The Hole

1 ▐

In the dead of night, in the valley of the lords, the great tower was nearing its completion. Thousands of slaves had marched through dark black soot and singed their feet on molten rock to bring bricks of indestructible stone from the depths of the black mines. The stones which were formed with thousands of pounds of pressure in the womb of the earth were used for the base of the tower. They were the only material strong enough to hold its weight. Once the base was complete the slaves went about piling one level after another onto its frame until after what seemed like years of torturous labor the tower had reached the clouds and their work had neared its end.

There were two lords of the black mines. Lord Alron from the Desert and Lord Savuna from the lowlands. Legends has it that their tribes had once waged war against one another but that was in ages long passed. Now, they were as brothers. Instead of choosing to fight over the precious materials in the black mines they choose to cooperate. They combined their populations into one massive army of slaves and together they set out to build a tower strong enough and tall enough to reach the heavens.

So it was on this night when the tower neared its completion that Alron and Savuna decided they would commit their final inspection. They did not march because they did not need to march. Surrounded by the most elite of their guard they rode on horseback into the valley of the lords. Appearing as silhouettes against the night they came over the hill until they were illuminated by the molten stones which lay in the valley. The slaves were trained to fall in line at their presence. At first one of the slaves spotted their group and then made a loud shout which attracted the others. Like a mass of insects they assembled from all parts of the valley and converged on the two lords creating. Once they were assembled they stood in salute at their presence.

Alron looked about his slaves and was proud at their assemblage but it wasn't until the lords rode closer that the slaves noticed a third lord riding with them. This third lord rode closely behind Alron and Savuna his horse was covered in bright metals which appeared to glow against light in the valley. As he got closer the slaves noticed these metals were jewels. His wealth was paramount and impossible to comprehend. But they understood his importance and an nervous air permeated the crowd.

“Look upon our slaves. Look at how proud they are of our creation” Said Alron.

“We have trained them and cultivated their intelligence for just this purpose. They are born to work and would die to complete their tasks” Continued Savuna.

The third lord shrugged and made a modest noise.

“The slaves are nothing. Its their work I am interested in.”

Of course the tower was obvious but he could not see it. The dark black thing was nearly invisible in the valley at night. Lord Alron produced a small wooden stick from his robes and with his hand outreached he shouted a command. A sort of luminescence shot forth from the stick and raised high up into the air. When it came back down it caressed the side of the tower which lit up against the night sky. The third lord stopped. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped.
“By the gods.” he said.

He dropped off of his horse and approached the tower on foot. He looked directly upward.

“I cannot see the top! How high does it go?” He asked.

“Near the heavens” Said Alron.

The third lord began to laugh. He danced in excitement and the beautiful jewels which garnered his robes clanked against each other.

“I must reach the top!”

then with excitement the third lord ran for the entrance but before he could reach it he noticed a strange sort of sight. There was an old man sitting in front of the entrance blocking his path. The man sat modestly but persistently. He was very old and feeble. He was dressed in plain rags like the other slaves but he wore a red sash which he wrapped around his head which protected his eyes from the sweat of his brow.

“Who is this?” asked the third lord.

Alron and Savuna caught up just in time to catch a glimpse of the feeble man.

“Just one of our older slaves. Hes a digger. He has been here since the base of the tower. We can have him removed.”

“Wait” the third lord turned to the old man. “What are you doing here old man?” He asked

The old mans breath was shallow. His response was weak.

“I am weak and tired” He said. “I have worked my whole life to build this tower. Now that it is done I want to rest.”

“Ah! But you cannot rest here!” Said Alron. “You are blocking our entrance. Go home at once.”

“I have no home. I was given no home. I was given barely enough pay for food. I've never had shelter.”

The third lord interrupted “What an embarrassment! To have a slave act so far out of line”

“The tower is complete. There is no line for me any longer. I have nothing but my work and it is gone.” Said the old man.

“Enough of this. Guards! Remove this man from my path!”

At once the guards approached the man and began to needle him with their spears. At first the man was reluctant but then he began to slowly inch his body away from the scene.

“Imagine, how embarrassing for the other lords of the valley to have been here to witness this!?” Said Savuna.

“Never mind that. Take me to the top of the tower!” cried the third lord.

And with that they were gone disappearing into the darkness of the tower where they would climb all the way to its peak.

