, as if suddenly the path painted in snow had been painted with blood.
These demons were armed to the teeth, and not only with hand equipment, but also with catapults carrying thick and large trunks, and bales of dry grass that they would set fire to throw them against the enemies, and perhaps as extra material, stairs to climb the walls of enemy empires constituted by men.
—If the small empires of the regions near the East and West coasts do not unite in aid of the town of Chacra, no one will be left alive —Eyes of Heaven expressed very loudly, at the silence of all his companions, who shrank even more before the imposing enemy column.
But these observers were suddenly observed, when from a platform higher and closer to the soon to arrive, a somewhat misshapen and hairy head appeared from what appeared to be the entrance to a cave inside the mountain, disappearing shortly after. When tired of seeing the endless column of demons passing through the surface, Youth´s group continued their journey up the mountain, almost hit by the storm whose currents pushed them.
Later they approached the cave that showed that strange hairy head and it was Abed who discovered this entrance thanks to the force of the immense storm, which pushed him to the place throwing him to the ground.
They would not have discovered it in another way. The day had gone out. The visibility was minimal and, if that were not enough, you could only pay attention to where you were walking because at that altitude, the roads were covered by snow in its entirety
—Abed! —Light shouted through so much darkness. Some turned around and others were forced to stop. Without getting too much into that cave, Light was able to rescue Abed from so much darkness.
However, foreseeing that the weather conditions and how complicated it was to travel the road and what was even more worrying, if at any time they would not be trapped by an avalanche of snow or by the high accumulation of snow, Youth thought:
—I think that although it is very risky, we should follow the path that this cave offers us.
—That could take us even longer. We do not know where it leads and what is worse, if it has any internal path that continues to rise towards the North —Eyes of Heaven said.
—I do not think it is a good idea to continue outside. Look, the accumulation of snow closes our way forward —Peace said
—Then let's not think about it anymore. We went through the mountains inside —Hope said, and entering a few meters to protect herself from the wind, she took from her rucksack a single and small lantern that the group had, with whose flames she lit two torches that Compassion had hanging from her rucksack.
Eyes of Heaven and Hope were the guides, illuminating with the torches given by Compassion; Youth, Light and Peace were very close to them keeping guard for their quick protection, if there was any danger that prowled around; and Abed was at the end of the row with a lantern in hand guarded by Love and Compassion. In that way, the group began its journey through that cave in which minutes before that strange hairy head hid...
They walked rocky roads for hours that even inside the mountains were in some cases covered by snow. In fact, much of the high cavern—like roof was decorated with snow, as moistness in a house.
The route was twisting, for the luck of those, going more towards the Northeast than in any other direction —Since they had to go to the Northeast if they want to reach the cloudy forests near the Ghost Port—.
They moved between narrow stretches that later widened and then reduced again. Until after a long time, they found a first challenge that pretended to be not only for that group which supposedly inhabited that long and almost infinite cave.
—What is that? —Youth asked without lowering her bow and arrow.
—It looks like an eagle —Hope answered. Eyes of Heaven approached to verify if it was that animal, although he was really interested to know what or who had finished with the life of that bird.
