Chapter 32 Canaan
The earthenware pot on the campfire was steaming.
The bodies on the ground were not yet cold.
The stench of fish and the aroma of meat mingled together, spreading across the ruins.
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This is the best meal the kids have ever had.
Ignoring the heat, they scrambled for the tender, delicious jerky from the boiling pot... They ate with their mouths full of oil, some children pointing at each other's faces and laughing, unaware that they themselves had also become covered in grease.
This is the best meal the children have had since they were abandoned... just like the meals they ate during celebrations and holidays when their parents were still around... it's the best dream they can have as they sleep soundly at night.
The cold evening wind extinguished the campfire...
The bright moon dragged the stars down into the earth.
Overnight, fallen leaves filled the air, and the withered yellow hues of autumn swept across the world.
The next day, early morning.
As agreed with Arah, they prepared to leave with the children and head to Canaan.
He planned to settle the children in Canaan first, and then rush to Argos to meet with Dick and report the victory of the campaign against the lions to the King of Argos.
But when he reached the half-collapsed house where the children and the elderly lived, Yara suddenly discovered—
The child is still asleep, breathing evenly.
But the old man had already stopped breathing...
A peaceful smile appeared on his face. His thin body was curled up against the uneven wall at the entrance, sitting like a skinny old dog. The wooden cane he used to support himself had fallen limply to the ground.
Yara confirmed it again and again; the old man was indeed dead.
Looking behind the old man, there were more than a dozen little creatures sleeping soundly, occasionally smacking their lips.
Yara felt a tightness in her throat.
"He's too old; it wouldn't be surprising if he died anytime."
"Last night he experienced both great joy and sorrow, and then the temperature dropped... so he died."
Old Tyr explained that he had seen far too many deaths like this.
Pan bowed his head, silently mourning the old man...
He respects every warrior equally.
Whether fighting against enemies or against fate...
Yara remained silent for a long time, finally letting out a sigh and murmuring:
"He is a righteous man..."
...
After burying the old man.
Yara and the others took the children on their journey.
Some of the older children looked sad; they had learned about the old man's situation.
Some of the younger ones, who did not yet understand the meaning of death, would occasionally come to Yara and ask:
Where did Grandpa go?
Shouldn't we wait for him?
Yara would tell the child very directly:
"He's dead."
The child would say with concern:
"I know he's dead, but shouldn't we wait for him? He'll be worried if he can't see us!"
Explaining death to children is a cruel and troublesome task.
Yara would have had a hard time making the most beautiful things in the world confront the most desperate things in the world.
So he could only make up a fairy tale:
He went to a very, very far place...
Where?
"Heaven."
Yara pointed to the sky.
"Kind people who die will grow wings and become...angels, forever staying by God's side, enjoying delicious food and wine..."
The children would then stare intently at the blue sky, completely absorbed in listening and watching... as if trying to find the heavenly kingdom that Yara spoke of with their own eyes...
Yara could not have foreseen this.
The fairy tales he casually made up will take root and sprout in the young hearts of children.
And that ideal country called "Heaven" will become the faith they pursue throughout their lives in the years to come.
And I'm willing to give my life for it...
...
Heading east.
Ara had traveled this route with the Canaanites and knew it very well. He walked in front, Pan brought up the rear, while old Tyr guarded the flanks, and the children walked in the middle, holding hands.
Just as they had once walked from north to south under the protection of the old man, now they were to walk from west to east...
Fortunately, there were no major incidents along the way.
Several small caravans, upon seeing Yara, assumed she was a slave trader and wanted to buy the children at cost price. However, as soon as those bloated merchants approached to chat, Pan kicked them away.
This situation troubled Yara deeply. These people treated children like commodities, like bargaining chips to be traded at will... This feeling made Yara extremely uncomfortable.
If it were just one or two people, he could simply kill them... But when this idea arises in a country, a region, and among all the people...
Therefore, Yara could only feel immense sorrow and pain...
But this is precisely what Yara wants to change... The more grief he feels, the more he wants to rebel, to stop it all, to change it all...
This impulse came from his heart, from his soul....
He kept recalling the divine message the Lord had given him during the third summons—
[Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your Lord...]
His desire to change this situation is just;
He felt pity for the suffering of children and women;
He possesses divine power but does not abuse it; he is humble...
He remembered the vow he had made to the Lord, and also to himself—
[Act righteous deeds, contemplate ways to save the world...]
So what exactly does he need to do to change all of this?
Throughout the journey, Yara remained lost in thought.
On the road.
It also involves questioning one's own soul...
...
"That is Canaan."
"My home..."
"This will also be a home for these children in the future."
Traveling with children was not easy. Even with familiarity with the terrain, it took them nearly a month and a half to reach the eastern forest of the Nemea Plain.
Not far away, the wilderness, surrounded by three mountain ranges, was shrouded in mist... In the hazy mist, Yara could vaguely see some neat houses, scattered yet well-arranged.
Yara was overjoyed. He knew that, as he had planned, the little wooden houses for each family should have been completed, and the Canaanites should have moved from their tents into their houses, with each family having its own independent little house.
With these measures in place, winter won't be too cold, and many fewer people will die... The elderly and children with weaker constitutions should be able to get through this harsh winter safely...
At the same time, he also thought of his wife... She was pregnant, and he had instructed the elders and the pockmarked man beforehand to take good care of her while Yara was away and to make sure nothing happened to her...
If I suddenly appeared in front of her at that moment—
How surprised she must have been!
Yara was lost in thought, and a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.
He led the group into the grasslands of Canaan, where the vegetation always seemed to wither a little later than elsewhere; the green beneath their feet hadn't even faded yet, and the herbivorous deer and antelopes seemed never to have diminished...
Even old Tyre's first reaction upon seeing this place was one of astonishment and praise:
"This is indeed a good place."
With three adults and a group of children, Yara's group was clearly visible on the grassland.
Soon, the Canaanites discovered them.
Led by a pockmarked man and an elder, a group of about a dozen men carrying machetes rushed to the village entrance, staring menacingly at the group in the distance.
"What are you doing!"
"This is a divinely blessed land protected by God!"
"If... um... ya... yara!"
"Oh my god, it's Yara! Yara is back!"
...