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This is a sketch I drew for 
8000power to illustrate the story he had written last year for the (unsuccessful) contest I held.
Story © 8000power (original here)
Numen Wish
"Frenzied snickers echoed through the open apartment despite James’ attempts to suppress his laughter; he did not want the apartment below to yell at him again. James’s body trembled with excitement as he approached an ornate coffee table, one of the few pieces of furniture that occupied the room. To anyone else, it appear to be a wooden table expertly crafted from drift wood and topped with a circular, sanded oak surface. Each leg had been carved like a totem pole with stylized animal figures sitting upon each other. However, for James the table had a far greater sentimental value than could ever be described with money some had offered to buy it for. Memories of his grandfather would come rushing back to him like the breaking of a dam every time his fingers graced the wood and this time was no exception.
His grandfather had been a productive man and had created an empire of wealth and knowledge over the years of his life. His legacy meant he had a great inheritance that was passed on when he died. When James only received the table in the will while his cousins received great sums of wealth he had been furious and ashamed, especially when he was undoubtedly the closest of Grandpa Robert’s grand children. He considered it a mockery that grandpa had called it ‘the greatest treasure that I could give to you’ in his testament. His thoughts turned to when he had discovered the true meaning of those words as his fingers gripped the table’s top. Strained grunts slipped from his lips as he lifted the heavy lid to reveal a hidden compartment. The oak produced a heavy thud despite James’ attempts to let it down gently; with his hands free his attention turned to the lone occupant of the chamber, grandpa actual greatest treasure.
James’ fingers wrapped around an unassuming Maui oil lamp crafted from pure, banal, copper that was dented from rough treatment. The man lifted a snuffer from the top of the lamp with reverent delicacy and began to polish the lamp’s side with his shirt. When the immediate response James expected did not happen his brow began to furrow into a frown and it was a minute before the top seemed to lit up with fire. Even though he had been expecting it, James found himself juggling the lamp to keep from dropping it. Thick smog rose from the flames as James set the lamp down, gathering into a thick cloud sphere above the lantern. Incense and lavender dominated James’ sense of smell as a shadowy figure formed in the mist. James could just barely see the outline of a woman’s body inside the dense and foggy cloud. Her body was further shrouded by wearing flowing veils that hid all distinguishing features other than a pristine iron shackle with only a singular chain loop attached to the restraint.
“One year, 5 months, 6 hours, 34 minutes, and one second since I’ve last seen the light of day,” an old woman’s voice echoed throughout the room, sounding as if she were chastising a latecomer to a gathering. “Robert took far less time with first wish than that.” The woman sighed as she watched James smirk arrogantly, an expression she knew far too well from countless wishes.
“That may be so genie, but he got more than a single wish from you. I only got one shot, and I know I’ve done a damn good job with it.” James boasted in a tone that proclaiming victory as he lifted up a sheet of paper into the smoke. The genie’s head tilted to the side as she gazed downwards, pausing as if in thought before reaching out to accept the written words. The single metal link swung with a heavy metallic scraping as she lifted the paper towards her face.
“You’ve written it down?” Her confused words much softer than before even though they were just as present in the room.
“Well, I needed to make sure I covered all my bases before coming back to you, ambiguities are where twisted wishes come from after all.” James explained “And since I had it written I figured I would just hand it to you, if I read it I might stutter or accidently skip something, and that would leave me open to receive some nasty twists.” The genie was as still as a statue as she read over the wish, seeming to ignore the man.
‘I wish to be a god with the following attributes: Able to fly and hover with accuracy and speed. Immortality and being forever in my physical prime. Able to heal wounds completely without scars or markings being left over. The mere sight of me causes others to revere and worship me.’ The gene’s left arm stretched forwards, her right lowering the paper away from her face. The link of her shackle gently clanked as she prepared to snap her fingers. Her head tilted downwards slowly until she gazed directly into James’ eyes. “Is this truly your wish?” Her voice, while stoic, hinted at amusement.
