Raw Earth Ink
spit, mixed with dirt – muddy words flow
Lord Rellik
Resting his oily chin upon his fist, Lord Rellik contemplated his next move. Eyes shifting from one side of the room to the other, always aware of the exits, of the movements of his many subjects, the placement of the Bitten Skulls – a team of assassins hand-picked and trained by himself – yes, aware even down to the air currents within the damp chamber. His massive throne sat dead center and elevated by rough-hewn stone steps. Piles of carefully cleaned skulls and broken bones lay scattered around it, only adding to its fear factor.
Suddenly he barked out an order to one of his demon-spawn assassins. “Bring me a she-bear!” “My lord!” came the quick reply just before the demon swiftly departed. The room remained mostly quiet, as Lord Rellik held court before two humans from the village nestled in the foothills near the black peak which held his dark palace. The men grew restless and shifted from foot to foot, doubts creeping in to each of their minds as to the wisdom of calling up the demon lord to settle their earthly dispute.
A commotion was heard from the rear of the room and murmurs rose from the crowded court as the assassin made his way forward, prodding a scruffy, but well-fed she-bear and her cub along. The bear was nervous and certainly in protective mode, swaying her head back and forth, drooling, and panting. The cub, for its part, mewled and kept near its mother’s legs. The room stilled as Lord Rellik stood to his full ten-foot height and chuckled quietly. It was an evil sound which sent shivers racing across skin of even the most callous of devil there.
Swiftly the demon lord crossed over to the bear, who cowered before the darkness ebbing from his scaly skin. Without hesitation he reached for the cub, lifted it up to his chest, and there easily tore it in two. Shifting slightly, he tossed the still twitching remains on one of the men, who cried out in fear and surprise. The second man quickly put distance between them just as the demon barked, “haaj-Kah!” The she-bear instantly became animated, her eyes going completely black, and she lunged toward the first man. He screamed in terror which turned to pain and then utter deep silence as she mauled him, tearing him apart with her jaws and claws in her bloodlust. The chamber was filled with the sucking and popping sounds of gristle and muscle ripping from bones and then the cracking of the bones themselves until she just as suddenly abandoned her fury and dropped her head, growing still once more.
Turning toward the remaining human, who had soiled and wet himself during the exchange, bits of gore and blood sliding down his pale skin, the demon lord spoke again, his voice sinister. “This is how I discipline my subjects who dare come before me with petty disputes. See that you don’t make this mistake again.” And pivoting on his heel, he strode from his throne room, already thinking seven moves ahead regarding his next conflict with the damned spirits, those so-called Yehovyah Warriors, to the receding sounds of a human man wailing in utter panic and terror.
Lord Rellik by Braeden Michaels
Monstrous white fangs
Chameleon like eyes
Leader of the Bitten Skulls
A behemoth ego among demons
Herculean strength and power
Raised by lions from the depths
of the pitch black mountains
Absorbs detail like a sponge
Cold and calculating
A nephew of the prince of darkness
Stir of screeching echoes
rise from his vampire like voice
Barking out commands
Inserting violent demands
Reading his name backwards
speaks volumes and sizable truth
tara caribou | ©2018-2023
I completely forgot about this until I saw it again today! What a trip.
I hope you enjoy this flash fic response to Braeden Michaels’ poem of the same name. Click the link to the original poem.
26 Comments on “Lord Rellik”
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Raw Earth Ink 
This is very creative! I really enjoyed where you went with it!
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Thanks Braeden. I really enjoyed your poem. Sparked a whole set of scenes in my mind. This was one.
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I’m glad I can do that! Awesome!
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Always.
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This is great, I really like it!
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You know what’s funny is while I was writing it I thought, I bet Stories could do this much more justice, lol. Still… I kept going.
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No way, you did exceptional on this.
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Haha. Always too kind. But seriously, I did actually think that.
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I’m in your head.
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Haha! Maybe… lol
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Fantastic
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Thanks! I’m glad you liked it.
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Goosebumps, this was a great story! You sweep the reader into the scene beautifully. 😀 x
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Awesome Tom. I re-read it the other day before I re-scheduled it and I considered lengthening it a tad but decided in the end to let the story (and Braeden’s poem) speak for themselves. 😉 I had fun with this, for sure.
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I’ve signposted readers to your blog in my latest Mystery Blogger Award, so hopefully that’ll raise awareness of some great blogs out there!
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Thanks Tom! That’s awesome!!
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❤ 😄
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After reading this Lord Rellik will forever invade my dreams. I’m glancing over my shoulder as I write this. Superbly done….though I’m shedding a few tears over the poor innocent bear cub and she bear swept up in Demon justice.
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“Demon justice”! I like that! I love this story of Lord Rellik and if you get a chance, check out Braeden’s poetry as well. It always paints such great imagery.
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The story and poem compliment each other so well – thanks for re-sharing this old gem! 🙂
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You got the character of poem just right, and the fantasy of power so many dark souled men hunger after.
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Thanks Bob. I had forgotten about this and had fun rereading it. I love it when I read something by someone and I am inspired to create something (as you’re well acquainted with!)
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We take our Muses where we find them, or they us, as the case may be.
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Reblogged this on cabbagesandkings524 and commented:
Tara Caribou – a story out of a poem
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Hell, you sure know how to hook and permeate a mind – what a storyteller you are.
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Thanks Eric! I often describe myself as a storyteller who sometimes writes poetry hahaha so I take your comment as a compliment! 😌
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