The storm rages. Howling wind. Lashing rain. Thunder and lightning wage war across the blackened skies. Humanity cowers before this world’s true masters, those eternal gods of earth and sky. They were here long before we stepped blinking into the sun, and they shall remain forever once we’re gone.
I hunker down and hide beneath a meager rocky shelf. I shiver and tremble. Soaked through and icy cold.
I pile leaf and sodden wood with numb and shaking hands. My hollow mind is consumed with an ancient, nameless fear.
The one who ever waits approaches. She comes to claim me. Her icy breath is sharp against my neck.
How easy it would be to lay down and let her take me.
Lightning. Thunder. The world’s very bones begin to crumble. The shroud of life begins to fade.
But I still live, and while I live, I will still fight.
I strike stone on stone, then strike again, drawing forth the heat hidden within by those who built this world at the beginning of all things.
In the midst of my mound of leaf and wood, a spark catches. A gentle, beating heart.
I breathe out, slowly…slowly… And the fledgling flame begins to grow. My breath becomes its life, and in return its life becomes my own. Two hearts beating now as one.
Fragile warmth. Flickering light.
Death draws back to watch me from Her secret place.
Around me the gods wage their terrible war and the world of man unravels. Yet in amongst it all, I always remain.
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Thank you for your time and attention.
I really love the language here. It feels very... Close.
I like this one - it has an air of doom about it that demands to be taken seriously