Tequil falls into a deep sleep, the sleep of the ancient. He has a timeless dream, a fog-shrouded memory that he stubbornly clings to- it gives him identity. It keeps him sharp.
The scratch of branches on his lower half. They are cacophanous, crashing and shaking under his steady footfalls and swinging arms. The humid air coats him in a fine layer of sweat, the sun bakes his leathery skin and makes his heart pound with calm, heated thumps that resound through the forest. He is at peace here, in this place, in this time.
But he can hear it, at first a soft rushing like blood in his ears, then a roaring, tumbling waterfall of a voice that heralds an odour of wet fungus and decaying bodies.
She calls to Tequil from beyond the beyond; Stukos, the rabbit-mother, who created the soil with her shedding, mummified skin, who maintains the careful balance between life and death.
THE WORLD GROWS TEDIOUS, TEQUIL.Tequil shakes his great head, gazing up into a thickly clouded sky. The sun sets, soupy green, along the horizon. "My people have done so much. We change and shape the world around us!"
THE VERY STONE ROTS UNDER YOUR FEET. IT DECAYS AWAY INTO THE ABYSS."Then we will build upwards. Our temples already graze the sky itself. We will build past it."
THERE IS NO SKY, NOT ANYMORE."We can build down into the core of the earth. We have already started great mines downwards."
THERE IS NO CORE, THERE NEVER WAS.Tequil's tendons groan like cello strings in the hushed jungle as he makes two desperate fists. "You will not set me on the path to despair. We thrive! We will always thrive."
UTES RISES.The giant's heartbeats turn to ice, the wind blows hot against his brow. He can manage only a whisper:
"Now?"THE EARTH BOILS UP BENEATH YOU. SOON THE FLOODS WILL COME AND CLEAN THE ROT AWAY."Can you do nothing for my people?"
I WEEP FOR YOU, TEQUIL."Please! Please, Stukos! Wise mother, spare us from your brother!"
There is a long, sickening silence. Beyond the horizon, beyond anything Tequil had ever known, a towering point of orange light thrust up from the surface of the earth. The soil bucked in pain and began to swell with fiery blood.
Stukos' wet phlegm rattles forth again:
... LEAD YOUR PEOPLE TOWARDS THE BURNING CLOUDS, TOWARDS UTES. I MUST FLOOD THE REST. THE ROT CREEPS UP. WE MUST CLEANSE. BROTHER UTES WILL CARE FOR YOU IN THE SILTY ASH.Tequil stared off at the column of burning smoke; it was the clotted breath of the earth's punctured lungs. Harpies swarmed and shrieked in great droves away from the horizon, some even smashing against Tequil's shoulders and face in their frenzied attempts to escape the burning death.
Tequil awakens into the grim darkness of the dusty cave. The memory fades back into the tomb-silence.
And Mata screams.
Author
Topic: Adventures on Monster Island (Read 268180 times)