A Time Between: Tales of the Devoted Ones

By Noah Carpenter

A Time Between: Tales of the Devoted Ones takes the reader to the beginning of the world and a people who came from the children of the first man. These people were able to keep great records of their tales and memories that survived many great perils and opposition.

These tales began with the founding of the Devoted people and the persecutions that led to their banishment from the kípos (garden) by others envious of their great faith. The first leadership of the Devoted Ones was struck down by the Creator for being greedy and misusing of their station. The Creator then chose Tragon to be the new ruler of the Devoted Ones, with a promise that only those from his line would rule the kingdom as long as they were faithful to the Creator.

These tales will focus on the rule of the six true rulers of the Devoted people and how their faiths in the Creator led to their protection and success, though there would be problems caused by some of these rulers when they went to their own desires. The kingdom would then be wrecked and confused by those from Tragon’s line who were not called by the Creator to rule, turning the Devoted Ones into a condition that the Creator never wanted them to be in. The Devoted Ones were different from the other peoples of the earth because of their faith in the Creator, but no longer was there any from Tragon’s line to serve the Creator faithfully in their station. The last rulers conformed their people to the ways of all others in evil imagination. The Creator tried to get the people to change, but they would not have Him anymore. He was forced to show His hand against the evils that lived on the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638140993

Book preview

Book 1

Time of the Lords’ Council

In the beginning, the Creator formed the world and all within it. He formed everything according to His will, taking His time with each and every thing. The Creator saw that all He had created was perfect, and all was truly perfect in His sight. In this world, the Creator made a special place for His creations to live. The place was called the kípos (garden). It took Him time to make His creation. He made all sorts of wonderful creatures, the likes of which we no longer see in the world we live in.

The creatures all lived among another in peace and love. As did the first man, who was loved very much in the home which was made for him by the Creator. Man was the Creator’s most prized creation, formed after His own likeness. The Creator gave the first man and all his descendants rule over the world, which was made for them. Every creature—small and great—and all the land and the sea was put in the charge of the first man. The Creator would come down to the kípos to visit with the first man and would walk and talk with him.

In the kípos, there were many trees bearing food for the first man and creatures that lived among them. For man and beast did not eat each other in those days; there was no need. They only ate from the trees and plants, which the Creator had made for them.

The first man was given the task by the Creator to name all the creatures that walked among or soared above him. Any creature that the first man saw was given a name. The first man served the Creator with every fire that was in him, always wanting to do more for Him.

The first man was allowed to eat from any of the food from the kípos. All except the forsaken tree, which sat at the very center of the kípos. The Creator warned the first man of its danger. That if he eats from the forsaken fruit, he would die! The first man heeded the warning and continued in his service at the kípos.

Soon, the Creator found that the first man needed help in his task of managing the kípos. He formed for the first man what He called the companion. The companion was a woman, who was made from the flesh of the first man. She would be the helper to the first man so he would not be alone in his task. The two loved each other very much, and no shame was felt between the two while they lived and worked in the kípos.

Soon, all would not be at peace. One day, a serpent appeared to the companion and persuaded her to eat of the forsaken tree. The companion was persuaded after a long talk, and she ate of the tree. She took a piece from the tree and gave it to the first man. The first man ate the piece, and both of them felt shame. The Creator soon found them wrapped in clothing that they had made to hide their shame. The two were cast out of the kípos, never to return, and were forced to work for themselves on the land. Because of falling for the dark serpent’s lies, their descendants were cursed with this shame.

The two still worked in the land, but it was hard, and the land would not yield much crop, forcing the first man to now till the ground himself. Now the creatures of the earth and man began to no longer eat plants but ate of each other.

The companion began to have children, as the Creator had promised. They first bore two sons; they were called the Pleasing One and the Tiller. The Pleasing One always gave his best for the Creator. The Creator still loved man; His love for them had never changed. The Pleasing One always gave what was asked of him without any grumble or sleight of hand of disobedience. The Tiller, on the other hand, only gave little and not his best. He only gave what he grew from the ground and not what the Creator had asked of him. The Tiller would soon become envious of his brother. This envy would lead to the Tiller murdering his own brother, rendering him cursed with a Darkened mark. The Tiller would leave from his family’s sight for this disobedience, never to return.

