text: The council had gathered in the Elder chamber. It was not a special occurrence, simply a meeting to discuss the welfare of the people. Chatwa Shaytan was begrudging present, these meetings never seemed to amount to much other than a waste of time for the Elders. As the Elders began, Chatwa found himself struggling to stay conscious in his older age. He sat up in his chair, forcing himself awake by studying the faces of the rest of the council. They Council of Elders was ironically named, he was the only true elder left. The younger faces were all of the leading male in each faction, none of them were older than forty cycles. Chatwa, was well beyond with an age of 130 cycles. It had been a struggle to still have a prominent voice in this council. The younger Elders were always pushing to remove his vote. Today, it seemed would be like any other. With the council discussing simple matters; what to do with the rash of thefts, how to keep control of a growing society, and of course the discussion of removing the old texts. Whenever the latter came up Chatwa was the one to adamantly fight for the inclusion of the texts. They held vital information on the coming of the light. Something that no one alive had any knowledge of anymore. Chatwa being the oldest had only partial memories of the light, folk tales that had been passed down from his grandelder. Chatwa was certain that these tales had come from truth and thus the texts should be held sacred and preserved. However, as each Elder was replaced he had less and less support. This meeting however would be different. Chatwa was about to suggest the insane. He had read through the remaining texts and found some references to a being called Gawantu. Gawnatu was some sort of large being that brought the light. At this point it was all but myth, but Chatwa believed different. He proposed venturing out over the horizon, to search Gawantu, to see if it could explain the light, or bring it back. As Chatwa explained his adventure to the council, the Elders looked bored. After he finished speaking he looked around the room for some sign of hope. All that he found was the look of boredom, with some Elders having fallen asleep. Chatwa sat down defeated, and as he sat he realized that he had lost. The Elders must have seen the despair on Chatwa’s face, because not long after he had finished they began to call the vote for his removal. Chatwa didn’t even have the heart to raise his hand in protest. The decision had been unanimous. Concluding today’s meeting, Chatwa would be removed as head Elder and sentenced to live his life at the edge of the village. The meeting was adjourned and Chatwa stepped down from his high Elder seat, walking solemnly to the door. He could feel the eyes of the Elders now on him. Without turning back he walked proudly out into the darkness. He went all the way to his camp, the small tent felt lonely now. He sat on the cold ground, looking up to the dark sky. The embers way up in the sky flickered back at him. The same embers that the old texts had spoken about. Chatwa was always entranced by them. He never would have predicted the commonalty between these embers and the coming light that was also referenced in the texts. As he contemplated the old texts, something shot across the sky. It was a bright light, followed by a long burning trail. He watched as the light fell over the horizon. Chatwa leapt to his feet. His eyes now scanning the sky and the horizon where the light had fallen. Could this be a sign? No one had ever seen such a light, and he couldn’t remember there being any mention of a moving light in the texts. He looked back at the Elder chamber. Perhaps he should go and announce this discovery to the council. No, he thought, they would simply dismiss him as always. Instead he decided to pursue this light, in search of answer or proof to show the council. He hurriedly wrapped his belongs and threw the sack of items over his shoulder. He headed off into the dark, unsure of what he would find. Chatwa walked in the same direction, each time he looked back at the village he could see the distance he had travelled by how small everything became. It wasn’t until he had gotten so far that he couldn’t see the village that he felt free. The terrain was fairly flat, the further he walked the rougher it became. Eventually, he was unable to walk in a neat straight line. He was forced to deviate his path and hike around large boulders or around deep ravines. Every few hours he would stop and rest, his older physique making the trip slower. On the third day he noticed something on the horizon, something that wasn’t there before. It was like a large curved mountain, stretching the full length of the horizon and farther. Chatwa had never seen anything like it. Both of his hearts began to race, beating like drums in his head. He pushed forward as fast as his body would allow. Now with each day the curve grew larger overhead. Chatwa had no idea how far away it was, but it seemed not to be a structure on the surface. Instead it appeared to float high in the sky, and soon it engulfed the whole of the sky. Chatwa could see no end to the disk, it went on as far as his eyes could see. He sat down, looking at the disk. Hoping that it would was linked to the light that he had seen falling. He had been walking for several days, his home now far behind him. He had not seen any sight of the light, and now without the embers in the sky his vision had only improved. The giant disk helped to block the light from the embers, which let his eyes function better. He leaned forward on his knees, tired from walking. He looked up once more to the disk, unsure of what to do. In despairation he called out. “Are you Gawantu?” he yelled to the disk, “Are you the keeper of the coming light?” in return he got no reply. He must have looked so foolish, yelling to a floating disk in the sky. But the longer he sat there the more he felt as though he was right. So he sat, and began to talk to the disk, calling it Gawantu and asking for answers. He spoke to Gawantu for days, asking about the texts and the coming light. Every day he received no answers. Until one day, as he woke from his slumber he saw something on the horizon. It hurt to look at, the brightness stung his eyes. He looked to Gawantu, and asked if this was the coming light. Again he got no response, but he could now see color on the surface of Gawantu. It had to be a sign, the coming light had