A Choice Made

Flames of Stone

     Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places in this story, all I own is the story itself. I hope you enjoy!

     My entire being had been consumed by dread. I don't know what I had left anymore. My home was gone, the city was gone, my family....

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     Wooden beams creaked to a stop as they settles on top of bodies, the bodies of those beings that were all too familiar to me.

     My mother, my father, and my brother. All trapped within the place that I imagined I could still call home. Embers floated up into the dim ebony and scarlet sky. I coughed, ridding my lungs of the vile substance. I stood in shock for a few heartbeats before my mind finally pushed my body to attempt removing the beams that had likely crushed my family.

     I had managed to loosen two smaller planks of wood from the wreckage, but with my frame, still slim and weak from not being full grown, was unable to move the rest of the rubble before a large, no, gigantic creature came into view. The being, unlikely living, was made of stone and ominous, green glowing flames. Its beady eyes, nothing but holes in the uppermost stone of its body, allowed the gases to escape. Splinters littering my pale blue skin, scrapes on my knees and tears streaming down my face, I managed to glance up at the monstrosity. It's eyes narrowed upon sighting me, my eyes widened and a chill flooded my being.

     It was all I could do to stand up, wobbling on weak legs, and attempt to flee from the creature. After making it several paces away from the now destroyed home, I heard thundering footsteps behind me.

     The tree, the tree, I must get there! Was all I could think. I ran, booted feet thumping across the stone bridge towards what had been deemed the most sacred branch of the life force many called Teldrassil. It was the resting place of many great druids, Elune herself glowed in a small pool in the center of this sanctuary.

     Terrified, blue eyes as large as moons, I dared to turn around before completely reaching safety. The monstrous being lumbered across the stone bridge, eyes fixated on the my small frame. Backing up the rest of the way into the glowing tree, shadows covered the bits of my face where the blue light could not reach.

     The stone giant now dared to close in, it scrabbled at the edges of the massive, hollow branch before it grew frustrated. Finally, it opened its large jaws, green flame swept across the ancient bark as the monster lit it ablaze. I turned, searching for any way of escape.

     I kicked and pounded on the wooden walls of this enclosure, wanting to break free. Heat washed the air around me, drying up my eyes, as well as my insides. I then began to scrape away at the tough earth with my fingers. Using my nails to dig chunks of bark away from the large branch, I turned and kicked out dirt and pieces of wood to give way to an escape. The hole was barely large enough to squeeze through, but I managed it.

     My young, now traumatized mind and body ran. I ran as fast as my thin legs would carry me. I made her way to the back of the city. Hills surrounded the edges of a waterfall, I scrabbled my way to the top. Deep midnight blue hair whipped in front of my vision as I regained balance atop the steep hillside. I dared to look down, nothing but blue covered the landscape so many paces below. The cracking of the sacred tree was heard as it plummeted to the earth, dust kicked up around the impact. As the giant realized that it has failed in its attempt to kill the young elf, its lumbering body twisted in several directions before finally locating her.

     Head twisting around once again to face the vast blue ocean ahead, I held out my arms and fell forward into the depths below.