Jack Weber
DooM, DooM!
DooM, DooM!
The irrepressible thuds of wretched drums chased after the ancient wizard. Countless hordes of rot melted the ground they passed, the sun turning nearly green as its warmth touched the damned beasts. Sharp, chill wind flowed through the wizard’s tattered robes; the hem blackened from the scorching fires he escaped. Each breeze revealed differently colored stars upon his dressing. These stars truly were the universe as they followed that ancient sorcerer. Although hisbody old, the wizard’s steps were quick and moved sharply around the jagged rocks of the stony path. This path would wind upwards to the tip. The eyes of the world. God’s Throat. Mount Methuselah.
DooM, DooM!
DooM, DooM!
The mammoth skin drums of Hell’s armies beat from miles away, nevertheless their echoes shook the ranges of the tight valley. Remorse tainted the wizard’s heart, knowing with confidence he wrought these armies upon himself. Though unknown to the world of d ecency, the unholy lands below intrigued his study. In but moments exploring the uncharted realm his presence piqued the interest of unnamable creatures. Snarls in horrid tongues spat from behind, cursing the wizard’s eternal soul, though these hindered his ancient mind little.
Dormant for unknown years, an unwelcoming air pushed against the wizard’s stride. The untouched faces of stone seemed to grimace with the disturbance. Upon seeing who followed the sorcerer, they understood this day would mark the end of their sacrecy.
DooM, DooM!
DooM, DooM!
The uneven steps of the untrodden hill spun in unnatural shapes around and through the base of the mountain, cracks seeming to appear before the wizard’s steps. Deep gray clouds rolled from the South to the Northernmost tips of the ranges, where the highest lands lay. These billows flew presumptuously to meet the wizard at his journey’s end. Giving no more than a moment’s glance, the wizard faced the armies of darkness. A sea of mangled flesh and varying shapes of beings rolled over one another. Dark, grotesque fluids sprayed from the open sores of the many demons. Some stood no taller than a child, others towered higher than buildings; some were hardly more than flesh and bone while others waddled clumsily over their pulsating flabs. While not all armed, many held at hand withered black swords that made even the green Earth flinch.
DooM, DooM!
DooM, DooM!
In a brave swipe, the wizard spun and struck his mirror-like sword towards the crowd, releasing a wave of light magic. Met with the screams of melting flesh, the sorcerer stood twice his height and shouted with a thudding tone.
“You creatures plague the very rays of sunlight. Back to Hell with your evil ways!” This flooded the wizard’s heart with fearless confidence. With this, he quickened his pace up the jagged steps. A field of stars painted the night, reflected in the wizard’s beard, glittering with untold ages. Before the wizard stood a towering hallway, leading into the tunnels of Methuselah. Corridors inside untouched since the dawn of man, treasure unfathomable to the common mind and spirits older than the land dwelled deep within these concourses. There was no alternative course. With only a moment of hesitation, the sorcerer conjured a holy light above his head and ventured into a land unknown to even the wisest sorcerers.
doom, doom!
doom, doom!
“Their war drums muffle in these halls.” The wizard took cautious heed of the quieted thuds. “Though soon their cursed boots of unholy metals shall plague these halls.” A moment the wizard considered his plight, though the pressure of rumbling urged him forth. The halls were quite barren, few feet had trodden these corridors to ruin its beautiful craft.
For miles the wizard ran through these seemingly endless halls, passing countless other doors likely leading to infinite hallways. The wizard’s lungs ached as he trudged onward, though the clash of demons had now distanced.
‘Likely some lost their way, others split up. Perhaps the dwellers of these tunnels provide their aid at last.’ The wizard thought, praying for any abetment he might receive.
Rest was known little to this conjurer as his fleeing journey had now lasted three endless nights by the time he quit the mountain halls. Though he climbed no steps, he now stood at the summit of the world. A wall of rolling storm clouds flew about the air, an unbearable electricity about the air.
doom, doom!
Doom, Doom!
DooM, DooM!
DooM, DooM!
Their thuds approached now with an unmatched speed, though little room lay for the wizard to flee any further. This was to be his journey’s end. A fire rose from the doorway he previously fled, its light grew brighter and hotter each moment.
KRAK!
A blinding blue light struck a side of the mountain, numbing the wizard’s senses. Once the shock passed his mind, a sea of the enemy who had chased behind now lay before him.
“Flee to where you were imagined, you wretched demons!” In his hand, the wizard’s sword shook and ached to taste the blood of the damned. The white steel of the blade flashed an epic blue with the thundering storm above. “I would wish God to have mercy on your souls, though even his light would not reach a kind so foul as you!” The wizard thrust and slashed his sword into the crowd, slicing and mincing the centuries old flesh into liquified mounds that painted the ground.
The endless crowd flowed constantly, tiring the wizard’s body, mind and heart. As they pushed forth, the wizard stepped back as he continued to swing aimlessly into the horde. Each step a bite taken from his vitality; the wizard teetered upon the edge of a dagger.
KRAK!
Lightning arched into the ground among the crowd, launching the pile of demons erratically. In a sudden gasp, the wizard lost his footing. The slip of his last foot silent to the roaring clouds.
Into the void of the night, he fell. For how long he fell he would never find out. The impact of his soft body on the rocks below was silent; though not unheard.