GA Writing Prompts - 21. # 71 Laurelia

Laurelia was an island in the sea. The ocean is now known as the Atlantic Ocean. People lived in peace and harmony. They lived in happiness and in tune with the spirits of the universe.

Aeons ago, a storm had carried a fishing boat to the island. The men had explored it. The island was rich in plants and animals. The climate was mild and agreeable. The fishermen had returned to the mainland and had reported their discovery to their tribe. The tribe lived on the western coast of the continent. They were settlers and skilled fishermen. The climate on the continent was harsh and life was hard there. People were intrigued by the descriptions of the island that was located far out in the ocean. More primitive tribes had come to the tribe’s homeland. They attacked the tribe and thus life on the continent grew even harder. The tribe’s shaman questioned the stars. The stars told him that the tribe must leave and sail to the west and settle on the newly found island. The tribe did what their shaman had told them. That was 35,000 years ago.

The realm of Laurelia prospered. The Laurelians were intelligent and creative. The settlers soon became citizens. They built towns and streets. They improved their ships and invented tools and machines. Their life became easier and more comfortable. They also invented and implemented a defence system that would protect them from anybody coming to their island. However, this never happened. Nobody ever came to Laurelia. The island was safe.

The Laurelians turned to studying nature. They perfected their knowledge over time until they knew everything about plants, animals, the climate, the sea, and the moon and the sky. They then turned to studying the human body, the human mind, and the human soul. The Laurelians became healers, teachers, and philosophers. They had enough time to augment their knowledge as the island provided them with all they needed to make an easy living. The Laurelians established an educational and a welfare system. They established rules and laws that covered every subject of life. Nothing was left out. There was a rule for everything. People were satisfied with it. They lived happy lives. The Laurelians improved and perfected their society. They also made progress in the technological field. They found out about electricity. They invented and built a multitude of progressive machines as a result.

5,000 years passed by. The Laurelians had never left the island again. They did not strive at exploring the world or expanding their realm or power. Instead, they aimed at secluding themselves from the world. This was a general mindset, perhaps implemented in their genes. So far, the Laurelians had been lucky. Nobody had found the island in 5,000 years.

This changed when one day a storm carried an empty vessel, a small boat, to the island. The incident reminded the Laurelians of their origin and for the first time in centuries they were worried. Was there a tribe on the continent that was about to explore the sea and find the island of Laurelia? The Laurelians decided to investigate. They sent a hundred men to the mainland. Two ships left the island and, some time later, anchored in a hidden bay of the continent. The men explored the coast, but they did not find any trace of human life. A larger group wandered east then to explore the interior of the country, while a smaller group remained with the ships. The larger group wandered east for a week, and then they found drawings in a mountain cave.

It was that very day that fate changed the course of history. Unexpectedly and entirely out of the blue, a small comet hit the planet at about one hour after midnight. Nobody had seen it coming. Nobody had expected it. The comet hit the island of Laurelia and killed the inhabitants. The island and the Laurelian civilization sank into the sea. A huge flood wave hit the coast of the mainland, destroyed the Laurelian ships anchoring in a bay, and killed the men who had stayed near the ships. The men who were exploring the caves in the mountains were the only Laurelian survivors. From what they observed, the men knew that their ships were destroyed. And they suspected that the island of Laurelia had sunken. The men never made an attempt to get back and find the island. They continued wandering east, away from the sea, instead.

The Laurelian men encountered new plants and animals. They had to cope with weather conditions that they were entirely unfamiliar with. And finally they encountered other humans that were more adapted to the life in the wilderness than the Laurelians who had lived a secure and comfortable life in seclusion for many centuries. Their extended knowledge was of little use in the wilderness and the Laurelian rules and laws were obsolete. Also, the Laurelians did not know how to fight, for in 5,000 years they had never had to combat or battle. The men struggled and many were killed and many died of a disease or simply exhaustion. Only the fittest survived and only those who were able to adapt quickly to changes and act or react fast on any unexpected challenges.

The last Laurelian survivors mingled with a local group of humans. They passed on the legend of Laurelia. Their tale told of an almost paradise. But their tale was also a warning to those who took everything for granted and to those who did not meet the challenges of life. Their tale is a warning to those who seek refuge in seclusion.