Snippet #1868693

The cadre of muscle-bound creatures of terror shuffled into a clearing; usually a stop to rest, but this was a place of tales that were spun, of whispered rumors of dread—this was a place that would tell Anez why her father had to surrender her, his only daughter. There lie what made history; burning in tumultuous fires that were as hot as the day they had started. A thick column of soot and ash lifting towards the darkened skies for reprieve but finding only hope to be squandered and squashed back down to these hellish lands.

Smashed against a mountainside; homes broken upon jagged rocks and gardens sundered by the sheer weight of the impact was the first Citadel to fall. Hit without warning, dragged into this condemned world from the safety of the clouds and the warmth of the sun. She would be posed with many questions; why had this happened? What was to become of her? Who was Cain? Was he as beastly as the rest? Many questions would be for certainly asked and while she may not have known which ones, if any were going to be answered—she would know this—Things were going to change, and fast.

The Orog the carried her switched her around to see where they were going. It would frighten anyone to know where they were being taken by an Orog, but to say they were taking one to their “kingdom” and to see it were two vastly different things. In front of her was a very dark city. Where hers was illuminated by the glimmer and gleam of the sun playfully masked by clouds—this one was only lit by what seemed only a few pyres, and the brightest flashes of lightening one could ever hope to see. Her home was warm, it was full of life and herbs and trees—this city was concrete, and twisted steel rebar. The very clouds themselves seem directed towards it with all their fury. The storm was like a dagger pointed at the heart of the heartache of this world.

Sitting alone, in the top of the highest tower, in a model of a great stone throne chair that was ironically labeled once “Seat of the World”—were the governments collided and created one united humanity once was Cain. His pale gray skin was briefly illuminated by a flash of lightening, causing his obsidian eyes to open slowly. His furled hand nestled against his cheek as he was anchored to the throne. Rising slowly, he stepped down the stairs towards the nearly shattered window, staring out at the horizon where he knew his subjects carried his “sacrifice”.