The goats were running up the hill, looking back over their shoulder. The noise from the engine far away was loud and frightening. A giant machine. The driver… Its kind had come from far away, somewhere beyond this world. They were huge like gods. Terrifying.
The goatherds walked slowly up the hill to find shelter for the night.
-The sound, one of them said to the other. -It’s getting closer.
-It won’t get up to the resting place. We’re safe here.
-I remember the first time I saw them, so long ago. I remember the tracks they made on the ground, wide, deep tracks, destroying everything in their way. Whole herds went lost. A few herders as well.
-Now we have learned how to hide.
They walked up towards the cave high up in the cliff. They had to climb, they weren’t as agile as the mountain goats they were herding. They reached the cave, gathered some sticks and grass for fire.
Far away they saw the machine cross the mountains further down. Things would never be the same again.
Fictionspawn 
fantastic
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Thank you very much.
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Beautifully painted and penned, but rather sad. Such is life.
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Change comes to us all, Chris, eventually. I linked this to an article on the threats to herding societies… The giant kind of symbolises the rest of us, forcing them out of their way of life little by little.
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It’s like the tragic situation of the Khoisan people in Southern Africa. The colonial powers fenced in their traditional lands, which cut off the wild game from their waterholes. A gentle way of life destroyed in just a few decades.
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…and thanks 🙂
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Excellent art and statement. So-called progress destroys nature and indigenous populations. The linked article was very informative. I was not familiar with the Nenents people. Fossil fuels should be banned.
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Thanks! Indeed, we’re pretty much destroying it all. I didn’t know the Nenets either until now. Seems like an interesting culture worth preserving.
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Troubling times for the goatherds and their flocks.
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Their land seems to stolen.
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Aw. Break my heart! ❤️
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Sorry about that 😉
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😅❤️🤗
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I liked the pic. The machine was a perfect match for the one in the story!
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Thank you.
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