25 Pharaohss - 1 (1/2)
”The Hyngraves were once mountains. But they're so old, they've lost so much to erosion by the elements, they're just tall hills now. If there's a reason they're still called mountains, blame it on the Nashi,” Jerry introduced as the Hyngraves appeared as the end of the road.
”I need a break,” Pratt said, pulling over.
”Tired?” Dia asked.
Pratt shrugged. He began walking laps around the car. Jerry had us roll down the windows and continued.
”It's not exactly our subject, but it becomes necessary in our field of study. The ecology, the geological roots, the astronomy of the time, all the real sciences prove essential. Let's see how, shall we?”
”Sure,” the twins said together.
I knew right then, I was in for a show.
”Why did the Nashi climb the Hyngraves?” Dia began.
”Nashi sprouted a few decades after the fall of Vyaraishi,” Pratt picked up. ”So, it is a logical question, was there a connection?”
”And if there was, then would that make Nashi a child of the terrible war?”
”Or, if the connection was something else, then would that mean the Nashi was a child of desertion. If so, what was the cause?”
”More importantly, if all of that was true, if the Nashi were truly Vyaraishi, how did people of central flatlands find home on the peaks of the Hyngraves?”
”What could have happened? And how great could the impact of that something be? So, how scarred were the Nashi?”
It was finally Jerry's turn.
”All of that leads to the critical question,” he said with a deep smile. ”The differences between Nashi and Vyaraishi, how much were they deliberate, resulting from the Nashi trying to put the past behind, and how much was true enlightenment, which the Nashi stressed much more upon than the Vyaraishi.”
”Where does astronomy figure?” I asked.
Jerry answered.
”The Vyaraishi placed great importance on the heavens. The sun and the stars told them of the past as well as the tomorrow. Astrology was a guiding light. The Nashi loved the clouds and the skies, but to them the heavens were beautiful paintings to admire. They were too dreamy to direct any effort at studying the heavens.”
”You'll see as we drive up,” Pratt said, as he returned behind the wheel.
And I did see.
The road that was mostly straight along the flatlands, began winding as it climbed the Hyngraves. It was like a serpent coiled around the mountains. As we climbed higher, the outside began to truly change. The clouds were so much nearer, so much fuller and so much more beautiful. I could see the voices of the Nashi in the air.