The old man however was not so fortunate. The guards prodded him until in his exhaustion he could no longer move. Then he simply lay in the hot black ground where they left him. The other slaves hardly noticed him. They were still young. They had families to attend to. They had meals to eat and homes to build. They had children to breed. But the old man knew nothing of this. He knew any children he birthed would simply grow to be slaves. Any homes he built would one day be owned by the lords. The old man knew only one thing and that was digging. So here on the eve of his life he had only one want.

To dig.

2 ▌

It took several hours for the three lords to make it to the top of the tower. They climbed the stone steps one floor after another but also needed to take breaks to rest. Each floor of the tower contained the wonders of the valley of the lords. Treasures found in the black mines which had been confiscated and stored away by the guards. Some of them were ancient relics from ages long past. Of course none of this interested the three lords. They had only one goal in mind and that was to reach the peak. The Apex of the tower held the greatest treasure of them all.

When they reached the highest point of the tower they found a clasped doorway connected to a simple wooden ladder. As they unhooked the clasp they were blinded by a sudden light which erupted through the cracks of the doorway. They struggled to push their way against the light. It was unlike anything they could have imagined. Its brightness was beyond harsh. It assaulted them in ways they could not have possibly comprehended. They had no choice but to recoil into the floor below. Until finally, Alron had the courage to push his way through. When he reached the other end of the doorway he was greeted by a powerful wind but not a cold wind. The air was warm but not the warmth of the lava pits below. He felt a tremendous comfort from this warmth.

“Come friends! Its safe!” He said. And so the other two lords rose into the light where they to felt the warmth on their skin.

Then their eyes began to adjust and they could see it. For the first time human eyes had witnessed its brilliance. The massive globe of red hot fire which bathed everything in its glorious luminescence. They stood in the presence of the sun which gave life to all the planets in their solar system. Then they looked below and saw the permanent formation of black clouds which covered the valley of the lords. It was this formation which had blocked the sun from reaching them. All of humanity had spent their lives trapped under its lucid mist. Until mere hours ago when the slaves had finally built the tower tall enough to reach the sun. And the lords who came as quickly as they could to witness the miraculous construction.

Together they danced until they were exhausted and in their grace they decided that there should be a celebration for all. They sent word to all the guards that there should be a rationing of bread and whine for everyone. That all who participated in the construction of the tower should enjoy splendor if only for a single night. And so it was that the guards opened the stockpiles and made inventory of their provisions. The slaves who hungered for the sorts of fatty foods found in the stockpiles went wild with reckless abandon. They consumed and drank and became horribly drunk. Then they danced and fornicated around the tower. All of the slaves except for the old man.

The old man still lay where the guards left him. Perhaps he nodded off to sleep as his skin slowly roasted in the molten ground but still he lay motionless. Then he took notice when the celebration began. It piqued his interest because it gave him a peculiar emotion. His people were happy but they were no longer working. They were adequately distracted.

On the other end of the valley were the storehouses they used to supply tools for the slaves. Every day they would collect their tools to work their long hours before returning them for food and sleep. The foreman there cared for the tools and made sure they were functional. He didn't notice the old man as he came and certainly didn't notice the old man as he snatched away a shovel from the rear of the storehouse. The shovels were never used anyway so he didn't pay much attention to them. He didn't find they had much purpose since the base of the tower had long since been dug and so he left them to rust for years in the shadows of more important things. However, to the old man it was a lifeline. In his grip it felt like a second chance.

As the many slaves committed to debauchery all around him the old man simply walked up to the side of the tower, fastened the red sash to his head to protect his eyes from the sweat of his brow, and jammed his shovel into the ground. The shovel bounced off the hardened soil but he was not deterred. He simply slammed it down again and again until finally he broke ground. Then one small pile of soil turned into two small piles and the raucous clanking of his tool slamming into the land caught the attention of some guards who approached the man.

“Hey what are you doing old man?” They asked.

But the old man said nothing. He continued his work. Not moving particularly quickly or furiously.

“The lords have decreed a celebration for the towers completion. Didn't you hear?”

“I heard all of it”. The old man said.

“Well why are you working?”

the old man said nothing.

“Where did you get that shovel? There is to be no work tonight!” The guard shouted but the old man didn't respond.

