Book of Krayhan - The Story of Jamzeze

The following is an exerpt from the Book of Kray, the holy text used by the Dhragolon. It began as an oral tradition, but was eventually documented into a single text. The story is still being transcribed.

Background
The story is set several thousand years after the Great Flood. During this time, Yallvus had not been constructed, but at the time, the city of Sal'jemeru was the most populated.

The full text of the Book of Kray is over one thousand pages long, and the story itself consists of the last few chapters of the book. What follows is the abridged version of the story, written so that younger Dhragolon can understand it. Every Dhragolon child is required to read this story in schools. Not only does it teach them about their religion, but also morals.

The Old Man of the Desert
There laid an old man amongst the sea of sand. He was injured, dying of thirst and desperately awaited help. Nowhere in sight was a sign of civilization. Yet, the man patiently waited not calling for help.

It was not long until a travelling merchant riding a Ckabaloh (a horse like creature) encountered the old man. "Please," the old man begged, "let me journey with you."

"I'm sorry, but I am in a hurry. I must quickly be on my way to sell these goods." The merchant left the old man behind who continued to wait for someone else.

Not long after, a warrior passed by the old man. "Please," the old man begged, "let me journey with you."

"I'm sorry, but I am in a hurry. I must quickly be on my way to defend my village."

The old man grew tired, but still did not give up on death. Not long after, a middle-aged man from Behem passed by riding a Ckabaloh. By the look of him, the middle-aged man had very little money and travelled the desert regularly. "Please," the old man begged, "let me journey with you."

The middle-aged man said, "Certainly old man, but you are injured. Allow me to tend to your wounds." The middle-aged man got up off the Ckabaloh and grabbed some bandages from his pack. He wrapped them around the old man's wounds then helped him onto his feet.

"Thank you," the old man said. "Where are you going?"

"To the city of Sal'jemuru. I wish to find work there. I have little money and I wish to make a living."

"You have made a good choice helping me," the old man said. "For my gratitude, I wish to give you a reward. I will offer you two choices."

The middle-aged man said, "What are the choices?"

"I can either grant you great wealth or great wisdom but not both."

The middle-aged man thought long and hard. He then told the old man, "I wish to have great wisdom."

"You have chosen well. Before you head on, tell me. What is your name?"

"I am Jamzeze of Behem."

"Jamzeze, I wish for you to become my prophet to spread my wisdom unto your kin. Do this as an obligation from Lord Kray."

"But how do I spread your teachings?"

"You have chosen great wisdom. Lord Kray will guide you," the old man said slowly disappearing into the winds. Jamzeze, now having found enlightenment, made his way to Sal'jemuru to spread the word of Kray."

The City of Sal'jemuru
Jamzeze stepped into the bustling city of Sal'jemuru. The streets were busy and people were restless. Among one of the first sites he saw was a man threatening another for money.

"Hand over all of your coins!" the mugger screamed.

"But I haven't got any to spare!" the other man said.

The mugger raised his fist, but Jamzeze intervened. "Stop!" he said. "Why take someone else's hard work as your own?"

The mugger questioned him. "What do you want? Get out of my sight!"

"This man worked hard to earn his money, yet you taking it from him as your own. What if someone were to do the same to you? What if someone were to take your money?"

"I...I guess you are right."

"Treat others how you want to be treated. I'm certain you don't want others stealing from you."

The mugger had a change of heart. He let the innocent man be heeding Jamzeze's words.

Soon enough, Jamzeze came across another dispute. A woman was selling some handmade silk. A rich man had bought a cloak and put it on.

"This cloak is awful," said the rich man. "Why even bother selling this?"

The merchant begged knelt down, begging. "I'm just trying to make a living. What am I supposed to do?"

"I ought to warn others about your terrible goods."

The rich man was about to call out to the crowd, but Jamzeze intervened. "Stop!" he said. "Why insult this woman's goods?"

"Because the cloak is have sub-standard quality. It is not worth buying."

Jamzeze replied, "But what exactly is wrong with the cloak? If you don't tell her, she will never be able to improve. If you must criticize, criticize constructively."

The rich man said heeded Jamzeze's advice. To the merchant, the rich man said, "As for the cloak, the texture is a bit too rough. If you were to make it softer, it could be much better."

The woman said, "Thank you. I'll get to work and try to improve these wares."

The Blood Red Man
Jamzeze soon became more well-known. People had gathered around him to listen to his sermons and parables. He preached to the masses of Sal'jemuru.

"Kray is our guardian, our father. I am his messenger," Jamzeze said. "Kray will be watching over all of us, guiding us. We Dhragolon will prosper if we continue to abide by His teachings."

"Cool story, Brother," shouted out someone in the crowd. His skin was blood red.

