"It wasn't a misspelling, it was a tribute to King-Lewis."
- DivvyO
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| The Little People (Working version) | | | Author: | | | IP: | ool-182fXXXX | | Date: | 09/08/02 02:09 | | Game Type: | Other | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 5, Min: 5
Lifetime Rating for Epoch71: 6.0000 |  |
The Little People
As I was mowing my lawn, I saw a bug scurrying through the grass, and wondered what everything must be like to something their size. An idea popped in to my head, and well, here it is. Enjoy.
Summer, Day 9
Our sailer rolls effortlessly atop the hard black river, its sails full and well capable of pulling us along at high speeds.
We are the last of our kind, the only hope. Our old Captain passed away yesterday and I was elected to take his place. He will be missed, but there is no time to mourn him; we must find shelter before the full heat of Summer comes upon us.
There is no sight of the Promised Lands spoken of by our priests. Out great sailer has passed many grass-stalk forests, but none were suitable, all of them dried and brown; a sight far too familiar to us. I can only hope we'll make it.
Summer, Day 11
The homes of the Gods, once a rare sight, are beginning to be spotted more and more often, in the distance beyond the grass-stalk forests. Perhaps we are approaching the land of our birthright.
It was hotter today, than the day before.
Summer, Day 12, Morning
The grass-stalk forests we pass are green and healthy looking now. Or atleast they would be, if they had not been cut down to a size only a few times taller than our tallest. The Promised Lands are close, I can feel it in my bones. But, the Gods and their homes are abundant. Their houses tower over our sailer; the sides of the house are far out of view. The Gods themselves... They are great giants, hundreds and more times bigger than us. A single stride of their great legs takes them a half-hour's journey in mere seconds.
Summer, Day 12, Afternoon
Today, I saw something horrible. As our sailer rolled down the great black river, I caught sight of a God. I had grown used to their presence by now, I was not quite as intimidated by it... But the thing the God pushed, that... that was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen. It was a great, roaring beast. Thirty times as tall as I, and thrice that as long and wide. It let out a horrible, constant roar as the God pushed it over a grass-stalk forest; where it went, the forest was cut down to almost nothing. Have the Gods destroyed the Promised Land, as they did the grass-stalk forests near their homes?
Summer, Day 13, Morning
Our lookout has spotted something, a grass-stalk forest with grasses ten times our height! It seems that none of the Gods' beasts has grazed their. Maybe, just maybe...
Summer, Day 13, Afternoon
We have stopped, sliding against one of the great, smooth stone cliffs the Gods create to guard their homes. I have sent out several scouts to see if this is truly the Promised Land I think it to be. I can only pray.
Summer, Day 13, Night
There has been no sight nor sound of the scouts for hours now. I watched for them until my eyelids began to droop from exhaustion, then went below. I am tired, I must rest now.
Summer, Day 14, Morning
The scouts have returned, and they bring great news with them... along with a grass-stalk root big enough to feed a good portion of the sailer's passengers! It truly is the Promised Lands. I have given the orders to begin construction of a new city. I'm going to go check on the progress; I'd like to at last set foot on the lands we have been destined to occupy.
Summer, Day 14, Night
The grass-stalks are taller than I thought. The roots are monstrous, yet easy to pull from the ground; they taste heavenly. It took only a few grass-stalks to build each of the homes in the new settlement; we should be able to start harvesting at full speed in a matter of days. This is truly a wonderful thing. Never, in our race's memory, have we ever enjoyed such bountiful crops.
Summer, Day 21, Night
For the last week I have enjoyed the best conditions of my life; no strict rations, no dry food, nothing like on the sailer. Our town grows, soon everyone will have their own hut. I, as the leader, was given the first house; it is extremely spacious, compared to my cramped quarters on the sailer. I can lay flat on the floor, and not bump my head or feet against a wall. I can sleep comfortably, and my bones don't ache in the morning. So wonderful...
I have ranted long enough, I think I shall see how my people are doing.
Summer, Day 22, Morning
As we slept, the sailer dissapeared. Some of the sleepless claimed to have seen a God take it in the deep of night, and others theorize that it must have rolled away in the dead of night, leaving our lives the same way as it entered them a year before. It is not too great a loss, however. We have reached the lands where we were destined to live in. We will never have to sail the black river again.
I hope.
Summer, Day 23, Afternoon
The roarings of the great beasts can be heard over everything else. The sound is always there. We have seen some of the great beasts, their stiff, smooth hides shining in the sun, but none dared venture toward our grass-stalk forest.
Meanwhile, our population and our stores grow in size. I have never seen so much food in one place before in my life, and it brings a tear of pride to my eye to see what we've accomplished in just a few short days.
