Only Endless Memory

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Scoffing Sun

After yesterday's experiment with a creative writing exercise, I decided to try that again. This time my prompt was to write about a "Scoffing Sun." Well, here it goes.

Talib left the town quietly during the heat of the noon day sun. The light reflected on his shaven black head, his fine toned body already covered with a thin layer of sweat. He was leaving behind all he knew, but could not stand to follow the ways of the Snake-worshipers any longer. The city slept behind him, silent under the harsh day. His people were wise to the ways of the desert and saved their energies by sleeping through the hottest hours of the day.

"No," he whispered to himself, "no longer my people." They were murderers who would kill for the powers of the magics that they wielded, but would also kill to keep those who were born into lower castes in their place. Only those of noble blood were allowed to rise in society, those who were born to poverty were kept in place with whips and chains and constant threats of death.

Talib himself was of the noble class, he was not running from the fear of death, in fact, he was more likelt running to his death. No, he was running for a freedom from the scoiety that held him trapped. He had no desire to rule over others, to hold the choice to end their lives. In fact, if he had the choice, he would rather heal their wounds and destroy all the images of the Snake-God Set and all the serpents that roamed freely on the streets.

He wished heartily that he could free all of those held in captivity, but most were held in thrall. The last person he had tried to help had actually been thankful whenTalib had found that the man's brother had been fed to a snake, saying it was a blessing would bring fortune to his family.
That was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.

Talib looked out over the water that surrounded the city and stifled again the despair of the task he had set for himself. It was better to be dead then have his heart and soul trapped in this awful place. The horses and camels were under constant guard and even if he did manage to get one loose, it would provoke action much sooner then him leaving directly, all he could do was swim. It would give him the most time.

With his meager supplies strapped across his back, he slipped into the water and struck out to the north. The water was refreshing on his dark skin, a nice relief from the full day's heat. His strokes across the water started strong, but as the the pack on his back grew heavier and he started to feel the natural current of bay the trek became more difficult. Still, he continued, though arms began to feel made of lead and legs made of rubber. He changed from a crawl stroke to a side stroke then breast stroke, anything to vary the pain in his arms. Looking to the shore, it still seemed impossibly far away.

"Don't stop, just swim," he said in his mind, now doing a side stroke, "and breathe," he reminded his laboring lungs. He was struck by a temptation to let loose the weight on his back, causing more drag and pulling him down. Without it, when he reached the desert lands on the other side of the bay, the heat would kill him as surely as drowning. "Drowning was a better way to die," the logical part of his mind said and on he swam.

A glance forward told him that his goal was actually getting closer. He might actually make it to the shore. One last agonizing push that took a lifetime, and he was there, panting on the shore. Talib dragged off his pack and laid his head on it until his breathing became somewhat normal. All the while, the scoffing sun blazed down upon him.

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And that is that at least for now ;-)

That story was inspired by my character in Age of Conan which is the MMO I am currently playing.

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Posted by Badger :: 5:20 PM :: 1 Comments:

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