“Yes.” James did not miss a beat as he eagerly nodded in confirmation. The his head was still moving as the genie snapped her fingers. James’ hands shot up to his ears from the persistent ringing that echoed as the smog sphere began to swirl around the man and engulf his form. Every breath was a struggle when the wind fought to drag air from his lungs. Reverberating ringing was all James could hear as he strained his eyes in an attempt to peer through the smoke. What little he could see sent shivers down his spine; the room around him cracked and shuddered, pieces of the wall fell to dust before his eyes. The carpet beneath his feet bubbled and melted between cracks in a tiled stone floor that rose up from beneath it. The world grew dark for James as the last of his breath was forcefully dragged from him.
Faster than the genie’s snap, air flowed into James’ lungs a sudden burst; his body fell to the ground in exhaustion as he panted in heaving breaths, slowly returning to his senses. The smells of moist earth and humid air assaulting his nasal cavities were the first thing James as he pushed himself off the floor; bird calls washed against his eardrums as the ringing finally faded from his ears. His jaw dropped in wonder as he took in his surroundings. His body sat upon a smoothed stone alter, centered within a large stone gazebo. Pillars of cobblestone and quartz held up a gently sloped roof and stood host to vines that curled up their lengthens. Through the arches that the structure James could see rolling fields of quartz crystals surrounded the structure with an occasional shrub or weed poking from between them.
“Where am I?” Was all he could whisper in his state of disbelief. However, as he adapted to the spender a new emotion began to consume his wonder, a sensation of anger boiled from within. Even those with the poorest grasp of English would never have granted his wish this way! His fingers balled into fists as his body shook in growing rage.
“Don’t you like your domain?” James turned around to face the familiar elderly voice coming from behind him; the words were spoken so softly he thought she was whispering into his ear. However, her cloud rested in one of the arches and out of his punching range.
“What do you mean ‘domain’, genie?” The man spat as he glared where the genie’s eyes would have been if he could see them. The womanly figure sat on air as she picked at her shackle; the dangling link was no longer pristine and instead had developed a coat of rust with flakes that fell loose with every vibration.
“You wished to be a god. Gods need their domains to rule over, so I gave you your very own Tepui!” her voice announced in an energetic sales pitch, quickly following it up with “The very word means house of the gods after all,” she gazed upon James’ confusion with a cruel grin hidden from his eyes. “Besides, your city had a rather large Christian population. I don’t think they would have been so accepting of following you as their new god now would they?”
“Did you not read the part of ‘worship on sight’?” James shouted in fury, his knuckles white with the pressure he pressed his fingers into his palms with. He fought back the urge to take a big swing at the genie as he silently wished for something he could throw. The man was convinced that parts of his wish had been intentionally skipped.
“Oohhh, you wanted that as a supernatural effect... Whoops, how silly of me, maybe you shouldn’t have been so ambiguous with your wish.” She teased as she put a hand to her mouth, her dry laughter echoing. “I thought that it would be much simpler to make you the incarnation of a god already worshiped, rather than give a blanket mental effect.” She leaned forwards as if telling a secret “You would be surprised how easily it can go wrong, the last guy I gave it to ran to the ends of the earth for a moment’s peace. Oh, that reminds me, you need your new body so the locals can recognize you.”
James was not given a chance at rebuttal as the genie immediately brought her hands together in a thunderous clap. His body continued to shudder, but it was no longer from rage. James’ skin crawled as it began to rise in large patches and could only watch in horror as it slowly darkened, until he worked up the willpower to look away. His fingers trembled as he felt along his forearm; a hardened yet smooth texture met his stroking. As he turned his eyes back down his breath halted, expression turning horrified as sapphire Chitin armour met his gaze.
James quickly realized that things were far from slowing down as he squirmed uncomfortably from unnerving sensations underneath his shirt. His hesitation fought hard against his human curiosity, but his need to know dominated as the feeling collected at his sides. His shirt, discarded in haste, fluttered to the ground. Beneath his shoulders a pair of lumps quivered as a second pair of hands pushed forth from them. James’ thoughts blanked suddenly as he flexed his new fingers, his mind giving up on trying to process his changes. The insectile man slowly flexed his, still forming, lower arms in a stupor, then his upper arms; but, it seemed any attempt to move both pairs at the same time resulted in only one moving and the other going limp. His human mind, unable to deal with the limb count already, did not pick up on the itch coming from his back.
