February 2018 -- 75-word Story Challenge -- VICTORY TO BOB SENIOR!

[TheDustyZebra]

RULES:

Write a story inspired by the chosen theme and genre in no more than 75 words, not including the title

ONE entry per person


NO links, commentary or extraneous material in the posts, please -- the stories must stand on their own


WHEN WRITING YOUR STORY, PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS A FAMILY-FRIENDLY FORUM



All stories Copyright 2018 by their respective authors​

who grant the Chronicles Network the non-exclusive right to publish them here



The complete rules can be found at RULES FOR THE WRITING CHALLENGES


Contest ends at 11:59 pm GMT, February 23, 2018​

​

Voting ends at 11:59 pm GMT, February 28, 2018



You do not have to submit a story in order to vote --​

in fact, we encourage all Chrons members to take part in choosing a winner



The Magnificent Prize:


The Dignified Congratulations/Grovelling Admiration of Your Peers
and the challenge of choosing next month's theme and genre



Theme:

Gods and Goddesses


Genre:

Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror



This thread to be used for entries only
Please keep all comments to the DISCUSSION THREAD



We invite (and indeed hope for) lively discussion and speculation about the stories as they are posted, as long as it doesn't involve the author explaining the plot


** Please do not use the "Like" button in this thread! **​

 

[Appello]

The End

They claimed she had abandoned them.

That she had withered their crops, soured the milk and brought wolves to their door. That - harshest of all, sobbed by mothers clutching silent babes to milkless breasts - she had cursed them with un-life.

With every oath, every bolt of anger flung skyward, she grew weaker. Bleeding through the wounds of her people’s disbelief, she began to fade.

Wraith-like, she watched them burn her temple to the ground.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

The Long Way Home

Amaterasu emerged from her silver starship like the sun breaking through clouds. We cheered and held up our holocameras, eager to record her divine glory for later generations.

"My people," she cried, in a voice of gentle thunder. "I bring you great news. Your sins are forgiven, your long exile ended."

A mighty rainbow blazed across the sky, beyond the horizon, across the countless light-years back to Earth.

We started walking.

 

[Cathbad]

His Power Glorious to Behold!

“But wife, they are disrespectful and disobedient!”

“My Love, are You more upset that they are disobedient… or that they no longer need You?”

He gave her a sad look. “Husband, Your creations have grown up. Is that such a bad thing? Is it a reason to destroy them?”

“The others are expecting Me to take action.”

“You shall decide for Yourself, Husband.”

He smiled, took her and kissed His wife.

 

[nixie]

And Man Created​

Silence.
Darkness.
Mindless,nothing.
A whisper growing, becoming a crescendo of noise.
A glint of light appearing in the dark, brighter and bigger.
Awareness, noise become words
"mountain father hear us,save us from the water demons"
The light shows images.
From nothing I become, the bringer and taker of life.
Those who created me, fall at feet, give tribute and exist at my whim.

 

[Ashleyne]

Degracious is Her Name

"The first step is to forgive. Forgive those who've ravenously stolen your brain, as you would be forgiven from violating the heads of others.

"Second, forget. Forget the taste of brain, and Goddess Degracious will grant you peace.

"Last, you must lie. Lie with us amongst the mould. Gift our sweet Goddess Degracious your death and you may be reborn. Turn your backs on your cannibalistic nature. Seek absolution, and rot with us."

 

[Luiglin]

I'll tell them where they can hang it

The Dark Lord watched as the Minion completed his report.

"Remmle's Angelic Auditors? But we follow Madron - may His nightmares forever leave us sweaty."

Dancing digits.

"A chaotic evil license? Trust a lawful good God to be that spiteful. Prepare a sacrifice, I'm really piqued."

The Minion's hand became an apologetic blur.

"What? We have to wait so they can check we follow sacrificial guidelines? Celestial bureaucracy, now there's the pure definition of evil."

 

[Shyrka]

Rebranding

“Again, Zeus?”

“Jupiter, if you please. And yes. People don’t worship like they used to.”

“But ‘Neptune’? Really? I sound like a laxative!”

“You didn’t like Poseidon either, I seem to recall.”

“Planets though? And how come Saturn gets rings?”

“Bribery, basically. You know he loves his blin-”

“Guys! GUYS! I am so stoked about this planet thing! I love my new name too!”

“Oh, uh, hey Pluto. Listen, about that...”

 

[Danny McG]

For God's sake how were we to know?

He stabbed the button and the Terran battle fleet fired at the entity.

Admiral Jones frowned at his screen, the being was fading as the laser barrage ended, they'd done it!

They'd overcome the massive creature that had loomed from the dusty nebula.

