A Page From Brimstone and Wather

Prologue

The sea crossed onto the land in a thunderous wave that reached far above the coastal towns and villages without warning. Ships that had weathered ocean storms and battles at sea were tossed and broken into splinters within minutes, as the fifty-foot wave heaved them against their moorings. Battle-hardened sailors were drowned in seconds from the wave’s fierce strength. The few that survived tried to help those who were injured only to become victims themselves when the next towering tsunami washed across the land and dragged them into the depths.

Mynah cried out in horror at the sight as she watched in stunned disbelief from high up the side of Mount Ida. How could the gods forsake us? her mind screamed.

The Minoan Akrotiri settlement on the island of Thera sent word about the terrifying catastrophic volcanic eruption of Mount Thera. The earthquake it caused shook the very foundations of the earth and was felt in kingdoms far removed beyond the hills and valleys of the north. The few traveling survivors said the eruption that released the suffocating clouds of ash among them had spread with the god of the winds farther than the eye could see.

Could this be what brought about our own troubles? Mynah wondered. But why would the gods destroy that place and bring such devastation toward our people? Only the under gods bring brimstone from the center of the earth to torture and destroy those who do not obey and make sacrifice. Is what the Jewish traveler said true, that there is a living god and he brought this disaster to us? Our people must have food, or we will be no more. I fear the future. She trembled. I fear for my people.