#WritePhoto Portal

March 22, 2018 — clans, fiction #writephoto, stone

bowl-on-the-moors

Giants ruled the island for centuries before the clans discovered the place, bringing their version of civilization.  They thought they could colonize the giants and rob them of their resources while enslaving them.  The ships landed, and soldiers spread out to find and conquer the inhabitants.  They found evidence of cooking, fires still warm, but no people could be found.  Days of searching systematically revealed nothing more of the locals.  It looked like they had vanished suddenly, but there was no clue about where they had gone, or how they had escaped without being seen.

Harsh storms blew in from the west rocking the ship at anchor.  The invaders were cold, hungry, and became afraid they might be stranded as they watched their ship take on water.  A funnel cloud swept across the horizon, churning up the surf.  The clansmen feared for their lives and wished they had never come to this place.  There was no shelter, and the elements were harsh.  Survival would be difficult at best.  They questioned the wisdom of trying to conquer a land separate from their own, and hoped they would live to return to their homeland.  They were not equipped for warfare with giant wizards.

In a flash they were lifted into the sky on the funnel cloud, swirling wildly.  Time was suspended while they floated in a dream like state.  Chaos in slow motion took over their minds. They saw each other disintegrate, then reappear whole.  They screamed bloody murder as the rock beneath them opened.  A torrent of lost and angry souls were swept downward at high velocity.  They could feel the heat as their fates were sealed.  They joined all the others who had come to conquer the giants in an underground of immeasurable suffering. There is no escape.

The giants keep the island for themselves to this day, as is their inherited right.  Visitors beware of the local rules and customs.

#writephoto

This story is written in response to Sue Vincent’s photo prompt in The Echo.  Each week you can join a group of talented writers to read, comment, or write your own story or poem.