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Far-fetched
Published: 2011-07-04 22:05:19 +0000 UTC; Views: 8500; Favourites: 200; Downloads: 44
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Description
An elf lay in a tree, comfortably as if it was a hammock. A dwarf stoked their campfire and lit his pipe. The forest was quiet but for the rustle of leaves and the occasional hoot of owls. The night spun lazily above them.'Do you ever wonder who lives in the sky?' said the elf after a while.
'Birds,' grunted the dwarf.
'No, I mean the people up there.'
'All the poor buggers who fell up into it, I would imagine.'
The elf sighed. 'Where do your gods live?' he asked.
'Our gods are wrought in stone,' replied the dwarf. 'What would they do up there? There's nothing to do, nowhere to stand.' He paused, then added 'Nothing to hit with an axe.'
Silence again, until the elf thought he had found an angle to spark his friend's interest.
'Do you think it would be possible to fashion some sort of boat? A sky boat?'
The dwarf chewed his pipe in contemplation.
'Possibly,' he conceded. 'But it would be a life's work without purpose. There's nothing up there.'
'I disagree. I dreamt last night of all manner of creatures, warring in the stars with blades and arrows of light.' The elf breathed in deeply. 'For a moment I thought I heard the song of the celestial ether.'
Exhaling bluish grey smoke, the dwarf regarded his friend, and wondered where he was getting these bizarre notions. Especially puzzling considering that he was doing it without the aid of bluish grey smoke of his own.
The elf was drumming his fingers on a branch, and a red squirrel danced to his tune.
'Can you imagine,' he said, his eyes aglow with reverie, 'sailing from star to star in a beautiful white ship, and witnessing an eternity of strange new worlds? Wouldn't that be just the most perfect thing?'
The dwarf squinted at the sky as if he suspected it had been making fun of him behind his back.
'I don't know,' he grumbled. 'Sounds a wee bit far-fetched to me.'
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Comments: 103
I don't know if this was your intention, but it made me think of Middle Earth. Specifically, that it could be a conversation between a Silvan elf and a dwarf in the late fifth age, when legend has been nearly forgotten. The white ship -Vingilote- was what really made it work for me. Great job.
Have you read the Silmarillion?
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I got major Legolas and Gimli vibes from this.
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Perfection, Joe.
I just read this from the FFM group's page. I love it! Your style had always been great; part Pratchett, part... well... mostly Pratchett. 
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Thank you, that's a huge compliment! Sorry this is six months late, I'm only here 31 days a year!
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I'm not very good at crafting words. So I apologize for simply settling with; "I thoroughly enjoyed reading this." Even the touch of humor amidst the waves of grace managed to steal a chuckle out of me. That's not a common thing for me.
So... thanks.
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Thank you, I'm really glad you got something out of it! Sorry for the incredibly late reply, It's apparently been longer than I thought since I checked my inbox
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I'd definitely buy that dwarf a beer! nothing to hit with an axe 
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Thanks! I'm glad you liked it
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Nice! The characterisation is just perfect! Really like this!
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you aren't hinting LotR, are you? XD Just a another realm with dwarfs and elves? Either way, great idea!
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Not specifically LotR, just that kind of western fantasy setting
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adorable and well-written. your selective approach to detail is refreshing, as is your humor n.n
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Thank you, that's really nice to hear
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I liked this a lot! i can totally imagine the scene, even though there were no detailed descriptions. 
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[link] FFM is Flash Fiction Month, where you write a short story every day in July. It's really good fun and great practice!
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wow, that sounds like fun and like a lot of work at the same time, haha. did you ever get stuck, like you couldn't think of anything?
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Not as often as you'd think, you get into the rhythm of it really quickly!
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It would be so hard to imagine how the elf and dwarf's reaction in this short story when they meet with extraterrestrial beings from giant floating disks. I loved the part where the elf mentioned about his dream of seeing a battle with 'blades and arrows of light', it reminds me of the time I'd sat in front of the TV watching Star Wars.
Congratulations on the DD!!
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Thank you! Yeah well done spotting that, that paragraph was about star wars. The celestial song was supposed to be a reference to 'the force' too
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I had been thinking 'what in the world of Star Wars could that celestial song be?', but I wasn't expecting it to be the humming of the Force. 
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The whole piece is just wonderful and easily to visualize while reading it. Cheers for your DD, it is well deserved!
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Thank you very much!
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I love this. it's kind of sweet. i love things that take you to another world, dreams of the impossible. i have to say, im sure when i was younger i was like that elf... yeah, i've always dreamed of stuff like that and still do... wow, i think i just got sucked into the story there. I loved it
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Aw well I'm really glad you enjoyed it!
And yeah, that's why I write, to take the reader to another place.
In Douglas Coupland's latest book he wrote something that I kind of took to heart about how reading is the closest thing to being in someone else's mind because it's the only thing that can hijack that little voice inside your head and stop you being you.
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like the story, love other worldly beings. I can even picture this scene, magical!
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It's adorable about how the dwarf is so down to earth while the elf is in the sky. That and it's usually dwarves who would have higher technology... if they weren't pictured as perpetual drunks.
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The way I see it the dwarves are still the technologically able ones, it's just that he sees nothing to be gained by exploring the sky, which is a reasonable point of view.
The elf dreams of these things, but in reality he doesn't have the means to follow through on it, which is why he asked the dwarf if it was possible. If anyone would be able to make it happen, it's a dwarf, the only problem is convincing them it's worth the effort!
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I'm so glad this got a DD and I got a chance to read it. It's very clever and just wonderful.
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That was very sweet, it cheered me up a lot to see a short little story like this
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I love the dwarf's aversion to the stars, especially when he tells where his gods are. Brilliant insight in such a short piece. Congrats on the DD!
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Fabulous DD! I love that sort of genre-crossing.
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