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Thursday, April 21, 2011

Her Majesty


  • 3rd Place in Aspiring Writer's March 2011 Writer's Competition

The brisk, frigid morning chapped against my skin.  I breathed slowly and deeply while enjoying the taste of the air.  I could still see smoke bellowing towards the sky deep in the horizon.  The tensions of my muscles still ached from the battle the night before.  I stood idly from the military encampment a few hundred yards away.


The battle the day before tested the endurance of my army.  It had been perilously victorious, but costly.  It had been a test to see if the brawn of my men could defeat the majesty of the sorceress.  The heavily guarded castle was defended with stone and by the sorceress though the supernatural and magical monstrosities of her beckoning.


The war had raged for decades.  The country-side which had once been the domain of the sorceress and her army had been liberated years before.  Battle led to battle and victory led to victory.  The cusp of the final battle was upon us.  We had fought our way to the castle gates. 
Yesterday, the inventive creations of the sorceress tested my battle worn men.  Her army had nearly been annihilated but lightening, thunder, and storm became our adversaries.  The wild beasts of the forest had embattled us for years.  From every direction our enemy took on different incarnations.
The closer we neared victory the more horrific the battle became.  Hurricanes and tornadoes and locusts and firestorms took the place of her army to fiercely combat the will of my soldiers.  Upon entering the gates of the castle, the sorceress’s horrifying countenance turned to snakes and fire.  As our impending victory became evident it was her final intention to break the will of my men through pain and fear.  My men would not back down.  It was a war that had been fought hard and we were on the verge of victory.  The freedom of our wives and children were at stake.  Moreover, the costs of victory would be well rewarded.  Peace and harmony would follow. 
Fire met us at the gate.  The winds of hurricane and firestorm were the last obstacle between us and our freedom.  The vindictive ruler would be defeated.  The first arrow pierced the sorceress.  With it came a hollering scream with a high-pitched and magnified sound coming from the demons of hell.  Fire came from her mouth and instantly turned a dozen of my men to ashes.  Another arrow pierced her skin.  This time is was through her neck.  Lightening flashed down from the sky and it hit the ground with a thunderous crash.   At last in a crusade which had lasted decades we would achieve victory.  I ran to the sorceress, shield and sword in hand.  As I ran towards her, the weakened sorceress, with lightening streaming from her finger tips, heinously fought to her last breath.  My shield of iron blocked this final offensive, I lifted my sword, swung it through the air, and sliced her head off in one motion. 
The winds subsisted.  As the lifeless body of the sorceress fell to the ground the storm and the thunder were silenced.  A crevice in the earth opened and fire glowed up through it.  One last deafening roar from the depths of the earth was let out.  From it, a swirling white-hot wind surrounded the lifeless body of the sorceress and dragged her to the depths of the earth.  The crevice in the earth closed. As the sun crested between the clouds a light rain came down from the sky cooling our skin.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the use of Nature's might to underscore and enhance mortal conflicts.

Arlee Bird said...

That certainly is a switch from the country music inspired stories. Very vivid portrayal of a story of epic proportions. Nicely executed--the story and the sorceress.

Lee
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog

Ana Rubio-Serrano said...

Nice job, Daron!

J.S. Andersen said...

I like the real feel to it. Nice job.