Chapter 1: The State of the Village
Zargiath, a combination of his first and last name Zar + Giath, and his brother Targiath or simply Tar Giath were born in the Giath family.
This family was old and weathered, before they were a great, great power, now whittled down to skin, bone and infertility.
“The Giath’s of old rose to wealth through our mysterious understanding of agriculture, here we farmed rare herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables in incredible amounts and sold them as raw resources. No one knew our secrets.
We rose to power as we understood the mysteries of life, our Giath name became at the end of all tongues, we walked through the greater villages, people staring at our immense fortitude, worthy of the surname Giath, our men were tall stretching upwards of 8ft with wonderful physique, our women angelic, beautiful and fair.
We were for the people, against inhumanities, we helped the poor, healed the wea- *cough, cough*” Oldman Giath, who was Zar and Tar’s father attempted to regain his composure before continuing the story, however. “My lungs, my throat, my frame grows weak – let's end it here, soon I will pass and will no longer be able to hold the dimming torch of our family. The heavens have cursed us and now we are nothing as our once were ancestors but mere afterimages, if only I could see the day we would rise again. Our knowledge has been lost due to that event. Leave me, I must rest.”
Zar and Tar left the tattered shed, you could hardly call it much of a room or a house for that matter, the Giath’s outer land had been brought by wealthier families, the money used to keep what remained of the Giath’s alive. There was Zar and Tar, Oldman Giath – they took the stance of the heads of the village, there was Pam and Lam, the daughters of the Oldman and the brothers of Zar and Tar. They took the stance as the female heads.
Traditionally, heads of any family or village were referred to as Grands, such as Grand Elder. Below Grands were Greaters, Commons, Lessers, Pettys, Laymans.
Grands managed the village as a whole, holding the highest law and authority.
Greaters worked as the grands right-hands and enforcers, having the closest relationship to the highest law. Typical greater activity was very lofty, overseeing the corners and dark spots of the village that the grands had no time for, they were extremely busy, requiring constant assistance from the commons.
Commons worked as the greaters right-hands, following their commands. Commons typically were in charge of maintaining order as police enforcers, protectors or even in some rare cases, judges. It was far more typical that a Greater was a judge.
Lessers worked for the commons as their right-hands, they oversaw work and village activities, ensuring that villagers were cared for and were receiving the correct treatment. You would typically sell your produce to a lesser if a petty was not available.
Pettys worked for the lessers as their right-hands, they were typically helping lessers with grunt-work and tedious tasks that the lessers would rather not do, such as counting, accounting and such things. It was common to see a petty dual tasking between agricultural work and the more cerebral activities of lesser work.
Laymans did not work for anyone but themselves, the layman may simply live for himself or herself, or may attempt to contribute to the village to attain higher ranks. It was extremely uncommon for a layman family to rise to the greater rank, rising to the petty rank was already extremely difficult across the lands.
The Giath Family and village, so deeply devastated by past catastrophes were now whittled down to the metaphorical role of a layman even though they were technically grands and greaters. All the commons, lessers, pettys and laymans had either passed due to starvation or had left the village for greener pastures in other villagers.
Pam and Lam were sitting with other sisters of the village, Zar and Tar approached.
“How was the chat with the oldman? *cough*” Asked Pam seeing the brothers arriving from the tattered shed where the oldman rested.
“His health is growing worse by the day.” Replied Zar.
“Hmm, yes, I am afraid he may not live till the end of the week.” Added Tar.
“Grave, grave indeed, *cough – cough*” replied Pam.
Pam, like all Giaths had blood-red hair, although it was now somewhat pale due to her ill-health, she had the same disease that the oldman had, it destroyed the lungs rapidly overtime. The Giath family was unique for this reason, unlike many other families they all possessed deep blood-red hair. You could tell Giath from a mile away and what little reputation they still had from their heroic past stived away any unnecessary racism and maltreatment, with one exception.
The Giaths, or what was left of them chatted and chatted. Zar listened in and faded out of the discussion, enjoying the serene scenery beyond their failing crops. The green distant pastures, the triangular distant mountains, the array of large and small trees. “What mysteries lay beyond our petty existence?” pondered Zar to himself.
The day was soon over, and the remaining grains were cooked into rice to be eaten such that sustenance could keep the Giaths alive. The oldman refused to eat, perhaps hoping for death in his sleep due to the pain, Pam shoved it down, perhaps hoping for a second chance, it hurt to swallow.
End of Chapter 1
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