An insufferable headache was slowly throbbing in my head.
Having made itself known for the past month
A headache that started with the existence of a god
My long dead god, who apparently
Was not actuallydead.
And the headache got worse and worse as I made promise after promise.
Both to God and elders alike
Trying to influence and convince.
Telling my fellow elders that, yes, a long dead race is not actuallydead.
And that, yes, we used to worship them.
And yes, we might all be killed if we don''t do it again.
So making it simple.
It has been a gruelling month.
Anyway, how did I survive?
Good question
I barely know myself.
That insufferable handsome faun has at least helped me.
When the girl and dragon fled, I was left alone.
Left alone to meet the elders
Who, luckily, instead of killing me, they put me on trial.
Which took several days, but eventually
They came to the conclusion that I had acted, not out of self interest, but to save us.
All of us
After that, they released me.
Some quiteunwillingly
As we had just fought days before.
But, both age and power made them unwilling to let go of such wisdom.
And power.
And once again, the insufferable handsome faun helped me.
Managing to convince the rest of the elders that the dragon can and will
Kill us if we don''t play nice
Which probably was one of the factors for my release.
And well
I also think it helped that the insufferable handsome faun was a crying, shivering, sweating ball of a wreck.
“We should bring him a gift of a thousand goats!”
One of the elders screamed out.
“NO! Dragons would only spite us for such a measly reward, we must give him all the treasureswe have”
A second one screamed back
A third one joins in.
“Then we will be robbed blind! How will we feed us? Our children?”
The second turns to the third, yelling with a hoarse voice.
“Do you want to die? I’d rather have nothing but live th-“
And on and on
And on…
The screaming continued through the wreckage that was once called the great chamber.
Groups had formed
But no distinct leader had taken their place
I sat awkwardly in the middle of it all.
Having been chosen for the role of high judge, a role that used to belong to a very big Faun
Who had been incinerated by the same Dragon that we are debating.
My headache was making all thoughts hard to form.
My role, being the keeper of peace
Of authority
Keeping the discussion civil and on track
Was all but a farce.
The discussions had derailed the second they started
Making me more of a silent observer than an active participant.
The other elders may have spared my life, but they sure as hell won''t let me decide anything.
Even those that are supposed to be loyal to me have started to waver.
But I don''t hold grudges.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
As I know that having to choose between one god and another
Is not an easy decision to make.
As we entered the fourth hour of the meeting
A messenger made his appearance, one of the few still loyal to me.
Swiftly running up to me, with an unsteady breath and wild eyes.
I quickly waved him over, collecting myself for the inevitable news
He tip-toed his way towards me, awkwardly moving around the debris that still had not been cleared.
I leaned towards him.
“A message from the human? About the dragon?”
I asked
Trying to keep the fear from my voice.
The messenger saluted me as he neared, shaking his head in a negative
I slumped back in my chair, both relieved
And scared.
“No, ehm... This. Is something else”
The messenger said, uncertain
Piquing my interest again.
Clearing his throat, the messenger continued, looking forward in a military stare.
“Sightings of a huge mass off blackness has been spotted”
I looked at him with questioning eyes.
“Blackness?”
“Yes, Venerable one”
“Explain”
I ordered
“It’s.. It’s, just that venerable one. A large moving mass of blackness, no taller than us but going from one end of the horizon to the other”
He quickly spoke, a noticeable nervousness in his voice.
I stared at him with narrowed eyes.
“Could you see what the blackness consisted off?”
“No, venerable one. But the scouts say that it consumes all the living it moves past, and...”
Stopping as he got uncertain
“Continue.”
I urged him, looking as nonchalant as I could
But feeling nothing near it.
“It is moving towards our city. And it seems to be growing”
A dread overcame me.
What the flying fuck.
First the Dragon
Now this?
But as I was thinking
A new messenger came, a recruit, bursting into the ruined chamber.
Fresh of his mother''s milk
Unfortunately
Many have sprung up after the recent disaster.
Something we’ve never had to do before
Having prided ourselves in peace
Well, I guess no more.
The messenger made the hall go quiet, as the elders investigated.
Then the messenger yelled
“An army has been sighted to the south!”
The surrounding elders all roseup
Many yelling in dismay, in disarray.
And in complete disbelief
“What do you mean?”
One of the elders spoke up, the surrounding elders hushing those nearby
The messenger locked his eyes with the speaking elder
Still breathing heavy.
“It’s an army! An army of lizardmen. To our south!”
He yelled, breathing in between words
A chorus of voice came out from the elders.
Looking to one another, questions asked and answered
But quickly after the elder spoke up again.
“Where are they headed?”
Which made the messenger shrug back a bit
Looking up as he started to think
Letting seconds pass.
And the hall got eerily quiet.