The first man and his companion would have many more children, and their descendants’ number would be great. But nothing can replace the loss of a child. The line of the Pleasing One was lost and would never bear forth its fruit. The Creator chose another for His line of the chosen, the youngest son of the first man, who was known as the Pure One. It was just his name; the son was not perfect by any means. But he was chosen by the Creator because his heart for Him was great, just like his brother, the Pleasing One, who had a desire to serve the Creator.

The line from the Pure One would indeed be pure. He would go on to have a people who would call themselves the Lavithinites. The Lavithinites were descended from the son of the first man, who was chosen by the Creator for his pure line.

Those who were of the pure line longed to serve the Creator in the kípos. They soon moved to a new land they called the Protected Lands. The name would differ among the groups that would come to call this land home. The Lavithinites would be blessed by the Creator with long life. They longed for a return to the kípos and for a return to serve the Creator there. The Lavithinites maintained the old covenant of not eating animals but only plants. They would make their homes in the vast and strong forests of the Protected Lands, mainly because it reminded them of their dream to return to the kípos. They were master builders and caretakers of the forest, learning from the example of how the first man maintained the kípos. They lived in magnificent tower cities and villages in the forest. The Lavithinites were a friendly people, who would often help in any way they could. Their warriors and skills in bowman-ship were the finest in the land.

Most of the time, they focused on their duties to serve the Creator and maintain the forest. They rarely sought conflict, unless attacked themselves. The Lavithinites were few in number and are only one of few peoples of man that still serve the Creator and not living in their evil.

The Tiller lived out the remainder of his days accursed. He was able to establish a line before he left, but it was not like the others. His line of men would fall in love with their evil ways and refuse any correction from the Creator. These men would become so entangled in their evil that it would begin to corrupt them and turn them into the thing they so loved. From then on, they would become known as the Darkened Ones, a group of men corrupted by their evilness and turned into foul creatures with distorted features. The Darkened Ones were a numerous people, but their lives were short, if they could survive that long.

Another people that came from the sons of the first man were the Devoted Ones, a very allegiant people and of a hardworking discipline. They often sought to live in the toughest terrain the world had to offer. They were one of the few groups of men that still honored the Creator. They did not let their evil corrupt them, and they did not serve the Creator in everything they did. But they still were faithful to Him. They had always longed to find a place that could sustain the kind of hard work they longed to do.

The number of the Devoted Ones grew greatly over the years since the banishment of the first man, and with their number, they were soon seen with envy by the real-time people that lived near them and around the guarded kípos. The other people then drove the Devoted Ones out from their lands, along with the Lavithinites.

The Devoted Ones departed and lived in other areas. But they would have to leave because of the lack of durability of the land or they were being pushed out by another group of people, such as the Darkened Ones, who hounded them so. They moved north, away from all other people, and found a small range of mountains that they made their encampments in.

There they did not know what to do, for they were a young people and had not yet found themselves in tradition or lifestyle, though it was not long before many of the men set out to explore the caves within the small mountains and they found many minerals of great strength and beauty. Many of the people that could craft began to work with these minerals in fire and stone, and they labored many weeks.

After all that, they discovered that their work brought about fine craft of weaponry, tools, and finery of great beauty. The Devoted Ones, impressed by this new skill, began to expand these workings to mass craft these items for their use. They then use the tools to work on the caves, turning them into mines to extract more of the minerals. The men that first cleared the caves soon became obsessed with the work they had to offer, and they became miners, never leaving the home of their work. Others found themselves as craftsmen to expound on what the miners bring them into fine craft. A small few began to master the shape of stone, steadily working away at it into the shape of their desire. The few soon began to be masters over the many who now sought to learn the skills in stone they had mastered. They directed them in the same way that they had learned to fashion the stone. They began to turn their camps into permanent cities built mainly around their mines that had been made. These cities were of a fine caliber, and they stood almost as tall as the mountains. The cities would take a long while to complete, but a good few structures had been built.

