The Grey New World

Dusk falls on a tired dusty rural landscape,
The long shadows of the late afternoon have faded to grey,
In the distance, bright city lights flicker to life, lighting up the sky,
The distant volume of Central City’s chaos rises to a murmur,
There is a comfort to be being isolated, distant from humanity,
Away from the energy, constant sound, and movement of the city,
Tech still fills this rural space, but it is subtle, used where needed,
Out here it is functionality over convenience, tech for survival only,
No unnecessary body mods, or implants, some city escapees do have them,
But out here they are few and far between, chop-shops are a city thing,
Grove 18, or G18, is some distance from the hot spot of Central City (G0),
Since the war, most people are cautious of machines, however,
Salvaged tech has been repurposed, constructive rather than destructive,
Varieties of hover vehicles have replaced the wheels and tires of old,
Important, considering the surviving roads are overgrown and damaged,
Raider crews on hov bikes can be a threat to farming communities,
But the Syndicates keep them in check, for a price, a cut of your proceeds,
But, don’t pay your Syndicate, your property burns,
Or worse, you and your family are deleted,
Aside the turmoil, nature still exists, savage and beautifully untameable,
Forests reclaim dead townships, creating new habitats and secrets,
The grey new world is brutal and unfair, but that is the way of all things now.

Beyond my machine world the Infinite Black, exists 'A Grey New World', a dystopian future  set following the war with the machine hellworld as outlined in my art series, and book I co-created with Jeff Oliver.

I have been (very) slowly fleshing out all aspects of this new post apocalyptic world for a while now, and I will continue to release parts of it here. The final product will consist of poetry, art and short stories.

Sleeper Beneath the Mountain

Asleep, yet never truly sleeping,
She lies within the Black Range.

Her breath is a distant rumble,
Felt deep within the bones of the earth.

For six thousand years she has waited,
Coiled beneath stone and darkness,
Her fury subdued by the mountain
That serves as both prison and tomb.

Every crack of thunder
Is a cry from the heavens,
The voice of a distant prince
Longing for the one denied to him.

Beneath forests ancient and deep,
Beneath peaks crowned in shadow,
The Serpent Princess slumbers.

Above her,
Lightning bridges earth and sky,
A fleeting touch between lovers
Separated by the ages.

She is worshipped by the Cult of the Serpent,
Whose rites and offerings
Keep the ancient sleeper bound.
For they fear the prophecy.
They fear what will happen
Should she awaken.

Far beyond the stars,
Her leviathan prince waits.
His heart is forged from stardust,
Shadow,
And grief.

With every passing century,
His sorrow grows.

Two mighty serpents,
Fire-eyed and scale-clad,
Kept apart by those
Who fear their union.

But no prison lasts forever.
A day will come
When the mountain cracks,
And the ancient princess rises.

Then her prince shall descend from the heavens,
And together they will unleash
Doom upon the world that divided them.

Oceans will boil.
Mountains will fall.
Cities will vanish beneath fire and flood.
All life shall perish
In the wake of their reunion.

And when the prophecy is fulfilled,
The Serpents will depart.

Beyond the stars they shall return,
To the realm of the Ancient Ones,
Where time has no dominion
And darkness stretches without end.

There,
Far from the lifeless husk of Earth,
The lovers will coil together once more,
Never to be parted again.