Friday, 4 October 2013

War

This is the final war of man. There are more warriors than can be counted, more wounds than can ever be healed, more corpses than can ever be buried.

The world is wreathed in discord. Rage, anger, pain, strain, desperation and despair.

At the centre of it all, two kings clash, wielding mighty swords stolen from an abandoned heaven. Steel rings on steel. Sparks fly. With each blow a shockwave of fire roars outwards, incinerating ally and enemy alike.

The kings fight on, enthralled, as their armies burn.

The winter of man approaches. From the ashes, forgotten gods will rise.



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Another 100 words, loosely inspired by the themes 'phoenix' and 'Autumn', which I was trying to explore in a less than straight forward manner. (I know, right... me, less than straight forward? Shocking.)

For more drabbles on those themes - check out the September issue of 101 Fiction.

Themes for the December issue will be announced next week with submissions opening on 15th October.
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13 comments:

  1. Claudia H. Blanton4 October 2013 at 13:39

    nice, love how vivid the story is despite its shortness, blessings!

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  2. Cat Russell4 October 2013 at 14:44

    Very powerful. Love how they're so oblivious of the destruction they're wreaking. Maybe revenge of those forgotten gods?

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    1. John Xero4 October 2013 at 17:03

      Thanks, Catherine. =)

      Those dastardly gods are playing the long game... Booby-trapped magical artefacts and the sacrifice of a whole race to power the resurrection of an ancient one...

      Delete
  3. John Wiswell4 October 2013 at 15:58

    This is how I feel every time I mow the lawn.

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    1. John Xero4 October 2013 at 17:04

      Ha! Watch out for those enchanted lawn mowers... they seem like a great idea at the time... ;)

      Delete
  4. Katherine Hajer5 October 2013 at 02:17

    It's an awesome drabble, but it also feels a bit like a back-of-book blurb, like there's more to come.

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    1. John Xero5 October 2013 at 08:22

      Thanks, Katherine. =) I know what you mean, it lacks that close up character detail.

      Delete
  5. Steve Green5 October 2013 at 11:31

    Wow! As always, brilliant visual imagery.

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  6. Cindy Vaskova5 October 2013 at 23:04

    Give me the rising of those forgotten gods! That would be such an epic scenery, John!

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    1. John Xero9 October 2013 at 12:27

      Thanks, Cindy. =)

      One day maybe, if not these gods then others. I love the idea of immense power, forgotten, biding its time, plotting. For good or ill...

      Delete
  7. Mars Wawrzyn6 January 2014 at 17:35

    "War" has just been published in Polish translation by The Literary Stroller:

    http://spacerowiczliteracki.blogspot.com/2014/01/john-xero-wojna.html

    ReplyDelete

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