The Crystal and the Clearing

I particularly enjoy fantasy and science fiction writing. Here's a short piece I wrote that never really went anywhere but was a fun exercise nonetheless.

*********

Kanengar slid to a halt and looked over the edge of the precipice. It was much too far to jump. He was trapped. He turned to face the path he had used to flee the mining camp of Ashagar. Around the wooded bend some hundred paces back came the voices of his pursuit. Kanengar pulled the pouch with the light yellow orb from his belt and dropped the crystal in his hand. Its luminescence infused the clearing with a warmth that would touch all but the darkest of hearts. Into the clearing burst two men. Both wore the King’s livery.

“Halt! You’ve nowhere left to run.” the first guard commanded.

The second guard draw his sword and advanced, circling slowly to the right but still blocking access to the path. He said nothing. Kanengar saw in his eyes that there would be no quarter from this adversary.

Kanengar lifted the crystal above his head. “I will destroy this if you force me.”

The first guard raised his hands in a calming gesture. “That’s not necessary provided you agree to return with us. Come; we’ll speak of this on our return to the camp.”

The arrival of the rest of the squad, weapons drawn, along with the continued circling of the second guardsman confirmed Kanengar’s worst fear. Decision made, he brought the crystal down with all his might onto the hard rock beneath his feet.

Time seemed to slow. All of Kanengar’s attention was on the crystal, knowing he has failed. He saw the second guardsman running towards him from the corner of his eye, as if to intercept the crystal before it connected with the ground. As the crystal struck, the initial shock wave lifted every man in the clearing off his feet. Thousands of tiny beams of light shot from the point of impact, piercing men as they continued to arch through the air. In a final violent start, small shards of crystal sprayed from what remained, glittering brightly before slowly fading away.

The lifeless body that once was Kanenegar fell to the canyon floor below while at the clearing the King’s men lay where they were thrown, dead to a man. Of the crystal that was destroyed, there was no sign.