more on the Anthology
So, here is the next installment of my Anthology, (took me long enough, didn't it?)
Title: The Price of the World
Author: Shadow Spire
Rating: PG
Warnings: none, really
Summery: Sometimes even Eternity isn't enough.
AN: UnBetaed, but constructive criticism very welcome!
The Price of the World
It had been so many years since he had last seen the sun; since he had last felt the warmth of its rays. He had seen a great many other things; He had watched Rome rise up out of nothing, seen that great empire expand, leaping in huge strides across the known world. He had watched that same Empire crumble from within into a mockery of its former glory.
He had been wandering the “Kingdom of Heaven” when the first of the Crusades had come. He had marveled at the sheer levels of destruction and degradation men could be pushed to in the name of their God. He had even made it to America to witness the slaughter that had masqueraded as their “civil war.”
He had seen so much death, so much suffering and deceit, manipulation and contempt, betrayal and hatred. At times he had despaired, seeing the state that humanity had fallen into. But his time on this earth had not come without its good points.
He had been birthed in Athens, long before the city had risen to the height of her glory. He had met his first death in her cobbled streets, stabbed in the gut by an irate warrior.
His first death had hurt more than anything he had encountered before. He hadn’t been a warrior, used to the pain brought by battles. If fact, he hadn’t really been the most notable of people at all. He didn’t come from a rich family, had done nothing to acquire very much attention. He had in fact been an orphan, raised by a kind old healer, unnoticed by most everyone.
But his Sire had noticed him; had picked him out of countless others. She had offered him the chance for eternity even as his life blood became a crimson lake staining his glorious city’s streets. So he had reached out and seized eternity with both hands and it had reached back pulling him into the soft embrace of his Sire’s arms.
He and his Sire had stayed in Athens and watched her come into her own, becoming a center for learning and knowledge. Years later, he had parted company with his Sire, she returning to her birth place in Egypt, him off to explore the world.
He had watched the birth of many Empires, and spoken with the learned men who flocked to the empires, spoken to the even greater men, who had established these Empires, or made them great; Alexander and Caesar being the greatest.
And yet, for all of this, for all these travels, he had paid a heavy price; To never again walk in the sun.
He had seen the glory of the world between mysterious twilights, and dewy dawns, and the moon had been his sun, his Mistress, and his time keeper, long after his true Mistress, his Sire had given into her longing for the Sun. The years and times had all blended together, traceable only in the unending cycle of the brilliant moon.
But now, the world was unrecognizable as what it once was, and it was time to end his travels.
He smiled peacefully as he watched the fat moon sink reluctantly below the horizon, and then turned to watch the sun rise for the first time in a long, long time.
The Moon sank sadly below the horizon as one of her children said his final goodbyes.
Title: The Price of the World
Author: Shadow Spire
Rating: PG
Warnings: none, really
Summery: Sometimes even Eternity isn't enough.
AN: UnBetaed, but constructive criticism very welcome!
The Price of the World
It had been so many years since he had last seen the sun; since he had last felt the warmth of its rays. He had seen a great many other things; He had watched Rome rise up out of nothing, seen that great empire expand, leaping in huge strides across the known world. He had watched that same Empire crumble from within into a mockery of its former glory.
He had been wandering the “Kingdom of Heaven” when the first of the Crusades had come. He had marveled at the sheer levels of destruction and degradation men could be pushed to in the name of their God. He had even made it to America to witness the slaughter that had masqueraded as their “civil war.”
He had seen so much death, so much suffering and deceit, manipulation and contempt, betrayal and hatred. At times he had despaired, seeing the state that humanity had fallen into. But his time on this earth had not come without its good points.
He had been birthed in Athens, long before the city had risen to the height of her glory. He had met his first death in her cobbled streets, stabbed in the gut by an irate warrior.
His first death had hurt more than anything he had encountered before. He hadn’t been a warrior, used to the pain brought by battles. If fact, he hadn’t really been the most notable of people at all. He didn’t come from a rich family, had done nothing to acquire very much attention. He had in fact been an orphan, raised by a kind old healer, unnoticed by most everyone.
But his Sire had noticed him; had picked him out of countless others. She had offered him the chance for eternity even as his life blood became a crimson lake staining his glorious city’s streets. So he had reached out and seized eternity with both hands and it had reached back pulling him into the soft embrace of his Sire’s arms.
He and his Sire had stayed in Athens and watched her come into her own, becoming a center for learning and knowledge. Years later, he had parted company with his Sire, she returning to her birth place in Egypt, him off to explore the world.
He had watched the birth of many Empires, and spoken with the learned men who flocked to the empires, spoken to the even greater men, who had established these Empires, or made them great; Alexander and Caesar being the greatest.
And yet, for all of this, for all these travels, he had paid a heavy price; To never again walk in the sun.
He had seen the glory of the world between mysterious twilights, and dewy dawns, and the moon had been his sun, his Mistress, and his time keeper, long after his true Mistress, his Sire had given into her longing for the Sun. The years and times had all blended together, traceable only in the unending cycle of the brilliant moon.
But now, the world was unrecognizable as what it once was, and it was time to end his travels.
He smiled peacefully as he watched the fat moon sink reluctantly below the horizon, and then turned to watch the sun rise for the first time in a long, long time.
The Moon sank sadly below the horizon as one of her children said his final goodbyes.