One such thing that was missing from the new forming kingdom was leadership. By this time, at least seven towns had been built around the main grouping of mines. From these town came several ambitious men eager for power, and so the people came together to form these men into a council in an effort to prevent war within their new kingdom. The only thing was that the people who came together had close ties or connections to the group of ambitious men. These men were eager for power but had no the skills to be effective leaders. These men would come to form the first lords’ council, and they did much to influence their own credibility. The kingdom had even reached its twentieth year before the lords’ council had started to lead their people away from following the Creator, blinded by their ambition, pride, or lust for all the power.

The Creator was saddened by this, and He sent messages through a Lavithinite known as Tuletan. He would come before them time and again with this message, You are pushed time and again from lands that you find. You have never done evil in His sight before that, but now your leadership is leading you down a path that will see your people pushed out from these lands once more. Know that you have been given many chances to remove your leaders and turn back to Him. Now it is too late for that, and your time of wandering will begin!

In the second year of the lords’ council, the mines had grown bare of minerals, and no more could be found when the miners established new ones. The food and water of the land had become bitter in taste from all the minerals they had gathered in the towns, and the mountains had begun to crack from all the mines that had been built within them. Their foundations gave way, and they collapsed, the mines within them.

The Darkened Ones soon discovered the Devoted Ones’ towns, and they attacked with great force and number. Many of the towns were destroyed, with few people escaping the carnage; none of the lords’ council survived the attacks.

The few that had survived were now homeless, and they escaped into the hills to make tent villages to live in until something could be done. They had elected new members to the lords’ council, but these men were nothing, merely former miners or craftsmen who had no idea how to lead. The people instead gathered about their wits and pieced together what was left of their lives. They were content to reside in the hills they had found haven in. They still had a standing army to defend themselves, but they were few. These days would be the rest of the years of the lords’ council, a time of bad living and little gain for their people, but their number did grow in the hills that they lived around. They had regained some of their number before the disaster at the mountain ranges, but never again would they see such a number in their lifetime. The lords’ council would become mighty once the men had gained a bit of experience in their roles, but they were still very ineffective.

This was not what the Creator had planned for the people that still honored Him. He would soon call upon a Lavithinite to visit the lords’ council to tell them of a coming change for their people.

Book 2

Reign of the Founder

Here is the testament of High Lord Tragon as written by the high lord himself:

Here, a people of heart and stone, who serve in the Creator’s light. In them He finds such delight.

A lord was chosen from His sight. I came to the throne not wanting it at all, fearing that if I fail, my people would fall. I led our people to a place of hardship. We came and worked to make a home. Such men would we never see again, for they are like rare gem. My deeds are few but strong. They each play a role for a purpose. I established our great halls. I found the home of my people’s dreams. I promise to defend the throne, for my sons and theirs to own.

Now my deeds are here recorded. I have done and have not done. I pray for a long life to complete my task. I pray that my successors will be as trusting as I and will be faithful in the Creator’s eye. Here, I now finish the tale, my final note.

Tragon was the first high lord to be chosen to serve for the Creator’s purpose. Let it be known that only the deeds of Tragon will be uttered in this book. No one may add unto his record except those given the charge of the scribe during the living days of Tragon. He was a man not of royal blood or of a heroic background that was worshipped by his people. Rather, Tragon began his life as an unwanted child cast out by his family, and the days of his youth were spent in the shadows of the forgotten. He soon tried to find ways to make him forget about himself. He tried many tasks to help him forget. He found a fondness for masonry and mining. He was able to make a name for himself of a sort but never really felt complete in his life.

Before the high lord, there was the council of lords that never achieved any means for their people. The members were selected because of a great deed or family name, even if they were not fit to rule. They did not do the Devoted Ones justice when it came to representing them. They were always at one another’s throats and trying to destroy one another for their own gain. Regardless of the council of lords’ imperfect rule, the people still followed them and went wherever they were told to go without question.

