Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 12

Last week's prompt brought 5 wonderful entries - with a couple of people dusting off their dormant blogs to join. And some incredible tales along with it. I'm constantly surprised by the high quality of ideas and writing shared. I am also humbled.

I struggled to find the owner of this week's photo. I tracked it to someone called mbies55 on 500px.com, but their page seems to no longer exist. The photo was named 'Sunset at Pier'.

I also struggled to write for this picture - not that it didn't inspire lots of tales; in fact it inspired too many, but I didn't feel they had enough depth or said what I wanted to stay, or were complete enough. The final result, finished just this morning, managed to finally do it.

I look forward to reading how it inspires you.

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here.

The Calling 

Prince Argolis stomped to the end of the pier and threw up his arms at the raging sky.

“Why? In the name of all that is sacred, why?!”

No reply came. The clouds appeared to flee his words, streaking across the brilliance of the setting sun as it threw up its fiery hues.

He dropped to his knees, shaking the dust out of the jetty, and covered his face, letting loose heart rendering sobs that wracked the world around him. He didn’t care that the city below could hear him. Maybe if they all fell to their knees too, something could be done; maybe the Gods would stop playing their sick games and stop taking the lives of children through the sickness of minds.

But the Gods fed the sickness of minds.

The thought struck him, and his hands fell from his face as understanding dawned. Looking out at the sky unseeing, his mind started to make sense of what needed to be done.

There would be no more laying blame at the feet of an elusive concept; some ethereal idol that existed only in the minds of people. He would have no more of this devotion and paying homage to something imagined. He would take down the place of prayer and start a new tradition, one that put man first, made kindness to each other a priority – even law – with honesty and integrity.

He stood up, and facing the fading sun, paced back and forth across the end of the platform. He knew he could not do this in a heavy handed way; it had to be gentle and make sense to the people. If it didn’t, they would fight it, they would rail against it; it would result in more blood being shed. And enough of it had been spent on the different factions refusing to respect each other and accept each other.

It had always seemed crazy to the Prince how just one person deciding that a piece of ancient writing meant something slightly different to another, could result in the destruction of so many innocent people. They used it as a way to gain power and wealth, hiding behind the veil of what they called ‘righteousness’.

There was nothing righteous about looking down on others, judging others, and treating them unfairly; it was cruel and heartless. In fact it indicated something wrong in their minds; someone who was not able to think clearly or feel properly. If you could torture or kill another, how could you be capable of having healthy relations with another? And yet, more still supported or accepted that it took place – even considered it necessary! – or pretended it was not associated with them or their beliefs. The whole thing stank of hypocrisy, and the Prince would have no more of it.

He was fully aware that he was in a position of power and influence, one that had been granted to him by the concept of such idols, but he was willing to renounce that if he must; if that is what it took. He knew he had the favour of the people. The words he spoke were taken seriously and were heartfelt. He had to grasp that opportunity, but wield it in the right way, be careful and thoughtful.

He abruptly stopped pacing and turned his back to the sky, returning with renewed purpose to the palace. The words of his coming speech were forming in his mind and he needed to capture them and work on them if he was going to begin on this path. Other ideas were also entering his mind and flowing in a way that had never happened before. He knew it; this was his calling, his path to walk. Let the journey begin.