Apocalypse
Ash and rock crunched beneath my feet as I trudged up the barren slope. My companion, a robed, hooded woman, followed behind me; I had nearly forgotten who she was. We had been paired, she and I, specifically for this journey. She had once been vibrant, tall, strong; but the ash and the weight of the world on her shoulders had bent her back. She rarely spoke any more.
We neared the the hill's crest; a dull glowing dark moon, traced with a web of red cracks, watched our ascent. A lone lumpy boulder rest embedded in the slope; further up at the edge, against a small cliff, leaned a stick and thatch hovel. My companion and I walked towards the boulder. As we approached, features began to take shape: the outline of an arm, a bent knee, a hung head. It was no rock, but a giant , clad in chain mail and ragged cloth, its skin gray and lumpy, as if it had boiled and suddenly frozen in place. It stirred as we came closer. It leaned upwards on its knees, facing the disastrous moon, its face indistinguishable but for its mouth, which opened wide to reveal jagged, broken teeth.
“You have come, then,” it said, its voice that of rolling thunder. “Go, champion and his attendant. Fetch my counterpart. I cannot move from here.”
I nodded, and continued up the hillside towards the hovel; my companion remained beside the giant, staring upwards at the moon. A rustling greeted me at the entrance of the hut, which had no door, and no light within. A hag appeared from the doorway, even though I approached unannounced. She wore similarly tattered rags as the giant, though no mail; long, matted purple hair, thick enough to cover her face entirely, stretched down to her knees.
“Yesssss,” she hissed in a gravelly tone, “The time is nigh. Come, let me see you, champion!” At which she parted the hair in front of her face, revealing shockingly large, blue eyes that seemed to pierce my very soul, and a rounded inhuman mouth ringed with sharp teeth.
12-Jun-2016 18:25:39
