Third-person POV, 4 years ago.
Tayuna Village.
That village stood as one of the largest settlements of the Tairona ethnic group, a group that had established their home near the future Cristóbal Colón Peak. Originating from the sea, the Tairona were part of a web of cultures intertwined with other Chibcha ethnic groups, such as the Muisca, who inhabited the southern mountains. These people shared a past that stretched back millennia, filling the lands they both called home with life.
Despite the distance that separated the Tairona from the Muisca, their commercial ties had flourished over time, cemented by a common religion and language. However, in recent years, the Tairona had experienced tensions with their eastern neighbors, the Kogui. These disagreements were generally limited to disputes over farmland, without escalating into open warfare. Over the course of the previous year, the Tairona had focused their efforts on strengthening their ties with the Muisca, seeking to exchange products and thus ease hostilities with their eastern neighbors. However, a notable change had occurred in recent months: Muisca villages were beginning to expand alarmingly into Tairona territory.
Faced with the possibility of conflict with those they had long considered allies, concern arose. But, to everyone's surprise, the Muisca arrived with gifts and trade offers intended to improve the situation of both communities. Furthermore, they extended invitations to several priests to discuss their shared gods.
The Tairona, although gratefully accepting this kindness, remained cautious. As the months progressed, their relations grew noticeably closer. Some of the leaders who lived near Muisca lands began to talk about a complete union between their ethnic groups, an idea supported by numerous priests.
Finally, after much discussion and reflection on the growth of their neighbors, they decided to form an alliance. As part of this pact, they agreed to create large towns, which would be called cities, and to collaborate in building new settlements in the mountain passes.
In the house of the Chief of the Tayuna people.
A little girl looked at her father with curious eyes. "Dad is it true that we will unite with the people to the south?", she asked.
"Yes, Nyia. Our brothers have been extremely kind to us; they have offered us gifts, lowered barter prices, and even shown respect for our culture", the man responded tenderly.
"I see", the girl said, as if absorbing this information. "So why are we building new houses?", Nyia inquired.
"Well, by joining them, our community has decided to adopt a new way of building our towns and villages. We are going to prioritize the creation of large settlements that we will call cities. This city will be exceptional, and we will name it whatever we wish", the father patiently explained to his daughter. "I see", the girl murmured with a thoughtful expression. "Can I give him a name?", she inquired, her eyes shining with tenderness and anticipation.
"Only if it's a good name", the father replied, his face lighting up with a warm smile. "Tell me, what would you call him?"
"Hmmm… let me think", the girl mused as she looked at the landscape around her. "Lake Mountain!", she exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down a little with joy.
"Lake Mountain", the man repeated, pondering the ingenious name his daughter had chosen. "It's an excellent name, Nyia", he affirmed as he gazed at the distant mountain.
"Yes, they'll use the name I chose!", Nyia cried, overjoyed.
"I think the leader of the Muisca will like it too", the father commented, smiling at his daughter's joy.
"Do you think the lord will like it?", she asked, after calming down a bit. "Yes, he'll like it", he assured her. "But he's not a man, he's a boy", he gently corrected her.
"A boy?!", Nyia exclaimed, surprised. "How can a boy lead a village?", she inquired, with a look of confusion.
"Well, he's a special boy", he replied. "Our priests say he possesses the wisdom of the gods. He's barely two years old, and he's already created wonders we've never seen before", the father explained.
"Really?", she asked, skeptical of her father's words.
"That's true", he affirmed with a mocking smile. He knew what his daughter was thinking; he, too, had been hesitant at first. When the priests told her about this, he thought they had gotten carried away with the medicinal plants and were hallucinating. But when he saw the gifts from the "prophesied" child, he quickly changed his mind.
"I'll prove it to you", he said as he went deeper into his house to fetch something. "Look at this, the boy I'm telling you about did it", he explained, handing her a painting of a charming landscape.
The work featured the high peaks of the central mountain range, rivers winding around them, endless forests, and even a beautiful rainbow. The girl, bewildered, gazed at the first piece of art she had ever seen in her young life. Her hand gently brushed over the brushstrokes, feeling the shape of each element in the painting.
