In The Beginning

  Chapter Forty Eight

  Five years after I told the tribe my story Kalou gave birth to our third son, whom we named Abel. He was followed seven years later by our fourth son, Asher. Each time she came to me I was overjoyed to hear the words that she was with child. I loved my sons and enjoyed helping to raise them, but after four boys I began to wonder if we would ever have a daughter.

  Finally, our fifth child was a girl, and she was the first of our children to look like her mother. The boys all favored me in both their coloring and size, but thankfully our daughter favored her beautiful mother. She had Kalou’s dark hair and dark, flashing eyes, and as she grew it became obvious she also had her mother’s intelligence and strength of will. But she was a good-natured girl and soon became the center of attention in the house, with her brothers spoiling her the most. We named her Shalon, in honor of Kalou’s mother.

  I taught and trained my children in their abilities from their youth, and as they reached adulthood they began to realize just how different their size, strength and other abilities made them. I was disappointed to see that as my children got older they began to develop a sense of superiority to the rest of the tribe. With dismay I noticed them adopting an arrogant and privileged demeanor. I took some time and surreptitiously observed their behavior, and it became obvious to me that they had decided they were better than everyone else.

  What disappointed me the most about their behavior was that I had always stressed to them that all people were made in God’s image. While we were physically stronger and had our special abilities that the rest of the tribe did not share, our family was not intellectually or morally superior. We were all humans and equal.

  As I saw my children’s sense of entitlement growing, I knew I had to do something before it was too late. For too many years I had believed in my superiority to what I had considered the inferior tribal people. I now knew how wrong I had been, and I was ashamed of what I had believed. I didn’t want my children to make the same mistakes I had made.

  One day it came to me, and I suddenly realized what I had missed in their training. My children knew we were of a different race, and they had been taught about our special abilities. They knew I was the ruler of this city, and I had control over the destiny of the tribe. Of course this had given them a sense of entitlement. I had failed my children because I should have taught them that our position and their special abilities did not entitle them to privileges, but instead obligated them to service and duty.

  As special, powerful individuals and the rulers in this land, our family should be obligated to a higher standard, to exceptional levels of duty and sacrifice. We all needed to understand that because of who we were, we had to give more to others. My children would be the leaders, yes, but they needed to understand that we were here to serve and help the tribe. I had taught my children about their abilities, but I had never taught them why our race was given those abilities. They had been given their abilities to accomplish great things for the tribe, and their gifts were not for their own gain, but for all the people.

  When Enoch was about forty, I added lessons about what it really meant to be a member of our family and a leader in the tribe to the teachings I gave all my children, from Enoch down to the youngest. We discussed free will and the power to choose your own path at length. I emphasized the need for service and the importance of using our abilities for the good of the tribe, but I also emphasized the folly of arrogance and pride, as this was the trap that waited at the door for every one of them. I know these heart-felt lessons helped, because I soon began to notice positive changes in their attitudes towards the people.

  Our family continued to grow, and by the time Enoch was fifty years old he had nine siblings, six of them male and three female.

  When it came to a trade, most children in the tribe followed in the footsteps of their parents. If the father was a farmer or a woodworker, that was what the son would do. Of course there were some young people that wanted to do something different than their parents, and that was fine, but normally children followed their parents.

  Eventually my children would be the leaders of this city and throughout the land, and in order to relate to all the people, I wanted each of them to know how to do every trade. Therefore, all my children were required to spend at least one year learning and working in every major trade. They would often spend significantly more than one year working in an area if they enjoyed it or wanted to learn all of the intricacies of the position. Several of my children became incredibly skilled at some of the trades, becoming among the most knowledgeable in the city.

  My son Abel, who like his namesake loved working with animals, became renowned for his knowledge of livestock. He was instrumental in advancing the way we culled our flocks, and also how we rotated and pastured our sheep and goats, which reduced overgrazing and improved crop yields even further.

  Both Asher and my seventh son Eben became expert woodworkers, while my fifth son Corran became a master of shaping and using stone. Together these men advanced the building trades as innovators and inventors, with new tools being developed which improved the lives of everyone.

  Both Shalon and her younger sister Kera were instrumental in reorganizing the operations of the storehouses, which continued to become larger and more complex as the city grew.

  My daughter Keela was extremely creative. She became the best weaver in the city, and actually made some revisions to the age-old design of the loom. These revisions made it easier to weave the cloth, even while improving the speed at which the weaver could work.

  I was incredibly proud of the accomplishments of all my children. Every one of them was intelligent and a hard worker that did their best. This was all I could ask of anyone.

  My family was growing and getting older, and soon they would go into the world to spread their wings and make their own paths. It was in their nature and their blood. I had done everything I could to prepare them as they grew, and now it was up to them.