Wisps of smoke stretched from James’ back in unearthly tendrils that danced through the air. With finesse and grace, the phantom substance took on four ovaloid shapes that floated upon nothing. Each of the shapes grew more refined in waves, developing straightened fronts as they gained substance with every correction. Only when fully solid did the four wings begin to develop colour, a deep blue akin to the night’s sky spread from the base, only to be consumed by pitch blackness halfway up the structure.
Everything seemed to snap back into focus for James as a pinching sensation erupted in his rear, the appendage count suddenly feeling natural. His head twisted to watch as a new appendage quickly telescoped from his rear. A long balancing tail bobbed gently in the air, tipped with a pair of spikes. Seven new appendages from his count, and yet he found the sensation to be oddly familiar. With this realization, James turned to face the genie. His chest thrusted forwards as he attempted to shout obscenities at the genie, attempted to cuss her for this corruption of his body. However, no English came from his mouth as all he could produce were aggressive clicking sounds.
The noise trailed off as James slowly came to the realization of the noise he was producing. The reality of his situation truck him harder than a bus: He was trapped deep in an alien landscape with no sign of civilization beyond the small structure he was in, probably no longer on earth, and could no longer produce human speech. The shrouded woman before him cackled as rusted chunks fell from her shackle with each piece falling to the ground in tune with humanoid insect’s old hair.
“Why so angry?” she cooed as James’ vision blurred, sights coming into view that he should have needed to turn his head to see. “I’ve given you everything you’ve asked for and more! I’ve given you this shrine, the best flight in the animal kingdom, full circle vision, and vision into the ultraviolet... Yet,” She paused as if taking a silent breath “You still rage at me. Your grandfather was a far more graceful customer!” The genie had barely finished her scolding when James’ form plowed into her in an attempt to tackle her; however, her form dissipated in a cloud of steam from the impact. James’ form halted in the air as her laughter surrounded him before dwindling into silence as she slipped away between worlds. Alone, James did the only thing he could think of, he explored.
It did not take long for him to find his way beyond the crystals; his wings carrying him into a far more barren landscape. He tried to push the fact that he could see his tail while facing forwards out of his mind. For a while, all that seemed to meet his inspections were rugged stone formations and balancing stones that appeared to defy gravity. Many of the stones took on familiar shapes in a cloud-like fashion. Scattered across the landscape were patches of grass and tiny shrubbery that broke up the shades of grey with patches of dull greens, muddy browns, and hues he could not think of a name for. His meandering thoughts were interrupted as he caught sight of larger plant life gathered into a row.
Joy surged through his veins as he hovered over the strip of brambly bushes to discover they lined the bank of a shallow river. Water was a good sign to him; people need water, so it would only make sense for settlements to be built nearby rivers. At least, that’s the logic he reassured himself with as he began to travel downstream. Small frogs glanced up at the large being as they bathed, not reacting his he passed by them. Joy turned into a returning sense of horror as James spotted an image moving along the more reflective portions of the brook. James, distracted by his travel, was unprepared for when he caught sight of his own reflection; the image of a humanoid dragonfly stared back at him from the water’s surface.
Horse Stinger, his grandfather would say as he recanted tales of his childhood where dragonflies would send horses kicking and stamping. His online friends told many a tale of horrifying folklore surrounding the insect. He had never in his life heard a good thing spoken about the dragonfly and always felt unnerved whenever he spotted one. The idea that one could worship a form such as his seemed impossible, unless it were done so out of fear.
James did his best to turn his attention back to following the water; the task proved difficult when he kept seeing his reflection regardless of how he turned his head. But, it did not take long for him to encounter the end of the stream; a sigh escaped his mouth as he watched the water pour over the edge of a cliff. Beyond the edge of rock sprawled a sea of clouds that filled him with a sense of creeping dread the closer he got to the cliff. His feet touched silently on the river bank upon landing; his body inched forwards as he peaked his head over the side.