This was where Tragon felt he would fill that missing piece—as a warrior. He served greatly in combat for many campaigns against the Darkened Ones in an effort to drive them away from their homes. Over the countless years of war, he had come to form many friendships with his fellow warriors. They fought and bled with one another for many a time. One final campaign had taken all the bonds from Tragon in an instant. Tragon forsook the council for the campaign, and he left his warrior name behind. Falling into bitter mourning and descending into madness with much bloodletting done to his arms, his own people banished him from the camps to live in exile in the nearby hills. He soon began to ambush his own people for food and clothing. One such ambush led him to gravely injure a man to when he could no longer walk. His companions chased down Tragon to have him beaten and stripped of everything, and they threw him into a ditch to die.

Tragon then looked to the sky, weeping and saying, Is this all I am to be? Do you wish to leave me here to die useless? You have nothing for me but death, do you? Please let it come. My time is done. Let me go to my suffering!

Upon uttering this, he passed out, until he was awoken by a hooded stranger. The stranger then proceeded to tend to Tragon’s wounds. Tragon was struck with shock at this man who seemed different from others he had met before.

The stranger then wrapped him in cloth to cover him from the cold. The stranger then asked, What is your name?

To which he replied, Tragon.

The stranger then went on to say, Tragon, it is a pleasure to meet you in person. I have been told of what your great deeds will be.

Tragon answered, You mean you’ve heard of the deeds I have done?

The stranger gazed at him to reply, No, of what will be. Tragon, you have so much more that is needed of you before your time of departure comes. It is not by chance we meet here today. What you are to be has not come yet, but it will soon be upon you. So that you will be used for His purpose, and you are so much more to Him than what you think you are. In the time coming, something will come that will need your gifts. Now enough talk. I shall carry you into your camp.

Tragon went on to tell him that he had been cast out by his brothers for certain moods.

The stranger did not say a word until they reached the encampment, to which he set down Tragon at a tent. Then he rushed to the camp center to yell, I bring back one of your own who has been cast out because of his suffering, and you are thinking you are above that! You must show love to your brother and others you may meet if you call yourselves devoted to the Creator. I see no Devoted Ones here. But all I see are shunners and judgment cast upon one another! Give my friend here care. My business will not take long. He then removed his hood to reveal himself as a Lavithinite, who had come with a message from the Creator.

The Devoted Ones’ council was mighty, but not very effective, always left with every meeting in a deadlock or not accomplishing any decision at all. They decided that a mighty high lord was needed to oversee the council and maintain a balance among the council. The Devoted Ones had asked the Creator to choose a ruler for them.

Then the Lavithinite burst into the council tent. He then said, The Creator has come to me with a fulfillment to your request. He has sent me to choose this high lord you want so badly. Let it be known that all chosen from this man’s line will be the rightful lord. No others may claim this who are not of his blood. Let it be from this day that Tragon is your new lord. May he lead your people with all the skill and determination given to him by the Creator.

Once the name was announced, Tragon was in the crowd outside of the council tent. He hid from the council and did not want the responsibility. He said aloud with his face toward the sky, Why me? Surely, you do not want me to lead our people and those who come after me.

Tragon fearfully entered the tent and bowed before the Pure One, accepting the role as high lord.

The Lavithinite would tell Tragon one last comforting word before he departed, Your courage is great, Tragon. There is still great fear in you over your new role. Is this not the piece that you were missing all along? Have hope, for this day you shall be filled with the Creator’s spirit as a guide and comfort for your long reign. May He guide you in your decisions and be your rest in times of hardship. Go now!

Tragon then led his people from the outskirts of the foothills when the hills no longer suited their livelihoods.

The Devoted Ones had heard of the land that the Lavithinites had found. They decided they would move to the land and see if it would be able to handle their work. They sent explorers or scouts, as you would call them, to see what the land was like.

The scouts came to the realm the Lavithinites called the Eternal Forest. There, the king showed them that the mountains of the Protected Lands would be a perfect place for their people. Soon, the scouts returned to their people and told them about the land which they had seen. In those days, the Devoted Ones were led by a council of the different lords, and with Tragon as the main ruler. So it was decided that they would move to the mountains in the Protected Lands and dwell there to perform their work.

Once they came to a range of mountains at the very center’s edge of the Protected Lands, they named this range the Blue Pinnacles. This mountain range would be the center of their newfound kingdom. They would journey farther into the mountain range until they came to the very heart of the Blue Pinnacles. There, standing in all its glory, was a large mountain towering above all the others.