The messenger visibly starting to sweat
“Aaah, uuh.. I think... They will be passing our city a few miles to the south.”
“You think?”
The elder spoke
Making the messenger sweat even more
“Y-yes”
He simplysaid
Making the surrounding elders scream out in frustration, waving at him to leave.
Which he happily complied with.
The surrounding elders continued their discussion.
Having gladly moved the subject from Dragon to this unknown lizard army
Speculating, questioning.
Forming plans in case the army would veer towards our city
Something they could actively plan against
A threat that had a tangible goal.
Something that they could not do with the Dragon.
But I stayed clear from the discussions.
Having been caught up in my ownswirl of thoughts
Barely registering the army to the south.
A large blackness is moving towards us?
It kills all life that it moves past...
And is larger than the horizon is wide?
I pondered.
Trying to remember past experiences that was long forgotten.
And I felt time move slowly.
As thoughts slowly formed.
Forming a word
A single word
A simple word
Rats
And my face went pale
Oh no.
It is not a massive blackness
It is the bodies of rats.
It is not killing life
It is devouring it
And it is not just large
It is enormous.
Gaining numbers by the day
Probably around millions upon millions of rats by this point
Fueled by dark magic
Fueled by life
A god long forgotten, probably woken.
Laughing in his dark chambers as his creations wreck chaos on this world.
Quickly, I stood up
Up to my feet as I startled the surrounding elders
Some even reaching for bows, clearly not trusting me yet.
“We must flee”
I simplystated
Looking out over the gathered elders
Who looked at me in confusion.
I continued.
“There has been a sighting, a sighting of a swarm. And it is heading for us as we speak”
Upon hearing the words of “swarm,” many of the gathered elders went pale.
But many were still to young
Inexperienced to the forces of this world.
“The swarm?”
One of them asked
Another answered
“The swarm is an inevitability, a force of nature that will only stop when it fulfills it’s designed purpose. It’s a form of.. off ritualmade by rat-men to fulfill a certain purpose.”
Another elder yelled out
“What purpose?”
And I answered.
“It can be anything, but one thing for certain. If it is headed this way, this city is doomed”
A dreadful silence devoured the room.
Making most look down, deep in their own thoughts
But then, one stood up
And it was none other than the handsome faun.
Who had seen betters days, as his magical make-up had faltered, leaving him deathly pale and skin sagging low, making him look like a punching bag
Which I wish he were.
“No, we can not leave this city. It’s our haven, been with us since the age of.. off”
He drifted off, as the last part of his speech held a gravity
“Of Dragons”
I finished for him
Making him go even more pale
But he quickly collected himself.
“Yes, and we can not abandon this place. If we do, who knows what... he-“
Going quiet again
Mouth forming words, but no sound coming out
Eyes going wide, as his body started to shake.
I see now
I see that fear has gripped you, made you weak.
And others took note, looking up to the clearlymore stable elder.
“All who vote for us to leave, say, aye.”
I shouted, giving all those gathered a thorough look
One spoke up
“We need to speak more of this-“
“NO!”
I screamed, letting a bit of my anger seep through
“The time of talk is over! We must let our actions speak louder”
I paused
But only for a second, scanning the elders with a piercing gaze
Making many look away.
“The swarm is inevitable, you all know this. The only thing we can do is flee from it. If the Dragon knows of our plans, he can at least be bargained with. Seen to either help us or let us leave”
I spoke.
Spoken confidently.
The gathered elders looking around
Both uncertain and scared
Having to decide on something this quickly has never happened before
Nor has a Dragon been sighted before
Or a swarm
Making many nervous.
But I felt that I was close
So close to convincing them
So I continued speaking.
“Elders, when the time comes, I will take responsibility. Leave the Dragon to me”
This seemed to convince some, making them look up
And those that used to call themselves loyal to me, raised their voices
Shouting
“Aye!”
Loudly.
The others joining in.
And more.
Eventually, the room was a loud chorus of ayes as fauns gained confidence in number.
I let a small smile spread on my lips
A smile that did not reach my eyes.
Holding my hands out to silence the elders.
“Then it is settled. We shall depart this city as soon as possible. I now declare this meeting. Over!”
A loud bang as I hit the hammer on the table
Giving way for loud talking.
And elders moving out, giving task to soldiers and civilians alike
Giving them a task that would make few happy.
But a task that would be necessary.
Necessary for our survival
I just hope
Hope that the Dragon won''t mind.
I found myself sitting down.
Truly exhausted
Mostly mentally.
And I found my thoughts drift away
Drift far away
To happier times
Simpler times.
And then I found my heart drift to a human
A certain human girl
A little human girl
A tiny little girl
A girl so innocent and pure
Beaming with so much life.
Yes
Such a bright soul.
But
Who would have thought
That such a person
Would be the catalyst for so much disaster
Yes
Who would have.