The Ladies of Horror
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The Guardian’s Folly
by Alex Grehy
Two there were, in the ancient days,
fierce warders of the shore, beings
of molten rock, whose heat, rising
from the centre of the world,
incinerated those who dared to
invade their land.
.
Yet, some knowing and guileful men
stood back, skin scalded and hair crisped,
respectfully pleading for mercy. They
offered worship in exchange for land.
.
Folly it is to believe fair words.
.
The settlers became devout protectors
more agile than the lava giants, more
inventively cruel, forcing new invaders to
choose between immolation and adoration.
.
Folly it is to believe yourself invincible.
.
“Mighty guardians, hear our prayer” the settlers
cried. “Today, our enemies are vanquished, but
what if mightier foes attack in the ages to come?
We pray for you to rest your ceaseless devouring of
the world’s fuel until such time we have need of you.
.
Folly it is to underestimate the cunning of mankind.
.
Wise yet ignorant, the guardians called upon the
quenching sea to cool their bones, believing their
dormancy was a gift to their people. They felt
their strength grow as they transformed to obsidian,
proud to stand sentinel, until their flame and fury were
needed again. Then their hearts faltered, too rigid to
beat, and they knew they had been deceived.
.
Folly it was to believe they were immortal.
.
So the guardians stand, prey to the scouring
wind and tearing ice of winter, which will, one day,
destroy them, while their people call them
stupid trolls and laugh at their folly
.
Fiction © Copyright Alex Grehy
Image © Copyright Alex Grehy
More from author Alex Grehy:
Thoughts, Prayers and Other Curses
Alex Grehy (she/her) enjoys writing quirky, thought-provoking horror. Widely published, her latest collection of short stories, Thoughts, Prayers and Other Curses is disturbing, clever and darkly entertaining – a wickedly imaginative journey through ten stories where time and technology have given humankind the chance to be kind, but why bother when there’s always an option to be beastly?