Water plunged straight past vertical rock walls of limestone a distance as tall as a skyscraper before disappearing through a veil of think cloud. Clouds that stretched on in rolling waves forever and disguised the landscape below, if there was even one there. In the distance he could see another stone structure like his which rose out of the clouds straighter than he ever thought possible. Such sights only brought his mind more questions about his predicament. Perhaps he was on a sky island that floated on air? As ridiculous as the notion seemed, magic cloud be a reasonable explanation for how it could work. With his journey at a dead end for how he turned back the way he came.
The sun had just begun to dip below the horizon when he finally returned to his shrine, mentally tired from his travels that day. The last glows of light faded slowly as he laid himself on the stone alter. A slow yawn pushed from his lips and served as his final memory of the day as the world fell away into sleep.
Crystals glittered softly in the morning light as James’ groggy form fluttered from his shelter. His arms slowly stretched as his wings carried him forth into day two of exploration. Time stretched on for him every time a new ridge turned up fruitless. He would have been overloaded with discovery had he been looking for new things; fields of blood red pitcher plants, plants in dried river beds with twisted roots that refused to sink into the soil, a variety of toads, and more all passed by without a second glance from James. To him, the only thing of importance was finding something of familiarity in this alien landscape.
A rippling confusion washed through the dragonfly as he caught sight of, what he assumed to be, the rim of a crater. His path turned sharply as he sped with interest. His initial assessment of a crater was quickly disproved as the sheer drop off from the rim came into sight; rock walls as vertical as the waterfall sunk deeper and deeper into the ground the closer the dragonfly got. A titanic sinkhole sprawled out before James as he hesitantly gazed over the edge; water poured down from cliffs in a couple of places, dropping the height of a skyscraper and a half before landing in a flourishing marsh below. But, what caught his attention the most were the obvious structures built throughout the murky waters and, to his great disbelief, people going about their day.
The settlement appeared to be formed in distinct sections connected by a series of boardwalks. Some villagers saw fit to travel by canoe, slowly paddling themselves across the relatively still waters. One of the buildings stood out more than any other to the dragonfly, an ornate temple built against the stone wall stood just below him, tall enough to look over the village. Its walls surrounded an open courtyard like a mystical castle wall. However, even his amazing sight had difficulty seeing details at his height.
His hands nervously rubbed together as he debated whether to descend or not. When reluctance gave in, he launched himself over the edge into freefall. The decision was quickly regretted when he began to beat his wings in an attempt to slow his fall. Being in physical prime did not mean much when it came to James’ inexperience harvesting such power. His thoughts whirred in panic even as he slowed to a hover above the temple courtyard. James quivered from adrenaline as he landed, breathing heavily as he took in his surroundings. The grounds appeared to be kept tidy and spacious, with a pot of bamboo or field of flowers here or there to break up the space. To each side a banner hung from the walls; both of them proudly displaying the same insignia, a circle topped line, cut through the midsection with a pair of parallel bent lines.
Behind himself, James could see the village facing gates open up as collective of robed men stepped cautiously into the courtyard. They huddled together in shock at the sight of the sapphire insect. James, despite being able to see the people perfectly, turned to face them out of courtesy. Expecting terror, their reaction surprised James when their expressions turned to ecstasy. One of them going so far as to cry in joy. Clicking sounds erupted from their mouths in something James could only assume to be praise, even if he could not understand a word; James could hear the reverence in their tone and felt nourishment from their attention. The god slowly grinned, knowing he had an eternity to figure out the language of his new followers."
===
Sketch on A5 paper (14.8*21 cm)
Hope you'll enjoy this little one!
