The Sons of God

In the Paleolithic world, hunting is the measure of a man, and Ruakh is not yet a man. He knows it, his family knows it, and worst of all, his father knows it. But in a desperate attempt to prove himself, Ruakh accidentally kills his own uncle with a misjudged spear throw. Fearing punishment from his elders, he runs away.

In this self-imposed exile, Ruakh meets a strange girl whose behavior seems almost animal. Having been warned about “wild men,” dangerous creatures who seem human but have no minds or souls, he considers killing her, but before the spear leaves his hand, she utters a single word. But was it a word or merely a sound? Ruakh names her “Sparrow” and follows her.

Ruakh and Sparrow are soon captured by monstrous, strange-looking men, and taken to a village called “Henoch.” They are thrown into a cage filled with other creatures who, like Sparrow, seem wild, unable to speak or reason. Ruakh is soon taken before Sar Rasah, the leader of the village. Sar Rasah has a prisoner named Enos, who he claims is guarding the secret to everlasting life. In exchange for his own life, Sar Rasah demands Ruakh visit Enos and pry the secret from him.

Enos is not what Ruakh expected. He tells Ruakh of the “breath of Eyl,” passed down through some human bloodlines, granting the ability to speak and reason. Along with another prisoner named Hili, Enos and Ruakh escape from Henoch. Sar Rasah and his monstrous soldiers are soon in close pursuit. Forced to defend himself and his friends, Ruakh finds his skill as a hunter as Enos leads them down a strange ravine, where they are delivered by forces Ruakh does not understand.

After their escape, the biblical and scientific accounts of human origins come together as Enos’ father Set tells a tale of the “breath of Eyl” spreading throughout the human race for generations, gradually turning wild men into knowing men.

Wiser and humbler than he left, Ruakh returns to his own family to accept judgment.