returned! How lucky was Chatwa that he had found it! The falling light was nothing compared to the discovery of the coming light! The texts had been true. Chatwa was so excited, his spot on the council would be returned he would be a hero. He began his journey home. As he started back, he kept looking over his shoulder to see the light fading, Gawantu was protecting it until he returned! He shouted to Gawantu in thanks, promising to return with followers. His body was acting as though it was only 80 cycles, allowing him to push for home much faster than when he left. It was still days before he managed to see the village in the distance, but once he saw it he moved even faster. He didn’t stop until he was at the entrance to the Elder chamber. He caught his breathe and stepped inside. The Elders had never been so lively, they were conversing and debating louder than Chatwa had ever heard. He stepped into the circle at the center of the chamber and addressed the High Elder. “I have seen the coming light! Gawantu has shown it to me!” He shouted, trying to speak over the other Elders. “Gawantu has kept it safe for us until we found him again. We must go and see!” Chatwa began to plead with the council. He didn’t stop to let them object, he quickly told them all of what he had seen, how he started to follow the falling light and it lead him to Gawantu. He told them how he spoke for days to Gawantu and must have gained his trust. He told them of the coming light and how Gawantu was holding it behind him. Finally, after he told his whole story he waited, this time once he was finished every Elder was awake, their eyes fixed on him. The focus didn’t last long. They all began laughing, Chatwa’s hearts sank. He thought that this would be enough to persuade them. Instead they thought it was all a joke. They laughed for so long that Chatwa was walking outside before they stopped to address him. “Chatwa” boomed the High Elder, “do not come back this time, we beg of you” He smiled, still humored by the statements that Chatwa had made. Chatwa left utterly defeated. He stepped into the darkness and was surprised to be surrounded by several villagers. They told him how they had heard what he said, the story of Gawantu’s return and the coming light. They urged Chatwa to take them with him. Chatwa was dismissive of their enthusiasm, he almost believed that he had made the whole thing up. The villagers were persistent, they kept following him. Broken, Chatwa turned to them. Explaining that he was just a foolish old man and that he was wrong. He was leaving the city and never returning. Despite his dismissal of his followers, they continued to pursue him. He kept walking, some of the followers noticed that they were getting rather far from the village. Maybe it was fear, or just a lack of adventure but several of the followers turned back, deciding instead to stay in the village. But some stayed determined to learn of the coming light. As they walked Chatwa became more open, and began to answer questions. He told of the old texts, how they told of the coming light. He told the people how he saw the light on the horizon. As the village disappeared from sight, they were in deep conversation. The followers treated Chatwa as a chosen speaker for Gawantu, treating him as though Gawantu spoke through him. Chatwa reveled in this idea. He felt chosen, that this was his destiny. He lead the people across the land, over the trenches and past the boulders. As they walked Chatwa couldn’t help but fill in the blanks for the old text, explaining what the coming light was and why it had left. It told the people that it had once been a gift from Gawantu, handed to the people to protect them from the darkness. Over time Gawantu grew tired of the people taking the light for granted and he took it. When the people learned to live without it, Gawantu moved to the far side of the land, behind the horizon. There he waited until someone of true passion sought him out. This person was Chatwa. The people enjoyed the story, and the more Chatwa told them the more he was worshiped. The day came when the people saw for themselves, the large curve in the sky on the horizon. Some were hesitant to go farther, but Chatwa spoke to them and gained their faith. They went further, soon Gawantu was all they could see as they looked up. And on the far side of Gawantu’s surface, they could see the coming light. It was only a day or so later that they saw the light on the surface. Chatwa, explained that because they were inferior they could not look directly at it. The group migrated further toward the light. As the group got closer the temperature began to raise, Chatwa calmed the people letting them know that this new warmth was a good thing. It symbolized the Gawantu reaching out to them and leading them to the light. As the days passed, Chatwa noticed that the light was already covering a significantly larger area than it had when he first arrived. The group had also noticed a change in their bodies. Their skin which was once fair and pale had begun to darken and seem drier. Now they were so close to the light that it was almost impossible to see in any direction. They had to squint to keep the light from hurting their eyes. The dark coloring in their skin was now turning into a bright red, and some people had begun to peel skin from their body. Chatwa reassured the scared group, that this was an offering to Gawantu. As your body transcended into the light it would break free and lead them to the light. In a day or so some of the worst burned followers couldn’t walk any further, the temperature was now beyond bareable. Many argued that they should turn back, that this was a trap. Chatwa stayed true, promising Gawantu’s healing powers and eternal salvation after the transcendence. It wasn’t until members started to perish that Chatwa himself began to doubt Gawantu. Followers were now turning back, hoping to make it out of the light before it was too late. Chatwa, still in disbelief that Gawantu would kill them, pushed on. His own skin now peeling in large chunk, his eyes burned even when they were closed. On his last day, he spoke to Gawantu. “Why Gawantu, why have you abandoned us?” He pleaded with the disk in the sky. “Why have you made your love so harsh, do you wish for us to go back?” Still no answer from the disk. Chatwa leaned forward, the light burning his back, he could go no further. In his finally moments he wept, but no tears came.