8000power to illustrate the story he had written last year for the (unsuccessful) contest I held. Story © 8000power (original here)
Numen Wish
"Frenzied snickers echoed through the open apartment despite James’ attempts to suppress his laughter; he did not want the apartment below to yell at him again. James’s body trembled with excitement as he approached an ornate coffee table, one of the few pieces of furniture that occupied the room. To anyone else, it appear to be a wooden table expertly crafted from drift wood and topped with a circular, sanded oak surface. Each leg had been carved like a totem pole with stylized animal figures sitting upon each other. However, for James the table had a far greater sentimental value than could ever be described with money some had offered to buy it for. Memories of his grandfather would come rushing back to him like the breaking of a dam every time his fingers graced the wood and this time was no exception.
His grandfather had been a productive man and had created an empire of wealth and knowledge over the years of his life. His legacy meant he had a great inheritance that was passed on when he died. When James only received the table in the will while his cousins received great sums of wealth he had been furious and ashamed, especially when he was undoubtedly the closest of Grandpa Robert’s grand children. He considered it a mockery that grandpa had called it ‘the greatest treasure that I could give to you’ in his testament. His thoughts turned to when he had discovered the true meaning of those words as his fingers gripped the table’s top. Strained grunts slipped from his lips as he lifted the heavy lid to reveal a hidden compartment. The oak produced a heavy thud despite James’ attempts to let it down gently; with his hands free his attention turned to the lone occupant of the chamber, grandpa actual greatest treasure.
James’ fingers wrapped around an unassuming Maui oil lamp crafted from pure, banal, copper that was dented from rough treatment. The man lifted a snuffer from the top of the lamp with reverent delicacy and began to polish the lamp’s side with his shirt. When the immediate response James expected did not happen his brow began to furrow into a frown and it was a minute before the top seemed to lit up with fire. Even though he had been expecting it, James found himself juggling the lamp to keep from dropping it. Thick smog rose from the flames as James set the lamp down, gathering into a thick cloud sphere above the lantern. Incense and lavender dominated James’ sense of smell as a shadowy figure formed in the mist. James could just barely see the outline of a woman’s body inside the dense and foggy cloud. Her body was further shrouded by wearing flowing veils that hid all distinguishing features other than a pristine iron shackle with only a singular chain loop attached to the restraint.
“One year, 5 months, 6 hours, 34 minutes, and one second since I’ve last seen the light of day,” an old woman’s voice echoed throughout the room, sounding as if she were chastising a latecomer to a gathering. “Robert took far less time with first wish than that.” The woman sighed as she watched James smirk arrogantly, an expression she knew far too well from countless wishes.
“That may be so genie, but he got more than a single wish from you. I only got one shot, and I know I’ve done a damn good job with it.” James boasted in a tone that proclaiming victory as he lifted up a sheet of paper into the smoke. The genie’s head tilted to the side as she gazed downwards, pausing as if in thought before reaching out to accept the written words. The single metal link swung with a heavy metallic scraping as she lifted the paper towards her face.
“You’ve written it down?” Her confused words much softer than before even though they were just as present in the room.
“Well, I needed to make sure I covered all my bases before coming back to you, ambiguities are where twisted wishes come from after all.” James explained “And since I had it written I figured I would just hand it to you, if I read it I might stutter or accidently skip something, and that would leave me open to receive some nasty twists.” The genie was as still as a statue as she read over the wish, seeming to ignore the man.
‘I wish to be a god with the following attributes: Able to fly and hover with accuracy and speed. Immortality and being forever in my physical prime. Able to heal wounds completely without scars or markings being left over. The mere sight of me causes others to revere and worship me.’ The gene’s left arm stretched forwards, her right lowering the paper away from her face. The link of her shackle gently clanked as she prepared to snap her fingers. Her head tilted downwards slowly until she gazed directly into James’ eyes. “Is this truly your wish?” Her voice, while stoic, hinted at amusement.
“Yes.” James did not miss a beat as he eagerly nodded in confirmation. The his head was still moving as the genie snapped her fingers. James’ hands shot up to his ears from the persistent ringing that echoed as the smog sphere began to swirl around the man and engulf his form. Every breath was a struggle when the wind fought to drag air from his lungs. Reverberating ringing was all James could hear as he strained his eyes in an attempt to peer through the smoke. What little he could see sent shivers down his spine; the room around him cracked and shuddered, pieces of the wall fell to dust before his eyes. The carpet beneath his feet bubbled and melted between cracks in a tiled stone floor that rose up from beneath it. The world grew dark for James as the last of his breath was forcefully dragged from him.
