Chapter 1- continued

   Many new questions flooded Ramella's mind, mixed with great
joy.  "I was right!  I was right!"  She exulted to herself.  "There
really isanother continent beyond the great sea!  This is too in-
credible!  No one's going to believe me!"
  
   Then, influenced by her own burning curiosity, Ramella asked
another question.  "You spoke
earlier of the Velta Parthas.  What is that?"

   Always quick with an answer, Menell continued:  "The Velta
Parthas is what my people call the great sea which separates our
two continents.  velta means sea in our language, and parthas is
our word for world.  The civilisation which Ranthas and I come
from is one of fine sailors, who since time immemorial have sailed
the world's seas.

    "If your people know so much about the sea,  how is it that you
don't know where you are?"

    "A reasonable question," replied Menell.  "You must know a bit
of our history, particularly our recent history.  Until just a few
centuries ago, the Kithan were one people.  Since our race is by
nature warlike, some of the families grew tired of the raids, the
pillaging and the endless violence.  From that moment on, two
factions appeared:  the northern tribe, which is currently led by
the ruthless Lord Ransha, and the southern tribe, of which my
son and I are a part.  More recently, Ransha's tribe has shown
itself to be increasingly intolerant towards mine, seeking to
strike fear into us by organising frequent raids into our territory,
attacking our families and ravaging our lands.

     "Why?"  asked Ramella.

     "To remind us of his superiority, and to force us into
submission, or he will destroy us by continuing to slay us and
burn our lands.  He is no more than a bloodthirsty, vicious tyrant.  
In desperation, our council chose me to secretly seek help else-
where.  Not knowing where to go, we looked to a four hundred
year-old account.  This tale speaks of a little known land, far to
the west, where Ransha's ancestor led a particularly bloody and
destructive raid, which with the years passed into legend for our
two peoples.  Unfortunately, his people having little interest in
history, that ancestor said nothing specific as to the location of
that mysterious and distant land.   Along with my son, I decided
to undertake a great risk by sailing west, in hopes of finding it. 
The council made known to us the dangers of this decision,
and that the success of finding the mythical land was the tribe's
only hope of avoiding destruction.

     Menell's words moved Ramella to tears, mixed with joy. 
"This is the land you seek!   We have rather strong memories
of the killings that our ancestors experienced four hundred
years ago, right here on this beach.  That's why our children
aren't allowed to go down onto the beach alone.   Our adults
are still cautious, always searching the horizon in case the
attackers decide to come back one day.  We don't at all like
to talk about the incident, it's still too painful, and even today,
none of us feels completely safe."   
(Stay tuned for the conclusion of Chapter 1).