Insanity of man

     smoke and haze

     hang heavily in the sky

     branding skin

     of our struggling earth

Insanity of man

     footprints of destruction

     in puffs of soupy smog

     trails of diesel

     from buses’ tails

Insanity of man

     shadows flicker

     brave the grey

     staining the earth

     a death echo

Insanity of man

     airborne residues

     fallow sickening glow

     wind poisoned

     by sooty lungfuls

Insanity of man

     suicide doses

     torrid tongues

     veils of smoke

     thin wisps exhale

Insanity of man

     pollution scattered

     intoxicated ashes

     seared flesh of world

     smoke bonfires.

The smoke and haze hung heavily in the sky.

The bloody Queen drew heavy breaths as she studied the scene before her. Lifeless bodies of peasants, criminals, guards, royalty, and fae were slumped together among the blood stained cobblestones. The elegant townhouses in High Court Circle were illuminated red and yellow; smoke billowing from their windows.

As she stood on the castle steps she could see the rest of the poor and rundown kingdom. Her attention went to the north docks and she could see the beautiful battle of elements; ships set on fire as they swayed atop of the bay. She watched in silence as every town on the island burned down. Her sensitive ears listened to the screams of citizens begging for mercy, and smiled.

She leaned her sword against the stone railing and winced. A wound that was forgotten finally made itself known. She cautiously brought her hand to the cut and drew a sharp breath when two fingers fit perfectly into the deep gash, how was she still conscience?

“You will need to get that checked out,” a deep voice came from behind her. Immediately she relaxed. The voice was a comforting sound that could make her feel calm in any situation.

“I’m just surprised I haven’t passed out yet,” she said as she walked to stand next to the fae warrior. He bent over her and studied the wound. As he studied the injury his face stayed stone cold, making no sign of how bad it actually was. When he was finished he straightened himself and shrugged his shoulders.

“Any human would have passed out or died from that, but it’s your mix of elf and fae blood. You should be fine for a little bit longer, but need to seek attention.” He looked straight ahead at the kingdom’s destruction. His eyes looked upon the aftermath. There was a long silence between them, and then he finally turned to her, “You can be taught to heal it when your training is complete.”

She nodded to agree and said, “Is that all you have to say right now?”

His eyes narrowed as he studied her face. He was trying to read her mind but did not prevail, “What do you want me to say, isn’t this what you wanted?”

“It is, but I can’t help but feel as if some innocent people were hurt,” she whispered.

The warrior placed a hand on her shoulder, the only affection he had ever shown her in the months they had been acquainted. “War can have it’s best intentions, but innocent beings are always hurt in the confines of war my Queen.”

A tear ran down her cheek, “This was the place where the lands dumped the criminals, those who hurt others. This was a land that was doomed. I wanted to make it better, start with a clean slate...”

“You did, everyone and everything is destroyed” He cut her off. She looked at the destruction before her. As Queen she wanted a new land, a safe haven. She assumed the only way to do so was to massacre the evil that lived on the island. Now that it was done, she felt as if she made a mistake, one she couldn’t take back.

They stood in silence for what felt like hours. Once again it was broken by the fae warrior. He touched her shoulder once again and this time pointed to the sky without saying a word. She brought her eyes to where his finger directed.

The clouds began to make a vortex, sucking in the smoke and air. To the Queen it looked as it the heavens were calling all the souls into the clouds, to take them away from the Hell she had created.

Image Credit Link:

http://www.vikatan.com/news/spirituality/79263-a-journey-to-the-hell-one-story-one-moral---3.html

The smoke and haze hung heavily in the sky.

Brys' vision was clearing up, and he was falling fast.

His Maggie had collided with the beater, and on impact, him and the broom were torn apart. Luckily his Exi-suit was made pretty well, but the internal augmentation systems were still out, but his com was still on. The suit was basically a speeding bullet with an chat box. He was so dazed that he didnt even realize the yelling in his com -

"Bryson! Wake up! Ergghah!"

"If you're not dead you're gonna be-"

"Im here Wally. stuff your fucking face much, huh?" Bryson contorted.

"--Wha- What'd you say, wait, you ass, you're alive."

"Hurry we gotta get you slowed down enough, someone's gotta catch you, or can you fly?"

"No way, suit's shot from the neck down. Im gliding"

"FUCK!"

"How did we get ourselves like this we gotta--"

"Don't, we're gonna get out this, and it's gonna hurt but bear with me, OK?"

"Fuck are you cooking, B"

"You need someone on crew to Ex a High Voltage spell, uh uh, like Ex plot lux caeli! "

"Ok well you're too far up for me, my focus could fry up the whole air space."

"We gotta get someone who can cast this, quick."

"Tell Streya now, tell her and don't leave anything out, hurry, she can do this, she should be only a couple of row over from you, text her DAW and let me know---"

Brys felt a chill up his spine as soon as he let himself trail off. He knew Strey wouldn't let him die, even if it meant hurting. Hurting everything. Instinctively he clinched all his muscles, his crazy best friend was probably about to hurl a spell right at him. He quickly glanced around to see if maybe he could spot her from the descent, but it was no good. Just as he was about to turn his head he saw a flash of light, his heart started to race. Fuck. if he could've only stayed away from trouble, but it seemed this is what he gets for going abcd on the other seeker just to get the glitch. The light was getting closer, he braced himself. Then all of a sudden he felt a tingle everywhere like a static shock, he heard a familiar sound, his suit was turning on, he could move, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge the bolt and as soon as it hit him he almost shitted his pants.

"Ahhhhh, Fuck!"

Brys was locked and loaded. He activated his suit via punching the kill switch on his hip, and he could feel himself starting to slow down but these were Quid Exi-suits meant to be paired with a Maggie broom in order for lightweight protection. Spells carry energy, which means you'll need a power source that can take each item. All he had in his pocket now was a hope that his Mag was still functional. 

"Quidny, put out a beacon for my Maggie, but put a delay on to match my descent"

"I'll do as best as I can, but Right Away."

"Freaking A.I. all he had to say was Ok, Brys thought to himself"

Quickly he turned his head towards where his HUD was showing where his Maggie was. He Glided towards the middle crowd section, and saw his Mag start to float and then rocket towards him. He reached out as soon as he could to catch it, but the Maggie busted into his hand like a lead football. He was gripping the front end, but holding the end like he was about to give the field crew just what they needed to clean him up. He swayed himself enough to get his hand in riding position upside down, and revved the hell out of the Mag up. Feeling the pull, he veered up and away from the pitch just as he was about two stories up. Slowly he let himself down onto the pitch, sitting flat on his ass. Sweating in about every place possible he could feel the snot dripping from his nose from the collision and the descent. He had to find out who was out for him. It was his first year at the Consort, but he had played friendlies ever since he was scouted back in high school. He didn't want any troubles at Gednam, since he already had a mission of his own. He opened his helmet, letting the glitch drop in his lap. He held it tight. Brys' heart started to slow. He was locked and loaded.