His First Officer approached with an agitated Padre in tow.
“Sir, he insists on seeing you”

“You maniacs, what have you done? He’s dead!
All us believers, we just felt God die!”

 

[Cat's Cradle]

A Big Bang


"I AM DISPLEASED"

*BOOM*​

 

[Pyan]

This doesn't Bode well...

Right, people, here we go...

Mercury, you get the hot one. Venus gets the cloudy one. Tellus, you're next, then Mars gets the red one. Phaëton, yours is the next one out, then I get the biggest cos I'm in charge! Dad, you and Grandpa have the next two. Neptune, you get the blue one on the outside.

Any questions? Be careful, Phaëton, they're not meant to be - Now look, you've broken it already!

 

[DragonAether]

Mankind's fall

"The end is near.
We built our own doom my fellows gods.
They destroyed everything on their way.
Now they are coming for us."

"Don't worry, they can't reach us here.
We gave life to them, we can take it back."

"Not anymore. It's too late."

"What makes you be so sure about our doom?"

"Because we did the same thing aeons ago."

 

[CTRandall]

So sayeth the slug

“Praised be the gods!” they sang.

“For water,” sang the daisy, “I offer colour!”

“For nectar,” sang the bee, “I offer honey!”

“For loam,” sang the dandelion, “I offer...”

The blade bit into the earth, ending the dandelion’s song.

“Fickle are the gods,” quoth the slug, “and never shall I praise them. I shall take my sup by night, as shall my children for a thousand generations, ‘til all the gods’ works are laid waste.”

 

[Mr Orange]

Dysfunctional


They said it’d never work. He was too strict, she was a promiscuous hippy. But they persevered. For their children.

Early on, the children loved their mother. In their adolescence they only seemed to listen to Him, which broke her heart. They treated her no better now they were grown, and said He wasn't even their Father. They were out of control.

Gaia decided the children needed a firmer hand.

The earthquake killed millions.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

The Most Powerful Being

Oh the power! The glory!

At last! He had learned how to control his almighty abilities.

With a flick of his wrist he laid waste to the terror stricken horde of feeble humans.

He created lightning and thunder. Destroyed towns and cities with ease.

Nothing could stand in his path!

He was the all powerful!

The goddesses would finally be his!

'George!' called his mother. 'Turn off the VR and do your homework!'

 

[Calliopenjo]

Murphy's Law?

Yes! Fist pump. I turned sixteen and had been enrolled at Deity Academy for a whole month. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

We learned how to direct energy at certain objects. Things were good until the Everliving Tree exploded.

Not my fault. Somebody got in the way, which altered my energy’s course. Instead of hitting the boulder, it hit the tree. My powers have been suspended for a whole season because of that.

 

[D.A. Xiaolin Spires]

Radiant Nudge​

Mazu looks over the stretch of cosmic seas.

A single figure, tiny like a grain of rice, encased in urethane-coated nylon and kevlar, leaks gas into the expanse of space, flying in the direction opposite of his ship.

Mazu extends a finger, nudges.

The figure soars back towards the ship—through the portal, irising open and closing behind him.

“Goal!”

Mazu lifts her hands in exaltation, a pose caught forever in tapestries to come.

 

[Peter V]

Mother Doesn't Always Know Best


“I will not permit you to destroy them.”

“Why do you care?” Uranus glares at Gaia, annoyed but powerless.

“You know why.”

“Maybe I could just set them back a bit. A Pre-industrial society would be a fitting punishment for their lack of attentiveness.”

“Enough!”

Later, Earth is engulfed in multiple flashes. Tears run down Gaia‘s cheeks as she looks upon the stricken planet.

“Thermonuclear self-destruction. I should have listened to you Uranus.”

 

[Joe Loomis]

The Choice to Believe.

Paladine and Halth walked down a crowded street.

“My love why don’t you do something?” Halth asked as her body became translucent.

“I gave them choice,” Paladine also starting to fade.

“Strike them down and force them to believe,” even her voice started to get distant.

“They are my greatest creation, and it is their choice that makes them great,” Paladine answered as he looked towards his wife. She was gone.

“Goodbye, my love.”

 

[Abernovo]

Boundaries and Jurisdictions


Shuck barked, warning of a stranger’s approach, but I recognised my visitor.

“Welcome, Hildie. What brings you down here?”

“My Mother asks you hunt for her.” She handed me a dagger. “The quarry’s. He plundered and committed violence in Fólkvangr”

“And fled to our lands, otherwise your shieldmaidens would hunt him. Consider it done.”

##​

My grandmother was washing at the ford. “Sought by Bean Sidhe and Valkyries. I’ll see him soon, no doubt,” she said.