Despair of the Divine

[Pahrak Model ZX]

The Queen of Gravity pulled on her horse’s reigns as she came up to the mountainside. It looked as solid as ever, peaks towering miles above her and a number of narrow ledges scattered about at random. The gray stone created an impregnable wall that curved inward to create a large ring around the city within, protecting it from all angles against whoever might wish to invade it.

 

It’s good to be home.

 

She dismounted and stroked the mane of her horse. Tall as she was, the animal looked slightly underdeveloped standing next to her. She tied her mount’s reigns around a nearby tree and then removed her tan travelling cloak, revealing numerous plates of heavy iron armor, and placed the garment in her saddlebag before walking over to the base of the mountain. It was there that the Queen of Gravity stopped and crouched.

 

Her mind opened. Feeling the force of gravity’s embrace on her body, she pushed against it with her will, commanding it to loosen its hold to a mere fraction of its normal power. The force complied, and she felt herself grow lighter. With the magic active, the Queen pushed off the ground, launching herself upwards parallel to the rocky slope. The stone flashed past her in a blur and the wind pulled back her long black hair. Her armor rattled a bit at the resistance, but it held strong. The peaks grew closer and she could feel herself slowing, smiling as she anticipated the aerial view of her queendom.

 

Her expression changed to one of terror as she soared over the top of the mountains. About a third of the area within the mountain ring was nothing but open field, and half of that was on fire. Most of the remaining area was filled with a multitude of stone buildings, once bearing great variety in size and shape, but now all were nothing but rubble. At the far end, carved into the inner wall of the mountains, was an imposing castle—well, a once-imposing castle, now with its walls sliced clean through and the guard houses along its sides totally absent.

 

Oh no…Land!

 

The Queen began to fall down into the valley, but she twisted her body in mid-air. Fixing her gaze on the mountains, she ordered a small center of gravity to form within it, causing her to be pulled out of her fall. She landed on her feet, standing perpendicular to the ground, and crouched once more. Now looking directly at the castle, she launched herself again, dismissing the artificial gravity as she did so, and rocketed over the ruins directly towards the castle. Gradually, she allowed the natural force of gravity to return, drawing her down until she was only a few yards above the ground.

 

She was near the castle now. Putting her legs forward, she cancelled the last effects of her spell. The Queen braced herself and touched down, going into a skid that carried her along the dirt road in a matter of seconds. The wood double doors had been knocked off their hinges, so she slid straight into the remains of the foyer before finally coming to a stop. Dead guards littered the open floor, and a number of the stairs spiraling up into the ceiling had been ripped out.

 

No…

 

She leapt up the broken steps and dashed down an empty hall with huge chunks torn out of the wall. At the end was a large room deep within the mountain; with no windows to provide it light, it was usually lined with candles or brightened by magic, but it was now pitch black. The Queen searched the floor—enough light came in from the lamps in the hall that she was able to find a candle and light it, allowing her to go deeper into the chamber. She took each step very slowly, constantly moving the candle so as to view as much of the room as possible. Various pieces of furniture were strewn across her path, but she pressed onwards, stepping over or around each one as she continued her search.

 

“Land? Are you here?”

 

The sense of dread within her only intensified when there was no response. Perhaps she wasn’t here, the Queen reasoned. She could very well be in any other—

 

The Queen of Gravity stopped cold. Just at the edge of her light was the Queen of the Land, lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.

 

“Land!”

 

She knelt next to the other Queen, set the candle on the floor, and took hold of her. The Queen of the Land’s dark skin had been ripped apart, the worst being one deep gash in her stomach through which massive amounts of blood had poured. There was armor encasing her body, but it appeared to have been thrown on hastily, and its protection had evidently not been effective.

 

“…Land…? Come now, wake up. You have to be alright! Land, answer me!”

 

No answer came. The shock began to wear off, and the Queen of Gravity felt the reality of the situation sinking in. Pulling the broken body of her wife close, she closed her eyes and started to shake.

***

 

“It was the Queen of War,” the soldier said.

 

The Queen of Gravity did nothing in response, merely continued to watch as the other remaining soldiers helped rescue people from their collapsed houses.

 

“The platoon you were informed of was a trap meant to lure you out. She found a way in and challenged the Queen of the Land…Her Majesty fought as best as she could, but…”

 

The Queen of Gravity cleared her throat. “That’s enough.”

 

Turning, she looked at the soldier. He cringed when he saw the intense rage burning in her eyes.

 

“We will hold a funeral ceremony tomorrow. The day after that…I shall be leaving again. I think I shall pay a visit to the Queen of War.”

Edited December 8, 2013 by Pahrak #0579