Slumber

“Within a year, the world will end. All that breathes, all that grows will be smothered by brambles. All, until the world does itself.”

     These were the words the goddess Kishar uttered, words that spread upon the surface of the planet like flames.

     She gave no explanation, no other comment before falling silent again.

     A silence which, for Henox Maar, was only followed by a rustle of wind waving the goatskin he wore as a cape. Horns twisted on each side of his head over his long white hair.

     Gazing at the void sky over the hill, he didn’t seem panicked nor desperate. Thoughtful would have been the best way to describe his attitude.

“A year…” He vaguely muttered to himself.

     A meaningless amount of time for someone like him. How strange. All would be gone in a blink of an eye. What should he even do with that ludicrous year?

     Since collecting more knowledge was now pointless, so was reading, so was learning other spells. So was trying to better understand a world condemned to wither. Hence, the answer seemed obvious to Henox’s ruby eyes.

“At last. Might as well sleep. If I awake the last day, it’ll be far enough.”

     On these thoughts, he headed back to his house, dug into the hillside. Naturally, there would be people to sob, to complain or even to try finding a way to avoid the impending doom. Futile. As long as the goddess decided the world had to end, then it would.

     Nonetheless, did it really hold any meaning? All things should have a beginning and an end. That is what makes them bearable.

     Without giving it more consideration, Henox crossed the earthy threshold, passed his book shelves embedded into the curled walls. A mere finger snap was enough for two small stone puppets to hurry after him and help him take off his shoes, allowing the sorcerer to fall onwards against the fluffy sheets.

     His eyes mid-closed, he tried for a while to remember the last time he had a proper rest. Day was meant to learn, to experiment. Night was meant to contemplate the starry sky, to let his thoughts roam. That made sleeping his latest concern. Until now…

“I am weary.”

     It didn’t take him long to fall into a slumber he wouldn’t awake from… if an uninvited guest didn’t happen to slip into his house afterwards.