The Young Lion

this is not a prologue or anything, but just a short thought I had in my head...

"I want to be king, father. How do I become king of the whole world?"

The father looked down at his boy, dressed in red robes and carrying the spear and shield of the Annutasi. Not sure how to answer, he looked over the rocky shelf they sat on and gazed at the field of tall grass spanning out to the African twilight.

"The world is very big, my son. Even the wind cannot cross it without getting tired. Why do you want so much for yourself?"

The boy looked down as if somewhat shamed by the question.

"Why not? King Urrapa takes all our land. Why can I not take his? I will take it all and then it will be our land, and we will not have to be afraid anymore. They can be afraid."

The father nodded, more to himself than anything. One thing begets another. There is no end, and that which has no end has no beginning. The stories tell it so. But his son never reads. He is always on his feet.

Looking down, he reached for his sons hand and held it out before him.

"All things are as dust and air. And a man will spend his life chasing after such things believing they are his. All is before you, my son. All under heaven, beneath you and around you. When you can hold it all in your hands, then you will be king of the world."

The boy was quiet before he reached down to the ground and grabbed a fist full of earth.

"No, father. I will hold men, and they will hold the earth for me."