Faster than the genie’s snap, air flowed into James’ lungs a sudden burst; his body fell to the ground in exhaustion as he panted in heaving breaths, slowly returning to his senses. The smells of moist earth and humid air assaulting his nasal cavities were the first thing James as he pushed himself off the floor; bird calls washed against his eardrums as the ringing finally faded from his ears. His jaw dropped in wonder as he took in his surroundings. His body sat upon a smoothed stone alter, centered within a large stone gazebo. Pillars of cobblestone and quartz held up a gently sloped roof and stood host to vines that curled up their lengthens. Through the arches that the structure James could see rolling fields of quartz crystals surrounded the structure with an occasional shrub or weed poking from between them.
“Where am I?” Was all he could whisper in his state of disbelief. However, as he adapted to the spender a new emotion began to consume his wonder, a sensation of anger boiled from within. Even those with the poorest grasp of English would never have granted his wish this way! His fingers balled into fists as his body shook in growing rage.
“Don’t you like your domain?” James turned around to face the familiar elderly voice coming from behind him; the words were spoken so softly he thought she was whispering into his ear. However, her cloud rested in one of the arches and out of his punching range.
“What do you mean ‘domain’, genie?” The man spat as he glared where the genie’s eyes would have been if he could see them. The womanly figure sat on air as she picked at her shackle; the dangling link was no longer pristine and instead had developed a coat of rust with flakes that fell loose with every vibration.
“You wished to be a god. Gods need their domains to rule over, so I gave you your very own Tepui!” her voice announced in an energetic sales pitch, quickly following it up with “The very word means house of the gods after all,” she gazed upon James’ confusion with a cruel grin hidden from his eyes. “Besides, your city had a rather large Christian population. I don’t think they would have been so accepting of following you as their new god now would they?”
“Did you not read the part of ‘worship on sight’?” James shouted in fury, his knuckles white with the pressure he pressed his fingers into his palms with. He fought back the urge to take a big swing at the genie as he silently wished for something he could throw. The man was convinced that parts of his wish had been intentionally skipped.
“Oohhh, you wanted that as a supernatural effect... Whoops, how silly of me, maybe you shouldn’t have been so ambiguous with your wish.” She teased as she put a hand to her mouth, her dry laughter echoing. “I thought that it would be much simpler to make you the incarnation of a god already worshiped, rather than give a blanket mental effect.” She leaned forwards as if telling a secret “You would be surprised how easily it can go wrong, the last guy I gave it to ran to the ends of the earth for a moment’s peace. Oh, that reminds me, you need your new body so the locals can recognize you.”
James was not given a chance at rebuttal as the genie immediately brought her hands together in a thunderous clap. His body continued to shudder, but it was no longer from rage. James’ skin crawled as it began to rise in large patches and could only watch in horror as it slowly darkened, until he worked up the willpower to look away. His fingers trembled as he felt along his forearm; a hardened yet smooth texture met his stroking. As he turned his eyes back down his breath halted, expression turning horrified as sapphire Chitin armour met his gaze.
James quickly realized that things were far from slowing down as he squirmed uncomfortably from unnerving sensations underneath his shirt. His hesitation fought hard against his human curiosity, but his need to know dominated as the feeling collected at his sides. His shirt, discarded in haste, fluttered to the ground. Beneath his shoulders a pair of lumps quivered as a second pair of hands pushed forth from them. James’ thoughts blanked suddenly as he flexed his new fingers, his mind giving up on trying to process his changes. The insectile man slowly flexed his, still forming, lower arms in a stupor, then his upper arms; but, it seemed any attempt to move both pairs at the same time resulted in only one moving and the other going limp. His human mind, unable to deal with the limb count already, did not pick up on the itch coming from his back.
