//------------------------------//
// Lacerta 
// Story: Power of Discord 
// by Jesusophile 
//------------------------------//

	The rainbow colored boulders were a sight like no other.   They constantly were being pushed further and further by newly formed ones. Their round shapes allowed Wander to navigate through the area. He searched through the maze for days. At night he would rest, only to be kept awake by his thoughts. He would keep muttering, “goddamn this noise inside my head”.  His sleepless nights were only made worse by the silence that hung over the area. It just made his thoughts louder.  He pushed onward in the hope of finding the titan soon. The sooner he could kill it, the sooner he could leave.

He walked into a large circular arena. The boulders formed misshaped walls around an enclosed space. In the center was nothing but a small pond. Wander stepped in it and watched the ripples. It was memorizing and he felt his mind drift. He stepped in it once more and the miniature waves spread across the small pond. He continued to stare into it. 

A sudden scratching sound broke his concentration. The sunlight showed everything but he saw nothing but the rainbow colored rocks. He looked back into the pond and it seemed to be staring back at him. Yellow eyes looked at him through the water’s reflection. Wander sprinted past the pond and turned. A large rainbow colored mass was staring at him. It took him a few seconds to realize what it was. It was a large lizard but before he could get a better look. It was gone.

It camouflaged into the walls of the arena. Wander could not see it but he knew it was there. He walked along the pond, trying to entice it out. He had to find a way to kill it. He thought he could lure it out by going into the water. That’s what brought it out last time. He scanned the walls for movement once more before stepping in. It worked. Wander turned around and saw it leaping toward him. He tried to get away but it was too late. The lizard grabbed him, jumped onto the walls and carried him over the top.

Wander was being crushed. The creature was tightening its grip and he couldn’t escape. He couldn’t scream, he couldn’t breathe. Everything started to blur as his vision failed. 

“I can’t die, I will not die, and I’ll never die.”

Using his last ounce of strength, Wander kicked. The lizard didn’t seem to expect it and it dropped Wander in between the boulders. Wander hit the ground hard. He was hurt but he ignored the pain. This gave Wander a chance to regain his breath. He ran out into the open, trying to catch up. He went the same direction the titan was carrying him but still could not see it. He couldn’t look over the boulders and there was no way to look straight ahead. He stopped when the sun started to set. The moon provided the only light and most of time, it was blocked. He laid down to rest against the stone.

In the last few nights, he couldn’t sleep because of his thoughts, now the thought of that creature nearby kept him awake. The night seemed to drag on forever and his strength was beginning to wane. He had to find and kill it quickly. At the first crack of sunlight, he resumed his search. The rainbows made it hard to tell where the rocks begin and end. His luck finally changed when he saw a massive boulder. It was on a large incline and it towered over the landscape.  Rocks, both large and small, were formed and rolled down from it. They pushed the boulders back and replaced them, forever changing the landscape. Wander ran out onto the hill, moving back and forth to avoid the rolling stones.

The titan couldn’t restrain itself. As soon as Wander heard the hissing, he jumped to the side, to see it fly by. It turned around and gave chase to Wander. They both weaved around the rocks in what looked like an elaborate dance. Wander may not be as fast as it was but he was agile. He led it around the center. Wander didn’t lose speed as he maneuvered but the lizard did. This kept them at a steady distance and pace.  In a bold move, Wander turned around and headed directly towards the monster. Surprised but hungry, it leaped at him. The titan did not see the rock. It hit the creature midflight. It was thrown to the ground, and that allowed the boulder to crush him. A steady stream of rocks rolled onto it, each adding pressure to the increasingly heavy load. They started to push him down the hill into the already accumulated boulders.

Wander ran down to the now mangled titan. Its tail detached while it rolled downward and now was on the ground next to it. Both the rocks and the lizard were rainbow but the blood wasn’t. It was spreading across the ground, painting Wander’s hooves black. As it was before, the titan’s lifeless corpse dissolved into shadow. Wander closed his eyes and felt that familiar pain as it ran through him.

“Now you don’t look so good. Are you tired?”

Wander slowly stood up, the mist was floating in circles around him.

“You have to slow down; didn’t your mommy ever teach you patience?”

Wander said nothing. All he heard was the sound of a collapsing statue.

“Where do I go next?”

Discord looked on with amusement, not that Wander could tell.

“Thy next enemy is to the east, standing on the cold summit.” 

Wander silently left without another word. Discord did not completely understand him. That was a new sensation because he understood mortals and their flaws. He decided to keep a closer eye on him from that point. The candle’s light faded and then extinguished. It was dark now.