The Darkest Spark

This story was made as practice. Mainly trying to practice writing descriptions of vasts landscapes and other related notes.

It was morning. The sun’s unmoving gaze casted its shadow across the city, given each building an orange hew in its light. The air was still, like it was waiting for something to happen. The sky was cloudless, a perfect view of the great blue ocean above the city. The city itself was just now beginning to wake from its great slumber. Its Immense marble and stone towers in the center of the city, surrounding its central keep. Its imposing form casting a great shadow behind it onto many buildings like a shield.

People have just begun to rouse from the homes, getting started on the next ordinary day. From a small bungalow to the most enormous mansion, from small alleyways to massive central roads, the urban streets began to fill with people from all walks of life, from the lowly peasant to high nobles. Everything was at it seemed, as if it was destined to be a typical day, like all others. Tay had different plans.

Tay stood atop one of the many stone towers of warning. Towers made to signal to the city of great peril, such as an attack or a natural disaster. If one of the towers rang its massive brass bell and lit its pyre on top, the others would do the same to warn the city.

Tay already knew he was condemned to the harshest of afterlives, so his next action would just put the final nail in the coffin. He looked back at the warning tower’s bell. It was polished, pristine, and well kept. It hung over a hole that stretched to the bottom of the tower. Windows broke the darkness in the tower, revealing the simple but unique architecture, and gives away what he had spent so much time in secret on.

Many barrels cover the floor of the tower. Some were open, some were damaged, some were laying on their side, but all were filled with black powder. Tay had built up this much powder for months, and he was not alone. About a dozen other condemned souls had joined him and his cause to turn the city into a blaze, and it was now time to put that plan into action.

He looked back to the horizon one last time, knowing this the last dawn he will see. He grabbed an unlit touch next to him, looking it over briefly, then, holding his lamp at his waist, caught the torch in the lamp’s flame, causing it to burn bright. He pulled the tip of the torch out of the lamp and stared into the flame, his mind seething with contempt and anger. His thoughts ever twisting but set on one goal, a tide of chaotic order in his mind washed over him, and he raised the torch above the hole. 

A single thought escaped his head and entered the air, “If I am condemned to walk into the Nine Hells, then this city shall walk with me.” He let one last breath escape his lungs, and he let go of the torch and watches its flame fall. The world went silent, the wind stopped dead, and Tay’s mind ceased to shift. Then it struck the ground.

A blinding flash of light erupted from the bottom of the tower. The wind pushed Tay back 5 feet and onto the ground, just enough to save him from the inferno of the explosion. He felt the tower shift under him. The bell was shot up into the sky, landing onto a far building. More explosions racked his ears as he turned to look at the city. The streets surrounding the now buckling tower erupted, the black powder in their sewers making it look as if the ground was splitting into pure fire.

He stumbled to his feet, his face covered with a demented grin of satisfaction. His mission was complete. Gazing at his carnage, he knew what he must do. He looked at his options for a moment, but only a moment. He made his last move. 

He jumped.

Author's Note

Criticism is always welcome. Just keep it constructive