“Are you deaf old man?” the guard was furious.

Then the old man stopped digging for a moment and a strange look came over his face.

“If I am to die a slave. Then by the grace of god I will dig my own grave.” he said.

This puzzled the guards. One of them chuckled at the thought of it.
“He's mad. Come. Lets leave him be and drink his portion of wine.”

And with that the guards were gone and the old man was left to dig his own grave.

3 ▓

Alron stuffed furiously wrote out the words spoken by Savuna almost as quickly as he could say them. The three lords could not be happier. They pushed through a backlog of tarps and papers. Among them were various plans for the tower as well as correspondence with builders and even personal anecdotes about its construction.

“I can transcribe a letter for each of the lords of our land inviting them to witness the tower.” said Alron.

“How many lords are there in totality?” Asked Savuna

“There are five more including us three for a total of eight.”

“Alron lord of the desert and Savuna lord of the lowlands...”

The third lord interjected.

“...and I will be Touma Lord of the sun! From this day forward that will be my name!”

The three lords had a hearty laugh.

“We can invite the other lords. When they see what we have accomplished by working together they will want to have a position here. We can unite all eight of the lords together.”
“Then we will have a united world all under our tower!”

Touma the third lord pulled a parchment from his luggage. He rolled it out on the table in front of them.

“Then we can combine the might of all of our slaves and build even greater until even the gods notice us!”

The three lords look at the parchment and took notice of its brilliant design.

“Look upon my designs. I sketched them as soon as I received word of your accomplishment.”

“but Touma? Is this construction even possible? Multiple towers? Entire cities above the clouds?”

“Have you learned nothing from what we've seen today. Anything is possible. What do you think Savuna?”

“I think soon the gods will even answer to us.”

And with that the lords were satisfied with the letters they wrote and the plans they had made. Alron shouted to one of the guards in the tower who came immediately.

“I need you to take these five letters and distribute them to your five best horsemen. They are to be delivered to the five remaining lords of the valley.”

The guard left in a hurry. They journey to the domain of the five lords was long and perilous. It was weeks before a response came. In the meantime there were rumors among the slaves that new towers would have to be built. There were to be eight towers in total. When construction of all eight towers were completed there would be a city built on top suspended above the clouds by the towers. All the slaves thought this was a preposterous notion. All the slaves except for the old man.

Weeks passed as the old man dug. It only took him a few hours to dig a hole deep enough to be hidden from view. All the other slaves noticed the hole but found it unremarkable and simply worked around it. Nobody even noticed the old mans absence.

Then the day came when 5 caravans came riding over the hilltop. These 5 caravans were massive. They rode into the valley on the backs of dozens of oxen. With an entire battalion of guards and hundreds of families of slaves carrying tools and provisions for the works. In the rear of the caravan were the remaining five lords of the valley. Ogtuk the lord of the mountains, Lileek the lord of the sea, Goranim the lord of the caves, Wagwoh lord of the ice, and Porok lord of the highlands. Each of them came loaded down with gold and precious jewels which they brought as offering to the sun.

They arrived at the tower and all eight lords together along with a garrison of slaves to carry their offerings made their way to the top of the tower. All eight of them marveled at the light of the sun. They danced in its warmth and were delighted by the prospects it brought them. Touma who claimed himself as the lord of the sun announced their plan to build seven more towers and place on top of them a city which could bathe in the light of the sun forever. They were so delighted by this idea that each of them pledged to contribute all of their slaves to see its completion. They swore that they would sacrifice everything they had to complete the golden city of the sun or they would perish in the attempt.

That's when they felt the first of the cracks. At first they did not know what to make of it. They could hardly notice as they were distracted by the wonderful view that the sun brought them. They stood firm at the surface of the tower discussing their plans and indulging in their fantasies. When suddenly a second thunderous crack came from below them. This one was so loud it struck them silent.

“What was that?” asked Alron.

“It came from below” Responded Lileek the lord of the sea while peering over the side of the tower. The view all the way down so far that the ground could no longer be seen through the dark ashy clouds.

Then the third crack came from below and the lords were started as the whole tower shifted in place. The shifting was slight but from the height they stood it felt like a tremor. They were all toppled and fell on their backs but quickly they were back on their feet. All except Lileek who somehow vanished from view. Then they heard the blood curdling scream. First echoing loudly and then lowering in volume as it descended down to the ground.