"Excuse me?" Jamzeze said.

"May I speak with you in private?" the man said.

"You may, but allow me to finish my teachings."

The blood red man wandered off uttering, "Too long; did not listen" and waited in an alleyway for Jamzeze to come to him.

Later that day, Jamzeze finally met the blood red man up close.

"Ah, I am glad you came, Jamzeze of Behem," said the blood red man. "You say this Kray is the one Lord we should trust?."

"Yes?"

"I heard he likes Mudpicks." (A Mudpick is a small aquatic creature that lives in swamps.)

"Excuse me? What do you mean?"

"This Kray is not worth listening, too. I know a better way to live."

"Who are you? Do not tempt me for I am Kray's messenger," Jamzeze said.

"Kray's messenger? I was his servant. He rejected my ideas and cast me down."

"You must be Uszaroth. Do not be so biased for you only tell half the story. You must have done deeds to make yourself unworthy of Lord Kray. Uszaroth, you exist to balance the universe, but you must not take more than what you have for if the balance between order and chaos were upset, the universe could collapse."

"Cool story, Brother."

"Uszaroth, do not try your techniques to expose one's emotions on me. I am the power of Kray himself."

"Whatever," Uszaroth said as he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Teachings of Chaos
Jamzeze travelled to the north while Uszaroth went to the south. The blood red man began spreading his own teachings to the people.

Uszaroth spoke to a crowd, "Listen, fellow people, do not listen to Jamzeze for he is a fool. He knows nothing about living in this world. It does not matter if you cause grief to another one. It only matters if you benefit in some way."

A member of the crowd asked, "But what are the rules?"

"There are no rules as they contrain one's self. Order is too restricting. Chaos is the way to go."

The whole crowd agreed and began to go about their ways. Not long, they stole from each other and insulted one another, the opposite of what Jamzeze wanted. The people of the southern city began suffering from misery and grief from other people. Some Uszarothians began to destroy innocent's houses and dump garbage all over the street. Some even built wooden prisons around others in their sleep.

Weeks later, Jamzeze had arrived and witnessed the chaos. "Stop! Everyone! Do not listen to Uszaroth! Is this the way you want to live? Selfishly causing grief to one another? Order shall triumph as everyone is happy, not only half of you."

Uszaroth interjected, "Oh really? Perhaps we will have to settle this the hard way. Jamzeze, I wish to go to war with you. I will clearly show my followers that chaos is better than order."

Jamzeze replied, "You leave me with no choice. I will fight nobly. I know you will not, but I will stick to my word."

Order versus Chaos
The war began. Jamzeze gathered his followers and so did Uszaroth. Jamzeze's troops were formed in even grids while Uszaroth had little control over his followers. The Uszarothians formed mobs. The fighting begun.

Jamzeze was no warrior, but was a healer. He was blessed with great wisdom and was still able to lead his people in the war.

Uszaroth on the other hand went into battle himself. The Uszarothians began ransacking other villages. Many of the resources they stole, they did not keep to themselves. Instead, they destroyed them in front of the eyes of the villagers causing them grief.

Whenever a Jamzezist raided a village, they took care to make sure they used their resources properly. They even apologized to the victims of the raid.

Years had passed. Many villages were burnt to the ground. The final battle took place in the same desert where Jamzeze received his blessing. On both ends of the horizon stood the two armies. They charged towards each other and eventually met at a dead bush. However, just before either could throw their spears, a bolt of lightning struck the dead bush, setting it on fire bringing both armies to a halt. The bush did not burn out, but was still on fire.

A voice boomed from the bush, "Enough! I cannot tolerate this petty squabbling. Do you Dhragolon wish to live like this? My, how sinful you are becoming. Because of the chaos, I have decided to banish you Uszaroth to the Infernal Nether. You are much too strong to intervene with the affairs of the Dhragolon."

Uszaroth replied, "Kray! Why? First you cast me down from your domain and now from Ucharpli?"

"I have warned you once Uszaroth. I ensure that the universe remains in order and balance. You are upsetting that balance."

A red ring appeared around Uszaroth's feet. He said to Jamzeze, "Know this. I will be freed from this prison. Whether it be a thousand or twenty thousand years, I will roam the universe once again...in my true form! And to you my followers, you don't need me. You don't need a leader to abide by my example. I have taught you well" Uszaroth disappeared in flames.

The burning bush said to Jamzeze, "Jamzeze, I appreciate your effort. I wish for you to continue spreading my word."

"But what about these Uszarothians?" Jamzeze asked.

"Leave them be. Order and chaos must both exist just as good and evil must as well. The universe must remain balanced. That is my only request." The bush fizzled out.

And so, Jamzeze did just that. Everyone else went home while Jamzeze set about to travel the world.