FICTION

Stone Tablet

The Discovery of the Stone Tablets

In a remote cave system in the Appalachian Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, a series of ancient stone tablets were discovered in a wrought iron cage hidden in a dark crevice. The tablets, measuring approximately 16" by 24", were stacked neatly and covered in never-before-seen glyphs from corner to corner. The cage also contained charred remains of various trees and deer, suggesting the cave was used as a shelter with an indoor campfire.

Deciphering the Glyphs

The tablets were first studied at a private Ivy League college in New Haven, Connecticut, but after four months of minimal progress, they were sent to Egyptologists at a secret location in Cairo. Dr. Amelia Rothschild and her team discovered that the glyphs were not of any known language, but small pictures with associated letters and phrases provided clues for translation.

Dating the Tablets

Dr. Andrew Purdue, a student of Jean-François Champollion, and his team used various dating methods, including Stratigraphy, Radiocarbon dating, Dendrochronology, and Obsidian hydration. While the results varied, they all fell within a reasonable chronological window. Renowned archaeologist Dr. James Blackwell dated the tablets to around 7,200 B.C.E.

Evidence of a Community Shelter

The cave system showed signs of being used as a community shelter, with several narrow and wide beds measuring exactly 8' 8 ⅛". Two egresses flanked the living quarters, each with evidence of canine activity, possibly from domesticated wolves guarding the families.

Breakthrough in Translation

Linguists digitized the glyphs and ran them through a language supercomputer, which detected patterns similar to ancient American cave carvings and rare northern European tribal drawings. The language patterns resembled those of ancient Roman and Greek cultures. Enhanced images of the tablets revealed nearly invisible color dyes adorning the engraved lettersets, further aiding in the translation process.

The Story of Alaric

The tablets tell the story of Alaric, a man separated from his children, Theron and Isadora, due to rising waters that submerged his village. Alaric faced the challenges of survival and isolation on the island, holding onto the hope of reuniting with his family. The story culminates in an emotional reunion when Theron and Isadora, aided by a skilled navigator named Roran, find their way back to their father years later.

In His Own Words - The Translation

"I was here for long ages, when the rivers ran clean and fast and unpredictable. Those people, who were here before me and not ever to return, knew of this place and everything was plentiful and growing. Yet they fled.  
Why did they flee?

I found out slowly, over the passing of hundreds of moons.  Each year, the ocean waters would raise higher and more violently. The rushing waters took with them, on their way out, more and more of the land with it.  This made travel to the fertile lands more and more difficult. In fact, in the recent days of the recent years, even when the waters subside and retreat, they leave a trail of water that has now become an impassable river of continuous violence.

I now understand why the previous peoples fled.

In time, I suppose, the nature will reverse itself, and the river of violence will subside and eventually leave behind a land passage. Until then, I have been left adrift on this sparse place - surrounded by the salt waters to the east and north, and the fresh waters to the west and south. My home is no longer a place to go when the dark falls - it is a place where I must stay to the ages and I end.

I am no longer able to navigate the river, and my young children, Theron and Isadora, are unable to come from the dry land to the east with their children. I have seen them last when they stood upon the highest hill where there is dry land and I stood on the highest hill on this rock upon rock where I live that sees water all around.  
Although a far distance apart, we were able to show our hand signs of greetings and peace.

I am lucky that I can forage through the small patches of trees and snare small animals and take from the ocean waters a fish on occasion. If it were not for the remaining life in the wild, and no humans to share my food findings, I would have been doomed to sleep deeply and forever. I shall certainly make that sleep before the land fails to feed me.

My deep cave makes my days and nights much more comfortable, and I am easily sheltered from the sky's waterings both by the liquid and when it is cold and white. The beginning to my cave is smaller than a wolf, and the ceiling makes me not stand upright until the opening into the chamber with no light. Here, I can stand firmly tall and only touch the top with outstretched hands.

My wolfdogs are gone now. One to my son, Theron, and one to my daughter, Isadora. I now have more time than I can use. I carve by day and hunt by night. I tell my story and will not see the people who can, at many moons passing, read my passages when I am dust.

My life began where the beasts walked. The earth horns and the saiduka were friends of themselves and friends of me. We walked with my family from there for many of the moon cycles and of the sun cycles. We were meant to despise the lands where we lived as the people there despise my family for being “as tall as mammoths” and “eaters of the human flesh”. Our family never ate that which did not crawl on 4 paws or fly in the air or swim in the rivers and oceans.

I was made into a man on the way to here, and the woman, Elysia, began to become big inside with child. At the Miziipi I won and the child is begun as my son. This was foretold to me by the Woman In Feathers that this would be, 16 moons before I met the woman who gave me my child, and true it became."

Anthropological Findings

Based on the length of the beds, clues within the stories, and measurements taken in the caves, many team members believe Alaric may have been over 9' tall. This is supported by Native American folklore about the "Woman in Feathers," a 10' tall figure mentioned in the story, and the discovery of "giant" skeletal remains in the midwest United States.

Future Research

Although recent hurricanes flooded the cave system, washing away remaining evidence, archaeologists plan to revisit the site with new technology to search for more etchings that may have survived the floods. The story of Alaric and his family has captivated the scientific community and the public, promising further insights into this long-lost civilization.