Third-person POV, 4 years ago.
Panchaes Village.
This village was one of the many towns and villages that made up the Pijao, a diverse ethnic group of Chibcha and Amazonian ancestry. Its people were characterized as quite warlike, except for people who shared some of their beliefs.
To the north of the Pijao were the Muisca, whom they considered part of their ancestry, but with whom they had clashes or disputes over hunting and gathering areas. However, their relations were never entirely bad; in fact, they exchanged a large amount of goods, such as cotton and honey, for local Pijao products.
Over the past year, the people who lived in the Panchaes village had noticed that their northern neighbors had made strange movements: they were gathering in larger communities or increasing the number of houses per town or village. At first, they thought they were preparing for a big fight with them, but the situation was quite the opposite.
The Muisca invited their priests to a religious gathering and the leaders of the Pijao people to a meeting about new trade treaties. They came with gifts and proposals for better relations, which the Pijao people received with caution. However, after some discussions, they decided to meet with their neighbors. They sent an important priest from the Panchaes people along with their leader.
The people sent spent a long time in their territory; it seemed they would not return, and their people were already preparing for another war. But before things got worse, they appeared with good news and gifts. The leaders organized a meeting, and the priests did the same. The former unanimously decided to accept the trade treaties and also the possibility of a union if their people accepted the conditions imposed by the Muisca.
On the other hand, the Pijao priests met for religious reasons that would completely change their understanding of the Gods. The priest of the Panchaes village, who was sent to that meeting, explained Chuta's words to everyone. At first, they seemed skeptical, but as they thought more deeply about the matter, they began to understand that the "prophesied" child might be right. After a few meetings with the boy in the South City, everyone was convinced and supported the union leaders' decision.
Panchaes Sanctuary.
"Priest, what are we playing today?", asked a little girl.
"Umza, we won't be able to play today", the priest said to the girl.
"Are we not going to play again?", she asked with a sad look on her face. "But you just got back from that meeting, and we haven't played in a long time", she said, annoyed but with a tender look on her face.
"There are things to do, Umza. If you want, you can go play with the village children", the priest offered.
"But they're boring", she said reluctantly. "Also, I want to continue learning that language you taught me before", she said, awaiting the priest's response.
"Later we can learn again", he said, trying to calm the girl.
"It's a promise", she said, happy to see the priest's commitment.
"Sure, it's a promise", he confirmed, ruffling her hair, pleased with the girl's curiosity.
"By the way, what do you have to do, dear priest?", she asked curiously. "I can help you if you want", the girl offered.
"I have to learn to write about our gods", he replied.
"Write? What's that?", the girl asked, confused.
"Writing is putting our words on stone, wood, or paper using symbols called letters", he explained patiently.
"Using symbols", she said thoughtfully. "What is paper?", she asked again.
"This is paper", he said, taking out a stack of papers Chuta had sent them, to record all the knowledge they had of the gods. "This is a pencil, these are the letters… and this is how your name would be written", the priest told her as he slowly wrote the girl's name.
"My name?", she asked, touching the paper where the priest had written. She felt a sense of belonging; she believed the paper with her name on it was very important to her, and seeing those unfamiliar letters only increased her curiosity and desire to learn about writing.
"Yes", the priest affirmed, noticing the girl's dismay. "This is a 'u,' then comes the 'm,' the 'z,' and finally the 'a,'" the priest patiently explained.
"Can I try?", she asked excitedly.
"Sure", the priest immediately responded, handing her the same paper along with a pencil.
"Is it written correctly?", she asked with an anxious look, having finished writing her name.
"Very well done", the priest complimented her, seeing how well the girl had done for her first time trying to write.
"Great!", said the girl, jumping up and down with excitement and hugging the priest.
"Yes, well done, good work, Umza, you might have talent for this", encouraged the priest, seeing the girl's reaction.
"Do you think so?", he asked, staring at him.
"Yes", he responded immediately.
"I want to keep learning, then", she said determinedly. "This man who invented writing is a genius", commented the girl, running her fingers over the strokes that represented her name on the paper.
