"30 Day Drabble Challenge" drabbles by Sy. Robyn
8/30 Support
30 Day Drabble Challenge
The rains turned once solid ground into sticky mud, which sucked and slopped at large hooves. The creatures, stuck in perpetual motion, groaned and huffed hot mist from their noses, the shared weight on their shoulders never comfortable, but never too much for one or the other.
They were bound together by heavy chains of unbreakable metal which looped about their necks, wrists and legs, and served as another constant reminder of their place in this world.
They were the pillars of the tower, they kept it steady, insuring the success of those who lived in the structure above them.
7/30 Revolution
30 Day Drabble Challenge
Her city burned beneath her gaze, it's people bleeding in the streets for her cause or their own. Her husband, the king, was dead, slain by their own children, she suspected it would be her turn soon. She could hear the heavy wooden doors below buckle and strain against the onslaught.
Fondling a small, glass vial she knelt in front of the staircase just as the door below gave way, and heavy boots hit against the stone stairs. As she drank her death, her son's voice called out to her, loudly exclaiming his intentions to save her. The vial shattered.
6/30 Gem
30 Day Drabble Challenge
Willard wasn't the brightest of his kin, but he was certainly the most ambitious. Tired of the monotonous life in the mines, he left in search of other riches. It did not take long for him to find one.
A brilliant, round, white gemstone, the size of his head or bigger, hung low in the night sky. Its majesty captivated him, but no matter how hard he tried, how high he jumped, he couldn't pluck it from its place above him. As day broke it hid behind the mountains, so Willard ambled on, eyes on the horizon, and his prize.
5/30 Element
30 Day Drabble Challenge
Mother to us all, the Earth gives birth in mysterious ways.
A volcano erupts, its fury unmatched, and its devastation a tasteless loss for all who lived in its shadow. The countless lives of beasts and men fill and help nourish the monster as she recedes back, leaving behind seedlings of molten rock to simmer and stir while all around them cool and harden.
Days, months even, pass without notice. Then through the steamy, barren landscape a dripping hand, glowing orange with the fiery spark of life, reaches its dripping fingers from a molten pool and slaps the hardened rock.
4/30 Prejudice
30 Day Drabble Challenge
It had been said time and time again that gnomes were weak, timid creatures that had little to no fighting instinct. Their gem mines were guarded by vicious beasts and more hardened allies, which further strengthened the stereotype against the hard-working, subterranean peoples.
This frail reputation fueled a break-in at one of the few above-ground gnome houses, deep in the dead of night. With a baby screaming in a crib, blanketed in darkness, the intruders learned quickly of their error. There came quickly the deadly swing of a pickaxe, wielded by a mother defending her whole heart.
3/30 Blade
30 Day Drabble Challenge
There was nothing magnificent about the sword. It rusted at the handle and was tarnished and chipped along its length, displaying the amateur craftsmanship that originally birthed it from flame. It wasn't well cared for in the years after its forging and was hung clumsily from wall to wall in the small dwelling of its creator.
It wasn't ready for war, it was never meant for war, but when the fires burned the dust was disturbed as the weapon was ripped from its perch. It killed none but one, and its final resting place was buried in an invaders skull.
2/30 Distance
30 Day Drabble Challenge
The ground was as cold and hard as the steel bar that pressed against his cheek. He grunted and strained again, his shoulder moving slightly under the bar. His fingertips grazed the wooden bucket, which was swollen with cool, stagnant water. It was most likely riddled with parasites from the dank dungeon, but the soldiers cracked, dry lips and thick tongue would graciously take in the poison--if only he could reach the vessel.
It was placed strategically in front of his cell the day he was imprisoned. Like many times before, he would never reach, and would soon succumb.
1/30 Menu
30 Day Drabble Challenge
All children are blessings; even those born asleep.
The vision came as a dream, and all of those worthy of the Faith knew that the gods spoke through dreams. So in a time that was great mourning for other civilizations, the people of Ahmec celebrated. The would-be mother was paraded about the streets, cradling the cold bundle to her bosom as her people threw scented flowers and well-wishes in her direction.
The feast was extravagant, and she would be served the best of the harvest, and the most precious of meat to nourish her next, more favourable pregnancy.
