Kingdoms of Men

"Raphèl maì amècche zabì almi."

Introduction: Light in the Darkness

Watching the sun begin to set in the west, Rom, who would later be called Rome, took from his pouch a scroll that he discovered in the ruins of an old library, somewhere in Asia Minor. Sitting himself down on a nearby rock, Rom eagerly took to reading it, as he had been meaning to read it for some time, but was to busy to read it until now.

The scroll read as follows:

- As life on the earth flourished, the descendents of the first ones all settled into a fertile plain. It was there that their will's gave birth to the first Glory of the earth.

The first Glory of the earth watch over the humans, who he called dust spirits. He preserved the order and law that the men established, in fact, he would often influence their hearts and minds to establish certain orders and laws and decisions. He would them in whatever way he felt best, but they did not always do exactly what he moved them towards, because he could only influence them, not control them.

In time, he found that it was not only him that held powers of influence. The people themselves influenced him, but in different ways. He found that while he did not always influence them, at least not directly, the people were always influencing him, and usually in direct ways. He was the son of their will, after all. Thus, he discovered, he was like them, their offspring. He carried their hopes, dreams, beliefs, convictions. He carried their sense of right and wrong. Sometimes he could make them change those things, but not always, as he could usually only preserve the people as they are, and as they decide to be. But sometimes the people would have to preserve him, but they only knew of him faintly.

There were other Glories who arose as well, both in the plain and in other places of the nearby world, but the first Glory of the earth either killed them or subjugated them, holding sway over their own hearts as well. It turned out that they were his brothers and sisters, because they were all born from the will of the same people who's will gave birth to him. And so, he held power over them, and from the principal city state, Unug, he presided over the people and the other Glories. Because of this, the other Glories called him Unug. Later, him and the city would be called Uruk. But the people named the plain they settled in Sumer, and so the first Glory of the earth also called himself Sumer. It was then that he realized that he only called himself Sumer because that is what the people called him; the people influenced him.

It was then that he realized what he not only preserved the people and their hopes, dreams, beliefs, and convictions. He not only preserved their way of life, their orders and their law. He was those things. Just then, an exalted spirit from the higher planes appeared to him, and taught him and the other Glories about what they were, and what they were to do. Then it left them, they all went on to their separate ways. But Uruk saw the hopelessness that the other Glories brought upon the people, either intentionally or because they did not know who to live for the people. Because of those Glories, the people became backward, lost, and hopeless. They barely knew how to construct the tiniest, dirtiest of huts.

So Uruk worked hard to influence the people, and tapped into all of his power in order to sway them into the rightful direction. Under the sway of Uruk, also called Sumer, the people invented the ways of agriculture, writing, and irrigation. They also invented the arch.

And so, looking upon all that the people had accomplished, Sumer said to himself: "I have brought these people to a better place. The world is dark, and the people can be cruel and evil to each other. Other Glories may be cruel and evil to each other, but I shall not any longer. I shall be a just Glory... a just nation! I will be the light in the darkness of the world, and lead the people to honor and righteousness. I will light the way to greatness for these people, and all the people. I am the light in the darkness."

The people eventually founded many city states, including Ur, Kish, Nippur, Ngirsu, and Babylon, each with it's own Glory, or nation, that rose from the wills that built the cities themselves. And Sumer considered himself to be their elder brother. Soon, larger nations were born from collectives of city states, one of the first being Chaldea.

Babylon was Sumer's favorite brother. When Sumer died, he named Babylon as his heir. So Babylon took possession of all of the land and city states that Sumer had under his control at that time.

Now, the people during all of this time had three kings ruling over them, each over a division of the people, which the people had divided themselves into based on who their ancestors were; that is, the first ones. For many generations, the city Babylon was their principal city, and they invented many ideas, concepts, laws, and various ways of life and cultures. Eventually they made a horrible mistake, and were driven out by a higher Power.

But some stayed in Babylon and the surrounding land, including the Chaldeans, whose nation was Chaldea. After several generations, Chaldea would take control of Babylon and other nations, including Ur. That is why it is said, "Ur of the Chaldeans."

And so each of the three divisions of the people went their separate ways, into the unknown parts of the earth. They all settled into lands according to their clans and tribes, and would found new cities and cultures and ways of life. They would claim new lands and build new cities, each land or city with it's own Glory, or nation. -

Rom kept the scroll up close to his face, even though he had finished reading it. He had been searching for anything on the first nations: scrolls, tablets, anything. Now he finally had it.

Rom himself was already a very old nation himself, maybe even ancient. But he had only heard vague stories about the first nations, stories passed down over history. The first nations were the ones who paved the way for all nations after them, including himself. And he wanted to be as great as they were, maybe even greater.

The part of the scroll that fascinated him the most, however, was when Sumer said to himself, "I will be the light in the darkness of the world, and lead the people to honor and righteousness. I will light the way to greatness for these people, and all the people. I am the light in the darkness."

The world in Rom's time was also dark, and the various nations and peoples were often times cruel and even evil, just as in Sumer's time. But Sumer rose above the darkness of the world. He became a light, a great power that changed the world for the better. And now that is what Rom wanted to be, more than anything else. As the sun set behind the mountains, Rom pledged to himself, "I will be the light in the darkness! And I shall never die, I shall never fall! I will rise above every nation, and live on forever, shining light onto the dark places of the world!" As he said this, the last bit of the sun's light stretched over the land, and the dim golden-yellow hue of it shown off of Rom's armor and made him appear to be glowing, just as the land around him faded into the dark.

Rom was destined for greatness, however, little did he know that Babylon and Chaldea both pledged the same thing in their day. They both said they would never truly die, and that they would one day return. And perhaps they will...

Author's Notes: Ok so this introduction wasn't as well written as it could have been but I'm to lazy to change it. Also I know it's kind of weird but it's important to the story. So ya. :/