"PARADIGM LOST THE FOUNDER'S SONS"
​by R. Roderick Rowe

THE FOUNDER'S SONS

Paradigm Lost - Part 3

When Native American Mythology meets Celtic Druidism in a culture built around Gnostic Christianity, strange things come to life! Journey with Jamari as he discovers his world, his community and his culture.

"Immediately the heavens were opened, and the whole creation which is under heaven shone, and the world was shaken. I was afraid and I saw in the light a child .. while I looked he became like an old man. And he changed his form again, becoming like a servant ... I saw ... an image with multiple forms in the light..." From 'The Apocryphon of John', a Gnostic Text. For those who have or will read 'Paradigm Lost, The Founder's Sons' I invite you to keep this in mind as you encounter Jamari's shamanic visions.

In the world of 2115, nearly 100 years after the Pacific Rim erupted in a series of quakes, The Tribe remains the Pacific Northwest's best hope of survival. Promoting peace, harmony, and the sharing of resources, The Tribe yet maintains a ferocious ability to defend itself from outsiders and wildlings.

The Elk Creek Tribe, located near the town of Yoncalla, is the strongest civilization remaining in the region that has been long-abandoned by the mega-corps who decided that the sparse lands weren't viable investments to rebuild roads and infrastructure to bring back into the fold.

The Tribe has defied all reason and logic, building a culture and a community that not just survives, but thrives on, the isolation, learning to live closer to the land, honoring the land and animals in return. Jamari has encountered spirit animals before, having earned two totems that have been recognized as his very own link to the Great Spirit. Over all, Eagle has visited him and marked him as His own.

Where he has to go in order to satisfy a driving Vision frightens him in the worst possible way. His friends, teachers and mentors guide him through this portion of his journey, building relationships that will span all time.

Jamari has been traveling Tribal Lands for two years in his quest to master the Manhood Rites and become a full citizen of the Elk Creek Tribe. It's now 2117 and he's getting his first views of the outer world. He's had that world and its peoples described as rapacious and vicious, but, that in no way has prepared him for what can happen when his world becomes the target of the Mega Corps who rule those other governments. They've exhausted Oregon's resources and now they're setting eyes on the forest lands the Tribe has managed for over 100 years.

Along with threats and incursions from outside, Jamari is battling to understand why he disagrees with some major ethos of his own Tribe. His Shamanistic talents are growing and he's becoming a reluctant legend within the Tribe. Hints of a top spot in Tribal Management and control are battling with growing internal unrest as he realizes just how big the changes the Tribe must make really are.

Can he earn the position that seems so readily his? Can he use it to make changes to better the Tribe? Can he gather the courage to let his God fully enter into his corporeal body? What will he become if he does?

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