Short Stories

The Lighthouse

For LiviieMarie 's competition. The are some (not much but still some) mentions of violence so beware.

No man can cross the reef surrounding the shore of North Stones yet the lighthouse stood just beyond its edge where no one has been before.

"If no man can cross the reef than a woman must've built the lighthouse," the women would suggest.

"No, a woman does not know how to build a lighthouse." The men argued.

"Maybe a god built the lighthouse," Said the priests, looking to the sky.

The men easily proved the priests wrong when they said," If God made the lighthouse he would enchant it with his power to not let our men die."

No one knew how the lighthouse got there, myths and stories of a man, whose ship was strong enough to cross the dangerous water of the reef. But one thing was known for certain, if that man could survive the reef, then North Stones could be saved.

Me personally, I don't believe in this man. I believe that we are doomed.

***

"Alzaren!" Shouted my mother, "Clean your room."

"Yes mother," I replied, running into the small box that was my room. I didn't have to do much, just tidy my quilts and place my burnt-out candles in the mainroom. Since running to North Stones we didn't have the luxury of fancy things. For the last two years I slept on the floor with a pile of hay as a pillow. We were rich once, my mother and I. My father was too but The Blight took many things from us, including him.

After everything was where it should be, I left our small hut, bowing to my mother in the process, and ran to the cliffs. When I arrived I saw a small, lean figure standing at the edge of the cliffs. Her arms were out and her long, blond hair flying behind her. Even though she was facing away from me I could imagine her closed eyes and lips with a slight upwards tilt. A grin of my own grazed my face at the sight of her.

I practically sprinted the last fifteen metres, my heart pounding loudly in my ears. My friend and soon to be my wife.

Senna Linday.

When I reached her I slid my arms around her waist and easily lifted her off the ground. I spun her around, her laughter sending shivers of happiness down my spine.

"Hello Alz," she said between fits of laughter. I set her down and spun her so she faced me and pressed a kiss of my own onto her wind-kissed lips and whispered,

"Hello Senna," She giggled in response, pulling back and grabbing my hand.

"Come, I want to show you something," she said, dragging me behind her. A laugh escaped my mouth, of course she had something to show me. Senna loved to explore, it was her dream. No more than five minutes later we reached the Narkernsha, an old shrine dedicated to the sea god Narken, one of the many gods that were forgotten when The Isle Of The Seven Winds was torn apart.

We entered the old shrine, not something I'd been bothered in doing. In the middle of the shine was a huge statue of Narken, a middle aged looking man with a stern face, he had a three-pointed trident in his left hand and a natural stream flowing out of his right. It was hard to tell anything else though, the limestone was worn after centuries of nature's beatings.

Senna once again tugged me onwards, leading me around Narken's statue. She took me to the western corner which appeared empty- except for the dark, wooden ladder that was hidden in the shadows. A grin took over my face, I looked at Senna's proud gaze, her eyes glimmering with a 'you haven't seen the best of it yet' look. She turned away, climbing up the ladder. I followed her in anticipation, excited about where it will lead.