The Will of Gods

The town of Petra was always an eerie place to live in, Summer was short and wet and Winter was long and harsh. In the far side of town, Emma would spend her nights curled up in front of an old book reading about the old world. She was brilliant and curious, much to the frustration of the townsfolk. Robert, her husband, was out late and she waited till their son Will fell asleep to light a candle on her study and placed a small chest on top of the table.

Inside the chest was a small leather covered book signed with her name, she flipped through the book till she reached a page marked “Final Design”. The book was old and the pages had yellowed over time making it look older than Emma herself, the writing on the page though looked fresh as if it were written a few days ago. The page had scribbled and markings of a long tube and some writing in a language she had taught herself using one of the books `The Order` had forbidden. She kept the book hidden from Robert, he followed the priest’s teachings too blindly and would not understand that what she was doing was not blasphemy but what the old books referred to as “science”.

Petra was a tough place was live in, the land was in ruins and too hard to properly farm. The Order preached that the gods waged war long ago and destroyed everything, leaving the land cracked and rocky. Survivors found the spire and the teachings of the gods and formed The Order led by the High Priest, slowly the town grew around the spire with small huts and houses lining the inside of the spiraling rode that led away from the Spire. The Order taught that only through faith and belief in the gods can they survive this land, but Emma knew different. She knew that through science she could understand this world better and come up with ways to better survive it. She found some old books that the High Priest had forbidden and kept them secret, one of the ones spoke about observing the stars to learn about finding new lands. She knew that if she could observe the sky she could find a way to a better land.

She removed a metal tube and two pieces of glass from the chest, she had read about a tool that people in the old world used to observe stars. She had spent the last month working on the glass pieces to shape them into the exact shapes she had read about and tonight she was finally done. It took some tinkering but she attached both pieces of glass to the ends of the tube and with a huge sigh of relief she fell back into her chair. She had done it, she had finally done it. She swore to herself that this would be the beginning of a new era for the people of Petra, one not of blind faith or fear but one of progress and knowledge. She glanced behind her into their bedroom where will was still asleep, she stared at him for a while trying to imagine a better future for her family. One where they wouldnt have to rely on The Order, one where they were free.

She took the metal tube and stepped outside, eager to try it out. The night was chilly and the cold wind made her shiver, nights were always gloomy in Petra but there was something different about tonight. A heavy mist had fallen over the town and Emma couldnt even see the ground. The moon hid behind a thick wall of clouds making the town seem darker than usual, luckily the neighbours had all remembered to light their lanterns so there was enough light around her house. Emma raised the metal tube to her face and looked through, but all she saw was a blurred sky. Frustrated she took a cloth from her study and wiped the glass on both ends, she looked back into the room and noticed that Will has started to move around as the cold air filled their home.

“Im sorry little one, I promise I’ll make it up to you” she whispered to herself.

She stepped out again and just as she was about to look through the metal tube she heard a soft crack from the distance, she looked up quickly but could not see anything. It sounded like someone stepping on a branch but she looked around and there was nobody in the street, Robert was not going to be back for quite some time and the neighbours had all retreated to their homes. Another crack but this time the sound was closer, Emma could feel a chill run down her spine but she couldn’t tell if it was from the cold air or fear. Her instincts were telling her to shut her door and hide but she couldnt contain her excitement to finally try out her invention.

In the distance the mist began to swirl, as if something has just walked into it. The lanterns from the houses all started to go out slowly, going out as if something was coming her way putting them out. A green glow emerged from the mist and soon all of the mist glowed green, creeping slowly towards their home. Emma quickly slammed the door behind her and put on the latch, in her panic she knocked over the chest and her diary. A low hum replaced the silenced of the night, growing louder and louder. Emma was shaking and sweating through her palms, still gripping the metal tube tightly. Whatever was making the humming must have finally reached her house because the sound stopped and everything fell silent, Emma realised that she had been holding her breath. She heard heavy footsteps stop at her door, the green mist was creeping into her home from under the door.

She backed up slowly and fell to the floor as with a loud noise the door was blown open, the latch snapping under the brute force. In the green mist stood a tall figure, taller than Robert and definitely taller than Emma. It stood still and stared, doing and saying nothing. The candle on her study helped Emma see the silver sickle in the figure’s right hand, it also revealed the tattoos on the arm of the figure. Her heart pounded as if it wanted to burst out of her chest, she crawled backwards with every bit of strength she could muster. She knew what this was, she had heard all the stories The Order preached of how the gods had their own way pf punishing non-believers. She knew all the stories of The Herald of the gods. She knew she had to fight to survive, fight for the future she so badly wanted. She reached in the dark, hoping to find something she could use as a weapon and the silence was broken by the sound of a soft wooden creak from her bedroom.

She turned with horror on her face and saw that Will had woken up and was standing at her bedroom door, his face confused and pale. She raised her hand and just as she began to tell him to run she felt something cold sting her neck, then came the pain and the feeling of something warm running down her clothes. She slowly looked down and saw blood gushing from her neck, the figure was standing over her. It was too dark to see it’s face but she could see the blood dripping from its sickle, her energy faded and she collapsed to the floor. She was Will’s as she fell, his eyes were wide and his body frozen. She saw as he collapsed to the floor and she tried to pull herself towards him. The figure bent down towards her but to her surprise it was more interested in the metal tube, it picked it up and left her home. Emma clawed at the wooden floor, desperate to reach Will but her strength finally failed her. Her vision blurred and the silence of the night was only broken by the gurgling of her blood. From the corner of her eye she spotted her diary still on the floor, the vision of her future slowly blurred and finally everything went black.