via Pixabay by Stefan Keller
Note: This story was written by Dawn at Dawn’s Nights. Her blog is private, so she’s given me permission to post the entire story here. I hope you enjoy.
Frozen Giant
The frozen giant rose in the distance, its face a mixture of sadness and resignation.
Even if he wished to move, his joints were now paralysed by the icy temperatures on this forsaken moon.
But he had no wish to spend such energy. What good would moving do? He had no friend to meet with. He had no foe either. Even fighting was not an option to break the stubborn emptiness of time.
So he crouched there, isolated in the vastness of the wind-battered desert. But his existence was not without a purpose; he had a duty to perform.
His strong arm extended, hand resting on the head of the snow dragon he held captive. The winter storms had frozen it too, mouth agape, tongue drawn out in one long, eternal last breath.
His beard had grown in all the time he had been sitting there, a cascade of rock flowing down from his chin to his feet. His crown of disheveled hair stood high above the frigid ground, a semaphore of sorts.
The cold light of a summer sun would not warm him, but its pale glow through the moon’s ice storms shone enough to guide a group of 20 humans, bundled up and determined, slowly advancing on ski through knee-deep snow.
Tiredness was starting to be felt by all, the journey had been long from their advanced base, their backpacks heavy. And as soon as night would fall, the temperatures would drop so low that even their specially designed suits couldn’t save them.
Reaching the mighty mountain was their only hope of survival, for in the mouth of the tamed dragon lay the entrance to their underground city.
Everyone was feeling a sense of weariness mixed with a rush of impatience, fear and excitement. After months of wandering the desolate surface and sleeping on the rough, they would finally get to see parents, husbands, wives, children.
Unfortunately, the news they brought wasn’t as good as they wished. The other city wasn’t faring any better than theirs. Overcrowded, they too lacked food, and were faced with ever more difficulties to keep everyone warm.
Unless a miracle happened, the future looked bleak for the human settlements on Callipso.
This is an auspicious start! Kudos to Dawn!
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I was so pleased that Dawn took the leap, Sean. A dear person and a lovely writer. 🙂
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Fantastic use of the prompt! I loved the story and the emotion it portrayed.
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Thanks so much for the visit, Jan. I got a lovely response and am looking forward to sharing them. 🙂
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Good story. Happy I didn’t miss it.
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Thanks, Drew. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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this is one of my favorite Pixabay images and I always thought it would be a great inspiration for a story. And this story was Fantastic! I’m glad Dawn let you shared it. She is is very talented!
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Thanks so much. Pixabay has great fantasy images. I’m addicted. Ha ha. Apparently this image inspired an entire book in Dawn’s imagination. Another author in the making? Thanks for reading!
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This is a lovely story, I am glad you shared it!
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I started a monthly “fantasy” prompt this year, and I’m reblogging all the stories. If you feel inspired… I know I won’t be disappointed. It’s been a lot of fun so far. Happy Writing!
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I must have missed that post! I’m definitely interested 🙂 Your writing is inspiring!
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Here’s the link to the January prompt. No pressure, but I would love to share your response. https://mythsofthemirror.com/2019/01/01/new-feature-speculative-fiction-writing-prompt/
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Thank you Diana, I shall certainly give this a try!
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Wonderful share! Thank you Diana for letting us be touched by Dawn’s words. 💛
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Thanks so much for reading, Val. It’s fun to share the responses to the prompt. Dawn wrote a great story and I hope she keeps it up. Have a wonderful week.
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What a way to put an imagination to work, Dawn. Well done! Thanks for sharing, Diana.
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And thank you for stopping by, Mary. I’ve had a lovely response to the prompt and will be sharing them through the month. I’m so pleased that Dawn joined in. 🙂 Have a great week!
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He cold and dark with frost, Dawn’s has spun a great story.
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Thanks for reading, Elisabet. I’m so glad Dawn was inspired to participate. Have a lovely Sunday, my friend. ❤
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Cold and bleak. As with any good story, it leaves the reader wanting more.