Wisps of smoke stretched from James’ back in unearthly tendrils that danced through the air. With finesse and grace, the phantom substance took on four ovaloid shapes that floated upon nothing. Each of the shapes grew more refined in waves, developing straightened fronts as they gained substance with every correction. Only when fully solid did the four wings begin to develop colour, a deep blue akin to the night’s sky spread from the base, only to be consumed by pitch blackness halfway up the structure.
Everything seemed to snap back into focus for James as a pinching sensation erupted in his rear, the appendage count suddenly feeling natural. His head twisted to watch as a new appendage quickly telescoped from his rear. A long balancing tail bobbed gently in the air, tipped with a pair of spikes. Seven new appendages from his count, and yet he found the sensation to be oddly familiar. With this realization, James turned to face the genie. His chest thrusted forwards as he attempted to shout obscenities at the genie, attempted to cuss her for this corruption of his body. However, no English came from his mouth as all he could produce were aggressive clicking sounds.
The noise trailed off as James slowly came to the realization of the noise he was producing. The reality of his situation truck him harder than a bus: He was trapped deep in an alien landscape with no sign of civilization beyond the small structure he was in, probably no longer on earth, and could no longer produce human speech. The shrouded woman before him cackled as rusted chunks fell from her shackle with each piece falling to the ground in tune with humanoid insect’s old hair.
“Why so angry?” she cooed as James’ vision blurred, sights coming into view that he should have needed to turn his head to see. “I’ve given you everything you’ve asked for and more! I’ve given you this shrine, the best flight in the animal kingdom, full circle vision, and vision into the ultraviolet... Yet,” She paused as if taking a silent breath “You still rage at me. Your grandfather was a far more graceful customer!” The genie had barely finished her scolding when James’ form plowed into her in an attempt to tackle her; however, her form dissipated in a cloud of steam from the impact. James’ form halted in the air as her laughter surrounded him before dwindling into silence as she slipped away between worlds. Alone, James did the only thing he could think of, he explored.
It did not take long for him to find his way beyond the crystals; his wings carrying him into a far more barren landscape. He tried to push the fact that he could see his tail while facing forwards out of his mind. For a while, all that seemed to meet his inspections were rugged stone formations and balancing stones that appeared to defy gravity. Many of the stones took on familiar shapes in a cloud-like fashion. Scattered across the landscape were patches of grass and tiny shrubbery that broke up the shades of grey with patches of dull greens, muddy browns, and hues he could not think of a name for. His meandering thoughts were interrupted as he caught sight of larger plant life gathered into a row.
Joy surged through his veins as he hovered over the strip of brambly bushes to discover they lined the bank of a shallow river. Water was a good sign to him; people need water, so it would only make sense for settlements to be built nearby rivers. At least, that’s the logic he reassured himself with as he began to travel downstream. Small frogs glanced up at the large being as they bathed, not reacting his he passed by them. Joy turned into a returning sense of horror as James spotted an image moving along the more reflective portions of the brook. James, distracted by his travel, was unprepared for when he caught sight of his own reflection; the image of a humanoid dragonfly stared back at him from the water’s surface.
Horse Stinger, his grandfather would say as he recanted tales of his childhood where dragonflies would send horses kicking and stamping. His online friends told many a tale of horrifying folklore surrounding the insect. He had never in his life heard a good thing spoken about the dragonfly and always felt unnerved whenever he spotted one. The idea that one could worship a form such as his seemed impossible, unless it were done so out of fear.
James did his best to turn his attention back to following the water; the task proved difficult when he kept seeing his reflection regardless of how he turned his head. But, it did not take long for him to encounter the end of the stream; a sigh escaped his mouth as he watched the water pour over the edge of a cliff. Beyond the edge of rock sprawled a sea of clouds that filled him with a sense of creeping dread the closer he got to the cliff. His feet touched silently on the river bank upon landing; his body inched forwards as he peaked his head over the side.
