At the Edge
Those that remained huddled together at the edge of a cliff. The titanic waves rose hundreds of feet from the base of the cliff to rain down on the broken men and women. A storm waged war with itself in the sky above. This was the final moment. They thought they could escape this way and only found yet another danger. It seemed there was no escape from the world which hated them. No escape from their fallen brothers and sisters. They stood at the precipice and stared out at the tumultuous waves, desperately searching for a way to survive against these unsettling odds. The crashing waves and screams of the monstrous serpents competed for dominance in the air. Lightning flashed and their eyes caught the glimmer of scales on a cape just at the edge of his sight.
An enormous reptilian creature stood in the center of a rock that jutted itself into the froth of the sea. It stood, maw agape, letting water bounce off its glistening scales. Every muscle tight, it was frozen. A flash, a wave rose and with it a serpent of incredible length. The wave pushed it forward toward the foolish creature that placed itself within reach. A flash, the great lizard jumped and arched its neck so it rose above the trajectory of the serpent. Its jaw clamped with deliberation. The serpent screeched and flailed its slimy body to no avail. Other lizards moved in. Clamping their jaws on different sections of the catch until finally it grew still. The prey was dragged back along the cliff to where the dwarf now saw a pile as high as the hunters of their prey. Younglings nibbled at tails as their elders stood vigil, every muscle wired.
These creatures thrived in a land harsher than almost all others. As the dwarves watched, their backs straightened and their chins rose.
On a cliff’s edge, life was found and a people were born anew. They turned to face the fallen and to turn back the tide of darkness. If there was nowhere to run, then run they shall not.