#sadly I missed the 100 mark but that's uni for ya

[goblin-writer]

A Solitary Watchman

I apparently remembered how to write again. It’s been a while.

Thank you to @flashfictionfridayofficial​ for a prompt that hopefully gets me writing again :>

Ancient ruins hung from the cliffs, frozen in their collapse. An archway drifted between fragments of walls and stones that, free from mortar and gravity, spun to and fro in the mists. Out above all this the remains of a bridge jutted from the cliff. The road that it once was a part of now overgrown with weeds and dirt that was content to keep it all together.

A lone rider wound their way towards the bridge, white cloak billowing in the wind. The riders black boots reflected a fire that had long since burned itself out. Next to the bridge a single tree stood defiant. Its trunk bore scars of some great force and its branches bowing away from the abyss that it now abutted. A man in a mottled cloak watched the rider. His dark eyes following him along the road as the man lit up a pipe and allowed wisps of smoke to escape into the air.

The rider brought their horse to a halt next to the tree and spoke with a voice that commanded attention in the highest halls of power, “Where is my city?”

The man in the mottled cloak gave a large puff of smoke before his hoarse voice answered, “The great conqueror returns. You left here twenty years ago, our glittering armies with banner of eagles, and ravens, and all manner of birds.”

“The city was still protected.”

“So well protected that no army could hope to assail its walls let alone reach the bridges that marked the second river. You should have seen it, the enemy arrayed in their thousands, crashing against the storms of arrows and flashes of lightning.”

“I would have expected to see carved wonders of these battles.” The conquerors voice hardened, they had marched away to protect the city from so many enemies. They had bathed in blood and faced down magic that wiped away hundreds.

“Ruin and destruction. They called them your great exports, the cities and kingdoms you toppled. They were angry,” The man looked toward the gravity defying ruins. He could still see the field of bodies and the rivers bursting their banks in a red tide, “We held against all those you defeated as they found their way here time and time again, some begging for our aid, others calling for our blood.”

“No amount of men could have taken the city, and starvation couldn’t have become a problem.”

“The stores you left behind were plentiful, and people didn’t go hungry. You didn’t prepare against treachery.”

“My brother was tasked with ensuring loyalty.” The man nodded as the hooded figure spoke.

“Your brother, the younger brother of the great conqueror. Our Immortal Queen whose legacy he never would compare to.” As he puffed smoke into the air it seemed to hang for just a moment the royal house’s emblem.

“What did he do?” The queen asked the man.

“He did what any young royal fool would do. Instead of proving himself as a wise leader and someone we could rely on he invited mages and sorcerers to the court. Over years they poisoned his mind. With promises of greatness and a legacy to eclipse whatever you accomplished they fed his greed.”

“What happened?” Her voice was razor thin; the curved sabre at her hip seemed to expel a red mist. The golden symbols burned into the backs of her hands glowed with a baleful glare.

“He opened the tomb in hopes of emerging as you did. The seal was broken and the city began to tremble. Great fonts of earth were erupted across the city and we ran. The royal guard brought up the rear and the garrison the vanguard. We punched through our besiegers and they ran. And we ran. It felt like an eternity. Then I fell. The earth opened up to swallow me. Some enemy caught my hand and hauled me up.” He fell silent for a while, the wind pushing a brick from the ruins over the ground where it promptly clattered down.

“They left, to build a new life elsewhere. I wouldn’t, or rather couldn’t abandon my post. The city is ruined and destroyed, as are so many. Hopefully my queen will relieve me of my watch.”

The queen was silent for a long time as she looked across the floating ruins. The man on his part shifted uncomfortably before she spoke, “Why didn’t you leave?”

“I tried,” he shrugged, “but I woke up here every morning it seems the abyss took my oath rather seriously.” He presented her with a pennant and lance. She smiled a sad smile that reflected his own.

A lone rider in a white cloak rode away from the field of floating ruins, away from the singular tree. They held a pennant aloft. And beneath that tree the ground once more received an offering of blood.

#writing #Flash Fiction Friday #flash fiction #writeblr #goblin writes #it's been a hot minute but I'm glad I have the capacity to write something again #sadly I missed the 100 mark but that's uni for ya