On the Codex Writers forum, we’re in the fourth of five weeks of a flash-fiction writing contest. Each Saturday morning the contestant are given three prompts and must use at least one of them to write a story of less than 750 words by Sunday evening.
One of today’s prompts was the following:
Choose an element (fire, earth, thunderstorm, oxygen, rubidium, etc.) and write about someone whose control of that element is threatened.
In thinking about this prompt, I came up with an idea that doesn’t really fit it, so I’ll be writing something different for the contest. But the following is a fable I wrote that I may include as part of a larger story someday:
Long ago, the original god of war decided to retire. He called his three sons to him and said, "Only one of you can take my place. To prove your worthiness, you will lead armies to battle against each other, and whoever wins will be my successor. In order to make things more interesting, I will grant each of you complete control over one element."
The eldest son spoke quickly, saying, "Father, grant me control over the element of Iron."
"Granted," said the war god.
The eldest son turned to his brothers and said, "Since I control Iron, the weapons of your armies will not stand against mine. Surrender to me now, and I will spare your lives."
The middle son said, "Father, grant me control over the element of Gold."
"Granted," said the war god.
The middle son looked to his brothers and said, "Since I control Gold, I will be able to bribe your armies away from you. Surrender to me now, and I will spare your lives."
Then the youngest son spoke. "Father, grant me control over the element of Surprise."
"Granted," said the war god.
And the elder brothers immediately surrendered to the youngest so he would spare their lives.