Darkskies & Prophecy

[Azulfae]

Tolcreg, a small town in Sembia, not a days walk from Selgaunt. A tiny fishing village not more than forty in number, this town no longer stands. Forgotten and left. When carts stopped turning up for market day, none noticed except perhaps a few Selgaunt fish mongers, they soon found new suppliers. Such is the business of this land.

Darkskies no longer linger here, just an empty stone hut with a spear atop it’s shale roof. The head, a bolt of lightening. All around are ashes and burned wood, places where homes once stood, now only sodden ground.

People here were proud and righteous, good souls, they would not pay, to stay.

Parabolus warned them, but they did not listen.

[Azulfae]

Parabolus wiped the sweat from his brow, the sun beat down and burned at his neck. His arms were sore and his legs trembled. Age was wearing him and building this shrine had worn him more.

He fixed the last slate in place and smoothed his hand down it’s surface.

Perfect. The best roof he had ever made.

He smiled and climbed down the ladder to the ground.

“Parabolus, you stupid, stupid man!”

His wife walked up, strop in her step and fire in her eyes. He stood detached looking and staring down not making eye contact. He relaxed himself accepting of what was to come.

Slap! Her hand struck across his face.

“Every last copper, gone on your stupid shrine!”

He tried to speak,

“The storm…”

Her hand stuffed a leather purse into his face, followed by the beating of her arms against his chest and head. Parabolus fell back into the wall of his shrine.

He slid down onto the floor, his wife crying her eyes out clutching at his tunic.

“Why…?”

“The storm…”

“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!”

Parabolus’s eyes gleamed bright and blue, his patience waning, something snapped inside, he lurched out and grabbed his wives face. A look of shock hit her.

“I am not my father, this storm, this one is coming and there will be no time of troubles to spare you this time!”

“Get off me! She shouted and slapped out at him.”

Parabolus thrust his hand and dropped his wife back onto the floor.

“This time? This time? There is no this time Parabolus, you are mad and insane just like him and these people barely have enough coin to eat, let alone pay tithes to your stupid shrine! Talos cares nothing for this town. There has been no proper rain or storm here in months. Your ten year old son, he is out there now in the sea fishing for what he can to try and make back what you have lost us.

I swear by the gods, this time is the last time, your out, out and gone from this family!”

Parabolus stared silently at his wife, annoyance and frustration in his rich blue eyes. The wind stirred his soft golden hair and his rough beard.

“You must listen to me, woman, I am your husband, and you must come here with our child and stay in this shrine with me.”

“NO! Sit in your shrine and rot. Talona take you, may you wither and rot there alone until the end of your sad pathetic days!”

Her voice broke and she stood herself up wiping tears from her face as she turned to walk away.

“If it ends between us, you must pay the tithe then and fix the spear to our house befo…”

“HOW DARE YOU!”

She turned and ran to the side of the shrine grabbing the iron spear lain on the woollen cloth there.

Parabolus dived and grabbed the spear too.

The two of them scrambled and fell, too and fro, his wife screaming bloody murder and scratching at his face with one hand whilst trying to take his spear with her other arm.

A fist lashed out and took her hard in the cheek. The woman rolled and came to rest a few meters away from Parabolus.

He used his spear to stand himself up and looked down upon her.

“You shall die with them all then. And my son, you have murdered him too.”

Parabolus nodded sadly. “I pity you. Leave me be.”

The sad old man climbed onto his ladder and ascended to the roof of his shrine. Atop he slotted his spear haft into a copper rimmed hole and turned it locking it in place. A dull hum came from within the shrine below and the spear crackled with static energies. He sat back upon the crest of the roof and looked down as his wife walked away holding her face in her hands.

The sun was not shining anymore. Clouds blotted the sun and a steady wind began to hold.