The thick dark clouds rolled across the sky as the sun fought against their constant fury to pierce their dense presence, the winds fierce kiss whipped viciously in bursts of sudden power - only to vanish a moment later.
Tarric stood upon the cliffs edge, sword and shield in hand watching as the coming fleet sailed into view - he had long awaited this day.
Since before the snows began their retreat to the mountain tips that they crested year round, he had climbed the mountain where the body of his infant son had been laid to rest - choosing this place to watch and wait, would his fellow clans agree to go to war and allow him to avenge his family.
It was the loss of Barric that had driven him to call on the other clans, his own group lacked the numbers to take on all of the Akran - after years of conflict these invaders had taken the last shred of peace left in Tarric's soul.
He would make the monsters suffer, like his daughters had during their first encounter with the Akran - the painted warriors had torched the clans huts while they all had slept, unaware of any enemy to fear.
A call alerted the clan of the attack and the rest of his family narrowly escaped with their lives, but his two girls were trapped inside the flaming hut - the sound of their screams competed with the roar of the flames.
He tried desperately to rescues them, using his bare hands to dig through the burning shelter - until the roof collapsed and no further noise could be heard from within.
It was two years later when his wife was struck by an arrow, she managed to shield their son Barric but she did not survive the attack - Tarric found her lifeless form laying over their crying infant son.
He lost his wife and two brothers that day, leaving only Barric with him in this world - the last of his family's line and now valued above all else, he would continue the clan, protect the people and be a mighty chief one day.
Tarric knew he could not surrender to the Akran, he would give everything to protect his infant child from the horrors of the world - but he couldn't have known what the next attack would be.
The Akran had not been seen in two months since the raid that claimed the life of Tarric's wife, all seemed calm and peaceful, until late one night before the sun's light would filter throughout the sky - only the guards remained awake, watching intently for any sign of disturbance.
The only hint of the approaching doom occurred moments before the first beast struck the camp, the ground had begun to shake and a sound like thunder rang through the quiet nights air.
Tarric knew it must be another attack from the Akran he looked in on his boy quickly, before grabbing his sword and shield running to his door to meet any threat that may come toward his last blood kin.
As he reached the entrance to their hut he strained in the dim light to see what the coming commotion was, then he heard the shrieks of terror from his fellow clan members coupled with the thunderous crashes of violent destruction.
It was a massive herd of Gamron giant beasts that graze far away in the lowlands, these creatures weighed several tons each with broad muscled shoulders and giant barbed tusks.
Trees crumpled under the force of hundreds of Gamron's feet and went flying across the air like twigs, buildings were shattered as they passed straight through them with little to no resistance.
Tarric saw the wave of creatures heading straight towards them he tried desperately to cross the room to reach his son, the moment he stepped through the archway the hut exploded around him - the Gamron were too fast.
Tarric was thrown through what remained of the wall of his hut, his body smashed into another running Gamron - somehow he managed to grip the beast's horns and remain somewhat protected from the other rampaging beasts.
At the edge of their camp he released his grasp and fell to the ground, forcing himself back to his feet he rose only to be faced by the complete destruction of his clan's lands - not a single building remained standing, their crops and food stores all gone in an instant.
He lumbered through the trampled field covered with debris and bodies, some moving while others were clearly dead by the positions their bodies lay unnaturally across his path.
He ignored the blood that poured from his face and body, he limped but didn't look down to see the large shard of timber lodged within his thigh - his only purpose now was to find his son Barric.
He slowed as he reached the place where his hut had once stood, proudly elevated to overlook his loyal and hardworking people - but now only destruction lay before him.
He frantically hoisted larger pieces of debris until he found the shattered remains of the small timber cradle he had built with care and devotion, tears came unbidden to his cheek as he saw his son's tiny foot protruding from under a large leather tarp - he was still and silent.
In that moment Tarric knew his baby boy was gone, he would now go to join his mother and sisters in the ever until he was to join them again.
He carried his infant sons broken body to the highest peak of the clan's land and laid him to rest, declaring the land a sacred place linking with the ever above and the clan below - he would be able to travel and reach peace in the ever but remain able to watch over the clan and his father, so Barric would see his father keep his promise.
As he carved the serpent into the gravestone for his son, he vowed to end the Akran and free their people from constant slaughter from their vicious invaders.
The serpent was a representation of the link between the two plains, speaking his vow whilst he carved the snake set his intentions into stone binding him to his words and imbuing the site with unspeakable power - this is the only reality he would accept.
He knew the only way the Gamron had travelled this far inland and uphill is if something chased them, the Akran had to be responsible for this never in his life had a Gamron travelled so far from their breeding grounds - there was no predator chasing them, this only left the Akran.
Now a year after his call his fellow clans responded, they had sailed for months to join his quest - a war to end the Akran for all time.
Tarric realised his own clan had suffered too much loss of life to fight the monsters alone, he reached out to other clans and learned they too were suffering from the viciousness of the Akran.
For the first time in over 300 years all the clans were at peace with each other, united by a common foe and now begin the march to war together - Tarric now had what he needed to fulfil his vow and then finally be free to join his family in the ever.
What is a Flash Fiction?
Flash fiction is not a short story, short stories are completed tales with all the story there on the page.
Whereas flash fiction is like a snapshot of a story, it can be set during the beginning, middle or end of a story - but it isn't the whole picture just a short part of the text that can stand alone.
The goal here is to set the scene, establish characters and build a storyline - and hopefully leave the reader imagining what is going to happen next.
Each flash fiction piece is inspired by a picture or image that I will include in the post, and from that the story is built or at least a fragment or moment within the story.
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