"I'll teach you, but you have to be a good student", said the priest firmly. "But he's not a man, he's a boy", corrected the priest, seeing that the girl didn't know anything about Chuta.
"Thank you very much", she thanked him. "Wait a minute… Did you say a boy invented this?", she asked, confused.
"Yes, he is", he confirmed. "SuaChie Chuta, the child prophesied by the gods", he said as he wrote his name next to Umza's on the same paper.
"A boy", Umza said in surprise. "SuaChie Chuta", she murmured as she touched the paper over the strokes of the child's name.
Two years later, Mountain Crossing City.
"Priest, could you tell the people to stop making noise?", the girl asked as she entered the meeting room of the new shrine.
"We can't stop people from coming to pray to the gods", the priest calmly denied.
"But I need to translate other texts from the shrine", she said angrily.
"I know, but you must understand that many people are thanking the gods for two good years of harvests and for how their lives have improved", he explained in the same calm tone.
"They should be thanking Chuta for that", she said ironically in a low voice.
"Young Chuta, or Son of Heaven. That's what you should call him", the priest corrected. "Besides, you should know that the Son of Heaven always attributes these merits to the gods; you should do the same, too", the priest commented, looking at her critically.
"But it's thanks to Chuta that we all live better", the girl said with a hint of devotion. "All right, we should thank the gods for that", she corrected, seeing the priest looking at her a little angrily.
"That's better", he said, showing a calm face.
"By the way, can I meet him?", she said expectantly.
"I don't think you can", he said. "He's quite busy", he added.
"Can't I yet?", she asked dejectedly.
"You'll meet him someday; you must be patient", the priest said, calming the girl.
"But I've waited a long time", Umza said, saddened by the priest's response.
One year later, Sanctuary of the Crossing Mountains City.
"Umza, are you here?", asked the priest, entering the sanctuary's library.
"Here I am, priest", Umza called from between the shelves. "What do you need?", she asked as she approached him.
"I've come from the Kingdom meeting", he said, flashing a mysterious smile.
"I know", she said without giving it much thought. "Surely the gods made young Chuta achieve great advancements again", she said ironically.
"That's right", confirmed the priest without criticizing her ironic tone. "But that's not all", he said, flashing his mysterious smile again.
"Just tell me right now. I've spent a long time reviewing the records, and I don't feel like guessing", she said in a neutral tone.
"Well, the Son of Heaven created an advanced school called the Academy, which will teach the smartest people in the entire kingdom. It's even possible that he himself will teach at this academy", he said, waiting for her reaction.
"That's good", said Umza casually. "Wait… Are you saying that young Chuta will teach people?", Umza asked after analyzing the priest's words.
"That's right", he confirmed, pleased with Umza's reaction.
"Can I come?", she asked longingly.
"Of course you will", he said with a big smile.
"I'll finally be able to meet him", she said, ecstatic.
One month later, Central City, Simte Academy.
"She's beautiful", Umza thought, seeing a girl her age who looked lost.
"I'm Umza", she said, taking the other girl's hand without her permission. "I hope we'll be friends", she thought as they chatted.
The two girls continued to keep each other company, hoping to share this important moment in both of their lives. The girls began to chat about their subjects when they noticed that they both had classes taught by Chuta, the boy they had so wanted to see.
"She seems to like him", Umza thought, seeing Nyia's reaction.
At first, Umza thought she might be his direct competition for Chuta's love, but after some thought and remembering that some of the most important people in the Pijao villages could marry multiple wives, his caution disappeared, and he began to see the shy Nyia as an ally.
"She'll see him first, and since she's so easy to read, young Chuta will surely notice her feelings", she mused, comparing her schedule with Nyia's. "I'll have to approach him more directly, and put Nyia on the same boat, so she can't reject us", Umza thought, flashing a mysterious smile.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Hello everyone.
Here's another story about the kingdom's progress, told from the perspective of another character.
Unnecessary fact of the day: The Chibcha cultures originate from human movements thousands of years ago from the north. If you look for maps showing the ancestry of these people, you'll notice they settled in the southern part of Central America and the northern part of South America.
Read my other novel called The Walking Dead: Vision of the Future.
You can find it on my profile.]