Short Stories - A Series of Tales Frozen in Time

Frozen in Time - A lore piece

A lore piece for a story of mine. It was supposed to be the first I wrote, but I have big plans for this one and need to polish my writing skills more before I attempt it. It is based on the same character as my poem 'A Confession for God...'.

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I remember the gentle flow of the creek by the cliffs; the befuddling paths of the forest and the chirrups of the birds; the growls of the predators and the muffled breath of the preys.

I remember the cave: dwelling to the wise; sanctuary to the lost; and an ambition of the brave. I can still feel the ivy curtains that hung on the entrance, the chiming of the bells and soothing hymns uttered in languages long-lost to time. I can smell the tantalizing aroma of the stew made from fruits freshly plucked from the millennium old trees.

The laughter of the children and the revelry of the dryads and the gossip of the druids that still ring in my ears. The boisterous marketplaces where one could find wands of the wizards and robes of the witches, sweet paradises to savoury treats, basics of living to the most elaborate luxuries imaginable, books for the fools and books for the wise, games so real that you wondered if you were still truly there, movies so entrancing you would never truly forget them, and most of all, a community so diverse that you could not possibly explore or explain it in mere words (for to do so would not only undermine their true beauty but also gloss over so many important details that can only truly be felt by being there).

I remember the schools in which youth was taught not by men but by nature herself; the home where the goddess did dwell and the arena where the best of Warriors did fight....

The clashing of swords and the banging of shields, and the sounds of flesh hitting the flesh. It is almost ridiculous how well this violence manages to blend into a background of such serenity.

Serenity, such a beautifully deep word... but not truly deep enough to describe here.

How can you truly describe this myriad of colours and sounds and feelings in just one word?

These pictures that the fire elves burn into the night sky ; the riches the fairy dust offers; the melodious racket of the bugs; and the murmurs of the Dark Shadows; the stories of death and defeat whispered by the white women; and songs of life and love sung by dark winged angels.

The creepy chattering's of the chained demons slithering around maybe plotting something sinister or perhaps just having a friendly chat.

These wild lands with the promise of adventure and the meadows giving assurance of a peaceful existence.

How can you describe this as serene?

The unheard mysteries that this universe whispers through its unheard songs are not serene: for they speak of cruelty just as they speak of love; of superiority just as they preach equality; and of battles just as they sing of temples.

No, serene is definitely the wrong word to describe this; and yet every time I think of it, serenity is all I can feel.

There is a strange soothing in the Chaos that goes on here: the beautiful tale of man and nature; animals and intelligence; civilizations and extinctions.

"They say that good things never die, they merely pass on to a higher, better place", and if this is not the higher, better place mentioned then I doubt anything else can be.

Where else would you find the priest blessing the blood stained warrior, the educated respecting the illiterate, experience understanding youth and youth listening to experience, not because they have to, but because they know and appreciate their true value.