From Draft 1 to Publication

This is the first draft I wrote for Echoes From the Beyond. This is what chapter 1 used to look like. Back then, a lot was different about this story. The Kimatu weren't wiped out. The Kimberlys had different names. Hashim wasn't a character, so Homo sapiens were the enemy in this original version. The Kimatu were also European-ish, not African. The placeholder name was Neanderthal Religion Story. This is because this entire story was based off of a book about pre-history. In this book, it talks about the burial rituals of the Neanderthals, and suggests that the Neanderthals may have done these rituals as part of some sort of religion. This idea spiraled from there. As a note, this section is written from Kwaku's perspective, but at the time his name was Kamau. They Kimberlys were not a thing. Kwaku didn't have any siblings. This was also before the Uiscogeni (Heart of Darkness: Anathema) were introduced to the series. This takes place in 2031, not 2020.

Neanderthal Religion Story

Echoes From the Beyond Chapter 1 Draft 1

I personally don't think I'm a god. Even though we've been alive for millions of years, we can. I've seen it. I know I'm mortal, just a mortal who has a hard time dying. I honestly don't believe that my brethren and I ever were gods and goddesses.

I remember where I was a few thousand years ago, Galilee. I heard that Galilean man speak. I saw His works. That was when I knew that neither I nor any of my brethren were ever gods. None of us could ever dream of doing what he could do or build the church he did. No one knows we existed.

Our prime time, our golden years if you will, were over 40,000 years ago. We lived among the neanderthals as they're called now. We had already been around for a while, but they were the first creatures to notice us. They turned us and the stories we told into something now called a religion. The sad thing is, no one knows the neanderthals had a religion. Everyone thinks Hinduism is the oldest religion, but we are.

Some of my brethren call us gods among men. I just think we're people who have the curse of overstaying their welcome for a few thousand years.

None of the modern Homo Sapiens know about my brethren and I. My brethren are fascinated by what Homo Sapiens have done. Personally, I think the Neanderthals were superior in their own way. They just didn't have the chance to shine. They had the solution to stopping war, don't make society to big and fancy.

I keep to myself mostly. Some of us made big names for themselves in the modern world. I didn't, how would I be able to disappear when I needed to move on to a new place? I've lived in nearly every country around and not anymore. I witnessed the rise and fall of great nations, many forgotten by time. I thought my life would be able to stay quiet after the Neanderthals died out, but 2031 had other plans for me.

I am Kamau, the quiet warrior, the oldest creature alive. We are the last of the neanderthals.