Image by kien virak from Pixabay
A churning sickly-green cloud clung to the valley floor, blessedly obscuring what lie beneath in all but a few spots. High above, in one of the few remaining undamaged Trevaldar airships, a man looked over the rail at the unholy sight below him.
"I thought you said it'd dissipate in a day or two Alric, it's been a week." said a voice behind him.
The man shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, and I also said our soldiers would be unaffected thanks to our protective magics... and yet..." he gestured to the valley below. "There will be many we can't recover. It wasn't supposed to happen this way."
Another voice spoke, "You two are always so glum. Don't you see? This is victory. We won. Once and for all. We've won. Their sacrifice was a small price to pay."
Alric rounded on his companions, rage flaring in his eyes. "You say that like they're dead Brekart. Would that they were, as then perhaps I could eventually come to peace with the pain they went through. But they're not. They're down there, alive enough to feel as they are constantly dissolved, mutated, and dissolved again and again and again. So long as the fog remains, they'll stay in this endless cycle, and that horror will be my legacy. Not the decades of good work I did, not the diseases I cured or the tools I made that bettered everyone - no. This. This will be my legacy."
He spat, and shook his head. "This cannot be used again."
He wiped a hand down his face, suddenly feeling like the 77-year-old he was. "Melisar, destroy the starter culture and the records of how we made this, this evening. Have all testing logs and specimens destroyed by tomorrow." he paused, and swallowed hard, "Brekart, round up the members of my team and have them put to death, along with anyone else that could possibly re-create this."
Melisar and Brekart looked at each other, and after an uncomfortable moment, Brekart nodded and spoke. "Excluding you, that still leaves us."
Alric nodded, a tear rolling down his face. "Everyone, Brekart. Even me."
The grizzled old knight smiled sadly and nodded. "We will see it done."
Today's post was in response to the Fearing Creation Worldbuilding Prompt. If you're interested in daily writing/worldbuilding prompts, please join the Worldbuilding community!
