A Song of Remembrance (part 1 of 3)
They were a mere curiosity for me. I began observing them because they were incredibly loud. Most of the other animals in the forests and fields scattered when the humans approached. I was perched in a tree, and there I remained as I kept a watchful eye on them.
The first day they set up camp. It was so disruptive. So raucous. I thought, ‘Truly, no animal can be more unruly than this. They are louder than the jungle cats during mating season.’
I was wrong, though.
The next day was quieter. And the day after. By day three, I thought surely things were quieting down, and I was no longer the only creature watching and wondering.
Day four though, was when everything became a hailstorm.
There were bullets, and loud bangs and booming noises. Large cannon balls flew across the field going either direction. I relocated a few times, even fleeing deeper into the forest to hide for fear at the beginning. Yet, each time, I would reemerge, eyes fixated on the scene.
Perhaps it was nonsensical of me, but I was mesmerized by the action. What really enthralled me wasn’t the yelling, or other noises of warfare. It wasn’t the gunfire or the canons. It wasn’t the inability to use one-shot rifles in close combat that led to stabbing, and bleeding, and dying on the field. Or the lack of rifles for some and the need for swords and arrows. It wasn’t even the brutality of humans against their own kind, only to leave the carcasses decaying.
What truly fascinated me was that the humans didn’t seem to know what enemy they were fighting.
There was flesh and blood on one side, and flesh and blood on another. But the second side, the side that joined on day four, they came with more forces than that. They came with small, screeching, flying, dark things. They came with rumbling, lumbering monsters. Most notably, they came with a creature upon two legs, with horns and reptilian wings, and a noticeably bovine face. And he towered above the others with a wild third eye.
He would tilt his head back and bellow, a rallying cry for the other shadowy creatures, which sent them into a frenzy. They were intoxicated with victory. Every hour meant more ground for the enemy side. The first side, the ones who had made camp, had no such creatures with them, and what’s more, they would pass through the shadowy creatures, unaware of their presence.
But then a creature would turn and grab a leg and pull a human down. Or claws would pierce an arm. Or a flying creature would snag an arrow from the sky.
The first side was steadily losing ground. Would any of them survive to face another battle?
~ G. G. Marshall
Keep Reading!
Part 2 (Avail 3/21/24): https://www.ggmarshall.com/post/a-song-of-remembrance-2
Part 3 (Avail 4/18/24): https://www.ggmarshall.com/post/a-song-of-remembrance-3
Want to know more about the creature that inspired this story? https://www.ggmarshall.com/post/balor-profile
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