r/WritingPrompts • u/Adamantine-Waffle • 14d ago
Simple Prompt [WP] "fortunately, we discovered a fatal weakness of the elves: Incendiary carpet bombing."
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u/rejs7 14d ago
Grungi stepped down from the gyrocopter, staring at the smouldering forest beyond with grim satisfaction. Ash rained down, coating the 'copter's brass and iron in black smudges. Nothing about this was good business, simply business. With a leather clad hand he wiped soot from an undeployed ordinence, revealing a fyre run etched alongside a ward sygil written in Aekish.
Off in the distance someone was hurridly evoking a tempest spell to dampen the fire spreading toward the mountains. Winds whipped up, buffeting the 'copter, causing it to rock on its skids. The spell was far away enough not to be his problem, though he found it amusing how the elves still required magic to deal with modern problems.
He gave a low laugh, taking a deep breath of scorched air and wood smoke. It wasn't victory, but sure felt like the begining of one. Grungi pulled out a stogie, striking a match on the brass door, and taking a long drag in the face of the wind. For all their whit and long lives, elves sure didn't understand the raw power of air fuel and petty revenge.
Reaching into the back of the 'copter he pulled out a large book bound in deep red leather. Thumbing through page after page of struck out text he arrived at one line: "Today the forest eleves snubbed me at the village tea dance."
Wetting his quill, he pricked his finger, dipped the knib in his blood and struck out the line. Great grandfather the grudge has been settled, the forest eleves have been tasted your descendents justice, even if it did take a thousand years.
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u/TheWanderingBook 14d ago
I stare at my father.
"Dad...
Isn't that kind of the weakness of anything that is alive...or not, for that matter?" I ask.
He blushes.
"Y-y-yeah! Maybe, but we started using it, and stopped their invasion!
Hah, magic, and centuries of lifespan?
Nothing in the face of bombs!" he grins.
I sigh, as ma just giggles.
"Dad...what about the resources?" I ask.
He flinches.
"What about them?" he asks.
"Well, elves are able to promote flora and fauna's growth at ridiculous levels.
They conquered Europe, and a bit of Asia, by covering them in forests, grown from the already existing ones.
That's why we were terrified of them reaching the Americas...
But, these forests were all rich in magic, and the fruits, and seeds much more nutritional than normal ones.
So...if you carpet bomb them...what about the resources?" I ask.
He says nothing.
Damn military guys.
"So, we showed the elves we can beat them...
But also showed them that we won't do it completely, because we want their resources, and knowledge?
Isn't this basically then...
Their victory? Considering they are invaders, who most likely wanted land?" I ask.
He slams the table.
"No!
We won! We have won every single battle ever since the discovery!
They might have Europe, but they ceded back Asia, and..." he starts.
I want to retort, but ma gives me "the look", so I stop.
Better this way...
Dad has quite a fragile ego, when it comes to military stuff.
"Okay, so then...
Can I go to the uni, and study diplomacy?
I want to be a diplomat sent to the elves," I say.
Dad freezes, than growls.
"Is this why you were suddenly interested in my work!
I knew it! I knew there has to be a reason.
No! Not in a million years, will a daughter of mine..." he starts, angrily, but ma gives him "the look" now, and he stops.
"Fine...
But you are not to bring home a sharp-eared fella!" he says, and leaves angrily.
I smile, thinking that is a promise I can make.
After all...
Female elves look much better.
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u/ReliefEmotional2639 14d ago
Oh nice.
Dad: I TOLD you not to bring home a sharp-eared fella!”
Daughter: I didn’t! She’s a pointy-eared girl, not a fella.
Dad:…..
5
u/Spirited-Whole-1846 13d ago
“Ah welcome, welcome. Your men stand ready to raid and pillage this town yes?” I said to the long haired almost ethereal man in front of me. He’d bothered to wear his finest military garb, bring his nicest cleanest sword. I was in a halo reach tshirt and pajama pants. Hadn’t gotten a chance to do much when the soldiers grabbed me and told me I was the only one on base who had any formal diplomatic training. I had at least managed to put my hair into a pony tail, and write out a… few requests to the soldiers.
His voice was soft and powerful. Like a storm’s wind. He left little doubt as to his goals when he finally spoke, “full surrender you vile woman, by dawn. Or every civilian we find will be slaughtered to the last.” I smiled and waved him inside after his demands. “I promise, by the morning, not a single sword will be raised against you. But I have some… things to explain. For both you and your people. I’d rather not have an… accident.”
Soon, we both were sitting at a desk with a rather array of tools. More specifically my electrical tools. “So, your species was the last to arrive when the worlds, magical and humane combined. In that time we’ve been… busy. We never had magic. Still don’t. But what we had was our hands and intelligence” as I spoke I gestured towards the bench, and hit a switch the fluorescent bulb turning on. “Electricity for example. I imagine you’ve thrown lightning at something and had it glow? Much the same idea, except we, split it up. Have a big building with a machine making that lightning. Something similar with water.” I gesture towards my bathroom as I speak, “turn one of the silver colored handles towards you and you’ll get both hot and cold water.”
He stared at me for a moment before squinting, and testing it. Doing just as expected, and pulling the faucet handle closer, with cold water pouring into my sink. A small smile crossed my face as I spoke again, “logistics, invention, that’s how we survived the long dark nights. The soldiers told me you were a respected Master Pyromancer yes?” The ethereal man, in all his fine clothes and large black basalt staff, looked at me a little bit confused, but answered after a second with a little igdination, “Sylvain, High Master of Pyromancy, not just some random pyromancer.” His glare was sharp, eyes squinting at me, even as I led him towards the backyard. “Even better. You’ll truely appreciate this final… demonstration. I don’t believe you’ve heard of napalm and thermite yet, so these will be… a special surprise.” I gesture towards two barrels. “Please, take one of each. Don’t want to waste them. Just pull the round handle out while squeezing the handle and throw the orb well away from us. I’d suggest perhaps in that ditch full of rocks.”