Tragon put his stoneworkers to the task of clearing out the inside of the mountain. The Devoted Ones were now living a fulfilled dream—a home that could match their work. The Devoted Ones set about clearing the mountain. Brick by brick, they cut and hollowed out the stone within the mountain. Builders then went into the mountain, carving fine halls from bricks of stone and bare rock. The Devoted Ones filled these halls with many fine possessions that they had crafted. Their weapons were among the finest, and their engineering was no easy feat. They never rested until the task was complete. For when one was done, another task would come that would need to be done.

Lord Tragon looked out onto his people’s first stronghold. The mountain, after forty hard years, had finally been completed. Its defenses were impregnable, and its halls were vast. From looking at the craftsmanship, you could tell that this work took time.

The Devoted Ones went deep into the mountain, establishing mines to find iron and metal for their armor and craft and to also provide shelter for their families in case of a war. Lord Tragon would call the mountain Grandfather Peak. This new stronghold would become the capital of his people.

Soon, the Devoted Ones spread to new areas in the Blue Pinnacles and established more strongholds. The Blue Pinnacles would be center of all influence for the Devoted Ones.

Tragon was content that his people had now been established in their new home. He then began a noble tradition to write what is known as the lord’s testament. This would be the promises of the new king and his recorded deeds that he had accomplished or would accomplish.

By the end of the 156th year of his reign, the Devoted Ones now flourished in the mountains of the Protected Lands.

Tragon would rule his new kingdom at the very center of the Blue Pinnacles. He proclaimed, Here, at the center of the Protected Lands, will be the center of our kingdom, as it is seen from above by the Creator. I pray that my successors will honor Him in their service as high lords. I now proclaim that the high lords will do all in their power to defend this capital and new home of ours. By the will of the Creator, it will never fall.

Tragon soon began to go around the Blue Pinnacles, inspecting the new strongholds that had been built. It was the task of the high lord to proclaim a name for the new city and to charge its rule to a lord. He soon went to the realms that he named Mount Mitecalm, which would be known as the northern protector, and Mount Hieben, a small prosperous mining realm. The grandest of these realms was King’s Mountain. It was given this name because of its grandeur in size, second only to the capital. Tragon gave this name to the stronghold because he believed that his mightiest successors would come from this realm.

Now that his people had been established in the Blue Pinnacles, Tragon sought to expand his people into the other mountain ranges of the Protected Lands. He gathered together his council of lords to tell them of his vision. Many of the lords saw this as a grand opportunity for their people to do more grand work. They set their sights toward an even larger mountain range they called the Blackened Peaks. These mountains were the tallest in all the Protected Lands, whose peaks never knew sunlight and touched the skies. Many of the Devoted Ones left the Blue Pinnacles and began to establish small settlements and mines.

The Devoted Ones had barely scratched the surface of these mountains’ vast secrets. The Blackened Peaks were found to have numerous large caverns within their depths. They held many secrets within the tunnels, and the Devoted Ones were afraid to enter them. The Devoted Ones brave enough to see them found only more precious minerals, driving their mines deeper into the caverns. The largest cavern found was formed into a large mine that was personally visited by Tragon. He named it Mine Carron because of the vastness of the precious minerals that were in it waiting to be mined.

Tragon would go on to say, This mine was one of the most eye-opening spectacles I have ever seen. May it continue to let our people prosper in this new land of ours.

A major stronghold was soon built to serve as the main capital of the Blackened Peaks. Its name would be called Nule Langen. This stronghold would also serve as a defense for those who seek shelter.

One day, a thought crossed the high lord’s mind. What if settling these new mountain ranges mean the division of our people?

That was why Tragon would only elect members of his council to lead the major strongholds and govern them according to the high lord and the rest of the council.

The Devoted Ones enjoyed a newfound peace and prosperity in their expanded kingdom. They continued to explore and mine the unexplored caverns in the Blackened Peaks. They were deceived into believing that they were alone in these caverns, especially at Mine Carron. The Devoted Ones who lived and worked there began to let pride set in. They thought their realm was the most dominant and prosperous in the Blackened Peaks. The mine’s gates were the only way in or out.

On this day,