The mage made his way through the few tables between him and the nearest one and ran his hands over the cold dusty surface. Huge grey and brown beasts moved across a frozen landscape, tusks and long trunks towering over the tiny specks of men at their huge feet. Farden had remembered seeing such creatures during a voyage to the south long ago. The men in that foreign land had called them bastions, and their feet had shaken the ground like thunder.
Sabre-cats, huge rats, and long wingless worms were locked in an eternal battle in the next painting, while in another Farden saw gryphons, titans, minotaurs, and more dragons, swarming across fields to battle against gangly grey men-like creatures with long swords. Brightshow had rejoined him and stared at the pictures over the mage’s shoulder.
‘It’s been a long time since I talked with a gryphon.’ Farden said.
‘There are still some, in the northern wastes, or in the east I hear, but like most of the others on these walls they have long abandoned Emaneska.’ A hint of wistfulness had crept into the dragon’s voice.
‘I saw one of these once in the Bay of Rós. It sunk a ship in seconds and then just disappeared under the waves.’ Farden pointed at a picture of a long sea serpent with horns and ridges of spikes sprouting from its head. In the mural its gigantic tail was drowning a boatfull of the same tall grey men.
‘Leviathans. Good meat if you can get at them. Now these are, or were, phoenixes, distant cousin to the dragon. They were the first of us all to learn how to breath and live with fire, but the dark elves hunted them all down in the name of sport.’ Brightshow pointed at the flock of red and orange bird-like creatures. This mural seemed to be one of the older ones, and the bright fiery colours of their wings had dimmed long ago, but Farden could still see the flames trailing through the skies in their wake.
Farden looked at the history of the world spread out on the wall before him, picture by picture, one mural at a time. After one short walk along the wall Farden had travelled at least two thousand years back in time, long before the ice had started to creep across the lands and while simple man was just a nomadic and pathetic race. Unlike the Sirens the Arka had always hid their histories in libraries and temples, away from the commoner and only for the enjoyment of scholars and the education of the upper classes. But here in front of him he could see the old days, the great days of magick and monsters, where the Elves ruled and the Arka were no more than an idea. Brightshow was right: men would inherit the earth, long after the last of these ancient creatures had left or died....
Hope you like it, I'm looking for a few people to read the 1st draft once it's up and running so please let me know! I'll have a few more things here by the end of the week too, so have a gander! (that's a look not a goose by the way)
Love as always, even to the loud people I share a wall with,
Ben x
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