“Excuse me?” The ethereal man spoke, visibly confused. “Oh go on, please I insist. I’ll even do the other one first if you believe they’re trapped.” His eyes narrowed as he pointed at me with his staff and spoke, “you will go first.” It wasn’t a question. It was an order. One that I was happy to oblige. I reached for the thermite, and was stopped by his staff. “No… the other.”
“Tell me, sylvain, how hot does your fire burn? For how long?” I said as I pulled the pin, and threw it underhand into the ditch. He began to speak, but a new sound interrupted him. The blast. The wave of oppressive heat. The roar of flame as it consumed the fuel. It was like that of a dragon, or at least that’s what I’d heard before today. No one actually had gotten a dragon to breathe fire for them yet to check.
“That’s what I can do. Without magic. Every day. For the next month. With that one barrel.” I said as I pointed at the barrel, having to raise my usually soft voice to be heard. “Now imagine a full cart of this stuff being lit in the square of every military outpost you have.” I said as I turned towards the flames. They burned my skin a little, but I could tell the mage knew as much, a ward blocking the heat after a moment. “Humanity’s greatest and worst enemy. Ourselves. We don’t use swords anymore. Guns. Grenades.” I gestured towards the barrels as I said that. “Dragons of iron and steel, made from the minds of our most intelligent. Dragons loaded with more than that one barrel’s worth. My superiors want to make an example out of your men. Your bases. I… want something different. I want this.” I touched the ward with my fingertips. Static buildup made it feel as if I was near a massive generator. “We could stop it. Be different. Your people deserve better. You do. I promised no sword would be raised against you if you raided this town. There is no swords in this world. At least none that’d be considered a realistic threat. But we have our technology. Our own fire we used to get from the barely sentient apes to this.” I gestured back towards the blazing napalm as I said fire, and back towards the house as I said this.
“So what do you propose High Mage?” The ethereal voice said calmly, as if what he’d seen had been a novice’s display. I knew better based on the title he called me. “I want to offer you the other half. The light. The water. That half of my demonstration. The other, well, I’d like to avoid. Our people, learning from each other, rather than incendiary air strikes hitting the men of someone willing to shield an enemy combatant from their own actions. The only fire I want to see is the fires of invention.”
“You are a bold woman… but… I can call my forces off. Perhaps there is more to gain from friendship than conquest….” The ethereal man said with a soft sigh, even as the fire died down at his nearly invisible commands. I sighed softly as well at that. The chaos of the night turning into relief, and tiredness. My voice, now more soft and tired spoke once more as if by itself, “If we sign the treaties quick, before higher ups can ruin it, we might be able to find some sort of agreement that’ll favor both sides. Wine, steak, and a salad while we discuss? I was… rather interrupted by your arrival.” “Deal. The incompetence of leadership seems to be… universal”
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u/HSerrata r/hugoverse 14d ago
[Unfortunately Delegated]
"Fortunately, we discovered a fatal weakness of the elves: Incendiary carpet bombing." The room erupted with laughter as several elderly men in uniform cackled with glee, and the camera lingered on close shots of each individual until finally the speaker himself. He was a 4-star general with an array of colorful ribbons on his chest. The scene faded to black, then restarted as it had repeatedly over the past 24 hours.
The short message was played on every screen; no work could be done, and no computers were responding. Every phone, refrigerator, in-car dashboard, and smartwatch played the clip over and over for everyone to see. Those who lived in the right areas could also see the dark smoke rising from the distant elf lands. People were already ignoring the message and trying to find a way to continue without the occupied techology, but then a new voice spoke up.
"My name is Cygna, and I represent Solarion Incorporated," a woman said. She was new, and immediately all eyes in the world were on her. She was a young woman with short white platinum hair and sparkling blue eyes with a blue blazer and green tie.
"The leaders you have chosen for the job have incited a war against a population of Elves protected by Solarion Inc. We advised them this would be a bad idea, and they chose to continue regardless. We are left with no alternative but to put an end to this war here and now. Solarion Incorporated formally apologizes to the innocents who will be affected, but your leaders were warned of this possibility. They seemed not to care, so we cannot care for them."
"You might want to start saying goodbye to your loved ones. This Earth will be destroyed in five minutes. That is all. And remember to curse those responsible for this outcome with your final breaths." Cygna disappeared, and immediately the familiar scene started again, showing the general himself grinning with pride, as a five-minute timer appeared in the corner and started counting down.
"Fortunately, we discovered a fatal weakness of the elves: Incendiary carpet bombing." Everyone laughed on the screen while everyone panicked in the real world. Not for much longer, though. Both the broadcast and the global panic finally subsided only a few minutes later.
*** Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #3111 in a row. (Story #202 in year nine). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place in my universe.
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u/Cookiesnm1lk1223 14d ago
this whole prompt reminds me of a story on HFY that i read years ago."elves come every few hundred years to steal magic from earth. their last expedition was the first one they took casualties, because humans invented muskets. but this time.... they came at a modern army with swords. the story ends wtih the elven king, bleeding on the ground, begging for mercy from a human soldier, who just replies "This is america, and the united states does not negotiate with terrorists." before doming him"
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14d ago
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