Suddenly the lords were filled with fear as they all made their way to the bottom of the tower. One crack after another as they pleaded for the construction to hold on just a little bit longer so they could reach the ground. Eventually the tower settled and they were able to reach the ground safely. Lileek who had beat them to the ground had been liquefied by the impact and was covered in cloth to hide the image of the body.

“How could this be possible!” Screamed Touma. “I thought you said the construction was sound!”

“The tower is indestructible! Its base is made from indestructible black stone from the black mines!”

Suddenly one of the guards turned pale. “The base of the tower!” he said.

He rushed to the side of the tower and the lords all followed him to see what had gone wrong. It was there they found a hole. The guard in his drunken stupor completely forgot about it. The lords looked deeply into the hole and could see only darkness down in its depths.

“What is it?” Asked Alron.

“Its a grave.” Responded the guard.

4 ▒

The guards were overly equipped but they were not afraid. They simply did not know what to expect so they packed a little bit of everything. Not to mention the goading of the 7 remaining lords to have the old man brought to justice. Their fear of the lords was paramount and they promised a fortune to whichever guard captured the old man. But the guards did not care. They were too focused on the task at hand. Among their provisions they packed torches, spears, shields, and kits with various tools and supplies. It was enough to get them through the threshold of the cave but it was a nerve wracking experience because they knew they weren't diggers.

The old man could have possibly been the last of the living diggers. There were very few of them at the start. They worked tirelessly to assemble the base of the tower. It took years to dig the foundations by hand but when the work was completed the massive chasm they had created was enough to sustain the towers length. The entire process was meticulously planned and the guards knew that whatever maniacal processes he was committing down in those depths could spell disaster for everyone. They also knew that this gave the old man an advantage. Decades spent as a digger gifted him with supreme knowledge of the environment. And of course the guards knew nothing of the underground. They would be learning for the first time today.

So they began their descent to the wondrous world beneath them. The hole which was barely a meter wide went straight down and they had to struggle to pass its width with all the gear they carried. They squeezed through dropping slowly inch by inch for what must have been a hundred yards. It wasn't long before the darkness took them and the guards could no longer see the entrance nor the exit. The earth grasped them in its stone fissure. The sound of metal arms and armor clanked against the rapidly declining tunnel. They found themselves stuck. Together, in unison, they began to grunt and gasp. Breathing became difficult and the guards could be heard squealing in panic.

“Air! We need Air!”

“The gear is not worth it!” One of them shouted.

The group understood the wisdom of his statement. And they began to shake loose their instruments. The vibrations of their violent contortions served to remove their arms and armor but also had the effect of shifting the soil. It began to fall all around them and suddenly they began to slide quickly down the tunnel until they were ejected into a new area.

They lost everything in the fall. All their equipment and supplies. And one of them lost their life. One of the guards in his descent impacted a stone which splattered his brains. He lay dead before them covered in dirt. They were shocked by this development. They were also shocked that they could see him. The inner chasm of the tower was not only massive but it was also well lit. The molten lava flow took care of the light. It also served to heat the chasm with an impossibly harsh climate. Together the recovered the body of the dead guard but could nothing with him. The return passage had been blocked off so against their greater judgment they simply left him to burn. Then, having no other option, they pushed forward into the base of the tower.

They were amazed by the ecosystem found under the earth. All manner of creatures somehow found a way to survive in the harsh climate. Bugs on the grounds and even birds which bolted their way across the height of the chasm somehow found nourishment in this dark desolate place. Then they noticed something else altogether more horrible than the creatures. They found bones. They took notice as they viewed the craggy cliff walls of the chasm. Bones lodged into the foundations and not the bones of creatures long passed but human bones. Decades old humans which had somehow found their way into the crevices of chasm rotting away but also serving as foundations for all they held above.

“The Old diggers.” One of the guards said.

Decades ago they served to build the base of the tower. The guards thought they had long since retired form their work. It turns out many of them simply never made it to the surface. All seemed to be accounted for decayed in the rocky surface. All except for the old man. Who in his final days decided he would die among the only family he ever knew.