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I’m reblogging them one at a time, Joanne, but I’ve read them all, and so many are bleak. It’s funny because I didn’t see the image as particularly bleak… until I wrote my version. I hope Dawn writes more for us. Thanks for visiting and commenting, my friend. ❤
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I’m so curious about this giant’s origins.
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And you might find out. Dawn’s imagination is taking off and I hope she expands on this story. Thanks for the visit and comment. Have a lovely Sunday and week ahead. 🙂
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You have inspired great writers to write great stories!😊
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More to come too. I’ve had a nice response so far. It’s been fun to read them all. Thanks so much for stopping by to read. 🙂
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Fascinating story! The image is fantastic and the story went along with it perfectly. Thanks for sharing this wonderful, well-written story, Diana. 🙂
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Thanks so much for visiting, Vashti. I’ve had a number of responses to the prompt so far and will be sharing them over the month. I hope one of these images will tempt you to join in. Happy Writing!
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Another great story! I have to confess, whenever I read the word “Callipso” I think of the John Denver song…
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😀 Ah, the challenge of making up names. I’m having a terrible time with my current book. Every name has changed four times already and they aren’t sticking yet! Lol. Thanks for taking the time to read, Julie. Happy Editing!
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I didn’t make the name up 😉 It’s one of Jupiter’s moons, one of the few where they think there may be water… the story just took life from there 😉
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I was wondering about that, Dawn! So many moons are named for Greek nymphs and other characters from ancient mythology. Cool! I’m so glad you stopped by to respond to comments. And I can’t wait to see what you come up with for February. Lol. Happy Writing!
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Hahaha! I actually may even get the time to write a little in February 😉 Thank you really for the prompt, and for posting my words!
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A song I don’t know… I’ll have to go look!
Thank you very much Julie!
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Great job, Dawn! Thanks for sharing with us, Diana.
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Thanks for taking the time to read, Jill. So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂 Happy Weekend!
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Thank you for the compliment Jill!
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Excellent descriptions! I enjoyed this piece, Dawn, congrats!
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Thanks for stopping by, Jacquie, and for the kind comment. 🙂 Happy Writing!
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Thank you very much Jacquie for reading and the great compliment!
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Well done, to Dawn. Thanks for sharing it here, Diana. Hugs to you both.
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Thanks for stopping by to read, Teagan. Stay warm! ❤
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Thank you for reading Teagan, and for the hugs and compliment! 🙂
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inspires me
to dress
warmly 🙂
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Ha! I’m not surprised. Dawn captured the coldness perfectly. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by to read.
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Thanks for the compliment Diana! 😀
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Welcome!
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Hahaha! Well, hope you stay warm! It snowed here during the night, to help keep me in the mood 😉
Thank you for reading!
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I know there is humanity waiting under that mountain…strange how our thoughts veer in weird directions but you must be having your own story…brewing! Are you planning your next plot around frozen monsters Diana? Hint, hint!! 🙂
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I wrote my story right away, so I wouldn’t be influenced by the other responses. I’ll share it with the roundup (like Sue does). No scary monsters though! Ha ha.
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Wow!!! All from that picture!!! Captivating!!!
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Isn’t it amazing? I thought it was a good one for January. The stories and poems are slowly trickling in and the variety is fun. Thanks for visiting!
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Thank you very much!! If only you knew how much more came to me! At least one book worth, possibly more 😉
Diana seems to have found the perfect prompt for me!
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wonderful interpretation
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Thanks for stopping by to read Dawn’s story. 🙂 It’s been fun seeing all the different stories come in. 🙂
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It’s great how we can see something different, even if some of us have similar ideas.
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Lots of the stories that have come in are solemn in nature, including mine, but the weird thing is I didn’t initially perceive the prompt in that way. And, of course, there are a few jokers as well. 😀
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You must be thinking about Geoff!!!
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Ha ha. Exactly! Lol
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Thank you very much!
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You are most welcome!
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I feel chilly just reading it!
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It is a rather wintry prompt! I’m glad it gave you the chills. Have a wonderful weekend, Pricilla. 🙂
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A very good story, Diana.
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Thanks for stopping by to read, Robbie. Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
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Thank you Robbie!
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