Coal raced through the cold university corridors, and came to rest at the cellar door. A bolt of lightning illuminated the corridor ahead, and he could hear the voices of students wandering the halls.
Not wanting to draw attention to himself or the enormous book he was carrying, he deftly slipped down the stairs to the cellar.
The electrical storm sizzled outside and the boom of thunder could be heard even underground. The power suddenly shut down as Coal took the last step into the dark dank cellar. Standing a moment to relish the shadows and bask in thier power, he called forth a simple sprite to cast a glow around the room. He quickly spotted an area that would suit him for reading.
Sitting cross legged on cold concrete, and wrapping a large dusty blanket around him for warmth, he set the Tome at his feet. The cover was decerative, and pictoral, he recognized the symbols to be that of the Inca's, an indian-esque empire that dominated south america around the 15th century, later to be conquered and destroyed by the spanish around 1535AD. In the center of the cover was an image of a serpent, two dimentional and pictoral like the rest, however somehow evil and foreboding. Paying no heed, he pulled open the leather bound cover. The pages were old and browned, and the text small and intricate. It was in story form, written in some style of latin, Coal could only just translate it. 'He came to the village that day, that warm day as the sun just peered out from behind the cold mountains, and one unwitting Incan villiager would soon know the torment of his wrath....'
'It was spring. The mountains and forests at thier feet beemed with life. A young villager, Chasqui, began his everyday duties of delivering messages throughout the villiage and surrounding lands. Chasqui was smallish in stature, the son of a poor farmer, he never decelped much like the other children, in fact he was only around 5'4" when he matured, and still weighed little more than a leaf. No matter where he delivered messages too in the surrounding villiages, he would always be teased by the other men, especially the warriors of whom he'd often be delivering a letter to from the Sapa of his village. Chasqui was good not to talk back to the stronger men, though he cursed them behind thier backs vowing to get revenge on thier torment one day. Oh how he prayed in Cuzco, at the great temple to Inti, to grant him power, grant him the strength to look down on these men who treat him no better then a bug. But the sun god was silent to Chasqui, but the faithful worshiper did not loose heart. He knew that Inti would bless him, oh how he set his every whim upon it. Inti was not there to save his mother from disease. Inti was not there to save his father from the cliffside. But Inti WOULD be there to grant him his one, meager wish.'
'Years went by and Chasqui continued delivering messeges for the Sapa. Now in his late 20's, he had not improved in stature, or power, and now on a regular basis would be pushed and pummeled by the larger warriors to whom he deliverd the letters. No woman would have him, he was far too scrawny to seem like he'd make a good husband, and now, so filled with depresion and anger that none would even talk to him. It was this anger and depression that brought Chasqui to sit at the edge of a cliffside along a road he's traveled so many times outside his home town. As black clouds rolled above, and rain drenched him, he looked twords the skies and spoke 'Why wont you just finish me, oh great Inti' he said. 'I am by far your worst creation, why not let me go. You took my mother from me when I was just a child, and I could do nothing, I was a helpless child. You mocked that and stole my father from me along these very cliff's I travel and know so well! You remind me daily that I am nothing, worthless, a pathetic urchin everytime I deliver my messages! I begged for so little, just to be liked, just to be honored. You ignored me! I curse you Inti! Curse you and your abominable soul!' Chasqui ragged and stood, angrily waving his fist twords the dark sky. The clouds above answered back. A bolt of brilliant yellow light arched from the heavens and shook the earth by Chasqui's feet, and as the rock gave away plumetting the man into the ravine below he screemed out '...curse you Inti!'
'BOOM' loud rolling thunder shook the cellar, as lightning flooded the store room Coal was huddled in. He jumped in shock, looking about the room at the eary shadows almost to vast and dark for himself not to fear, but his attention not easily broken, quickly returned the the Tome, and the story of Chasqui.