Soil Erosion

In this world, where once gods ruled as kings, where rivers could change courses overnight, where mountains could be decimated in seconds, and where humans had no more rights than cows or pigs, we zoom into the ordinary life of Devery Ottaway, which was soon going to turn not so ordinary.

He can be seen standing in the afternoon sun with sweat dripping down his neck. His bare feet touch the wet muddy ground, which gives him little relief from the sweltering heat. Looking across his farm, he sees the little outgrowths of the crops that had been crushed from the crazy incessant rainfall last night. It gave him a headache thinking how they were going to survive this winter. He had never been a good hunter, unlike Seleph who could see the wild game tracks like sprinkled flour on a green field. Not that Seleph had not tried teaching him, being the good friend he was. Alas, Devery just didn't have it in him to look closely enough, to see the freshly broken twigs or find if the stool was fresh enough.

"Which demented Guardian couldn't control his emotions this time!" sighed Devery.

Guardians! They were the supernatural beings who could do wonderful, fascinating, and sometimes cruel things. Said to be the descendants of gods, they held the real power on Zebay. Many humans had tried to vie for supremacy in front of them. But what could a horde of humans do when the earth itself opened up to swallow you whole? And so, the status quo remained.

This year had not been a good one for Devery. His cow had died last month from a weird disease which even the local doctor couldn't tell the name of. He had to kill the poor thing himself. You just don't let an animal live if it couldn't even breathe without groaning in pain. And now this. The future looked quite bleak for him and Graciana.

'I'll just have to hope that the destruction didn't reach the nearby villages,' thought Devery.

Else getting even grains on loan would not be feasible. He walked over to survey the other fields nearby. His own parcel not being that big, he reached his fellow farmers' field within a few hours.

He couldn't believe his eyes. A distinct smell hit his nose.

They had been razed!

The ashes had settled down but he could still see the embers below. Even the soil on their fields looked baked. How would they even grow crops anymore on this barren land?

"I got lucky, didn't I? At least I can hope for the next season," said Devery, talking to himself.

This looked like there had been a fight between two guardians, and those too powerful ones. At least 3 stars. Two-starred couldn't have caused this. It was better to get out of here as soon as possible. The Empire's investigators would be coming. Devery started walking back towards his village, looking back over his shoulders, a little nervous. He didn't want to be caught by the investigators. Anyone the investigators took interest in didn't have a good ending.

Standing below the clouds was a man looking over the running plebeian in the field below.

"He seems good enough, doesn't he Porky?"

"As if you care, HAHAHA..."

"True enough." With that, he propelled himself toward Devery.