"Can I keep this, Father?", she asked anxiously. "Sure, Nyia, you can keep it", he replied, pleased to see the admiration in her eyes.
"Thank you, Dad", she said, running home to protect her new treasure. "I must learn how to do this", she promised herself, clutching the painting with determination.
Two years later.
"Dad, I'm done studying everything the teachers taught me at school", Nyia proclaimed with a hint of discouragement.
She had recently turned six and, with her father's help, had begun attending the school established by the leader of her new village just over a year earlier. Nyia loved learning to write, read, and paint. Although she wasn't entirely comfortable with math, her skills in this subject were undoubtedly superior to those of other children older than her.
"Nyia, have you finished school yet?", her father asked excitedly. "That's great news", he said, seeing his daughter nod.
"But now I don't know what to do", she said, a little annoyed. "Besides, I won't be able to paint if I don't go to school", she said with a pout.
"Don't worry, Nyia. I'll get you that paper and paint", he said, calming his daughter.
"Really?", she asked excitedly.
"Yes, I can get it", he confirmed with a smile.
"But this isn't only produced in Central Mountain City. How will you bring them here?", she asked curiously.
"Well, your father is the Leader of the Great Lake Mountain City, of course he can get that. Besides, young Chuta is very kind; he wouldn't mind sending me some paper and paint", the man said, proud of his position of power.
"I'd like to meet him", the girl said upon hearing the name of the boy who had changed the course of her two villages.
"You can come with me to the kingdom meeting next year if you'd like", the man offered his daughter. "No!", she exclaimed, a little alarmed. "I'm embarrassed to meet him. Besides, my paintings aren't as good as his", the girl said, blushing.
"Your paintings are very good", her father said with certainty. "I assure you, there are few people who paint better than you", he said proudly.
"Do you believe that?", she asked her father.
"Sure, maybe only young Chuta surpasses you, but that's normal", the man said with certainty.
"It's true", the girl confirmed.
"If you want, I can have him teach you how to paint. I think he'll accept immediately", the father offered his daughter.
"No!", he exclaimed again, imagining himself meeting Chuta in person. "I told you I'm embarrassed", the girl said reproachfully.
"Hahaha… It's true", the man said, laughing at his daughter's reaction.
A year later
"Nyia! Nyia!", a man shouted. "Where are you?", he asked, entering her house. Lucia was very excited; it seemed that the reason she was looking for her daughter was very important.
"What's wrong, Dad?", the girl asked worriedly as she came out of her room with paint stains on her face and hands.
"Excellent news, my daughter", he said as he hugged his daughter. "Young Chuta is going to start an academy", he said excitedly.
"An academy? What's that?", she asked, confused.
"It's true, you don't know", he said, a little embarrassed. "It's an advanced school for people with high skills in certain fields", he explained.
"A new school?!", she exclaimed, astonished. This past year, she missed school a lot. When she finished high school the year before, she didn't know what to do. Luckily, her father was able to get some paper and paint so she could continue doing what she loved most, but she still wanted to keep learning.
"Yes, young Chuta asked us to gather the smartest people from each district to study in Central Mountain City", he explained, seeing how confused his daughter was.
"So, that academy won't be here in the city?", she asked, discouraged.
"No, at least not for now, but young Chuta promised that in a few years there would be more academies in every city", he denied. "But you'll go to Central Mountain City to study", he told his daughter excitedly.
"Me?!", she exclaimed in surprise. "Attend that academy?", she asked, confused.
"Yes!", her father said excitedly. "Young Chuta will teach personally", he told his daughter, to which she froze at the news.
"I'll be able to meet young Chuta", she murmured, blushing.
.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Hello everyone.
Today we look at the perspective of Nyia, one of Chuta's (the main character's) fiancées. It also provides context for the union of her people with the Muisca people.
An unnecessary fact of the day: as you might guess, there were no high-capacity means of transportation. On land, they didn't have strong animals to use carts or caravans to move materials. On water, their development of boats and ships was limited; they only had canoes or rafts.
Read my other novel called The Walking Dead: Vision of the Future.
You can find it on my profile.]