Water plunged straight past vertical rock walls of limestone a distance as tall as a skyscraper before disappearing through a veil of think cloud. Clouds that stretched on in rolling waves forever and disguised the landscape below, if there was even one there. In the distance he could see another stone structure like his which rose out of the clouds straighter than he ever thought possible. Such sights only brought his mind more questions about his predicament. Perhaps he was on a sky island that floated on air? As ridiculous as the notion seemed, magic cloud be a reasonable explanation for how it could work. With his journey at a dead end for how he turned back the way he came.
The sun had just begun to dip below the horizon when he finally returned to his shrine, mentally tired from his travels that day. The last glows of light faded slowly as he laid himself on the stone alter. A slow yawn pushed from his lips and served as his final memory of the day as the world fell away into sleep.
Crystals glittered softly in the morning light as James’ groggy form fluttered from his shelter. His arms slowly stretched as his wings carried him forth into day two of exploration. Time stretched on for him every time a new ridge turned up fruitless. He would have been overloaded with discovery had he been looking for new things; fields of blood red pitcher plants, plants in dried river beds with twisted roots that refused to sink into the soil, a variety of toads, and more all passed by without a second glance from James. To him, the only thing of importance was finding something of familiarity in this alien landscape.
A rippling confusion washed through the dragonfly as he caught sight of, what he assumed to be, the rim of a crater. His path turned sharply as he sped with interest. His initial assessment of a crater was quickly disproved as the sheer drop off from the rim came into sight; rock walls as vertical as the waterfall sunk deeper and deeper into the ground the closer the dragonfly got. A titanic sinkhole sprawled out before James as he hesitantly gazed over the edge; water poured down from cliffs in a couple of places, dropping the height of a skyscraper and a half before landing in a flourishing marsh below. But, what caught his attention the most were the obvious structures built throughout the murky waters and, to his great disbelief, people going about their day.
The settlement appeared to be formed in distinct sections connected by a series of boardwalks. Some villagers saw fit to travel by canoe, slowly paddling themselves across the relatively still waters. One of the buildings stood out more than any other to the dragonfly, an ornate temple built against the stone wall stood just below him, tall enough to look over the village. Its walls surrounded an open courtyard like a mystical castle wall. However, even his amazing sight had difficulty seeing details at his height.
His hands nervously rubbed together as he debated whether to descend or not. When reluctance gave in, he launched himself over the edge into freefall. The decision was quickly regretted when he began to beat his wings in an attempt to slow his fall. Being in physical prime did not mean much when it came to James’ inexperience harvesting such power. His thoughts whirred in panic even as he slowed to a hover above the temple courtyard. James quivered from adrenaline as he landed, breathing heavily as he took in his surroundings. The grounds appeared to be kept tidy and spacious, with a pot of bamboo or field of flowers here or there to break up the space. To each side a banner hung from the walls; both of them proudly displaying the same insignia, a circle topped line, cut through the midsection with a pair of parallel bent lines.
Behind himself, James could see the village facing gates open up as collective of robed men stepped cautiously into the courtyard. They huddled together in shock at the sight of the sapphire insect. James, despite being able to see the people perfectly, turned to face them out of courtesy. Expecting terror, their reaction surprised James when their expressions turned to ecstasy. One of them going so far as to cry in joy. Clicking sounds erupted from their mouths in something James could only assume to be praise, even if he could not understand a word; James could hear the reverence in their tone and felt nourishment from their attention. The god slowly grinned, knowing he had an eternity to figure out the language of his new followers."
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Sketch on A5 paper (14.8*21 cm)
Hope you'll enjoy this little one!
Category Artwork (Traditional) / Transformation
Species Insect (Other)
Size 700 x 983px
File Size 581.2 kB
Listed in Folders
Got do say I love the picture, the story itself is well written and I seriously do love the idea of his wishes not actually coming true as predicted or desired...
...but I'm just also reminded of why insects and bugs do not agree with me in the realms of transformations... I just can't do it.
--Mozdoc
...but I'm just also reminded of why insects and bugs do not agree with me in the realms of transformations... I just can't do it.
--Mozdoc
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