Summer, Day 23, Night
Our men have seen something far worse than I could have imagined, yet I dare not let my fear show. Several of our younger, more energetic people journeyed along one of the hard black river's tributaries which lead to a home of the Gods. They saw a great wall, so tall they could not see the top of it, sliding into the sky. Behind it was one of the giant, speeding sailers of the Gods that had no sails but went far faster than our sailer ever could have. It slid down the tributary to the main river and set off. Our men entered the giant sailer's den, and unaware of the wall's sliding back in to place, were unable to escape from the great cavern. They set off to explore the place, to pass the time until the return of the giant sailer, so they could escape. After walking only a few minutes, they came across something horrible. One of the great beasts that ate the forests slept against one of the towering cavern walls. They could see dust collecting on it, a sign of a long sleep... but what if the beast awakes?
I have sworn them to silence about the matter. I do not need my people to panic. And its not as if there was anything we could do; the sailer is gone. I can only hope the beast stays in its hibernation forever.
Fall, Day 1
My hopes have been dashed and my nightmares realized. Today, the great doors opened; and it wasn't the great sailer of the God's that emerged. It was a God, pushing the wheeled beast. Its roar echoes across the grass-stalk forests now. I can only hope the God's beast will not cut us down as we take shelter inside one of the massive, brown towers that pepper this land.
Fall, Day 2, Morning
The forests are ruined, cut down to a pitiful size. Our city has been razed, the half of our stores that we couldn't hide with us are gone. This land was not what I thought it to be, it was not the Promised Land. Yet, there is no escape; the God's have taken back the sailer they gave us and have destroyed our home. We will not get anywhere on foot; I fear we are doomed.
Fall, Day 2, Night
I have seen a horrible, gruesome sight. Apparently, some of my people did not believe the warnings and stayed in the city. We found them... Yet we cannot tell who they are, or how many of them had been so naive. Their shredded body parts, cut by the beast's whirling claws and lacerated by the blasting shrapnel, are scattered around the city. I gagged at the sight of it, but thankfully I had not eaten anything for a long time.
I'd pray to the Gods for help, but I do not think they'd provide any; not after what I have seen them do to us.
Fall, Day 3, Night
I had stood alone in the center of the ruined city, my head down. In one of the dirty puddles scattered around the ruined town square, I saw ripples. A God approached. I did not care, let him smite me. Better death than to live with the knowledge that I had failed, and it would cost my people their lives. The God's foot slid down a block away from me, crushing one of the torn remnants of a house. It quickly withdrew. I watched as the God reached down, picking up one of our destroyed homes effortlessly. I followed the path of the God's hand, and found myself staring at its face.
The priests had always spoke of the Gods' faces. They said that they were unimaginable, and anyone who saw one would fall dead instantly. I felt no more dead than before as I stared at its huge eyes, a raft of black inside a pond of blue inside a sea of white. But the shocking thing was its face. It was unimaginable: it was exactly like ours, like that of one of our children... Who would have guessed?
The God's face turned back and forth as it surveyed the ruins of the city, and I saw a look of shock spread across it. Then, its eyes fell upon me, and widened. The face retreated back out of my vision, then slid back a few seconds later. I saw the God's mouth move, yet there was no sound... Then a warm wind consumed me, and its booming voice rang throughout our destroyed settlement. I understood not a word of it, but I looked in to the God's face. What could he be saying to me, I wondered. I saw the God's eyes study me, then blink. The face pulled back for good this time, and the ripples in the puddles fortold the God's leaving.
I ate my lunch, finding it slightly more tasteful than it had been yesterday. I lay back in the center of the town, and closed my eyes. I felt the sun's rays warming me to the core, a refreshing sensation, and I felt myself relaxing, slipping away... When I next opened my eyes, the sky was dimming, the sun casting shades of blue and pink on the sky far above.
I stood, and my gaze fell upon the black river... Or more, what rested there. It was the sailer... the God must have returned it. I ran back to where my discouraged people were staying, and told them of what I saw. At first, they thought me crazy. But one of them was curious, and ventured out of the sheltered hole in the brown tower. He saw the sailer, and ran back. We are preparing to set sail.
Perhaps, things will be alright after all.
Fall, Day 5, Night
We have collected what we could from the destroyed grass-stalk forest, filling our hold with fresh food. Then, we set sail. As the sailer began to accelerate on the slight hill, I peered up to the God's home, and saw my savior staring after us. I don't know why I did it, and I doubted the great God could have seen or heard me from this distance... But... I waved to him, and shouted my thanks. Just before he passed out of our sight, I saw a smile creep across his face.
I hoped you liked it. I had fun writing it, hope you had as much fun reading it.
-Epoch
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