Children of the Stone

Chapter 19

The horned one sat in its leafy bed to contemplate. It's its first time doing things like these, but it couldn't help but feel a bit of disappointment in itself for failure.

The red one and its ruby eyes peered from the azure brush. Seeing its red orbs observing, the horned tried to lift its heart from the pit of failure.

"Hello, brother," the red spoke.

"Hello to you too," the horned one replied.

The red one and the horned one tried to hold a casual conversation, but the forest suddenly started inaudibly screeching. The loud electrifying arboreal screams thrusted themselves into the forefronts of their attentions.

"They invade! The golden army attacks!" The words carried by the trees' screeches.

Then, a great chaos befell on the woods. The insects swarmed all around in disarray, while braying a song so discordant that it could put a random clatter of pots and pans to shame.

The red one and horned one were in shock. They were confused by the chaos, and asked the forest of the cause of the ruckus, but their questions were drowned out by the panic that surrounded them. Even the great tree had gone speechless.

The sound of trees falling was then heard. Sounds of timber came crashing, and the air was filled with their cries. And the ones responsible showed themselves from the brush, with their spears greased with the blood of the insects. They were rats in golden wares, and they razed the forest with their golden pikes and magics. The green vines and azure brush seemed to wilt and wither with their touch.

"Leave, wild and uncivil beasts! This kingdom is for the rats!" An emissary in golden cloth proclaimed. "This kingdom is for the rats!"

The horned one pulled the red one to run for it knew these folk were ruthless in their conquest. The horned one and red one fled from the oncoming army, and went for the side farthest away from the oncoming.

The horned one and red one paused to catch their breath, but the noise of falling timber in the distance and the columns of rising smoke told them to run further.

"We can't run forever. The wall of steel thorns will stop us," the red one spoke.

"I know, but what else would we do to escape their wrath?" The horned one replied. "Should we run, or should we stand our ground?"

The red one contemplated for a moment.

"Where else could we go? There's nowhere else outside the woods we could go. They razed the silver ziggurat. The argentine marsh is now theirs," the horned one added.

"We shouldn't let them have the coppery forest for this is our last sanctuary," the red one said. "These overrighteous golden folk lay claim of all of the underground. Should they exterminate us from our homes, we should not let them be. This is our home, whether us or them lay claim on the land it stands, but we shall have it, with claws, horns, wings, and pincers against their spears, staves, and armor."

The chaotic swarming of insects, and inessant wailing of trees had halted to listen to its speech. A burning fighting spirit was instilled to each of them, tree and insect. The horned narrowed its eyes, filled with bestial ferocity, ready to jump and tear apart those that were against it, as it was inspired to be.

As the noises of trees falling down came louder and louder. The red one and its makeshift army stood against the oncoming ratfolk like a wall of buzz and black. The shining emerald and ruby orbs of the horned and red one stood in front of the wall like the flag-bearers of their nation.