Suddenly the guards understood the old mans actions and they took this understanding with them to the base of the tower. Its massive black stone structure was even larger than the tower itself. Like the fletching of an arrow it separated and lodged itself in four points across the chasm. And it was these four points which seemed to flow through the lava and down into an even deeper chasm below. They looked down and they could see the very bottom of the tower hidden in pure blackness, illuminated by nothing more than the red heat of the falling lava. Like an unnatural arrow piercing the skin of the earth. It appeared that over time the weight of the massive construction pushed the tower lower into the earth. At its bottom, the tower had pierced one of earths mightiest veins and was now eroding with every passing second.

Then they saw the old man. They would have missed him in the darkness if not for a red sash he wore over his brow. It glowed in the darkness and flowed with the wind. He worked at the very base of the tower with shovel in hand digging a hole in the deepest and darkest soil he could find.

“Halt at once!” the guards shouted.

But the old man did not stop. He simply continued digging as if ignoring their command. So they rushed down to meet him but when they arrived the old man was silent.

“Your digging has compromised the tower!” they reasoned but again the old man refused to stop until his hole was completed.

“My final resting place” He said.

One of the guards reacted angrily. With his fist he viciously wrestle the shovel away from the old man. But he did not care. He simply laid down in the hole and lulled himself into sleep.

“What madness is this?!” The guard shouted and in his rage he swung the shovel at the old man.

But as is the will of the gods he missed his blow.

The shovel struck a small black stone at the base of the tower which seemed to dislodge and fell playfully beside them. Unfortunately, the missing stone forced another stone to come lose. Then another shot forth from its place. Then another.

The guards looked up from the base of the tower and were horrified as it cracked and rumbled and all at once it began to come down.

5 ░

The vibrations from the chasm below were not immediately felt by the people above. The seven lords as well as their entire army of slaves waited for the return of the guards. Some of them prayed, some of them complained, and some of them wondered if they would ever be able to get back to work. The lords debated each other harshly. Toiling away on frivolous accountancy.

Then it was all interrupted by the shrieks of horror. They came as the first of the stones began to fall. The massive columns which made up the tower were comprised of massive indestructible black stones which were harvested from the black mines. Each one the size of a horse and weighing more than a thousand pounds. And from the very top of the tower they began to descend. Falling so numerous that they appeared to be black rain. When the first stone made impact its weight was so great that it exploded a geyser of black soil as it made impact with the ground. This black soil became like a dust cloud covered the valley in lucidity so thick it could only be interrupted by the impact of further stones.

The slaves who were fearful immediately ran for the edge of the valley. Some of them made it and some of them didn't. The lords who could not make haste without their horses were consumed by the black cloud and never seen again, though their screams were evidence of their deaths. The animals flew from the site so quickly by sheer force of will that they reached the end of the valley and simply kept running to the freedom that awaited them. Then there were the guards who tried desperately to defend against the onslaught but in the end could do nothing but cower as they were crushed into bloody pulp.

Then the center of the tower cracked and folded and within a second the massive black monument was in two pieces with one of those pieces dropping and crushing the other piece. The resulting explosion of black stones caused such a tremendous fissure of power that every living thing in the valley of the lords was launched on their backs. The cloud of dust was like a storm. It moved viciously through the valley mixing with the wind and making it impossible to breath. The slaves coughed up blood as their insides mixed with stone. And the cries and mad laughter of the survivors rang out long into the night.

Hours passed as the carnage died down. The dust clouds began to settle as the last of the stones fell into place. The remaining slaves, emerged from their hiding, witness the horrors of what remained. The stones were now permanently lodged into the ground. It seemed there was nothing in the whole world strong enough to remove them from the earth. The tower which had once reached up to the heavens was now nothing more than a stationary pile of rubble. The slaves looked up to the sky and saw a hole in the clouds. From this hole they could see the light of the sun and they were amazed by its beauty. The light seemed to illuminate the entire valley with its majesty. They felt its warmth and they rushed to dance under its brilliant rays of light.

When they reached the top of the rubble they noticed something. Sitting at the very peak of the pile was the body of an old man. He was meek yet well defined. His full body, uninjured, resting peacefully in eternal slumber, with a shovel gripped in his hand, and a red sash tied around his head protecting his eyes from the sweat of his brow. They thought perhaps he was one of the old diggers and considered how odd it was that after all that had fallen from the sky they would find what else on top of the pile but the body of a digger.